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Three Hungarians who made London their own: a film mogul, a holographer and a novelist, and the pounds behind a Hungarian week in the capital

In the 1930s, a Hungarian-born producer called Sándor Kellner, known to the world as Alexander Korda, built a film studio on the outskirts of London and filled it with stars, directors and craftsmen from across Europe. In 1942, he became the first filmmaker to be knighted in Britain. A few years later, an engineer from Budapest named Dénes Gábor, working at a firm in Rugby and later at Imperial College London, invented the principle of holography, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971. And in 1940, after escaping from a French camp, the novelist Arthur Koestler, born in Budapest, arrived in England, where he would write his best-known book, Darkness at Noon. Their descendants in the arts and sciences are many, and today tens of thousands of Hungarians live, study and work in the United Kingdom. For anyone connecting Budapest with London, the first practical question is how many pounds a forint buys. This page answers it. Use it to Convert HUF to GBP with the daily reference rates published by the European Central Bank, in which the forint and the pound are quoted against the euro; the page combines them into a forint-pound figure and prints the date under the result. The amount you type never leaves your browser.

Using the converter

Forints in, pounds out

Before accepting any offer in pounds, Convert HUF to GBP and note the date, so that you can compare it later with your statement.

Enter an amount in forints and read the equivalent in pounds sterling. A pound is worth several hundred forints, so the figure you get back is far smaller than the number you typed and carries pence. The date of the rate appears under the result; at weekends and on public holidays the page falls back to the last working day and says so. A table of round amounts and a thirty-day line complete the page. For the opposite direction, from pounds into forints, open Convert GBP to HUF.

A mid-market figure

The published rate is a mid-market number, fixed once on each working day with no bank margin inside. A card, an exchange booth or a transfer app gives you slightly less, and the gap is what they earn. Treat each Convert HUF to GBP as the benchmark against which you measure offers: under one per cent is excellent, two to three per cent is typical at banks, and above four per cent is a reason to look elsewhere. For arithmetic only, the examples below use an invented round rate of four hundred and fifty forints to one pound. It is not a forecast and not today's price; replace it with the real figure from the calculator.

Sir Alexander Korda and the studios at Denham

From a Hungarian village to Hollywood and London

Born in 1893 in Pusztatúrpásztó, a village in the Hungarian plain, Korda began as a journalist and film critic in Budapest, worked in Vienna, Berlin and Hollywood, and then settled in London in 1931. He founded London Film Productions in 1932, and the success of The Private Life of Henry VIII the following year, starring Charles Laughton, put British cinema on the international map. In 1936 he opened Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire, one of the largest and best equipped in Europe. He brought brothers and colleagues from Hungary, among them his brother Zoltan, a director, and Vincent, an art director who won an Oscar.

The films and the money

Ticket prices at a cinema in London are shown in pounds, so Convert HUF to GBP for the seat and the popcorn and compare with a night out in Budapest.

Korda produced The Scarlet Pimpernel, Things to Come, The Thief of Bagdad and, after the war, The Third Man, with its zither music and its chase through the sewers of Vienna. He was also a collector of paintings and a spender: studio finances were often shaky, and he depended on bankers and distributors. A film of that time might cost several hundred thousand pounds, an enormous sum, and its profits were counted in the same currency. Anyone who has watched a Korda film has seen the work of a Hungarian in London.

Where to see the legacy

Pinewood and Shepperton studios, near London, still make international films, and tours are offered at certain times. The British Film Institute on the South Bank shows classic British films, including Korda's, for a ticket of 12 to 15 pounds. In Budapest, the Hungarian Film Museum, Filmmúzeum, also commemorates him. If you Convert HUF to GBP for the ticket, you will see that a classic film costs about the same in both capitals.

Dennis Gabor and the hologram

An idea in a Rugby laboratory

Gábor Dénes was born in Budapest in 1900 and studied electrical engineering in Germany. As a Jewish engineer he left Germany after 1933 and found a job with the British Thomson-Houston company in Rugby, where, on Easter Sunday 1947, he had the idea that would bring him the Nobel Prize: a method of recording not only the brightness but also the phase of light waves, which could make three-dimensional images. He was trying to improve electron microscopes. The technique could not be fully used until lasers were invented in the 1960s, and now holograms secure banknotes, cards and passports.

Imperial College

From 1949, Gabor taught at Imperial College London, where he became a professor and continued to work on communications, plasma physics and a theory of the future society. He wrote popular books about how to prevent the dangers of technology. He died in London in 1979. A plaque and a lecture series recall him, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences awards a prize in his name. Hungarian students at Imperial College, an expensive school, receive scholarships for study in London, and their budgets must account for tuition in pounds.

