Identity card

Climate

Protected from the polar and Siberian cold by the Carpates, Hungary has a moderate continental climate;
The winters are bitter and snowy, the summers long, stormy, and they can be very warm. It rains a lot in February and March. September is great! For those who are looking to relax, do not forget that the about the Balaton region with more than 200km lakeshore and water that can reach 22C in august.

Formalities

Hungary does not demand a visa for French, Belgian and Canadians for a stay shorter than 3 months.

1 valid national identity card or passport.
If you're driving, national drivers licence and insurance card (verify that your insurance covers Hungary).
For all borrowed vehicle, car registration papers and the owner’s authorization.

Money

The monetary unite is the forint. 1 Euro = 250 Forint

Bank

The banks are generally open from 8am to4pm, from Monday to Friday. Some are open on Saturdays.

Local specialities

Paprika: It exists in many different varieties, sizes and colours. To make this short, here are the different forms, classified from the least spicy to the strongest: különleges, csemege, édes-nemes, félédes, rózsa, and erõs.

Bableves: Bean soup
Magyaros gombaleves: Mushroom soup.

Gukyasleves: The goulash is a soup containing meat, capsicum, onions, potatoes and paprika.

Hortobágyi palacsinta: Pancake in sauce stuffed with meet, onions and mushrooms.

Pörkölt: Common countryside dish. Stew which can be done with several meets and of which the sauce contains lard, paprika, onions and sour cream. Not really light but delicious!

Paprikáscsirke: Chicken with paprika, generally served with galuskas or tarhonyas (potatoe dumpling like). Meet: you can find marha (beef), sertes (pork) and kacsa (duck) often fried (sult), served with potatoes (burgonya) or mushrooms (gomba).

Libamáj: Goose liver pate, big speciality. Did you know that a big part of the French pate is actually imported from...Hungary? You find it in the big restaurants. Often served fried.

Desserts

Gundel palacsinta: Pancake stuffed with, nuts, raisin sec, orange skin and chocolate. May be served flambated.

Rétes: Hungarian version of strudel, often served hot.

Túróspalacsinta: Pancakes with white cheese and raisin.

Beer

Drunk in the sörözös, beer bars.

The wine

Drunk in the borozós, wine caves.

The badacsonyis: The kéknyelû, white wine which used with fish dishes, the olaszrizling, softer, with duck or goose, and the delicious szürkebarat, sweet and perfumed.

Villányi Medoc: Red wine very fruity.

Egri Bikavér: Or ' taurus blood‘, red and strong.

Egri Leányka: White dry.

Les tokaj: So good that we drink them alone, beside the meals.

Les eaux-de-vie

The barackpálinka (apricot eau-de-vie ). We drink it Hungarian style that is as an aperitif!

L'unicum: Acid drink, prepared with 40 different plants, and packaged in a round flak distinguished by a red cross. Could be a great souvenir...