The City
DISC 2019 will be hosted by Budapest – the capital of Hungary, which is one of the very popular touristic targets in Europe. Budapest is a historic city having nearly 2 million inhabitants in the very heart of Central Europe. Its architecture is a unique mix of the best European art and the local traditions. As single entity it was founded in 1873 as the unification of the separate historic towns of Buda (the royal capital since the 15th century), Pest (also settled from Roman times, later it became the industrial and cultural center of the region) and Óbuda (built on the ancient Roman settlement of Aquincum).
The city is bisected by the River Danube, which makes Budapest a natural geographical centre and a major international transport hub. Budapest has a rich and fascinating history, a vibrant cultural heritage, yet it managed to maintain its magic and charm. The city offers several tens of museums, concert halls and an opera house, but junior people may enjoy its specific subculture ranging from jazz concerts to ruin pubs. Budapest is called the City of Spas with a dozen thermal baths served by over a hundred natural thermal springs.
Budapest has an excellent public transportation system (offering among others the longest tram wagon in the world). The city is safe, the criminality rate corresponds to the European average.
For more information about Hungary and Budapest, see the pages of Budapest Tourist Information, the Hungarian Tourist Office, and the corresponding WikiVoyage site (it is really good).
Venue
Ensana Therrmal Hotel Margitsziget
(formerly called as “Danubius Health Spa Resort Margitsziget”)
Margitsziget (Margaret Island)
H-1007 Budapest, Hungary
The spa hotel, opened in 1979, totally restored in 2001, is situated on the picturesque Margaret Island, in the middle of Budapest. The hotel is connected with Ensana Grand Hotel Margitsziget by an underground corridor, so the medical facilities are shared and services of both hotels are at guests’ disposal.
The hotels are surrounded by a peaceful and tranquil green park. Bicycles, horses, carts and electric buggies can be hired to get around.
Panorama photo of the Margitsziget
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country of 93,030 km2 area in Central Europe, in the middle of the Carpathian Basin. It is bounded on the north by Slovakia; on the northeast by Ukraine; on the east by Romania; on the south by Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia; and on the west by Austria. Plains and gentle hills of the Pannonian Basin dominate its surface. Some inselbergs form 600-900 m high mountain ranges. Temperate grasslands, agricultural land, meadows and non-coniferous forests characterise the landscape. Two major rivers: the Danube and the Tisza flow across the country from north to south. Lake Balaton, the biggest lake in Central Europe is a favourite target of tourists because of its warm water and nice landscape.
During its more than 1000 years of existence Hungary has experienced every possible historical ups and downs. It was several times invaded by different empires, occupied neighbouring areas, suffered several subdivisions, won battles and campaigns, lost world wars, survived civil wars and fallen revolutions. Since 2004 Hungary has been a member of the European Union.
Hungary has a slowly diminishing population of 10 million. The capital: Budapest is the most densely populated area with its 1.7 million inhabitants. Major cities of over 100,000 inhabitants are Debrecen, Miskolc, Szeged, Pécs, Győr, Nyíregyháza, Kecskemét and Székesfehérvár.
The dominant Hungarian (Magyar) population arrived from the east, from the Ural region. Its Finno-Ugric language and its traditional folklore is different from those of the surrounding Slavic, German and Romanian populations.
From the wide range of travel and tourism information sites on Hungary see e.g. the official Hungary tourism site or the site of the Lonely Planet.
Budapest
Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is an economic, financial and cultural centre of the country. The city, which is beautifully situated on both sides of the Danube river has a history dating back over 2000 years. There are ruins from the times of the Roman Empire as well as from the Middle Ages. Its main characteristics reflect the atmosphere of the end of the 19th century when the millennium of the Hungarian State was celebrated. It boasts a number of museums, theatres, concert halls, a lot of restaurants and other amenities. Several baths and thermal waters of various medicinal springs are also at the disposal of visitors. In recent years the UNESCO put several parts of the city on the World Heritage list.
Getting to Budapest
Budapest lies in the very centre of Europe. As the capital of Hungary, it has good travel connections from/to most European cities by flight and from/to most Central-European cities by train.
Budapest is easily accessible by air in 2-3 hours from most major cities of Europe, 5-6 hours from the Middle East and about 9 hours from the East Coast of the American continent. For flight information please visit the pages of Budapest Airport (code BUD).
For more information see Getting to Hungary.
