Personal Budapest Guide - Andrea Makkay

10/08/2024

I am so proud to be part of Rick Steves Europe family! It has been an amazing couple of days and I am so grateful! ❤️🇺🇸

25/05/2024

JOIN ME:
June 10: Budapest with Andrea Makkay
6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET | REGISTER
Europe’s most underrated big city, Budapest is ready to surprise with unique culture and experiences. Join guide Andrea Makkay as we recall Hungary’s secret police at the House of Terror and tour Communist VIPs at Memento Park before enjoying Budapest’s modern delights — soaking in elegance at the Széchenyi Baths, sampling paprika in the Great Indoor Market Hall, and taking in fine music at the Hungarian State Opera. Along the way, Andrea snacks on a classic chimney cake and sips herbaceous Unicum as together we savor the wonders of the Hungarian capital.

20/03/2024

JOIN ME:
April 8: Budapest with Andrea Makkay
6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET | REGISTER
Europe’s most underrated big city, Budapest is ready to surprise with unique culture and experiences. Join guide Andrea Makkay as we recall Hungary’s secret police at the House of Terror and tour Communist VIPs at Memento Park before enjoying Budapest’s modern delights — soaking in elegance at the Széchenyi Baths, sampling paprika in the Great Indoor Market Hall, and taking in fine music at the Hungarian State Opera. Along the way, Andrea snacks on a classic chimney cake and sips herbaceous Unicum as together we savor the wonders of the Hungarian capital.

Join Us for Monday Night Travel Are you dreaming of travel? Join us live on Mondays for our Monday Night Travel series! Together we'll journey to destinations across Europe and beyond with expert guests leading the way. Each week, you'll learn about art, history, food, and culture while picking up t...

26/12/2023

Thanks so much Cameron! 🙏🏼❤️

31/10/2023

23/10/2023

#1956

14/08/2023

Uppps I did it again! 🎉
#2023 ’choice
Thank you! 🙏🏼❤️

04/08/2023

❤️

04/08/2023

It’s ready! ❤️

14/05/2023

❤️

27/02/2023

Almost spring! ☀️

22/02/2023

Where are your travel dreams taking you next? Don't overlook Poland, the Czech Republic, or Hungary.

A few years ago, I checked into a charming Warsaw B&B, and my host, Jarek, was very excited. I was just in time for their nightly Chopin concerts. Each evening, a small group of travelers gather in Jarek's classy drawing room to hear great music performed by talented young artists. Imagine sipping wine, nibbling cheese, and listening to the music of this great composer played with incredible passion. I felt inspired. Right then and there, I pledged to share this magical experience with Rick Steves' Europe tour members…and with my TV audience.

I finally realized one of those dreams in 2022 when we launched our new Best of Poland in 10 Days tour. Led by a talented and enthusiastic team of Polish guides, our tour members experienced the dreamy main square of Kraków, the stunning townhouses and historic shipyards of Gdańsk, the gingerbread-scented red bricks of Toruń…and, yes, a Chopin concert in Warsaw huddled around Jarek's big, shiny Steinway grand.

Poland is one of the vibrant, yet underappreciated, lands in the region that many Americans refer to as "Eastern Europe," but increasingly feels more appropriate to call "Central Europe." Our tour members traveling through these countries rave about its good-natured locals, epic history, and unique experiences — from strolling the cobbles of fairytale Prague to diving into the steamy thermal baths and spicy cuisine of Hungary.

It's frustrating to me (and our tour guides) that many travelers are staying away from these wonderful places in 2023. The tragic warfare in Ukraine seems to be scaring away would-be visitors. My guides — and tour members who've been to the Czech Republic, Poland, or Hungary since 2022 — assure me that the war feels distant (separated by a national, EU, and NATO border). And traveling on a Rick Steves tour in this corner of Europe feels safe and welcoming — and offers an opportunity to gain empathy, insights, and context for the headlines. It occurs to me, skipping a trip to Prague or Budapest because of what's happening in Ukraine is a bit like avoiding Miami or Houston because of fighting in Central America.

In fact, later this summer I'm headed back for one of Jarek's piano concerts to make good on that second travel dream: making new TV shows about Poland.

In this month's edition of Tour News, we're celebrating the rich diversity of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic with a trio of colorful, day-by-day slideshows; a guide interview with native Hungarian, Péter Pölczman; magical tour moments in Prague, Budapest, and Kraków; and for those who missed last month's Festival of Europe, we're featuring the recording of our Central ("Eastern") Europe show hosted by guidebook co-author Cameron Hewitt and Prague-based guide Katka Svobodová. It's all available right here: www.ricksteves.com/tours/tour-news

Whether it's Chopin in Warsaw, Mucha in Prague, goulash in Budapest — or whatever captures your imagination — don't overlook Poland, the Czech Republic, or Hungary when planning your travels. You're sure to find a warm welcome and unforgettable experiences.

