Location

BME Budapest University of Technology and Economics Building Q (updated!) Magyar Tudósok körútja 2. 1117 Budapest, Hungary

The location of our building on Google Maps: N47.473432 W19.059475

All important AGTIVE 2011 locations are displayed on this annotated map.

Getting to the university

The nearest public transport stop to the university is "Petõfi híd, budai hídfõ" at the Petõfi bridge, where the major tram lines Nr. 4 and 6 stop (and bus lines 203 and 212 also, across the street). From the tram stop, take the underpass and turn left (south), then head along the foot-path going parallel to the river Danube. On the first corner turn to the right, and start to go around on that semicircle street (Magyar tudósok körútja). Out of the two buildings in the inner side of the semicircle, AGTIVE will take place in the closer (northern) one, Building Q; look for the huge 'Q' sign on its front wall. It is also worth checking out a satellite image beforehand as well as the photo of the newly constructed Building Q, to avoid confusion with nearby Building I.

View AGTIVE 2011 in a larger map

Travel information

Arriving by flight

The two terminals of the Budapest Ferihegy Airport (BUD) is connected to various main European airports by several flights a day including various cheap flights. Low-cost airlines arrive at "Ferihegy Terminal 1" while main international flights land on "Ferihegy Terminal 2". More information available at the homepage of the airport: http://bud.hu/english/transport.

For getting to the city from the airport, there are two main options:

• If you are travelling alone, the best choice is the door-to-door Shuttle Bus called “Airport Minibus”, also known as "Airport Shuttle". The company has a desk at both terminals (“Ferihegy 1” where most cheap flights arrive and “Ferihegy 2”) where you can buy tickets. If you stay in the central part of Budapest, the fee is 2990 HUF for a single ticket and 4990 HUF for return (or 1495 HUF one way if you fly with Malév and reserve the shuttle online); see chart for more detailed pricing information. The company operates Ford Transits and other similar vans. Transport by the shuttle bus can be somewhat slower than by taxi, as the shuttle bus makes several stops to serve typically 3-5 passangers travelling to / from the same general direction.
• For those travelling together, sharing a taxi may be a better option in some cases: “Fõtaxi” is the officially licensed company taking passengers form the airport to the city. The company also has desks at the arrival side of both terminals. The price of a ride depends on the destination zone. Most of you will most probably stay in zones 2 or 3, costing 5100-5300 HUF per taxi for leaving the airport, and somewhat less for returning (if you preorder the voucher at the airport). Please note that this price is only valid for the first stop in the city, after that the taxi operates on a per-distance basis.
• The cheapest solution would be to use public transport, but it is not recommended as the airport is not particularly well-connected, and the trip will take quite some time. You can take bus line 200E from the airport to its other terminal Kõbánya-Kispest, and board the Metro line M3 there. M3 will take you to some of the central areas of the eastern bank (Pest). In particular, at Corvin-negyed (formerly Ferenc körút) you can transfer southwestward (in the direction of Móricz Zsigmond körtér or Újbuda-központ (formerly Fehérvári út)) to the trams 4 or 6 to reach the university (see below).

Taxi companies usually accept Euros, just as the shuttle bus company, therefore getting from the airport to the city is possible without having HUF. Public transportation tickets, however, are to be paid in HUF. There are teller (ATM) machines at the airport where you can buy HUF at a better exchanged rate than in banks.

Arriving by train

When arriving by train at the Western Railway Station (Nyugati pályaudvar) take tram number 4 or 6 in the direction of Móricz Zsigmond körtér or Újbuda-központ (formerly Fehérvári út) directly. The Western Railway Station is a major hub for public transportation with the Metro line 3, trams 4 and 6, and many bus lines.

When arriving at the Eastern Railway Station (Keleti pályaudvar, main railway station for international trains) or at the Southern Railway Station (Déli pályaudvar), you can take the Metro line M2, go to Blaha Lujza tér and change to the tram lines 4 or 6 as above.

Please note that there are special reduced fares for various trains from Vienna, Munich, and many other cities.

General remarks about public transportation in Hungary

Budapest has an excellent public transportation system. Recently a ticket costs HUF 320 (EUR 1,00 to 1.20) but different combined and daily tickets offer a good “go as you please” opportunity. Many major lines operate until approx. 23h-24h in the night, and a network of night buses serve the streets afterwards. For finding your way, the site utvonalterv.hu provides invaluable help in planning routes in Hungary (especially in Budapest) by public transport, by car, or by other means of transport. Alternatively, we recommend the pages of the Budapest Transportation Company (BKV) to find bus, tram or subway connections within Budapest.

For public transport outside Budapest, the ELVIRA service is helpful in finding domestic train connections, and for the schedule of the national coach services please visit the official timetable of the Volán company. (The latter site speaks only Hungarian, but the search function is almost self explaining: The first 3 fields are “from”, “to”, “via”, then the date in year/month/day order. Leave everything else as default.)

In Budapest, you have to purchase a ticket before taking a public transportation vehicle, fares cannot be paid on board (excluding taxis, of course). Ticket vending machines or cashiers are usually available at railway stations, coach stations and stops of the subway system. On many lesser tram or bus stops, however, you will need a pre-purchased ticket or resort to newsstands and other miscellaneous ticket vendors. For coach or train services connecting towns, you have the option to buy the ticket on the vehicle, but only if you board it at a lesser stop where no tickets are sold. Be careful that many coaches and cheaper trains have no visual or audible announcements indicating which stop is next, therefore travellers have to watch out for signposts, trust the timetables for accuracy, rely on their familiarity of the surroundings or ask for help from other passengers to decide when to get off. Fortunately express train services like InterCity and EuroCity usually do have a stop indication, but they require a more expensive and pre-purchased reserved seat ticket.