Venue & Travel

General Information

Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is bisected by the River Danube, which flows north to south through the centre of the city dividing it into two main parts. Buda with Óbuda is situated mainly in the hills to the west, while the commercial Pest is on the plains to the east.  The entire city covers an area of two hundred square miles and divided into 23 administrative districts, it is home today to a population of 1.8 million people.

Budapest possesses a rich and fascinating history as well as a vibrant cultural heritage. Recognizing the unique value of its traditions it has managed to maintain its magic and charm, and is rightly known as the Queen of the Danube. It has also been called the City of Spas, as there are a dozen thermal baths complexes served by over a hundred natural thermal springs.

Budapest has a temperate continental climate. Seasons are usually well defined, with July and August the hottest months (28-30° C, 82-86° F) and December and January the coldest, when temperatures may fall to –15° C or just +5° F. Average sunshine from April to September is in excess of eight hours a day.
The city is in the Central European Time Zone. In the winter months this means clocks are set at GMT + 1 hour, and in the summer (March to the end of October) GMT + 2 hours.

Visitors to Hungary should obtain travellers' health insurance before leaving home.

The Budapest International Airport called Ferihegy is located about 40 minutes from the conference venue.
More information can be obtained from: www.budapestinfo.hu/en

The conference will be held in HUNGUEST HOTEL GRIFF,  H-1113 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 152., over the two days 4-5 September 2008 immediately before the next IWA biennial Congress to be held in Vienna, Austria from 7-12 September 2008.

A travel option will be arranged by the conference organizers, a boat journey on the Danube from Budapest to Vienna – a trip not to be missed and an excellent opportunity to learn something about the river.

Saturday, 6 September 2008 Transfer to Vienna:
- by Hydrofoil (subject of 40 participants), departure at 09:00 from pier
- by Bus (subject of 40 participants), departure at 09:00 from Hotel Griff