Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Internet
Budapest has excellent wi-fi coverage, with most hotels and youth hostels, and many cafés
and bars offering free access, though in the latter you will be obliged to buy a drink for using
this facility.
Kids
Budapest isachild-friendly city,withplenty toentertain youngones-see
Kids'Budapest
for
details. Hungarians tend to be welcoming to kids without making them the centre of attention
as you might find in, say, Italy.
Facilities are a bit patchy, though; while the network of playgrounds is marvellous, nappy-
changing facilities (
pelenkázó
) are hard to find - they're mostly concentrated in big shopping
malls.Buildingsdon'ttendtobeveryaccessibleifyou'repushingabuggy,buthelpisusually
quickly forthcoming when you're trying to negotiate stairs. On public transport people will
readily give up seats to pregnant women and to parents with babies. They will also happily
chat to children - the flipside is that old ladies may also loudly berate parents for not looking
after their babies “properly”, such as for not putting a hat on a baby even in the mildest of
weather.
The malls are also the best bet for nappies, baby toiletries and clothes, while many also have
indoor play areas. Restaurants usually have high chairs, and although there isn't a culture of
whole families dining out in the evening, waiting staff (even in smart places) are usually ac-
commodating. In many places you can ask for a small child's portion -
kisadag
.
HUNGARIAN NAMES
Surnames precede forenames in Hungary, to the confusion of foreigners. In this topic, the
names of historical personages are rendered in the Western fashion, for instance, Lajos
Kossuth rather than Kossuth Lajos (Hungarian-style), except when referring to the names
of buildings, streets, etc. The Hungarian order has a clear logic: in Hungarian the stress in
any word always comes on the first syllable; since Hungarian, like most other languages,
puts the main stress on the family name when saying a person's name, that means putting
the family name first.
Laundry
There are very few self-service launderettes (
mosoda
) in Budapest, but you could try the
following: Laundromat Mosómata at VI, Ó utca 24-26 (Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat & Sun
10am-4pm) near the Basilica; and Liliom Szalon, IX, Liliom utca 7-9 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm,
Sat 8am-noon;
liliomszalon.hu
). Expect to pay around 1800Ft for a wash and dry. Other-
