Here’s what you can expect from the show:

Alegría is a Cirque du Soleil classic and an internationally acclaimed production that has entertained more than 10 million people worldwide. Alegría is a Spanish word that means happiness, joy and jubilation and features an international cast of 55 performers and musicians from 17 countries and showcases breathtaking acrobatics. Acts include the Synchro Trapeze and the intense and high-energy Aerial High Bars in which daring aerialists fly to catchers swinging more than 40 feet above the stage. The vibrancy of youth is alive in Power Track, a brilliant display of synchronized choreography and tumbling on a trampoline system hidden under the stage floor. In Russian Bars, artists fly through the air and perform spectacular somersaults and mid-air turns, landing on bars perched on the sturdy shoulders of catchers.

And the video trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB8kSKyeIz4

Tickets are available from TicketPro Hungary, starting at 9,900 Forints (around $45)

Need somewhere to stay in Budapest or looking for some other things to do and see while you’re in town?

Budapest's Great Market

A common itinerary for our guests on their Eastern European tours combines a visit to Prague, the Czech capital, and a few days in Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

In American terms these cities are quite close together, just 330 miles apart, by road, but it’s a journey with a number of options.

Plane

There are a couple of direct flights a day, operated by Czech Airlines and Malev (the Hungarian flag carrier). It’s a one hour flight, but you’ll pay a pretty penny for the convenience – flights in August run around $800 (yes, that’s not a typo!). Indirect flights are cheaper but involve changing in Vienna, or somewhere in Germany. The change means the total journey time is closer to that of the train or long-distance bus.

Train

There are several direct trains a day, taking just under 7 hours to get from Prague main station to Budapest. There are a couple of night trains, one just after 11pm, the other just after midnight. Somehow both arrive in Budapest at 8:35 the following morning. For more background and advice on night trains in general, see our Prague to Krakow article. Tickets for daytime trains can be bought online whereas night train tickets cannot. Booking in advance you can get a one-way ticket for between $25 and $30. The big advantage of train travel is arriving in the centre of the city.

Automobile

(Sorry, couldn’t resist the John Candy reference!) Driving is a possibility but isn’t particularly economical when compared to bus or train because you’ll pay a lot more for a one-way rental, if that’s how your itinerary works and fuel is very expensive in Europe, compared to the US. If you have a number of things you want to see on the way (Brno, the Czech Republic’s second largest city, and Bratislava, the Slovak capital are en route) then maybe car rental is worth considering. Then again you could always break your bus or train journey in either of those cities too.

Bus

With some intense competition between the rail companies and numerous bus companies on the Prague – Budapest route, there are plenty of buses every day and the prices are very reasonable, usually a little cheaper than the train. All the buses leave from the Florenc international bus station just outside the very centre of Prague. We usually book our guests tickets for the Student Agency yellow bus service – they have very modern coaches, free hot drinks service and show films throughout the journey to keep you entertained. The journey to Budapest by bus takes between 7 hours 30 minutes and 7 hours 45 minutes. You’ll arrive at the Nepliget bus station where you’ll find a metro station and plenty of taxis to take you into the centre.

Whichever mode of transport you choose, we can arrange accommodation, day trips and tours for you in either of these beautiful cities, as well as making reservations for travel.

Related posts:

1. Bird’s Eye Budapest
2. Budapest Grand City Tour
3. Memento Park, Budapest

Here’s the calendar for all the major name concerts:

April

Slayer & Megadeth 8 April 2011@ Papp László Sportaréna

Bryan Ferry 29 April 2011 @ Papp László Sportaréna

May

Shakira 5 May 2011 @ Papp László Sportaréna

June

Roxette 1 June 2011 @ Papp László Sportaréna

Roger Waters 22 June 2011 @ Papp László Sportaréna

Ringo Starr 28 June 2011 @ Papp László Sportaréna

Sting – Symphonicity Tour 30 June 2011 @ Papp László Sportaréna

July

Billy Ray Cyrus 5 July 2011 @ Papp László Sportaréna

Related posts:

1. Upcoming concerts in Prague for spring & early summer 2011
2. Upcoming Concerts in Prague, Summer 2010
3. Prague Spring Festival 2011

Legends Sports Bar

As yet we don’t know who’s playing, but that’s not really the point of the Super Bowl for most of us is it?

It’s all about the beers and snacks and hanging with your friends.

The game is played on Sunday 6th February but by the time it kicks off, it’ll be the early hours of Monday morning so if you’re in Europe when the game is on it’s also about staying up late!