16/02/2023

For years, anytime I traveled around Prague, Budapest, or Poland to update our Rick Steves “Eastern Europe” guidebook, locals would chuckle and say, “I think you have the wrong book.”

So what, exactly, are we supposed to call that beautiful, fascinating, and underappreciated hunk of Europe that lies between Germany and the former USSR? Locals call it “Central Europe.” And if you really scrutinize a map of Europe — all of Europe, from Iberia to the Urals — the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and their neighbors are, unmistakably, in the dead-center of Europe. Prague, the showcase city of “Eastern” Europe, lies to the west of Vienna, Stockholm, and most of Italy.

And yet, that “Eastern” label — so entrenched from the Cold War days of the Eastern Bloc — is durable. Especially on this side of the Atlantic, we can’t quite shake it. So, in the two decades that we’ve been producing our guidebook, we’ve used the old “Eastern Europe” terminology...mainly for “marketing reasons,” to avoid confusing our customers.

Basically, we knew that “Eastern Europe” was the easiest shorthand to help people figure out which places we were talking about. But then, as soon as we lured them in, we’d set them straight. On page 3 of our Eastern Europe book, we devote an entire page into explaining this: You know the book you just bought? Surprise! It’s not “Eastern” Europe after all. Welcome to Central Europe!

I’m gearing up to update that guidebook soon, for the 11th edition. And, coincidentally, 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of when I first wrote it. Back in those days, memories of the communist era loomed large, and those “Eastern” connections exerted a powerful pull.

But the changes in these countries over that time have been dramatic. And recently, two things helped convince us it was time to properly reclaim them as “Central”:

First, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine reminded the world that a bright-red line zigzags through the middle of Europe...but these days, it’s no longer the Iron Curtain. Rather, that line separates countries belonging to the European Union and NATO (including what we’ve been calling “Eastern” Europe) from those that do not. And because we’ve been reinforcing how “Eastern” those places are, many travelers are needlessly fearful about visiting safe and stable countries that are every bit as core to Europe as Germany, France, or Spain.

And second, several of our tour guides — who’ve long been patient and understanding about the liberties we’ve taken in labeling their homeland — submitted thoughtful feedback suggesting it was time for us to reconsider. And thanks to their persistence and passion...we did!

That’s why 2023 will be a year of transition: From now on, in the Rick Steves Universe, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and their neighboring lands are no longer “Eastern” Europe. They are (drumroll)...Central Europe.

Of course, there are lots of nuances to this change. “Central Europe” is hazily defined; many would say it should also include Germany, Austria, maybe even Switzerland. (Our guidebook already includes Vienna, but we’d rather cover Germany in depth in our dedicated Germany book.) And our web team has warned us that the phrase “Eastern Europe” has a lot more SEO juice than “Central Europe”...in other words, Google likes it. We’re making this change knowing that it comes with a big risk: Our would-be customers might not find us.

And yet, idealistically, we believe that properly categorizing these places as Central Europe is simply the right thing to do. (Truth be told, it’s long overdue.) Maybe this is naively optimistic, but we’ve learned that Rick Steves travelers are savvy, open-minded, and curious enough about our world enough to hop on board when we lead them toward new places and new ideas.

What do you think? Nearly 35 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain — and 20 years after these places joined the European Union — are you ready to make this mental switch?

We’re heading to Central Europe...who’s with us?

15/02/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL5mosVWnoA

In January 2023, European travel expert Rick Steves is hosting a series of free, fun virtual events to inspire travelers to their next European adventure. Re...

01/02/2023

😅

27/01/2023

🖤

22/01/2023

Beautiful Gellert Spa! ❤️

20/01/2023

07/01/2023

06/01/2023

❤️

15/12/2022

❤️

14/12/2022

🧡guidetrainingtour

14/12/2022

Amazing guide training tour in Italy with Rick! 😄️

This was our first “class of 2023” group photo — taken during our guides mentoring tour, earlier this month. We enjoyed taking advantage of the experience we gained when we did our first mentoring tour, about one year ago in 2021.

11/12/2022

🌲

08/09/2022

🖤🖤🖤

30/07/2022

09/07/2022

Europe’s Pursuit of the Good Life

09/07/2022

Thank you all! :-)