Arthur Koestler and the darkness

A writer between languages

Arthur Koestler was born in Budapest in 1905, moved to Vienna, worked as a journalist in the Middle East and Paris and joined the Communist Party in the early 1930s, then broke with it after the Moscow trials. Darkness at Noon, written in German in 1940 and published in English in London, tells the story of a veteran revolutionary who confesses to crimes he did not commit. It was translated into dozens of languages and is considered one of the most important political novels of the twentieth century. Koestler became a British citizen in 1948 and lived in London until his death in 1983.

The reading list

A visitor to London who wants a Hungarian reading list can start with Koestler, move on to the poets of the Hungarian emigration and finish with contemporary authors. Bookshops in the centre sell translations. A paperback costs 8 to 14 pounds. The British Library in Euston has an exhibition room, free of charge, with treasures of world literature, and a reading card for researchers.

Hungarians in Britain today

Students, nurses and engineers

Today, tens of thousands of Hungarians live in the United Kingdom, in London and in cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh. Some are students, many are nurses, doctors, engineers, software developers, hospitality workers and builders. After Britain left the European Union, newcomers must obtain visas under the points-based system, and those who arrived earlier could apply for settled status. Rules are updated often, so consult the government's website.

Money in two currencies

A salary in pounds and a mortgage in forints should be tracked together, so Convert HUF to GBP every month on payday.

A Hungarian in London earns in pounds and often supports family in Hungary in forints. A monthly transfer can be sent through a bank or a specialised app, and the fee and margin vary widely. Always Convert HUF to GBP here first and compare with the offer: if the gap is more than two or three per cent, look for another service. Many people use the same app for payments, a multi-currency card and savings.

Prices in London

Take a typical day: a coffee, a lunch, a transport pass, and Convert HUF to GBP for each line before multiplying by the number of days.

A flat white costs 3.5 to 4.5 pounds, a pub lunch 12 to 18, a main course in a mid-range restaurant 16 to 28, a pint of beer 5.5 to 7, a single bus ride 1.75 and a day of the Tube in central zones 8 to 16. A room in a shared flat costs 800 to 1,400 pounds a month. At the invented rate of 450 forints to the pound, a lunch of 15 pounds is about 6,750 forints. Compare that with a lunch menu in Budapest at 3,500 to 5,500 forints.

Studying in Britain on a Hungarian budget

Tuition and its alternatives

Fees differ by course, so Convert HUF to GBP for each programme separately, then add living costs, and decide.

International students in the United Kingdom pay tuition fees far higher than those charged to British residents. A one-year master's degree typically costs 15,000 to 30,000 pounds, and some professional programmes more, while an undergraduate year often falls between 14,000 and 25,000. Since Britain left the European Union, Hungarian students are classed as international and no longer receive the fee status that EU citizens once had. Scholarships exist, among them government schemes for future leaders and awards from individual universities, but competition is fierce. Convert HUF to GBP for the tuition of each programme you consider, and you will see why a scholarship can decide the choice of the country.

Living costs, city by city

A move from London to a smaller city changes the budget, so Convert HUF to GBP for the rent in both before you choose where to apply.

Universities publish an estimate of living costs for international students: roughly 1,100 to 1,500 pounds a month in London and 800 to 1,100 elsewhere, excluding tuition. Halls of residence cost 150 to 300 pounds a week in the capital and 100 to 180 in other cities. A student bus pass in a medium-sized city costs about 40 to 60 pounds a month. A visa for study carries a fee and a health surcharge, and the applicant must show funds for the first months. Check the official website for the current amounts and keep documents in order.

Part-time work

Students on a study visa may work during term for a limited number of hours a week and full time in vacations, subject to conditions on the visa. Typical jobs include cafés, shops, libraries and tutoring, paying at or above the minimum wage. A student who earns 400 pounds a month from a job reduces the bill for living costs noticeably. Always keep payslips, and check that your employer registers you properly.

The campus life

British universities are known for societies, from debating and drama to climbing and Hungarian clubs. Joining costs little, and societies organise trips, parties and talks. The Hungarian society at a campus may serve goulash at an evening in November or organise a trip to a Christmas market. Cheap meals are available in student unions, where lunch costs 4 to 7 pounds. Libraries are open late and sometimes round the clock before exams.

