Budapest – Part 1
The importance of BUDAPEST to Hungary is difficult to overestimate. More than two million people live in the capital – one fifth of the population – and everything converges here: roads and rail lines; air travel; industry, commerce and culture; opportunities, wealth and power. Like Paris, the city has a history of revolutions – in 1849, 1918 and 1956 – buildings, parks and avenues on a monumental scale, and a reputation for hedonism, style and parochial pride. In short, Budapest is a city worthy of comparison with other great European capitals.
Surveying Budapest from the embankments or the bastions of Várhegy (Castle Hill), it’s easy to see why the city was dubbed the “Pearl of the Danube”. Its grand buildings and sweeping bridges look magnificent, especially when floodlit or illuminated by the barrage of fireworks that explode above the Danube every August 20, St Stephen’s Day. The eclectic inner-city and radial boulevards combine brash commercialism with a fin-de-siècle sophistication, while a distinctively Magyar character is highlighted by the sounds and appearance of the Hungarian language at every turn.
Since the end of Communism, Budapest has experienced a new surge of dynamism. Luxury hotels and malls, restaurants, bars and clubs have all proliferated – as have crime and social inequalities. Though many Hungarians fear the erosion of their culture by foreign influences, others see a new golden age for Budapest, as the foremost world-city of Mitteleuropa.
The River Danube – which is never blue – determines basic orientation, with Buda on the hilly west bank and Pest covering the plain across the river. More precisely, Budapest is divided into 23 districts (kerület), designated on maps and street signs by Roman numerals; many quarters also have a historic name. Pest is where you’re likely to spend most of your time, enjoying the streetlife, bars and shops within the Belváros (Inner City), and museums and monuments in the surrounding Lipótváros (likewise part of the V district), Terézváros (VI), Erzsébetváros (VII), Józsefváros (VIII) and Ferencváros (IX), demarcated by two semicircular boulevards – the Kiskörút (Small Boulevard) and the Nagykörút (Great Boulevard) – and radial avenues such as Andrássy út. Across the river in Buda, the focus of attention is the I district, comprising Várhegy and the Víziváros (Watertown); the XI, XII, II and III districts are worth visiting for Gellért-hegy, the Buda Hills, Óbuda and Rómaifürdő.
Some history >
Arrival and information >
City transport >
Accommodation >
Pest >
Vörösmarty tér >
Váci utca >
Szervita tér to Ferenciek tere >
Along the embankment >
Deák tér and Erzsébet tér >
Lipótváros and beyond >
Roosevelt tér >
St Stephen’s Basilica and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út >
Szabadság tér >
The Bedő House and Post Office Savings Bank >
From the Glass House to Vértanuk tér >
Kossuth tér >
Further out >
Terézváros >
Hősök tere and around >
The Városliget >
Erzsébetváros >
Józsefváros >
Ferencváros >
Highlights
Hungarian Railway History Park The chance to ride and even drive a steam train is a big draw for all ages.
Zoo The Art Nouveau animal houses and the chance to feed the camels and giraffes make this a very special zoo.
Jewish quarter Explore the atmospheric neighbourhood behind the Dohány utca Synagogue, the focal point of Budapest’s Jewish community.
Várhegy Laden with bastions, mansions and a huge palace, Castle Hill preserves many medieval features, and a Cold War nuclear bunker.
Turkish baths Experience unrivalled atmosphere and luxury in an original Ottoman bathhouse.
Coffee shops This venerable Central European institution is alive and well in the streets of Pest.
Sziget Festival Frenetic open-air rock and pop festival held in August.
Folk music The swirling tunes of Hungarian folk music are brought to life in the city’s folk clubs.
Music Academy A magnificent showcase for some of the best classical music in the country.
Some history
Though Budapest has formally existed only since 1873 – when the twin cities of Buda and Pest were united in a single municipality, together with the smaller Óbuda – the history of settlement here goes back as far as the second millennium BC. During the first Age of Migrations, the area was settled by waves of peoples, notably Scythians from the Caucasus and Celts from what is now France.
During the first century BC, the Celtic Eravisci tribe was absorbed into Pannonia, a vast province of the Roman Empire. This was subsequently divided into two regions, one of which, Pannonia Inferior, was governed from the garrison town of Aquincum on the west bank of the Danube; ruins of a camp, villas, baths and an amphitheatre can still be seen today.
The Romans withdrew in the fifth century AD to be succeeded by the Huns. Germanic tribes, Lombards, Avars and Slavs all followed each other during the second Age of Migrations, until the arrival of the Magyars in about 896. According to the medieval chronicler, Anonymous, while other tribes spread out across the Carpathian basin, the clan of Árpád settled on Csepel-sziget (Csepel Island), and it was Árpád’s brother, Buda, who purportedly gave his name to the west bank of the new settlement. It was under the Árpád dynasty that Hungary became a Christian state, ruled first from Esztergom and later from Székesfehérvár.
The development of Buda and Pest did not begin in earnest until the twelfth century, and was largely thanks to French, Walloon and German settlers who worked and traded here under royal protection. Both towns were devastated by the Mongols in 1241 and subsequently rebuilt by colonists from Germany, who named Buda “Ofen”, after its numerous limekilns. (The name Pest, which is of Slav origin, also means “oven”.) During the fourteenth century, the Angevin kings from France established Buda as a royal seat, building a succession of palaces on Várhegy. It reached its apogee in Renaissance times under the reign of “Good King” Mátyás (1458–90) and his Italian-born wife, Queen Beatrice, with a golden age of prosperity and a flourishing of the arts.
Hungary’s catastrophic defeat at Mohács in 1526 paved the way for the Turkish occupation of Buda and Pest, which lasted 160 years until a pan-European army besieged Buda Castle for six weeks, finally recapturing it at the twelfth attempt. Under Habsburg rule, with control exerted from Vienna or Bratislava, recovery was followed by a period of intensive growth during the second half of the eighteenth century. In the first decades of the following century, Pest became the centre of the Reform movement led by Count Széchenyi, whose vision of progress was embodied in the construction of the Chain Bridge (Lánchíd), the first permanent link between Buda and Pest, which had hitherto relied on pontoon bridges or barges.
When the Habsburg Empire was shaken by revolutions which broke out across Europe in March 1848, local reformists and radicals seized the moment. While Lajos Kossuth (1802–94) dominated Parliament, Sándor Petőfi (1823–49) and his fellow revolutionaries plotted the downfall of the Habsburgs in the Café Pilvax (which exists today in a sanitized restaurant form in central Pest), from where they mobilized crowds on the streets of Pest. After the War of Independence ended in defeat for the Hungarians, Habsburg repression was epitomized by the hilltop Citadella on Gellért-hegy, built to cow the citizenry with its guns.
Following the Compromise of 1867, which established the Dual Monarchy familiarly known to its subjects as the K & K (from the German for “Emperor and King”), the twin cities underwent rapid expansion and formally merged. Pest was extensively remodelled, acquiring the Nagykörút (Great Boulevard) and Andrássy út, the grand thoroughfare that runs from the Belváros to the Városliget (City Park). Hungary’s millennial anniversary celebrations in 1896 brought a fresh rush of construction, and Hősök tere (Heroes’ Square) and Vajdahunyad Castle at the far end of Andrássy út are just two examples of the monumental style that encapsulated the age. New suburbs were created to house the burgeoning population, which was by now predominantly Magyar, although there were still large German and Jewish communities. At the beginning of the twentieth century the cultural efflorescence in Budapest rivalled that of Vienna and its café society that of Paris – a belle époque doomed by World War I.
In the aftermath of defeat, Budapest experienced the Soviet-ruled Republic of Councils under Béla Kun, and occupation by the Romanian army. The status quo ante was restored by Admiral Horthy, self-appointed regent for the exiled Karl IV – the “Admiral without a fleet, for the king without a kingdom” – whose regency was characterized by gala balls and hunger marches, bombastic nationalism and anti-Semitism. Yet Horthy was a moderate compared to the Arrow Cross Fascists, whose power grew as World War II raged.
Anticipating Horthy’s defection from the Axis in 1944, Nazi Germany staged a coup, installing an Arrow Cross government, which enabled them to begin the massacre of the Jews of Budapest; they also blew up the Danube bridges as a way of hampering the advance of the Red Army. The seven-week-long siege of Budapest reduced Várhegy to rubble and severely damaged much of the rest of the city, making reconstruction the first priority for the postwar coalition government.
As the Communists gained ascendancy, the former Arrow Cross torture chambers filled up once again. A huge statue of the Soviet dictator (whose name was bestowed upon Budapest’s premier boulevard) symbolized the reign of terror carried out by Mátyás Rákosi, Hungary’s “Little Stalin”. However, his liberally inclined successor, Imre Nagy, gave hope to the people, who refused to tolerate a comeback by the hardliners in 1956. In Budapest, peaceful protests turned into a citywide uprising literally overnight: men, women and children defying Soviet tanks on the streets.
