Hungary is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, & EU and is a Schengen state. Hungary was one of the 15 most popular tourist destinations in the world in the past decade, with a capital regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. The country is home to the second largest thermal lake in the world (Lake Hévíz), the largest lake in Central Europe (Lake Balaton), and the largest natural grassland in Europe (Hortobágy).

It is a country with a complex sense of identity - not generally regarding itself as Balkan or Slavic, but Western. The country’s assortment of cultures can be traced back through its history. A history that has seen it settled by the Magyars (a Finno-Ugric tribe who arrived via Russia in the ninth century) and ruled by the Arpad Dynasty, devastated by a Mongol invasion in the 13th century, ruled by the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries and later allied to Austria.

Administratively, Hungary is divided into 19 counties. In addition, the capital city (főváros), Budapest, is independent of any county government. The counties and the capital are the 20 NUTS third-level units of Hungary. The counties are further subdivided into 173 sub regions (kistérségek), and Budapest is its own sub region. Since 1996, the counties and City of Budapest have been grouped into 7 regions for statistical and development purposes. These seven regions constitute NUTS' second-level units of Hungary. There are also 23 towns with county rights (singular megyei jogú város), sometimes known as "urban counties" in English (although there is no such term in Hungarian). The local authorities of these towns have extended powers, but these towns belong to the territory of the respective county instead of being independent territorial units.

The music of Hungary consists mainly of traditional Hungarian folk music and music by prominent composers such as Liszt, Dohnányi, Bartók, Kodály, and Rózsa. Hungarian traditional music tends to have a strong dactylic rhythm, as the language is invariably stressed on the first syllable of each word. Hungary also has a number of internationally renowned composers of contemporary classical music, György Ligeti, György Kurtág, Péter Eötvös and Zoltán Jeney among them. 

Geography
Hungary is situated in Central Europe, sharing borders to the north with the Slovak Republic, to the northeast with Ukraine, to the east with Romania, to the south with Croatia and Serbia and to the west with Austria and Slovenia. There are several ranges of hills, chiefly in the north and west. The Great Plain (Nagy Alfold) stretches east from the Danube to the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the CIS, to the mountains of Transylvania in Romania, and south to the Fruska Gora range in Croatia. Lake Balaton is the largest unbroken stretch of inland water in Central Europe.

Official Languages:Hungarian

Demonym: Hungarian

Currency: Forint (HUF)

Time Zone: CET (UTC + 1)

Summer (DST): CEST (UTC + 2)

Internet TLD: .hu

Calling Code: +36

Visa formalities for hungary:

Passport/Visa

Passports
Valid passport required by all nationals referred to in the chart above except:

(a) EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.

Note: EU nationals are only required to produce evidence of their EU nationality and identity in order to be admitted to any EU Member State. This evidence can take the form of a valid national passport or national identity card. Either is acceptable. Possession of a return ticket, any length of validity on their document, sufficient funds for the length of their proposed visit should not be imposed.

Visas
Not required by all nationals of countries referred to in the chart above for stays of up to 90 days.

Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements (see General Info).

The length of stay which nationals of the exempted countries are allowed is subject to frequent change; contact the embassy for more information.

Warning
Most visits are trouble free.

Last autumn, there were a series of political demonstrations in Budapest and elsewhere in the country. Further demonstrations are likely on and immediately after 15 March. There have been some cases where generally peaceful demonstrations ended in violence as a result of the actions of a small minority of protesters. As a precaution travelers should avoid political demonstrations. In January 2007, Hungarian authorities confirmed the existence of the H5N1 (Avian Influenza) virus strain in five dead geese in south-east Hungary. No human deaths or infections have been reported. The Hungarian authorities have announced that strict biosecurity measures are being enforced in accordance with EU legislation. Hungary shares with the rest of Europe a threat from terrorism. Attacks could be indiscriminate and against civilian targets.

Attractions in Hungary:

Margaret Island

Its central location, Margaret Island is extremely peaceful. In summer, it is popular with the locals who come here to relax. Rent a bicycle, jog, swim in one of two pools, throw a Frisbee or just stroll around. This was originally a religious centre. The ruins of St Margaret's Dominican nunnery are on the east side near the ruins of a Franciscan church. The water tower is a listed building. A very fine lunch can be had in the Ramada Grand Hotel at the north-east end of the island.

Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden

This zoo could do with more funds but it is slowly being done up. The main entrance is located right next to the famous Gundel restaurant, and a nice combination is to stop in there for a coffee before or after your visit. The zoo is just one part of this very entertaining part of the city. Within a few hundred meters you will also find Heroes' Square, two excellent museums, a huge park, an amusement park, thermal baths and more. The entrance is a delightful art-deco whimsy. There are elephants, giraffes, monkeys, rhinos and of course, ice cream stands.

Castle District

After you've seen the Royal Palace, take a stroll northwards. The medieval street network remains unaltered and although most of the buildings have been thoroughly restored (the war damage was severe) many retain their original features. You will be able to see the remains of the Dominican monastery; note the Plague monument outside Matyas Church; walk along the castle walls on the Buda side and see the Turkish tombstones at the north-western corner. There are many places to eat out here, but you should expect to pay tourist prices.

Ethnographical Museum

The building in which this museum is housed makes a visit more than worthwhile: it is an architectural masterpiece - both inside and out. The Grand Entrance Hall will take your breath away with its arches, columns and staircases, all decorated with copious amounts of gold. The exhibits themselves provide an interesting and educational overview of the Hungarian people: regional folk costumes can be seen, as well as depictions of daily life in the last century.

Millennium Metro

This short metro line (marked in yellow on all the maps) was the first underground railway to be built in continental Europe (London's was the first ever). It was built just below street level for the 1896 millennium celebrations. Only 11 stations long, it starts at Vorosmarty ter, followed by Deak ter and heads up through Opera and Oktagon, running under Andrassy ut to Hosok tere and finishing two stops later at Mexikoi ut.

As it takes in many of the tourist sites, it's a very useful and quick way of getting about. All the stations were refurbished in 1995/6 and remain virtually exactly the same as they were when first built. Make sure you go down the correct entrance - trains run on the same side as the direction of the traffic above them. Normal metro/bus tickets can be used.

Parliament Building

This building was constructed at a time when Hungary was three times the size it is now (it became smaller as a result of having been shared out after the First World War - when Hungary was on the losing side). Today, the government is housed in only a small portion of the building. The inspiration for this building is said to have been the Palace of Westminster in London. Like so much along the Pest bank of the Danube, the best views are actually from across the river (especially from Bethany ter). Guided tours are available when parliament is not in session (go to Gate X to the right of the main entrance).

River Danube

The Danube - Europe's most celebrated river - runs majestically through the centre of Budapest. The city has taken full advantage of this and it now offers some of the finest panoramas to be found anywhere on the continent. Starting far away in Germany (where the Breg and Brigach rivers meet), the Danube runs some 2859 kilometers’ before spilling into the Black Sea. On its journey, it passes through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania. Incidentally, contrary to the name of the famous waltz, it is not blue.

Climate of hungary:

Hungary has a temperate continental climate with Mediterranean and Atlantic influences. Depending on the location, winters can be cold, cloudy and damp or windy, the summers warm and sometimes very hot. May, June and November are the rainiest months, although more rain usually falls in the west and Southwest than in the east. The number of hours of sunshine a year varies between 1900 and 2500 – among the highest in Europe. From April to the end of September, you can expect the sun to shine for about 10 hours a day. July is the hottest month (average temperature 23.2° C) and January the coldest (-1.3° C). The average annual temperature is 11° C.

Every season has its attractions in Hungary, though a winter on the puszta sounds a lot more romantic than it actually is. Though it can get pretty wet in May and early June, spring is just super in Hungary, it looks and smells and feels like it did when you were a kid. Summer is warm and sunny and unusually long, but the resorts are crowded. If you avoid Lake Balaton, you’ll do OK. The summer fashions and beachwear are daringly brief in summer even by Western standards. Like Paris, Budapest comes to a grinding halt in August. Autumn is beautiful, particularly in the hills around Budapest and in the north. In Transdanubia and on the Great Plain its harvest and vintage time.