Hungarian London, street by street

Community and culture

The Hungarian community in the United Kingdom has a long history, with waves of arrival in 1848, in the 1930s, in 1956 and since 2004. It has founded churches, schools, newspapers and cultural centres. A Hungarian Saturday school in London teaches children language, history and folk dance, and parents in the community organise celebrations of 15 March and 23 October, the anniversaries of the revolutions of 1848 and 1956. A Hungarian film club shows films with English subtitles, a cheap evening out.

Food and drink

A bag of Hungarian groceries in London is a small luxury, and a Convert HUF to GBP shows how much of one you can afford.

London has Hungarian restaurants and cafés that serve goulash, chicken paprikash, stuffed cabbage, lángos and cakes such as Dobos torte. A main course costs 14 to 22 pounds, a coffee with cake 7 to 10. Several shops sell Hungarian sausage, paprika, jams and the sweet curd snacks called Túró Rudi. Prices are about double those in Hungary. Convert HUF to GBP for a basket of such items and compare it with the cost in Budapest.

Rubik and the Science Museum

The Science Museum in South Kensington, free to enter, displays objects of invention from every country. Hungarian inventions such as the ballpoint pen, the Rubik's Cube and the hologram appear in various galleries and exhibitions. The cube has been a global symbol of puzzle-solving for fifty years, and speed-solving competitions take place in British cities. A cube costs 5 to 15 pounds in a toy shop.

Money, banks and everyday rules

A British bank account

When a bank offers to convert your forints, Convert HUF to GBP here and compare the rate with theirs.

Opening a bank account in Britain requires proof of identity and address. Students use a letter from the university and a passport. Large banks offer student accounts with interest-free overdrafts, but they may take several weeks to arrange, so open the account early. Digital banks open accounts within minutes but may have limits on deposits. Keep your Hungarian account open for transfers, and use the converter before each remittance.

Tax and benefits

Employees in Britain pay income tax and national insurance through payroll, with a tax-free allowance each year. A student who works part-time may earn below the allowance and pay little tax. A National Insurance number is required for work and is applied for after arrival. Healthcare through the NHS is available to students who have paid the health surcharge as part of the visa. Prescriptions in England cost a fixed fee per item.

Rent and deposits

A deposit of several weeks' rent is a large sum, so Convert HUF to GBP for it and keep the figure for the day you move out.

Private landlords ask for a deposit of up to five weeks' rent, protected in a government-approved scheme, and a reference. Some require a guarantor in Britain, which is a problem for international students; services exist that act as guarantors for a fee. Read the contract carefully and keep photographs of the property's condition when you move in.

A week in London on a Hungarian budget

Getting there

Direct flights connect Budapest with London's Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted airports; the flight takes about two hours and a half. Fares from low-cost airlines can start at 30 pounds each way, but add fees for bags, seat choice and boarding. London is an hour behind Hungary. Travellers who continue east can use Convert CET to EET to compare Central and Eastern European time. Citizens of the European Union now need a passport and an electronic authorisation to visit as tourists, in line with current rules.

Free and cheap London

Many of the best things in London cost nothing: the permanent collections of the British Museum, the National Gallery, Tate Modern and the Natural History Museum; the royal parks; the changing of the guard; the views from Primrose Hill. Paid attractions such as the Tower of London (30 pounds or more) and the London Eye can be skipped or limited to one. A week of careful visiting can cost less than expected.

Units and weather

Britain mixes units: road signs show miles, beer is measured in pints, weather forecasts use Celsius. Convert km to mi turns kilometres into miles, Convert °C to °F gives Fahrenheit, and Convert L to gal relates litres to gallons. A British pint is 568 millilitres.

Other forint conversions

If your trip continues

Travellers who go on to Ireland or the euro area can use Convert HUF to EUR, those who cross the Atlantic Convert HUF to USD, and those who head for the Alps Convert HUF to CHF.

A habit worth keeping

Write down the rate and the date at every exchange, and compare them later with your statement. It takes seconds.

Mistakes to avoid

Forgetting the extras on a cheap flight

A fare of 30 pounds can become 90 with bags and seats. Add everything before you compare.

Paying in forints abroad

A terminal that offers forints is using its own rate. Choose pounds, and your bank applies its own, usually better, rate.

Using an old rate

A rate from last month can be wrong by several per cent. The date shown beside the result protects you each time you Convert HUF to GBP.

In short

The only thing fetched from the network is the table of daily rates, while your amount stays in the browser and no account is needed. From a film studio in Denham to a rented room in Zone 2, the routine is the same: Convert HUF to GBP, read the date and compare every offer with the number on this page.