After Soviet power had been bloodily restored, János Kádár – initially reviled as a quisling – gradually normalized conditions, embarking on cautious reforms to create a “goulash socialism” that made Hungary the envy of its Warsaw Pact neighbours and the West’s favourite Communist state during the late 1970s. A decade later, the regime saw the writing on the wall and anticipated Gorbachev by promising free elections, hoping to reap public gratitude. Instead – as Communism was toppled in Berlin and Prague – the party was simply voted out of power in Hungary.
While governments have come and gone since the historic election of 1990, Budapest’s administration has remained in the hands of Mayor Gábor Demszky, who is on his fifth term in office at the time of writing. Despite allegations of corruption, he is widely acknowledged to have steered the city forwards without any major upsets, and secured state funding for a fourth metro line, running from Keleti Station in Pest to Étele tér in Buda. Scheduled for completion in 2012 but already over time and budget, its construction seems likely to be the headstone of his career as mayor of one of the great cities of Europe.
Arrival and information
Other than the airport, all points of arrival are fairly central and most within walking distance or just a few stops by metro from downtown Pest. The city’s three metro lines and three main roads meet at the major junction of Deák tér in Pest, making this the main transport hub of the city. Depending on when and where you arrive, it’s definitely worth considering either arranging somewhere to stay before leaving the terminal or station (there are reservation services at all of them), or stashing your luggage before setting out to look for a room. For all departure information, see the relevant sections of “Listings”, at the end of this section.
Budapest addresses
Finding your way around Budapest is easier than the welter of names might suggest. Districts and streets are well signposted, and those in Pest conform to an overall plan based on radial avenues and semicircular boulevards.
Budapest addresses begin with the number of the district – for example, V, Petőfi tér 3 – a system used throughout this section. When addressing letters, however, a four-digit postal code is used instead, the middle digits indicating the district (so that 1054 refers to a place in the V district).
As a rule of thumb, street numbers ascend away from the north–south axis of the River Danube and the east–west axis of Rákóczi út/Kossuth utca/Hegyalja út. Even numbers are generally on the left-hand side, odd numbers on the right. One number may refer to several premises or an entire apartment building, while an additional combination of numerals denotes the floor and number of individual apartments (eg Kossuth utca 14.III.24). Confusingly, some old buildings in Pest are designated as having a half-floor (félemelet) or upper ground floor (magas földszint) between the ground (földszint) and first floor (elsőemelet) proper – so that what the British would call the second floor, and Americans the third, Hungarians might describe as the first. This stems from a nineteenth-century taxation fiddle, whereby landlords avoided the higher tax on buildings with more than three floors.
By air
Ferihegy Airport, 20km southeast of the centre, has three passenger terminals. Ferihegy 1, which is closest to the city, serves as the terminal for no-frills airlines. Ferihegy 2A and 2B are on the other side of the airport, ten minutes’ drive further out: 2A serves countries covered by the Schengen agreement (including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden), while Ferihegy 2B covers the rest of the world (the UK, US, Romania, etc). Terminal 1 handles both Schengen and non-Schengen traffic. The easiest and most expensive option for heading into the centre is the airport taxi, Zóna taxi, which charges a fixed fee to different zones (you’ll pay around 5300Ft or €25 to the centre), and also offers return fares. Alternatively, Ferihegy’s Tourinform offices (daily 8am–11pm) can help with booking an ordinary city cab for around 5000Ft. A cheaper option is the Airport Shuttle minibus (1/296-8555, www.airportshuttle.hu), which will take you directly to any address in the city. Tickets (2990Ft single, 4990Ft return; discounts available for groups of two or more) can be bought in the luggage claim hall or in the main concourse; you give the address you’re heading to and then wait five to twenty minutes until the driver calls your destination.
Public transport might be more inconvenient but it’s not much slower, and it’s certainly cheaper. Bus #200E departs every fifteen minutes from the stop between terminals 2A and 2B via terminal 1 to Kőbánya-Kispest metro station; from here, you can switch to the blue metro line to get to the centre. Total journey time is about thirty minutes from terminal 1 and 45 minutes from 2A and 2B, and both bus and metro tickets costs 290Ft each if bought from the newsagents in the terminals or from the machine by the bus stop. Buying a bus ticket from the driver on board costs 400Ft.
The quickest and cheapest route into the centre is to catch a mainline train from the station across the road from Ferihegy 1, which takes you to Nyugati Station for a mere 300Ft (discounts with Budapest Card); journey time is 22 minutes and trains leave every half hour; you buy tickets at the Tourinform desk inside the terminal building. Catching the train from Nyugati to the airport you can get tickets from the ticket offices by platform 13 – ask for tickets to Ferihegy. Trains to the airport are flagged on the departure board and leave on the hour and 35 past the hour. Ferihegy is the stop after Kőbánya-Kispest, and is very poorly signed.
By train
The Hungarian word pályaudvar (abbreviated “pu.” in writing) is used to designate a train station. Of the six in Budapest, only three are important for tourists, but note that their names, which are sometimes translated into English, refer to the direction of services handled rather than their location so that Western Station (Nyugati pu.) is north of downtown Pest, and Southern Station (Déli pu.) is in the west of the city; Eastern Station (Keleti pu.), however, is to the east of the city centre.
Most international trains terminate at Pest’s Keleti Station, on Baross tér in the VIII district. It’s something of a hangout for thieves and hustlers, and there are plenty of police about checking people’s ID. There are usually plenty of touts offering accommodation as international trains arrive. The most reliable of several hostel-booking agencies here is Mellow Mood, whose office is to the right of the big glass doorways at the end of the station. It also organizes transport to its hostels, and should be able to offer other city information, too. Otherwise, head for the Tourinform office at Deák tér. In summer there are long queues at the 24-hour left-luggage office by platform 6 (300Ft or 600Ft for 24hr depending on bag size, half that amount for 6hr).
On the northern edge of Pest’s Great Boulevard, Nyugati Station has a 24-hour left-luggage office (same prices as at Keleti) next to the ticket office beside platform 13, but has no tourist office. To reach Deák tér, take the blue metro line two stops in the direction of Kőbánya-Kispest.
Déli Station, 500m behind the Vár in Buda, which has left-luggage facilities (same prices as at Keleti) but no tourist office, is four stops from Deák tér on the red metro line.
By bus
International buses and services from the Great Plain and Transdanubia terminate at the Népliget Bus Station, 5km southeast of the centre at Üllői út 131 in the IX district. Adjacent to Népliget train station, the bus station is six stops from Deák tér on the blue metro line. The station staff should be able to help you order a regular taxi, which will cost around 2000Ft to the centre – there is no fixed tariff for the ride from here.
The Árpád híd Bus Station in the XIII district (on the blue metro line) is the jumping-off point for buses to and from Szentendre and the Danube Bend; the Stadion Bus Station in the XIV district (on the red metro line) serves the Northern Uplands and the Etele tér Bus Station in the XI district (take buses #7 or #7E to the centre) serves the Buda hinterland. None of the city’s bus stations has any tourist facilities.
By hydrofoil
Hydrofoils from Vienna dock at the international landing stage, on the Belgrád rakpart (embankment), near downtown Pest. They operate from April to October and are run by Mahart (1/484-4010 or 4050, www.mahartpassnave.hu).
Information, maps and tours
Leaving aside the business of finding accommodation, the best source of tourist information in Budapest is Tourinform (www.tourinform.hu), the National Tourist Office. The most central office at V, Sütő utca 2, just around the corner from Deák tér metro (daily 8am–8pm; 1/438-8080), has multilingual staff who can answer just about any question on Budapest or Hungary in general. However, it is often packed and the staff overstretched, so you might get more attention at the privately run Yellow Zebra, inside the courtyard just behind the Tourinform office (daily 9.30am–6.30pm; 1/266-8777, www.discoverhungary.com). The same people run another office, Discover Budapest, behind the Opera House at Lázár utca 16 (Mon–Fri 9.30am–6.30pm, Sat–Sun 10am–4pm; 1/269-3843, www.discoverbudapest.com). Alternatively, head for the Tourinform offices at VI, Liszt Ferenc tér 11 (daily: May–Sept 10am–10pm; Oct–April 10am–6pm; 1/322-4098); and in Várhegy on Szentháromság tér (daily 8am–8pm; 1/488-0475), which are both run by the Budapest Tourism Office (www.budapestinfo.hu). There are also Tourinform offices in all three airport terminals.
It’s a good idea to get hold of a proper map of the city at the earliest opportunity. The small freebies supplied by tourist offices give an idea of Budapest’s layout and principal monuments, but lack detail. Larger, folding maps are sold all over the place, but their size makes them cumbersome. For total coverage you can’t beat the wirebound Budapest Atlasz, available in different sizes in bookshops, which shows every street, bus and tram route, and the location of restaurants, museums and suchlike.