So where better to enjoy the game than a sports bar?

Here’s our shortlist of places to catch the big game:

Legends
Billing itself as Budapest’s first serious sports bar, the 30 HD screens and a 4.5m projection screen attest to that. The owner’s Canadian too. The extensive menu full of sports bar classics from Tex Mex to all-day-breakfast ensures you won’t go hungry. There’s free wifi too so you could even keep in touch with your friends back home while you watch.

Champs Sports Pub
Usually packed with fans of the other kind of football, this cellar-space should be full of gridiron fans for the Super Bowl. The food is mostly Tex-Mex.

If you know of any more places, we’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Related posts:

1. Where to Watch Super Bowl 2011 (XLV) in Prague
2. Where to Watch Super Bowl 2011 (XLV) in Krakow
3. Where to watch Super Bowl XLIV (2010) in Prague

On the way up, as the chairlift whisks you over villas and gardens, look over your shoulder to see breathtaking panoramic views over the whole of Budapest.

Once you’re at the top of the chairlift you can head further uphill to the Elizabeth Lookout Tower (Erzsébet Kilátó). Entry to the tower is free, climb the spiral staircase to the very top and if you’re not blown away by the wind, you will be by the view – a 360 degree unrestricted view of the city and surroundings.

Here are a few photos we took there:

Related posts:

1. Towering above Prague

If you’re in Budapest for more than a couple of days, and have a particular interest in the Communist era, you might want to add it to your to-do list. If not, don’t feel bad about missing it. In case you were curious about what’s to see, we snapped these pics of all the statues they had.

Getting there

You have two options – public transport, which will cost you one transfer ticket, or is covered by a one-day or more pass or Budapest card, or take Memento Park’s direct bus service from Deák tér, but the round trip will add 3000 HUF ($13) to the cost of your visit for a total of 4500 HUF instead of the regular 1500 HUF ($6.50) entrance fee.

Related posts:

1. Budapest Grand City Tour
2. Video: A Day in Budapest with JayWay Travel
3. Where to Watch Super Bowl 2011 (XLV) in Budapest

If you only have a short time in Budapest I highly recommend this as a way to see most of the main sites, some from the comfort of the coach and others when the coach stops to give you a walk-around and photo opportunity. During the tour we saw the Great Synagogue, Heroes’ Square, the Hungarian Parliament, the Chain Bridge, Fisherman’s Bastion, Buda Castle and the Liberty Statue.

Related posts:

1. Cities of Central & Eastern Europe Grand Tour
2. How to Get from Prague to Budapest
3. Video: A Day in Budapest with JayWay Travel

Now the weather is turning autumnal there’s still plenty to see in these Central and Eastern European cities and the summer crowds have thinned out too. With years of experience in bringing groups small and large to Europe, we’re happy to assist in putting together the perfect vacation and tour package for you so consider this a jumping-off point to give a taste of what’s on offer. This suggested itinerary should take 10-15 days and we’ve included details on how to get between the cities.

For finding train and international bus times we recommend using the Czech IDOS website. None of the other countries’ travel information systems are as comprehensive or easy to use. As part of our service we can plan your connections and make all your train bookings for you.

We recommend staying in apartments in at least one or two cities as an apartment with a washing machine will allow you to do laundry easily and therefore travel much lighter than you normally would for a trip of this duration.

Prague

We shall begin our European grand tour in Prague, the western-most city on the list. JayWay offers a wide choice of hotels and apartments in Prague, so that’s the accommodation sorted. You can tick off the major sights on the Grand City Tour & Boat Cruise. If you prefer a purely walking tour of Prague, we’ve got that covered too. For anyone of Jewish origin, no visit to Prague is complete without a tour of Jewish Prague.

In the evening the Beer Tour & Dinner is not to be missed, giving a chance to try some of that famous Czech beer and classic Czech cuisine.

Our most popular excursions from Prague are to Karlovy Vary, a famous spa town not far from the border with Germany (its German name is Carlsbad), Kutna Hora, a medieval silver-mining town, where amongst other things you’ll see the renowned Ossuary (a church decorated with more than 40,000 human bones) and Konopiste Castle, home of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination ignited World War I.

Wroclaw

Wroclaw is a fairly new addition to our portfolio of destinations but we think it’s well worth a visit. It is nicknamed “Venice of Poland” because of the maze of islands and bridges that make up this small but sassy city. You may be more familiar with its German name of Breslau.

Getting from Prague to Wroclaw
There’s are no direct trains, so you’ll need to change once. The journey takes just over 5 hours.

