Hungary is a green country, with green grass fields, sometimes crop fields and typically a flat landscape. Hungary is one of three European countries with a number of distinctive utility poles - concrete with large holes almost akin to the Eiffel Tower. The other two countries are Poland and Romania. Romania’s poles can often be distinguished from Hungary’s as they have yellow markings on them (although Hungarian poles also occasionally have these yellow markings). Hungarian and Romanian utility poles have holes that reach all the way to the ground. In contrast, Polish poles have holes that stop approximately 50cm before he ground. Hungarian bollards have a red rectangle in a black strip. Similar bollards are found in Bulgaria, Croatia and North Macedonia. Hungarian houses are normally one-storey and are painted light colours such as light pink. Unlike many of the previously covered Eastern European countries, Hungary has few triangular, dominant or steep roofs. Hungarian roofs are generally shades of terracotta. The word ‘UTCA’ means street in Hungarian and you will often see this word on street signs. The Hungarian language stands out for the number of single or double apostrophe-like symbols on the vowels. It also stands out for the letter ő which is only found in Hungarian. If you notice a Hungarian road number, it should be fairly easy to find that road number on the map. This is because Hungarian roads are grouped together on the map by the first digit of the road number. This means all the roads starting with 1 are in the same area, all the roads beginning with 2 are near one another etc. Most of Hungary is flat. There are often grass fields or crop fields around. The country has many small villages and parts of Hungary have lots of foliage. As a result, you will often see a bleak, wintery scene in Hungary with trees without leaves and sometimes snow. Along with Hungary, there are two other European countries that can have similar wintery, bleak imagery- Bulgaria and sometimes Czechia. Romania’s poles can sometimes be distinguished as they often have yellow marks on the poles (be warned that Hungarian poles can also have these yellow marks too). Hungarian and Romanian poles have the holes extending all the way to the ground whilst Polish poles have holes that stop 50cm before the ground. Romanian utility poles are thicker and wider than Hungarian utility poles. There are a number of different utility poles used in Hungary. Plain looking wooden logs are common and sometimes there will be a secondary, diagonal, supporting log. Hungary has plenty of these unique looking fire hydrants throughout the country. Single storey houses with low roofs are common in Hungary. Hungarian houses are often a light colour such as pink. The standard roofs are a pink/red/terracotta colour. The roofs are less likely to be like a triangular half-open book than in other countries. The roof edge elevations tend to meet together at a few common points on top. UTCA is Hungarian for street and many street signs in Hungary will display this word. Some commercial vehicles in Hungary (such as taxis and some trucks) have yellow license plates. Regular Hungarian vehicles have the standard European plates. It is common for towns in Hungary to have the first part of their name named after the lakes, rivers or counties of Hungary that they are situated. Many town names in Hungary that are situated on the Danube begin ‘Duna’. Towns on the Tisza River begin ‘Tisza’. Towns in the counties of Zala, Somogy and Bihar amongst others also often begin with their counties name. The Hungarian language stands out for having marks over the vowels. These are one or two lines and look a bit like apostrophes. The letters ő and ű (both with double italic lines) are unique to Hungarian.

Hungary uses long white standard European licence plates. Taxi licence plates are long yellow.

Hungarian bollards are black-and-white, wedge-shaped, and typically have a red reflector at the front, and a white reflector at the back. Blue reflectors are also somewhat common.

Croatian bollards are very similar. They do, however, typically have the reflector closer to the top, and appear somewhat thinner than in Hungary.

The most common type of utility pole in Hungary is a concrete holey pole, with relatively thin holes going all the way down to the ground. Wooden poles are also somewhat common.

In eastern Europe, Poland and Romania also commonly use holey poles. Polish holey poles typically do not have holes down by the ground, and tend to be relatively thin. Romanian holey poles normally either have much wider, or much taller holes.

Hungarian chevrons are white on red. 

Black-and-white chevrons may also be seen, but are considerably less common.

The Hungarian language has a unique look, with a very large number of acute accents, umlauts over o’s, and long words. The letters "Ő" and "Ű", with double acute accents, are unique to the language.

Hungarian is also spoken in some parts of neighbouring countries: notably there are large Hungarian-speaking communities in central Romania and southern Slovakia.

Hungarian street names typically end with the word “utca”. The word “út” is also used for bigger roads. These two words are unique to Hungarian, and translate to “street.”

These green kilometre markers can be seen along most Hungarian roads. 

On highways, the numbers correspond to the ones seen on the map in small yellow boxes near exits.

Hungarian sign posts commonly appear to be abnormally tall.

Hungarian signs are usually bolted to the sign post using four bolts, going through the sign, in the shape of a tall rectangle.

This is not common in any other Eastern European countries.

Hungarian pedestrian crossing signs have five stripes. Among neighbouring countries, only Croatia has five stripes.

Apart from European highways, there are two types of numbered roads in Hungary; roads marked with green signs, and highways beginning with the letter ‘M’, marked with blue signs. These road numbers are contained within a small shield shape on the sign.

Most directional signs are green, having a white inner border and a green outer border. Directional signs on M-numbered highways are blue, having a white inner border and a blue outer border.


Hungarian houses are typically made of stone, painted in a light colour and almost always with red tiled roofs. Suburban houses are typically only one storeyed, while more central houses may be taller. Houses in town and city centres are often fairly old but well-kept.

While Hungarian road lines are all-white, lines on bicycle lanes are typically yellow.

Specific to Hungary, the streets are called “Utca”.

Hungary has a red reflector on the front of the bollard and a white reflector on the back.


Budapest is divided into Districts. You can find out what district you are in by looking at street signs. They will all have a roman numeral if you are in Budapest, and that number is tied to the district.


Hungary uses all white road lines. The center divider can either be dashed or solid. You can sometimes find a double white middle.

Road Signs:

Specific to Hungary, the streets are called “Utca”.

Hungary uses a standard guardrail, however the reflector is red.


Hungary has similar hollowed electricity poles like Romania. Unlike its neighbor Romania, the poles very rarely have any yellow paint or yellow plaque on the side, and the holes are more rarely wide.


Taxis in Hungary will have a yellow license plate.

Architecture:

You can find some nice houses, often with some fences around them. Houses are often attached at a wall, making the differences between buildings usually limited to the color of the building. There is also block housing that looks similar to old Soviet style housing.


These are speed cameras, and they are located on most major highways. They ensure that the driver is going the speed limit, and the cameras can take down their information to send tickets if needed.


There are some hills in Hungary, although those seem to most be in the north. Southern regions tend to be flat and open.

There are 19 counties in Hungary, and the City of Budapest. Budapest is independent from the other Counties, but is not considered a county.