There are several sources of English-language listings information: the free fortnightly Budapest Funzine, distributed in cafés and bars, is aimed at the expat market and has good background information on events, as well as listings for the art-house cinemas; the weekly Budapest Sun, which costs 399Ft at newsstands but can also be found in hotel lobbies, has a more comprehensive set of film listings in English; and the free monthly Where Budapest (available in hotels) has information on current events. The Hungarian-language listings bible, the weekly freebie Pesti Est, has extensive details of film and music events, and sometimes has an English section in the summer – it is widely available in bars.
If you’re hard-pressed for time, you might appreciate a two- to three-hour city bus tour. These generally take you past the Parliament, along Andrássy út, across to the Várhegy and up to Gellért-hegy for panoramic photo opportunities. Of the many on offer, Ibusz runs three-hour trips for 6000Ft, and for 9200Ft will add on a visit to the Parliament building; tickets are sold at V, Ferenciek tere 10, in the centre (or online at www.ibusz.hu). Buda Tours (1/374-7070, www.budatours.hu) has a two-hour tour for 4000Ft, and in summer uses open-top buses; you buy tickets at VI, Andrássy út 2.
For a range of walking tours, including some which take in less obvious attractions such as Communist Budapest or the city’s bars, try the Yellow Zebra or Discover Budapest offices. Prices for three-and-a-half-hour tours go from 4000Ft (www.absolutetours.com). The same office handles bike tours (www.yellowzebrabikes.com), and tours on strange-looking two-wheel segways (www.citysegwaytours.com). All tours cost 4000–5000Ft – you need to book ahead only for the segway trips.
See also information on being guided round the old Jewish area behind the Dohány utca synagogue.
The Budapest Card
If you’re doing a lot of sightseeing, you might be tempted to buy a Budapest Card. For 6500Ft (48hr) or 8000Ft (72hr), it covers travel in most of the city, entry to over sixty museums, and affords discounts of up to fifty percent in some shops and restaurants as well as on some sightseeing programmes and cultural and folklore events. The card is available from tourist offices, hotels, central metro stations and at the airport, and comes with a booklet explaining where it can be used. Note that it’s not valid for the Airport Shuttle minibus, the funicular that goes up to the castle or for tours of Parliament, but as most museums in Budapest now charge admission, it can represent good value. You can find more information on www.budapestinfo.hu/en.
City transport
Most of Budapest’s backstreets and historic quarters are eminently suited to walking – and this is much the best way to appreciate their character. Traffic is restricted in downtown Pest and around Várhegy in Buda, and fairly light in the residential backstreets off the main boulevards, which are the nicest areas to wander around. (Pedestrians should be cautious of both car drivers and cyclists, who will rather swerve around you than stop.)
The city’s metro trains, buses and trams reach most areas of interest to tourists, while the outer suburbs are well served by the overground HÉV rail network. Services operate generally between 5am and 11pm, and there are also night-time buses covering much of the city. Locals will tell you that standards are falling, and more cuts in services are certainly expected, but public transport is still efficient and covers most of the city.
There’s a whole array of tickets available for use on public transport, but since validating your ticket can be complex and is easy to forget, it’s best to get a travel pass if you’re staying for more than half a day.
Tickets and passes
Standard single tickets valid for the metro, buses, trams, trolleybuses, the Cogwheel Railway and suburban HÉV lines (up to the edge of the city) cost 290Ft per journey and are sold at metro stations, newspaper kiosks and tobacconists. Metro tickets also come in a variety of other types, depending on whether you are changing trains and how many stops you want to go: a metro section ticket (240Ft) takes you three stops on the same line; a metro transfer ticket (450Ft) is valid for as many stops as you like with one line change. Tickets bought on board buses and trolleybuses (helyszini vonaljegy) cost 400Ft.
The standard single ticket is not valid on night buses: you have to buy a 400Ft helyszini vonaljegy separately – on board or from a ticket machine – unless you have a day or weekly pass (see below). Books of ten standard single tickets (tíz-darabos gyüjtőjegy – 2600Ft) are also available – these are still valid if torn out of the book but cannot be used on night services.
Tickets must be validated when you use them. On the metro and HÉV you punch them in the machines at station entrances (remember to validate a new ticket if you change lines, unless you have a metro transfer ticket); on trams, buses and trolleybuses, you punch the tickets on board in the small red or orange machines.
Day passes (napijegy) cost 1500Ft and are valid for unlimited travel from midnight to midnight on the metro, buses, trams, trolleybuses, the Cogwheel Railway and suburban HÉV lines; three-day passes (turistajegy) cost 3700Ft and weekly passes 4400Ft. Season tickets cost 5950Ft for two weeks and 9000Ft for a month, and are available from metro stations, but you’ll need a passport photo for the accompanying photocard; there are photo booths inside the entrance of Deák tér and Moszkva tér stations.
Children up to the age of 6 travel free on all public transport. EU citizens over the age of 65 also travel free, but must show proof of age if challenged by inspectors. See Travellers with disabilities for information on disabled access.
Bear in mind that there are active pickpocket battalions on the metro (especially the yellow line) and on the city buses and trams. Gangs distract their victims by pushing them or blocking their way, and empty their pockets or bags at the same time. Also beware of bogus ticket inspectors “working” the transport system and demanding money from passengers. Genuine inspectors wear blue armbands saying jegyellenőr, and usually work in twos or threes.
Just the ticket
It’s worth bearing in mind that ticket regulations on Budapest’s public transport are subject to regular changes, and the myriad rules make it easy to catch foreigners out – many readers have complained about the treatment meted out by inspectors who can be unpleasant and tend to be strict in levying 6000Ft fines for travelling without a valid ticket. If you feel you’ve been fined unfairly you can try taking your complaint to the office at Akácfa utca 18 (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Wed open till 6pm). You can find the latest information on tickets – and any changes in the ticket systems and prices – on the website of the Budapest Transport Company (BKV; www.bkv.hu).
The metro
The Budapest metro has three lines, usually referred to by their colour; they intersect at Deák tér in downtown Pest. From nearby Vörösmarty tér, the yellow line (line 1) runs out beneath Andrássy út to Mexikói út, beyond the Városliget. The red line (line 2) connects Déli Station in Buda with Keleti Station and Örs vezér tere in Pest; and the blue line (line 3) describes an arc from Kőbánya-Kispest to Újpest-Központ, via Ferenciek tere and Nyugati Station. A fourth line is under construction between Keleti Station and Etele tér: its completion is scheduled for 2012, but few expect it to be ready in time. Trains run at two- to twelve-minute intervals. There’s little risk of going astray once you’ve learned to recognize the signs bejárat (entrance), kijárat (exit), vonal (line) and felé (towards). The train’s direction is indicated by the name of the station at the end of the line, and drivers announce the next stop between stations.
Buses, trams and trolleybuses
There is a good bus (autóbusz) network across the city, especially in Buda, where Moszkva tér (on the red metro line) and Móricz Zsigmond körtér (southwest of Gellért-hegy) are the main terminals. Bus stops are marked by a picture of a bus on a white background in a blue frame, and have timetables underneath; most buses run every ten to twenty minutes (utolsó kocsi indul … means “the last one leaves …”). On busier lines express buses – with an E at the end of the number – run along the same route making fewer stops: for example, the bus #7E that runs along most of the route of the #7. Night buses have three-digit numbers beginning with a 9 and run every hour or half-hour from around midnight or whenever the service they replace finishes: so the #906 follows the route of the #6 tram on the Nagykörút from 12.30am, when the tram stops, until 4.15am.
The network of yellow (or the newer orange) trams (villamos) is smaller, but provides a crucial service round the Nagykörút and along the Pest embankment. Trolleybuses (trolibusz) mostly operate northeast of the centre near the Városliget. Interestingly, their route numbers start at 70 because the first trolleybus line was inaugurated on Stalin’s 70th birthday in 1949. Trolleybus #83 was started in 1961, when Stalin would have been 83.
To get off buses, trams and trolleybuses, press the button above the door or on the handrail next to it before the bus reaches the stop, which alerts the driver. On a very few trams, such as #2, you may have to press the button next to the doors to open them.
Most new buses, trams and trolleybuses have dot displays that tell you the name of the next stop, and the driver may also mumble it.
Useful bus, tram and trolleybus routes
Buses
#7 Bosnyák tér–Keleti Station–Móricz Zsigmond körtér (via Rákóczi út, Ferenciek tere, Gellért Hotel, Rudas Baths).
#16A Moszkva tér–Dísz tér (Castle District).
#16 Erzsébet tér–Dísz tér (Castle District)–Bécsi kapu tér–Moszkva tér.
