About SzegedSzeged is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain (Dél-Alföld) and the county town of Csongrád county. Szeged and its area have been inhabited since ancient times. Ptolemy mentions the oldest known name of the city: Partiscum. It is possible that Attila, king of the Huns had his seat somewhere in this area. Today the inner city of Szeged has beautiful buildings and wide avenues. This is mainly due to the great flood of 1879, which literally wiped away the whole town (only 265 of the 5723 houses remained and 165 people died). Emperor Franz Joseph visited the town and promised that "Szeged will be more beautiful than it used to be". He kept his promise. During the next years a new, modern city emerged from the ruins, with palaces and wide streets. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary. The famous Open Air Plays of Szeged (first held in 1931) are one of the main attractions; they are held every summer. More about Szeged: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szeged |
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How to get to SzegedBy planeMost of the flights arrive to Hungary's international airport - Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport, located near Budapest. There is direct train connection going from Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport Terminal 1 to Szeged, and you can buy train tickets inside the terminal building. If you arrived to Terminal 2 you should take the bus line numbered 200 (which requires a ticket on its own), and get off at Terminal 1 to take the train. Trains are available hourly from 4:13 am till 9:13 pm (at the airport), originally departing from the Budapest Nyugati Railway Station (22 minutes earlier). Each train between Budapest and Szeged has Inter City carriage with compulsory seat reservation. For this you must purchase a railway ticket and a seat reservation ticket specific to your train. By trainBudapest is an important railway hub for the whole Hungary and large part of eastern Europe, with frequent trains from Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and Slovakia. There are at least one train daily from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Switzerland and Ukraine, as well as through cars from Poland and seasonal through sleepers from Bulgaria and Montenegro. Trains are available hourly from Budapest to Szeged. The journey takes about 2,5 hours. Railway timetables and online booking are available here: http://www.mav-start.hu/english/index.php By busSeveral international bus lines go in or through Hungary. You can find timetables and book tickets on the homepage of Volánbusz (http://www.volanbusz.hu/en/), which is the national bus company and also the local Eurolines representation. Alternatively, Orangeways bus company offer services on routes between Budapest and Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Timetables and online booking are available on their website. Moving around SzegedMost places in Szeged can be reached simply by walking, and it's certainly worth it to see the sights. However, the alternative is the bus or tram system that runs around the city. |