As Wroclaw is a new city to our lineup we don’t have such a wide selection of accommodation options, but we do have options for groups of up to 8 sharing an apartment.

Get started on Wroclaw’s not-to-be-missed list with the Market Square (Rynek), pictured here. It is the city’s heart where there’s always something going on – concerts, performance arts and gathering of all kinds. It’s lined with terraced cafes and restaurants. Plac Solny, the flower market is a sight to behold, open 24 hours so no floral emergency goes unaddressed. Ostow Tumski (Cathedral Island) is the oldest part of the city, and paradoxically no longer an island, part of the rover having been filled in back in 1810. The Racławice Panorama, a 15x114m painting of the battle of Racławice is one of very few examples of its kind in Europe, and unique in Poland.

Time pressures?
If you’re pushed for time on your trip, lovely though Wroclaw is, it’s the only city we would suggest missing. If you do that you can travel directly to Krakow from Prague by overnight train.

Krakow

Krakow is Poland’s artistic and scientific center. A university town of some repute, Poland’s historic capital, UNESCO heritage list member and by far Poland’s most popular tourist destination. We just love the place. There’s always something going on and we’ll make sure you don’t miss out on anything happening while you’re there.

To make things easier, all our apartments and boutique hotels in Krakow are located in or very near the very centre of the city.

Getting from Wroclaw to Krakow
Direct trains run between Wroclaw and Krakow around once an hour, at times more often and the journey takes between 4 hours 15 minutes and 5 hours, depending on the type of train.

Whilst you’re there we recommend our Krakow City Tour, Wieliczka Salt Mine, which will take your breath away and should your schedule allow (excursion only available on Tuesdays and Fridays), Nowa Huta, the town built by communists after WWII is well worth seeing. Catholics will appreciate the Footsteps of John Paul II tour. If you have the resolve for it, a visit to Auschwitz-Berkenau will stay with you forever.

Budapest

Hungary’s capital is actually comprised of two halves, ancient Buda, and modern Pest, split by the mighty Danube river. Both are on the UNESCO heritage list too.

Getting from Krakow to Budapest
There’s one direct train a day from Krakow to Budapest and it’s a sleeper, leaving Krakow just after ten pm, reaching Budapest at eight thirty the following morning. Travelling while you sleep means you have more time to explore, but read our piece about the night train from Prague to Krakow for some sleeper train tips.

We feature a wide selection of apartments, boutique and luxury hotels on our Budapest accommodation page so you’ll definitely find something that suits, or just tell us what you’re looking for.

On the Grand City Tour, available every day, a guide will show you all Budapest’s highlights from the comfort of a bus. For a change of pace, we recommend a visit to the picturesque village of Szentendre, also known as the artist’s village.  While in Budapest you should make sure to spend some time at one of the city’s many thermal baths too.

Vienna

The final stop on our grand tour of some of Central and Eastern Europe’s most beautiful cities is Vienna, former capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire and now capital of Austria. It’s historical centre is also on the UNESCO heritage list.

Getting from Budapest to Vienna
The shortest trip on our tour, it takes just 2 and a half hours by direct train and there are trains every hour throughout the day. If you’re visiting between May and September there is also a hydrofoil service on the Danube between the two as well. Journey time is six hours though, and it’s much more expensive.

The best way to get an overall impression of Vienna’s most significant historical sights is the combined city tour and visit to Schönbrunn Palace. On the way you’ll take in all the grand building along the Ringstrasse then visit the showrooms of Schönbrunn Palace. If you happen to be in Vienna on a Friday, you shouldn’t miss the performance of the world famous Vienna Boy’s Choir. If you have time we can’t recommend the Danube Valley excursion enough, it’s a full day trip, with a boat ride, in the Wachau area, top of the National Geographic ‘Historic Places’ list in 2008.

All Mapped Out

Here’s all these destinations on a map, to give you an idea of where they are in relation to each other.

Got the travel bug?

Hopefully that’s given you an appetite to explore these famous old cities. If you’d like us to plan a trip for you, just get in touch and tell us roughly where and when and we’ll put together an itinerary just for you.

Related posts:

1. Budapest Grand City Tour
2. Explore Poland’s UNESCO World Heritage List sites with JayWay
3. How to Get from Prague to Budapest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufa-waUdcv4

Related posts:

1. Video: The sights of Croatia with JayWay Travel
2. Video: Around Prague with JayWay Travel
3. Budapest Grand City Tour