#26 Nyugati Station–Szent István körút–Margit-sziget–Árpád híd metro station.
#27 Móricz Zsigmond körtér–Gellért-hegy.
#65 Kolosy tér–Pálvölgyi Caves–Fenyőgyöngye restaurant at the bottom of Hármashatár-hegy.
#86 Southern Buda–Gellért tér–the Víziváros–Flórián tér (Óbuda).
#105 Apor Vilmos tér–Lanchíd–Deák tér–Gyöngyösi utca.
#116 Fény utca market–Moszkva tér–Dísz tér (Castle District).
Night buses
#906 Moszkva tér–Margit-sziget–Nyugati Station–Great Boulevard–Móricz Zsigmond körtér.
#907 Örs vezér tere–Bosnyák tér–Keleti Station–Erzsébet híd–Etele tér (Kelenföld).
#914 and #950 Kispest (Határ út metro station)–Deák tér–Lehel tér–Újpest, along the route of the blue metro and on to the north and south.
Trams
#2 Margit Bridge–Petőfi híd (along embankment)–Közvágóhíd HÉV station.
#4 Moszkva tér–Margit-sziget–Nyugati Station–Nagykörut–Petőfi Bridge–Október 23 utca.
#6 Moszkva tér–Margit-sziget–Nyugati Station–Great Boulevard–Petőfi híd–Móricz Zsigmond körtér.
#19-41V Batthyány tér–Víziváros–Szent Gellért tér.
#47 Deák tér–Szabadság híd–Gellért Hotel–Móricz Zsigmond körtér–Budafok.
#49 Deák tér–Szabadság híd–Gellért Hotel–Móricz Zsigmond körtér–Etele tér bus station and Kelenföld train station.
#61 Móricz Zsigmond körtér–Villányi út–Moszkva tér–Hűvősvölgy.
Trolleybuses
#72 Arany János utca metro station–Nyugati Station–Zoo–Széchenyi Baths–Petőfi Csarnok–Thököly út.
#74 Dohány utca (outside the Main Synagogue)–Városliget.
HÉV trains
The green overground HÉV trains provide easy access to Budapest’s suburbs, running at least four times an hour between 6.30am and 11pm. As far as tourists are concerned, the most useful line is the one from Batthyány tér (on the red metro line) out to Szentendre, which passes through Óbuda, Aquincum and Rómaifürdő. The other lines originate in Pest, with one running northeast from Örs vezér tere (also on the red metro line) to Gödöllő via the Formula One racing track at Mogyoród; another southwards from Boráros tér at the Pest end of Petőfi híd to Csepel; and the third from Közvagóhíd (bus #23 or #54 from Boráros tér) to Ráckeve.
Ferries and other options
Although ferries play little useful part in Budapest’s transport system, they do offer an enjoyable ride. From May to September there are boats along the Danube between Boráros tér (by Petőfi híd) and Batthyány tér up to Jászai Mari tér and Rómaifürdő. These run every fifteen to thirty minutes between 7am and 7pm, and cost between 200Ft (for journeys from Pest across to the Margit-sziget) and 600Ft. Ferry tickets can be obtained from kiosks (where timetables are posted) or machines at the docks. Mahart (1/484-4013, www.mahartpassnave.hu), whose office is across the dangerously busy quayside road from Vigadó tér, also operates boats to Szentendre and the Danube Bend, and, along with other companies such as Legenda (1/317-2203, www.legenda.hu), runs sightseeing trips from the piers between Vigadó tér and Erzsébet híd.
In the Buda Hills, there’s also the Cogwheel Railway (Fogaskerekűvasút, now officially designated as tram #60), the Children’s Railway (Gyermekvasút), and the chairlift (libegő) between Zugliget and János-hegy. Note that BKV tickets and passes are valid only for the Cogwheel Railway – for the others, you’ll need to buy tickets at the point of departure or on board. Details for all of these are given under Tickets and passes.
Taxis
Budapest’s registered taxis are cheap and plentiful, and are recognizable by their yellow number plates; make sure your taxi has a meter that is visible and switched on when you get in, and that the rates are clearly displayed. Fares begin at 300Ft, and the price per kilometre is around 250Ft.
Taxis can be flagged down on the street, and there are ranks throughout the city; you can hop into whichever cab you choose – don’t feel you have to opt for the one at the front of the line if it looks at all dodgy. For a cheaper rate, order a cab by phone. The best companies are the established ones: Citytaxi (1/211-1111, www.citytaxi.hu), whose cars have yellow shield logos; Főtaxi (1/222-2222), with a red-and-white chequerboard and oval lights on its car roofs; Tele-5-taxi (1/355-5555); and Volántaxi (1/466-6666); the first two are the most likely to have English-speaking dispatchers.
Foreigners are easy prey for rogue taxi drivers, so avoid unmarked private cars, and drivers hanging around the stations and airport. There are also a few fake Fő- and Citytaxis, sporting poor copies of their logos.
Driving
All things considered, driving in Budapest can’t be recommended. Road manners are nonexistent, parking spaces are scarce and traffic jams are frequent, while the Pest side of the Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) and the roundabout before the tunnel under Várhegy are notorious for collisions – and careering trams, bumpy cobbles, swerving lane markings and unexpected one-way systems make things worse. In addition, access to the Castle District and parts of the Belváros are strictly limited.
In terms of parking, you might be better off leaving your car outside the centre and using public transport to travel in – there are park-and-ride facilities at most metro termini. If you must park in the centre, the best options are the underground car parks in Szent Istvan tér by the Basilica and underneath Szabadsag tér, both in Lipótváros. Parking on the street in the central districts costs 120–440Ft – you get a ticket from the nearest machine.
Cycling
Cycling is finally catching on in Budapest – cyclist numbers have risen sharply and cycle lanes are slowly appearing. It isn’t easy riding: drivers are only beginning to be aware of cyclists and you also have to contend with sunken tram lines, bumpy cobbles and bad air pollution. Bikes are banned from the major thoroughfares and the cycle routes are still patchy – they don’t link up to form a network yet. However, there are good routes out of town, such as along the Buda bank of the Danube to Szentendre and on up towards Slovakia. Tourinform has free cycling maps of Budapest. Bicycles can be carried on HÉV trains and the Cogwheel Railway for the price of a single ticket, but not on buses or trams.
Several places offer bike rental: try the friendly Bikebase, near Nyugati Station at VI, Podmaniczky utca 19 (moves to no.15 in winter; 1/269-5983, www.bikebase.hu; daily 9am–7pm); Yellow Zebra, V, Sütő utca 2, in a courtyard behind the main Tourinform office (1/266-8777, www.yellowzebrabikes.com; daily 9.30am–6.30pm), which also offers city cycling tours; or Budapest Bike at Szóda bar, VII, Wesselényi utca 18 (06-30/944-5533, www.budapestbike.hu; daily 9am–midnight), which also organizes bike tours and rents mopeds. Bike shops that do repairs include Nella Bikes, off Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út at V, Kálmán Imre utca 23 (1/331-3184, www.nella.hu); and the Bike Store, VI, Nagymező utca 43 (1/312-5073).
Accommodation
Budapest’s accommodation has improved markedly in terms of availability, so much so that the surplus of rooms has eased the get-rich-quick price hikes that once afflicted the city. Rooms are most in demand at Christmas, New Year, the Spring Festival in March/April and the Grand Prix in August, when rates are marked up as much as twenty percent in some hotels. Even so, it should always be possible to find somewhere that’s reasonably priced, if not well situated. Out of season, you can find excellent deals at many top hotels.
Budget travellers will find most hotels and pensions expensive even during low season (Nov–March, excluding New Year). The best alternative is a self-contained studio flat or apartment – especially for family groups. These have become more available in recent years, while the old cheap standby of a private room in a flat is getting very hard to find.
Hostels vary in price: some represent the cheapest accommodation in the city, while others are more expensive than private rooms. Another inexpensive option is campsites, where tent space can usually be found, even if all the bungalows, which some have, are taken.
Hotels and pensions
New hotels have been opening all over the city, and in every price category, with the more select boutique hotels such as Lánchíd 19 and Zara offering a welcome touch of refinement. In this city of baths it is no surprise that several of the big hotels offer spa packages: the Gellért and the Margít-sziget hotels were built next to springs, while other five-star hotels in the centre have spa complexes. Hotels fill up quickly so it’s best to book before leaving home or, failing that, on arrival through an agency or any airport tourist office. Hotel star ratings give a fair idea of standards, though facilities at some of the older three-star places don’t compare with their Western equivalents, even if prices are similar. Almost all hotels vary their prices according to season – the price codes given below are what you can expect to pay in high season (but not Grand Prix prices). The city’s pensions are slightly cheaper but offer a more personal service, and don’t fall far short of small hotels in the facilities they offer.
