Optional Pre-IGC Trip to Budapest, Hungary: Saturday, July 13, 2024
The Hungarian Parliament is located directly on the banks of the Danube River.
Austria-Hungary isn’t just a 19th century political entity – it can also be an accurate description of your time in Europe next summer! On the day before the official Opening Ceremonies of the 2024 International Geography Championships, come and explore one of Europe’s most fascinating capitals with us on this full day trip to Budapest, Hungary. In order to participate, you will need to arrive in Vienna and complete IGC check-in procedures on July 12 (between 3pm and 8pm). We’ll then leave Vienna at 7:30am on the morning of July 13, arrive in Budapest at about 10:30am, and have then have approximately 7 hours in the Hungarian metropolis before returning to Vienna that evening around 9:00pm. That will give us enough time to take in the main sites, including Buda Castle, the Hungarian Parliament and the Crown of St. Stephen, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, the Great Market Hall and more.
Buda Castle overlooks the heart of Budapest.
On top of the sightseeing opportunities, we’ll also have a chance to have a proper Hungarian lunch with goulash and dumplings and typical Hungarian pastries such as the sweet Esterházy Torte or the garlicky Lángos. But even beyond that, we’ll also offer a Hungarian Geography Exam as an official IGC 2024 medal event that participating students can take on the bus, complete with a medals ceremony at a historic site in Budapest!
The day trip is limited to participating students, and their accompanying family members, chaperones, and friends. Accompanying family members, chaperones, and friends do not need to be enrolled in the Family and Friends Program to come on the trip. The cost is $175 per person; 20 euros will be given to each person on the bus so they can get dinner in Vienna upon return (we will not have dinner during the trip). For now, there is no field cap on the number of participants, though IAC reserves the right to cap registration numbers if need be. The deadline to sign up for the pre-trip to Budapest will likely be somewhat before the registration deadline for IGC itself given the need to finalize numbers with the bus company. We may also potentially have a wait list until we can ensure we have enough additional participants to add an extra bus.
The Széchenyi Chain Bridge was recently renovated and links Buda and Pest on opposite sites of the Danube.
For further questions on the pre-trip to Budapest, please contact IGC Executive Director David Madden at david@iacompetitions.com. Köszönöm!