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Hungary

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description Hungary Overview

Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, with Budapest, straddling the Danube, as its capital. Its language, Hungarian, is a Uralic language unrelated to most of its neighbours' tongues. Budapest is known for historic thermal baths fed by natural hot springs and for the Gothic Revival Parliament building on the riverfront. The Tokaj region in the northeast produces Tokaji aszú, a sweet botrytized wine with a long documented history, and Lake Balaton is Central Europe's largest lake.

help Hungary FAQ

What language is spoken in Hungary, and is it like German or Russian?

Hungarian is a Uralic (Finno-Ugric) language, making it a distant relative of Finnish and Estonian and unrelated to the German or Slavic languages of its neighbours. That makes signs and menus famously hard for visitors to decode, though English is common in Budapest.

Does Hungary use the euro?

No, Hungary keeps its own currency, the forint (HUF), even though it joined the European Union in 2004. Card payment is nearly universal in cities, but markets and some smaller venues still prefer forints.

What should I see in Budapest?

The city straddles the Danube, with the neo-Gothic Parliament building on the Pest side and Buda Castle across the river. Budapest is also a spa capital — Széchenyi Baths is one of the largest bath complexes in Europe, using natural thermal springs.

What food and drink is Hungary known for?

Goulash (gulyás) and paprika-spiced stews anchor the cuisine, along with chimney cake (kürtőskalács) sold at street stalls. For wine, the Tokaj region was classified by royal decree in 1737, making it one of the world's oldest officially classified wine regions.