Pest
Staying in Pest offers the greatest choice of hotels, and more in the way of restaurants and nightlife, but traffic noise and fumes are quite bad. Most of the outlying locations are easily accessible by metro. The prime spots are along the riverbank with views across to the Royal Palace, although all the prewar grand hotels were destroyed during the war, and their replacements don’t quite have the same elegance. The more expensive places tend to be in the downtown area, with prices generally – though not always – falling as you go further out. Moving out of the centre, more hotels are grouped around the Nagykörút, the larger ring road, and the City Park.
Downtown
For locations, see the map of Downtown Pest.
Anna VIII, Gyulai Pál utca 14 1/327-2000, www.annahotel.hu. Located in a quiet road and with off-street parking, this hotel offers 42 small, fairly basic rooms – twin beds only – with TV and shower. Some rooms have a/c, and there are also apartments with double beds and baths. €101/26,001Ft and over
Hotel Art (Best Western) V, Királyi Pál utca 12 1/266-2166, www.bwhotelart.hu. A small hotel in a quiet backstreet. Rooms are quite cramped, but have a/c, minibar, phone and TV, and there’s a sauna, fitness room and laundry service. €101/26,001Ft and over
Astoria V, Kossuth utca 19 1/889-6000, www.danubiushotels.com/astoria. Four-star vintage hotel which has given its name to the major junction in central Pest on which it’s located. The good-sized rooms have a sofa, safe, minibar, phone and TV; half have baths while the rest have showers, and there are smoking and non-smoking floors. The hotel’s Mirror restaurant has an excellent reputation and the coffee house is a popular meeting point. €101/26,001Ft and over
Four Seasons V, Roosevelt tér 5–6 1/268-6000, www.fourseasons.com/budapest. A magnificent restoration of this Budapest landmark has produced a new level of luxury in the city; the rooms have Art Nouveau-style fittings (even down to the beautiful radiators) and are excellently equipped; those overlooking the Danube naturally have the best aspect. Both the restaurants are excellent – the kávéház is slightly cheaper than the Páva but still a very good option – and the service throughout the hotel is superlative. Underground garage. €101/26,001Ft and over
Kempinski Corvinus V, Erzsébet tér 7–8 1/429-3777, www.kempinski-budapest.com. A flashy five-star establishment on the edge of the Belváros, which counts Madonna and Lewis Hamilton amongst its past guests. Tastefully furnished rooms offer every luxury, right down to a phone extension in the bathroom. Swimming pool, sauna, solarium, fitness room and underground garage, and wi-fi throughout. €101/26,001Ft and over
K&K Opera VI, Révay utca 24 1/269-0222, www.kkhotels.com. Smart, modern and fully a/c four-star hotel right by the Opera House, with underground parking. Its 206 rooms – all with minibar, TV, safe and phone – have been recently refurbished, and around half have baths, the others showers. €101/26,001Ft and over
King’s Hotel VII, Nagy Diófa utca 25–27 1/352-7675, www.kingshotel.hu. Its location in the old Jewish ghetto and its kosher restaurant next door makes the King’s popular with Jewish visitors. It has 79 rooms with one to four beds, all a/c with fridge, safe and internet access. No-smoking rooms available. You have to pay in advance for Sabbath meals. €86–100/22,501–26,000Ft
Le Méridien V, Erzsébet tér 9–10 1/429-5500, www.lemeridien-budapest.com. Originally built for the Adria insurance company at the turn of the twentieth century, this building housed the police headquarters in the Communist years until it was totally gutted and reopened as a luxury hotel in 2000 – a welcome rival for the Kempinski next door. It’s magnificently furnished throughout, and the well-equipped rooms are perhaps the most tasteful in the city. Parking and swimming pool. €101/26,001Ft and over
Mercure Museum VIII, Trefort utca 2 1/485-1080, www.mercure-museum.hu. Having established itself in an imaginatively transformed Pest apartment block on a quiet street behind the National Museum, the Mercure has now expanded into the next-door block and has 104 rooms. The new half is sleek and modern in design, but the older part has more appeal, set around a glass-roofed courtyard. This is the old breakfast/restaurant area – more pleasant than the new one. Rooms are small but well equipped, with en-suite bathrooms, hairdryer, satellite TV and minibar. Off-street parking available, and wi-fi throughout. €101/26,001Ft and over
Pest VI, Paulay Ede utca 31 1/343-1198, www.hotelpest.hu. Pleasant hotel in an old Pest apartment block – the bared walls in the bar area and foyer reveal its eighteenth-century origins – and it’s well situated in a small street across Andrássy út from the Opera House. Its 25 good-size rooms have a/c and TV, and a bath or shower. Breakfast is in the glass-covered courtyard. €101/26,001Ft and over
Starlight Suiten V, Mérleg utca 6 1/484-3700, www.starlighthotels.com. Good-value hotel, given its location near the Lánchíd (right behind the Four Seasons), with 54 spacious smoking and non-smoking suites. The rooms are very simply furnished but are large and well equipped: each has a kitchenette with a microwave, two televisions (one in each room), a sofa and a writing desk. There is wi-fi access throughout, and services include a sauna, steam bath and fitness rooms. €101/26,001Ft and over
Zara Boutique V, Só utca 6 1/577-0700, www.zarahotels.com. New four-star boutique hotel off the bottom of Váci utca close to the Main Market Hall. Its 74 rooms are very pleasingly furnished with smart, dark furniture set against light walls, and are well equipped. All have showers, and you can ask for double or twin beds. Wi-fi in the lobby. €101/26,001Ft and over
Around the Nagykörút
Béke Radisson VI, Teréz körút 43 1/889-3900, www.danubiushotels.com/beke. See map of Budapest. Large vintage hotel in a handy location on the Nagykörút near Nyugati Station. Its facilities include a sauna, pool, business centre, underground garage and a good café on the ground floor. The 239 rooms have four-star facilities, including a/c, minibar, TV and safe. €101/26,001Ft and over
Corinthia Grand Royal VII, Erzsébet körút 43–49 1/479-4000, www.corinthiahotels.com. See map of Downtown Pest. Pleasant new five-star place on the main boulevard, with over 400 comfortable rooms and two good restaurants. This was once one of the grand prewar hotels, but for forty years the building was used as offices, while the ballroom acted as the very grand Red Star cinema. The rebuilding – only the facade is original, as you discover when you tap on the grand pillars in the foyer – has been beautifully executed, using original drawings; even the gorgeous ballroom is totally reconstructed (except for the chandeliers). The hotel has its own luxury spa complex at the back, dating from 1886. €101/26,001Ft and over
easyHotel VI, Eötvös utca 25/a 1/411-1982, Bookings by internet only: www.easyhotel.com. See map of Budapest. The Easy empire has reached Budapest, bringing the same approach to this brand-new place near Oktogon as it uses on easyJet, where cheapness and simplicity rule. The a/c rooms are all no-smoking and have one bright orange wall. They come in two sizes: small (7–9 square metres, enough room for a bed and your bag, as long as it’s not too big); and standard, which has slightly more space and even a couple of hooks. The en-suite shower/toilet has the feel of an airplane cubicle. In Easy fashion you pay extra for TV and internet access. There are two rooms with disabled access – and much more room – on the ground floor. Rooms start at €15, according to demand, but are usually €60–70. €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft
Medosz Hotel VI, Jókai tér 9 1/374-3001, www.medoszhotel.hu. See map of Downtown Pest. Near Oktogon, this friendly hotel was a trade union hostel until 1989. Not much has changed – it’s still an unappealing modern block from the outside, and the small rooms have the simple bathrooms and basic institutional furniture that resonates with Communist Hungary nostalgia – but the location, good prices and helpful staff make it a popular choice. Rooms have TV and twin beds – some have the two beds end to end so ask if you want yours next to each other. €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft
Beyond the Nagykörút
For locations, see the map of Budapest.
