Hungarian capital Budapest offers competitive hotel rates, a wide selection of cultural venues and easy access.
Making music
When the handsome Liszt Academy of Music was reopened in Budapest on 22 October last year, it marked 202 years to the day since the birth of world-renowned Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. The inauguration followed two years of refurbishment work, during which some £37m was spent on expanding and restoring the venue’s spaces.
For business events, the 800-seat Great Hall can now be hired for £5,385 per day, while a smaller 307-seat theatre is available for £2,155 per day. The Academy is still considered one of Central Europe’s most impressive examples of Art Nouveau architecture.
High rankings
Budapest has been showing well in various travel surveys. It was voted second among the world’s Top 25 Cities by readers of Conde Nast Traveller in late 2013, drawing praise for everything from its food to its graceful buildings. Pertinently for event organisers, in a February 2014 survey by consultancy firm BDO, the average room rate for Budapest’s five-star hotels was one of Europe’s best, sitting at around £82 compared to £102 in Prague and £123 in Vienna. On a similar note, UK travel website Housetrip.com placed Budapest at the top of its list of cheap city-break destinations in October.