I am traveling to Budapest in mid-September and would like to get opera tickets before I leave. Am worried that they will be sold out before I arrive. Does anyone know how I can get them before I depart ... through a travel agent, the opera company directly, or some other way?<BR><BR>Also, I am considering staying at the Hotel Fiesta or Hotel Unio when I am there, but don't see anything about them here. Would appreciate if people who have stayed at either of these hotels would give me some feedback. Thanks.

Hi Sharon,<BR>Sorry but I haven't stayed at either hotel but I'm guessing your best bet is probably to contact your hotel concierge and ask them to get the tickets for you. If the hotel is a smaller hotel - they may not provide this service - then I would call a local travel agent in budapest and see if they can arrange it for you. You could always contact the opera house directly - but sometimes the ticket process can be a little baffling in strange countries so you might want to try the other 2 alternatives I suggested first. Have a great time at the opera!

We stayed at the Hotel Fiesta in Budapest in May. Its a very nice, moderately priced, modern hotel (outside is historic, inside is modern) complete with central air and keyless card room entry. The staff was very competent and helpful, and the breakfasts were good, except for the coffee which was weak and flavorless. The hotel is only a few blocks from the State Operahouse, on a side street which parallels Andrassy St (the street on which the State Operahouse is located). Both streets fan out like spokes on a wheel from the circular street near Deak Ter metro hub. We really liked this central location on the Pest side, primarily because of its location to the metro hub (2-4 blocks away) and to the Opera (also 2-4 blocks away). The street on which the hotel is located is deserted at night, so those few street blocks may be a bit unnerving. We kept our "walking home" evenings to a minimum. No problems at all for daytime or early evenings. I would definitely recommend this hotel, and would stay there again. <BR>The State Opera house does have a website for listing performances, but we weren't able to order our opera tickets ahead of time through that site. We went to the ticket office where they said they were sold out, then later that same day they said they weren't. We then purchased tickets to Madame Butterfly, which was showing that evening. Maybe all the confusion was over the fact that Laura Bush was also attending the performance that evening. Not sure why, so if this happens, try again.<BR> Hope this helps. Kathy

I ordered my opera tickets before going (all but one performance was available through the theatre, the sold-out performance was available through my hotel). Wagner's Ring Cycle sure is popular in Budapest!<BR><BR>Their web site is<BR><BR>http://www.opera.hu/operaeng/main.html<BR><BR>I don't think they take orders from the web site--but they do take phone orders (and speak English). Usually the tickets go on sale the beginning of the month before the performance, so order them soon.<BR><BR>

topping

I just bought my tickets this morning on the web. Here is the web site:<BR>http://online.jegymester.hu/startpage.jsp?place=3&lang=ENG<BR>I read a review recently that mentioned 3/4rd's of the stage is not viewable from the side seats. But you can request the type of seats you want and before you purchase them the web site will show you the seats on a floor plan. Very easy to use.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.