Andrássy VI, Andrássy út 111 1/462-2100, www.andrassyhotel.com. Housed in a fine Bauhaus building near the Városliget, the Andrássy offers five-star accommodation without the corporate feel. Most double rooms have balconies, baths and all mod cons, including safes big enough for your laptop, though the smaller Classic rooms have power showers and no balcony. Try for one away from Andrássy út, which is a busy thoroughfare. The Baraka restaurant has a good reputation, and the hotel has wi-fi access throughout and easy access to the Belváros. €101/26,001Ft and over
Benczúr Hotel VI, Benczúr utca 35 1/479-5650, www.hotelbenczur.hu. Large, modern and functional hotel on a leafy street off Andrássy út, with a nice garden at the back and parking in the yard (850Ft extra). The 60 “superior” doubles in one wing are all no-smoking and come with shower, TV and a/c, while the slightly cheaper “standard” ones that make up the other wing have fewer frills but do have baths – and are divided into smoking and non-smoking rooms. There are also some apartments for families. The hotel website says that Pope John Paul II was a guest, but don’t ask to stay in the same room – he didn’t sleep here. €86–100/22,501–26,000Ft
Délibáb VI, Délibáb utca 35 1/342-9301, www.hoteldelibab.com. The Délibáb stands right on Hősök tere, within walking distance of the sights on Andrássy út and the City Park, and has excellent transport links too. Its rooms are simply furnished but pleasant: most are no-smoking, some have balconies, but none has a/c. Best to avoid the rooms looking towards the park over the busy Dózsa György út. €71–85/18,501–22,500Ft
Radio Inn VI, Benczúr utca 19 1/342-8347, www.radioinn.hu. Spacious, simply furnished smoking and non-smoking apartments complete with a living room, TV, big twin beds and a small kitchen with two electric rings; no a/c, however. Situated in a leafy street by the Chinese and Vietnamese embassies, with a pleasant garden. €71–85/18,501–22,500Ft
Margit-sziget
Margit-sziget’s two hotels cater for wealthy tourists who come for the seclusion and fresh air – and for the thermal springs that made this a fashionable spa resort around the turn of the twentieth century.
Danubius Grand and Danubius Health Spa Resort Margitsziget XIII, Margit-sziget 1/889-4700, www.danubiushotels.com/grandhotel, www.danubiushotels.com/thermalhotel. See map of Budapest. Both hotels are at the northern end of the island and provide a very wide range of spa facilities from mud spas to massages, as well as medical and cosmetic services from pedicures to plastic surgery, and have wi-fi access (for a fee). Rates include access to the thermal baths, pool, sauna, gym and other facilities. The Grand is the island’s original, fin-de-siècle spa hotel; rooms here have balconies and high ceilings, and have been totally refurbished, with period furniture. The Health Spa is the big modern one, with balconies offering views over the island. €101/26,001Ft and over
Buda
Buda has fewer hotels than Pest, with less choice in the mid-range in particular, though there are some cheaper places in the northern suburbs. Broadly speaking, Buda’s hotels are in three main areas: the historic but expensive Várhegy and Víziváros; the Tabán and Gellért-hegy, which gets cheaper as you move away from the river; and the Buda Hills, within easy reach of Moszkva tér.
Várhegy and the Víziváros
For locations, see the map of Várhegy
Art’otel I, Bem rakpart 16–19 1/487-9487, www.artotel.hu. This boutique hotel combines eighteenth-century buildings – comprising beautiful, spacious rooms with original doors and high ceilings – with a modern wing overlooking the river, offering marvellous views. Rooms are well equipped (bright red dressing gowns are among the items provided). There’s a wi-fi network all round the hotel, and the business centre offers internet use. €101/26,001Ft and over
Astra I, Vám utca 6 1/214-1906, www.hotelastra.hu. Small hotel in a converted 300-year-old building at the foot of the Castle District near Batthyány tér. Twelve well-furnished rooms (including three apartments) with minibar and a/c. €101/26,001Ft and over
Burg I, Szentháromság tér 7 1/212-0269, www.burghotelbudapest.com. Modern, small hotel right in the middle of the Castle District, opposite the Mátyás Church. The recently renovated rooms are all no-smoking, have en-suite bathrooms, a/c, minibar, safe and TV. Wi-fi throughout. €101/26,001Ft and over
Hilton Budapest I, Hess András tér 1–3 1/889-6600, www.danubiushotels.com/hilton. By the Mátyás Church, with superb views across the river, this hotel incorporates the remains of a medieval monastery and hosts summertime concerts in the former church. Luxurious to a fault. Wi-fi all over, and smoking and non-smoking floors. Excellent special offers available. €101/26,001Ft and over
Kulturinnov I, Szentháromság tér 6 1/224-8102, www.mka.hu. Well positioned for sightseeing in a large neo-Gothic building right by the Mátyás Church, and on the first floor of the Hungarian Cultural Foundation, which hosts cultural events, concerts and exhibitions. The quiet and spacious rooms have a minibar. Some rooms have a TV, and about half have a/c – but the thick walls offer some protection against the heat. Wi-fi throughout. Breakfast included. €71–85/18,501–22,500Ft
Lánchíd 19 I, Lánchíd utca 19 1/419-1900, www.lanchid19hotel.hu. The Hungarian debut of the worldwide Design hotel chain lies just below the Royal Palace, close to the Chain Bridge. Its award-winning design – all the work of local architects and artists – includes such features as an exterior facade of moving panels, as well as stylish lobby furniture and glass walkways leading to the 45 well-equipped rooms, which have striking bathrooms and individual decor themed on a wedding, a film or the like. Wi-fi throughout. €101/26,001Ft and over
St George Residence I, Fortuna utca 4 01/393-5700, www.stgeorgehotel.hu. Variously a medieval inn, art school and law court, this fabulous building has been immaculately restored to become one of the city’s most characterful hotels; the 26 sumptuously decorated suites, all furnished in Grand Empire-style, are priced according to size but all essentially comprise a bedroom, bathroom (some with jacuzzi), and living room with a study corner and fully equipped kitchenette. A top location and cheerful, obliging staff make this a first-class stopover. €101/26,001Ft and over
Victoria I, Bem rakpart 11 1/457-8080, www.victoria.hu. Small, very friendly hotel on the embankment directly below the Mátyás Church. The rooms have excellent views of the Lánchíd and the river, and are equipped with minibar, TV and a/c. Sauna and garage facilities. €101/26,001Ft and over
The Tabán and Gellért-hegy
Ábel Panzió XI, Ábel Jenő utca 9 1/209-2537, www.abelpanzio.hu. See map of Budapest. Perhaps the most appealing pension in Budapest, a 1913 villa with beautiful Art Nouveau fittings in a quiet street, 20min from the Belváros. There are just ten rooms, two with twin beds, so book ahead; discount if you pay in cash. €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft
Charles Hotel XI, Hegyalja út 23 1/212-9169, www.charleshotel.hu. See map of Budapest. On the hill up from the Erzsébet híd on the main road to Vienna, this friendly apartment hotel was one of the first of its kind in the city. It has 73 rooms and apartments (you can choose double or twin beds, bath or shower) which come with cooking facilities, minibar and TV; those facing the inner yard are better, as the road is very busy. Some of the cheaper rooms have no a/c. Wi-fi all over, and bikes available for rent. Parking costs €8. €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft
Citadella I, Citadella sétány 1/466-5794, www.citadella.hu. See map of Downtown Pest. Breathtaking views of the city from this hotel inside the hulk of the old citadel, but at the weekend the neighbouring disco can be a bit noisy. The entrance gate is beside the restaurant outside the walls – you’ll need to press the buzzer. To get here, take bus #27 from Móricz Zsigmond körtér, then it’s a 10min walk from the Busuló Juhász stop. The cheapest doubles have shared facilities, while for a little more you can get rooms with private showers or baths. €36–45/9001–11,500Ft
Gellért XI, Szent Gellért tér 1 1/889-5500, www.danubiushotels.com/gellert. See map of Downtown Pest. Large, light corridors and lots of character at this well-established hotel. The facade, especially when floodlit, is magnificent, and so is the thermal pool, to which residents have their own lift down (and free entry, which comes with a bathrobe). A large number of single rooms are available; all rooms are en suite. The cheaper rooms look on to the courtyard and don’t have the views – or the sound of the trams, which blight the others, in spite of double glazing. The beer hall (sörözo) serves good food, and the coffee shop is excellent. Note that impending renovation may close all or part of the hotel. €101/26,001Ft and over
Orion I, Döbrentei utca 13 1/356-8583, www.bestwestern-ce.com/orion. See map of Várhegy. Small modern block in the Tabán district, just south of Várhegy. The simple rooms have TV and minibar – those at the front can be noisy – and guests can make use of a sauna. €101/26,001Ft and over
The Buda Hills
For locations, see the map of Budapest.
Beatrix Panzió II, Szehér út 3 1/275-0550, www.beatrixhotel.hu. Friendly eighteen-room pension in the villa district northwest of Moszkva tér – take tram #61. There’s a bar on the ground floor, a sauna, and parking too. €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft
Buda Villa Panzió XII, Kiss Áron utca 6 1/275-0091, www.budapansio.hu. Up in the hills above Moszkva tér – it’s a 10min ride from there on bus #156 (note that the last bus leaves about 10.45pm). This comfortable and friendly ten-room pension has a small garden that’s perfect for relaxing in after a day’s sightseeing, and a bar in the lounge on the first floor. €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft
Budapest II, Szilágyi Erzsébet fasor 47 1/889-4200, www.danubiushotels.com/budapest. Cylindrical tower facing the Buda Hills, opposite the lower terminal of the Cogwheel Railway, 500m from Moszkva tér. Rooms come with a/c, TV and minibar, and there’s a sauna, fitness room and business centre too. The lobby’s decor is rather 1970s, but at least there are excellent views over the city from the upper floors. €86–100/22,501–26,000Ft
Hostels
If you don’t have a tent, a dormitory bed in a hostel is the cheapest alternative – note that dorms tend to be mixed sex. Many hostels also have rooms at much the same price as private accommodation, but often with very basic student furniture. Still, at least there are no surcharges of the sort levied in private rooms for staying fewer than four nights, and the hostels offer 24-hour information from English-speaking staff at the reception desk.
