Page 232 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Budapest

230  SUR VIV AL GUIDE

Media and Communications

The prevalence of mobile phones has transformed
communications in Hungary, giving reliable access to the
phone network for many who had struggled with the
relatively inefficient landline telephone operating system.
There remain many telephone boxes throughout the city,
although card-operated telephones are much more
widespread than coin-operated ones. Wi-Fi access is
also available at many places around the city.

Interna tional and Local digits (when combined with
Phone Calls
the city dialling code 06-1
Calling cards (such as Telecard, there are 10 digits). Hungarian
Neophone or Barangoló) are mobile phone numbers consist
the best option for making of 11 digits: they start with
landline calls, and are widely 06-20, 06-30, 06-31 or 06-70,
available from post offices, follow ed by seven digits.
street vendors, fuel stations If you are calling any of these Visitor using a mobile phone
and some newspaper kiosks in numbers from abroad the
a variety of denomi nations. initial 06 is replaced by the your phone. You’ll find pro viders
These cards usually offer better country code, 36. To call the such as Telekom, Telenor,
international rates than when operator dial 11818, or 11824 Voda fone and others in all big
using coins. Alternatively, coin for the international operator, shopping malls.
phone boxes accept 10, 20, 50 but be aware that calls to these
and 100 forint coins and also numbers are usually billed at
€1 and €2 coins; some also high rates. There is little advan- Internet
accept credit or debit cards. tage in using the services of a Cafés and bars offering a wireless
The minimum rate for a hotel operator, and this only connection are now common in
local call is 20 forints, and makes the call more expensive. Budapest. It is easy to find Wi-Fi
100 forints for an international hotspots, plus, more and more
call. To make an international cafés and restaurants are
call dial 00, wait for the Mobile Phones providing free Wi-Fi. These might
diall ing signal and then dial If you plan to bring your mobile be password-protected, but
the country code, followed phone when travel ling, check it never hurts to ask the staff.
by the rest of the number. with your provider about Budapest also has several Internet
You can also phone abroad whether you have a roaming cafés offering coffee and snacks
using a pre-paid international facility, and bring an adaptor while you check your emails, search
phone card such as the and transformer with you to the Internet or play online games.
Barangoló, available at post re charge your phone. US cell It is worth noting that connec-
offices, which offers good rates phones need to be tri-band tion speeds can vary.
to countries around the world. to work in Hungary. In some cafés the keyboards
Budapest telephone Alternatively, you can buy a are laid out according to the
numbers consist of seven Hungarian SIM card to use in Hungarian template, with
extra letters.
Addresses
Budapest is divided into 23
districts, identified by Roman
numerals. A Budapest address is
usually written with the district
number placed first; in addition,
the street number comes after
the street name – for example, V
Kossuth Lajos utca 4. However,
in corres pondence a four-digit
postal code is used in place of
the district number, the middle
two digits indicating the district
Internet café in Vaci utca, a pedestrianized street in Pest (so that 1054 refers to an

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