Unless stated otherwise, the hostels listed below are open year-round. Student dormitories are open during July and August only, many of them located in the university area south of Gellért-hegy. You can’t be sure of getting a bed in the hostel of your choice in summer without booking in advance.
The Mellow Mood group runs some excellent year-round hostels in the city and also handles some of the university accommodation open during the summer. Staff at its office in Keleti Station (daily: June–Aug 7am–midnight; Sept–May 7am–8pm; 1/343-0748 or 1/413-2062, www.mellowmood.hu), on the right of the glass doors at the far end as you arrive, can give information, make bookings and also organize transport to the group’s hostels from the station.
Note that many of Pest’s hostels are in residential blocks and frown on rowdy guests.
Pest
Astoria City VII, Rákóczi út 4.III.27 1/266-1327, www.astoriacityhostel.com. See map of Downtown Pest. On the third floor (with a lift), this is a pleasant small hostel in the heart of the city, with two eight-bed dorms, one six-bed and one en-suite double room. The six-bed overlooks a quiet inner courtyard, the others to the noisy main road. They also have apartments in the same block, and rooms a few doors along. Prices include breakfast and internet access. Laundry service available. Dorm beds from €12, double €36–45/9001–11,500Ft
Caterina VI, Teréz körút 30.III.28 1/269-5990, www.caterinahostel.hu. See map of Downtown Pest. Long-established hostel that has moved to a new venue, above the Művész cinema near the Oktogon, and although it’s on the third floor with no lift, the small setup gives it a friendly feel. There are rooms of six, eight and ten bunk beds, as well as a room for three, and three apartments in neighbouring streets. The eight-bed room is the quietest, looking on to the courtyard – the others overlook the noisy boulevard. They have a laundry service, a kitchen and free internet access. Dorm beds from 2500Ft, including breakfast.
Green Bridge V, Molnár utca 22 1/266-6922, www.greenbridgehostel.com. See map of Downtown Pest. Small hostel in a quiet street near the Danube in the Belváros. Run by a helpful young couple, it’s on the ground floor and has rooms of five to eight beds, plus two double rooms. There’s a laundry service, and free internet access and coffee. They can also book places on cave tours. Beds from €10, doubles €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft
Mandragora VIII, Krúdy Gyula utca 12.I.7 1/789-9515, www.mandragorahostel.com. See map of Downtown Pest. Relaxed small first-floor hostel on a quiet road a couple of streets behind the National Museum run by a friendly young couple with good English. Decoration is Indian-inspired, and there is use of kitchen, bikes for rent, wi-fi. One double room plus a six-bed and an eight-bed dorm. Cash only. Beds from €14, doubles €36–45/9001–11,500Ft
Marco Polo VII, Nyár utca 6 1/413-2555, www.marcopolohostel.com. See map of Downtown Pest. Big, busy and clean hostel close to Blaha Lujza tér, with simply furnished four- and twelve-bed dorms with bunks, as well as 36 double rooms, and a bar in the cellar. IYHF cardholders get a discount. Dorm beds 4500Ft, doubles €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft
Red Bus V, Semmelweis utca 14 1/266-0136 www.redbusbudapest.hu. See map of Downtown Pest. Friendly and relaxed hostel on a quiet backstreet close to Deák tér, with rooms of two to five beds. Breakfast and the use of the kitchen are included in the price; internet use and laundry service are extra. As it’s set in a residential block, this is not a place for partying. See website for special offers; otherwise 3600Ft for dorm beds, doubles €36–45/9001–11,500Ft
Buda
For locations, see the map of Budapest.
Back Pack XI, Takács Menyhért utca 33 1/385-8946, www.backpackbudapest.hu. Charming 50-bed hostel with a shaded garden, about 20min from the centre (tram #49 or bus #7 to Tétényi út stop). The staff provide lots of information on the city, sport and fitness, and also organize cave trips. Dorm beds from 3000Ft, doubles €36–45/9001–11,500Ft
Landler XI, Bartók Béla út 17 1/463-3621. One of the older hostels in the city, housed in the Baross Gábor Kollégium, near the Gellért Baths. Basic two- and three-bed rooms, with high ceilings and basins – shared bathrooms on the corridor. Open July & Aug only. A bed in a three-bed room is 3400Ft, two-bed rooms are 4000Ft per person or 5900Ft for single occupancy.
Private apartments and rooms
The days of grannies renting out rooms through Ibusz are generally in the past – nowadays it is far easier to find self-contained studio flats or apartments. You can rent these through agencies – such as Ibusz, V, Ferenciek tere 10, on the corner of Petőfi Sándor utca (Mon–Fri 9am–6pm Sat 9am–1pm; 1/501-4910, www.ibusz.hu), or the To-Ma agency at V, Október 6 utca 22 (Mon–Fri 9am–noon, Sat & Sun 9am–5pm; 1/353-0819, www.tomatour.hu) – or internet-based companies such as Budapest Lets (www.budapestlets.com), a UK-Hungarian venture managing about forty well-equipped properties, from one-room studio flats on Ráday utca to luxury apartments on Várhegy.
You can still rent a private room – through the two agencies above – the downsides being that you have less choice and you are less independent of the owners. Depending on location and amenities, prices for a double room start at 6000Ft a night, while apartments go from 8000Ft. Rates can be up to thirty percent higher if you stay fewer than four nights.
Camping
Budapest’s campsites are generally well equipped and pleasant, with trees, grass and sometimes even a pool. They can get crowded between June and September, when smaller places might run out of space. It is illegal to camp anywhere else, and the parks are patrolled to enforce this.
The campsites listed here are all on the edge of the city on the Buda side, since the Pest ones are not very inviting.
Csillebérci Camping XII, Konkoly Thege Miklós út 21 1/395-6537, www.csilleberciszabadido.hu. Large site up in the Buda Hills, with space for 1000 campers and a range of bungalows. Bus #90 from Moszkva tér to the Csillebérc stop or bus #90A to Normafa, then a short walk. Open all year.
Római Camping III, Szentendrei út 189 1/388-7167, www.romaicamping.hu. Huge site beside the road to Szentendre in Rómaifürdő (25min by HÉV from Batthyány tér), with space for 2500 campers. It also has wooden bungalows, and the price includes use of the neighbouring Rómaifürdőlido. Open all year.
Zugligeti Niche Camping XII, Zugligeti út 101 1/200-8346, www.campingniche.hu. At the end of the #158 bus route from Moszkva tér, opposite the chairlift up to János-hegy, this is a small, terraced ravine site in the woods with space for 260 campers and good facilities, including a pleasant little restaurant occupying the former tram station at the far end. April–Oct.
Pest
Pest is busier, more populous and vital than Buda: the place where things are decided, made and sold. While Buda grew up around the royal court, the east bank was settled by merchants and artisans, and commerce has always been its lifeblood. Much of its architecture and layout dates from the late nineteenth century, giving Pest a homogeneous appearance compared to other European capitals. Boulevards, public buildings and apartment houses were built on a scale appropriate to the Habsburg empire’s second city, and the capital of a nation which celebrated its millennial anniversary in 1896. Now sooty with age or in the throes of restoration, these grand edifices form the backdrop to life in the Belváros (inner city) and the residential districts, hulking gloomily above the cafés, wine cellars and courtyards where people socialize. While there’s plenty to see and do, it’s the ambience that sticks in one’s memory.
Away from the waterfront, you’ll find that two semicircular boulevards are fundamental to orientation. The inner city lies within the Kiskörút (Small Boulevard), made up of Károly körút, Múzeum körút and Vámház körút. Further out, the Nagykörút (Great Boulevard) sweeps through the VI, VII, VIII and IX districts, where it is called Szent István körút, Teréz körút, Erzsébet körút, József körút and Ferenc körút respectively. Pest is also defined by avenues (út) radiating out beyond the Nagykörút – notably Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út (for Nyugati Station); Andrássy út, leading to the Városliget (City Park); Rákóczi út, for Keleti Station; and Üllői út, leading out towards the airport. As the meeting point of three metro lines and several main avenues, Deák tér makes a good jumping-off point for explorations.
The Belváros
The Belváros (Inner City) is the hub of Pest and, for tourists at least, the epicentre of what’s happening – abuzz with pavement cafés, buskers, boutiques and nightclubs. Commerce and pleasure have been its lifeblood as long as Pest has existed, as a medieval market town or the kernel of a city whose belle époque rivalled Vienna’s. Since their fates diverged, the Belváros lagged far behind Vienna’s Centrum in prosperity; but the gap is fast being narrowed, at least superficially. It’s now increasingly like any Western city in its consumer culture, but you can still get a sense of the old atmosphere, especially in the quieter backstreets south of Kossuth utca.
The Kiskörút (Small Boulevard) that surrounds the Belváros follows the course of the medieval walls of Pest, showing how compact it was before the phenomenal expansion of the nineteenth century. However, little remains from further back than the eighteenth century, as the “liberation” of Pest from the Turks by the Habsburgs in 1686 left the town in ruins. Some Baroque churches and the former Greek and Serbian quarters attest to its revival by settlers from other parts of the Habsburg empire, but most of the architecture dates from the era when Budapest asserted its right to be an imperial capital, between 1860 and 1918. Today, first-time visitors are struck by the statues, domes and mosaics on the Neoclassical and Art Nouveau piles, which are reflected in the mirrored banks and luxury hotels that symbolize the post-Communist era.
Vörösmarty tér
The starting point for exploring the Belváros is Vörösmarty tér, the leafy centre of the district where crowds eddy around the portraitists, café tables and craft stalls that set up here over summer, Christmas and the wine festival. While children play in the fountains, teenagers lounge around the statue of Mihály Vörösmarty (1800–50), a poet and translator whose hymn to Magyar identity, Szózat (Appeal), is publicly declaimed at moments of national crisis. Its opening line – “Be faithful to your land forever, Oh Hungarians” – is carved on the pedestal. Made of Carrara marble, it has to be wrapped in plastic sheeting each winter to prevent it from cracking.
On the north side of the square is the Gerbeaud patisserie, Budapest’s most famous confectioners. Founded in 1858 by Henrik Kugler, it was bought in 1884 by the Swiss confectioner Emile Gerbeaud, who invented the konyakos meggy (cognac-cherry bonbon) and sold top-class cakes at reasonable prices, making Gerbeaud a popular rendezvous for the middle classes. His portrait hangs in one of the rooms whose gilded ceilings and china recall the belle époque.
Beside Gerbeaud’s terrace is the entrance to the Underground Railway (Földalatti vasút), whose vaguely Art Nouveau cast-iron fixtures and elegant tilework stamp it as decades older than the other metro lines. Indeed, it was the first on the European continent and the second in the world (after London’s Metropolitan line) when it was inaugurated in 1896. Visit the Underground Railway Museum at Deák tér to learn more about its history.
Váci utca
Running from Vörösmarty tér down towards the Great Market Hall – interrupted by Ferenciek tere, where you have to cross a pedestrian subway – Váci utca has been famous for its shops and korzó (promenade) since the eighteenth century. During the 1980s, its vivid streetlife became a symbol of the “consumer socialism” that distinguished Hungary from other Eastern Bloc states, but Budapesters today are rather less enamoured of Váci, leaving it to rely on tourists for its livelihood. Overpriced souvenir shops and cafés compete with hustlers, buskers and exchange bureaux. A few landmarks along the way might catch your eye, such as the scantily clad Fisher-girl statue on Kristóf tér, a small plaza running across to Szervita tér, or the Pest Theatre (no. 9) on the site of the Inn of the Seven Electors, where the 12-year-old Liszt performed in 1823.
Váci’s looks improve between Ferenciek tere and the Great Market Hall; though no less touristy, the old buildings and cobbled sidestreets have been tastefully face-lifted. Look out for the prewar Officers’ Casino on the corner of Ferenciek tere (now a bank’s headquarters); a sculptural plaque on the wall of no. 47, commemorating the fact that the Swedish King Carl XII stayed here during his lightning fourteen-day horseride from Turkey to Sweden, in 1714; and the nineteenth-century hulk of the Old Budapest City Hall at nos. 62–64, where the city council still holds its meetings.
Shortly after this, a left turn into Szerb utca will bring you to the Serbian Orthodox Church (daily 10am–4pm; 500Ft), built by the Serbian artisans and merchants who settled here after the Turks were driven out. Secluded in a high-walled garden, it’s best visited during High Mass on Sunday (10.30–11.45am), when the singing of the liturgy, the clouds of incense and flickering candles create an unearthly atmosphere. A block or so south of the church, part of the medieval wall of Pest can be seen behind a children’s playground on the corner of Bástya utca and Veres Pálné utca.
Szervita tér to Ferenciek tere
If the crowds on Váci utca deter you, a parallel route may suit you better. By turning off Váci at Kristóf tér, you can cut through to Szervita tér – named after the eighteenth-century Servite Church, whose facade bears a relief of an angel cradling a dying horseman, in memory of the Seventh Kaiser Wilhelm Hussars killed in World War I. Across the way are two remarkable buildings from the golden age of Hungarian architecture. No. 3 has a gable aglow with a superb Art Nouveau mosaic of Patrona Hungariae (Our Lady) flanked by shepherds and angels, one of the finest works of Miksa Róth. The Rózsavölgyi Building, next door but one, was built a little later (between 1910 and 1913) by the “father” of Hungarian Modernism, Béla Lajta, whose earlier association with the National Romantic school is evident from the majolica bands on its upper storeys. On the ground floor is the Rózsavölgyi music shop, one of the oldest and best in the city.
From here, Petőfi Sándor utca runs south to Ferenciek tere (Franciscans’ Square). The square itself has been swallowed up by the highway-style ramp of the Érzsébet híd, squeezed between a pair of fin-de-siècle office buildings, named the Klotild Palaces after the Habsburg princess who commissioned them. Still more striking is the Párisi Udvar, a flamboyantly eclectic shopping arcade completed in 1915. Its fifty naked statues above the third floor were deemed incompatible with its intended role as a savings bank, symbolized by images of bees throughout the building. The neglected arcade, with its hexagonal dome designed by Miksa Róth, is as dark as an Andalusian mosque and twice as ornate, and cries out for restoration.
The eastern side of Ferenciek tere seamlessly becomes Kossuth Lajos utca, which passes the Franciscan Church that gave the square its name. The relief on the church’s wall recalls the great flood of 1838, in which over four hundred citizens were killed; it depicts the heroic efforts of Baron Miklós Wesselényi, who personally rescued scores of people in his boat. The junction of Kossuth Lajos utca with the Kiskörút is named after the Astoria Hotel on the corner, a prewar haunt of spies and journalists that was commandeered as an HQ by the Nazis in 1944 and the Soviets after the 1956 Uprising. Today, its Neoclassical coffee lounge is redolent of Stalinist chic.
To explore further, head south from the church past the dome of the university library till you come to another thoroughfare, named after Count Mihály Károlyi, the liberal politician who briefly led the government after World War I. Immediately to the right, on the corner, is the Centrál Kávéház, one of Pest’s grand old coffee houses where, in the early twentieth century, writers and intellectuals lingered day and night. Károlyi’s birthplace at no. 16 houses the Petőfi Literary Museum (Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; 600Ft; www.pim.hu), showcasing the personal effects of Sándor Petőfi, the nineteenth-century revolutionary poet, and later Hungarian writers, including Endre Ady’s fedora and Mihály Babit’s bomb-flattened typewriter. The mansion’s garden, the Károlyi-kert, is a delightful haven within the Belváros with an agreeable restaurant. It was here that Lajos Batthyány, head of the independent Hungarian government following the 1848 revolution, was arrested in 1849, and General Haynau, the “Butcher of Vienna”, signed the death warrants of Batthyány and other rebel leaders after finishing his morning exercises.
Along the embankment
The Belgrád rakpart (Belgrade Embankment) bore the brunt of the fighting in 1944–45, when the Nazis and the Red Army exchanged salvos across the Danube. As with the Várhegy in Buda, postwar clearances exposed historic sites and provided an opportunity to integrate them into the environment – but the magnificent view of Buda Palace and Gellért-hegy is hardly matched by the row of modern hotels on the Pest side. While such historic architecture as remains can be seen in a fifteen-minute stroll between the Erzsébet híd and the Lánchíd, tram #2 enables you to see a longer stretch of the waterfront between Szabadság híd and Kossuth tér in the north, periodically interrupted by a tunnel that’s the first to be flooded if the Danube overflows its embankments, as sometimes happens in the summer.
The bold white pylons and cables of the Erzsébet híd (Elizabeth Bridge) are as cherished a feature of the panorama as the stone Lánchíd to the north or the wrought-iron Szabadság híd to the south. Of all the Danube bridges blown up by the Germans as they retreated to Buda in January 1945, the Erzsébet híd was the only one not rebuilt in its original form.
In the shadow of the bridge ramp, the grimy facade of the Belváros Parish Church (Belvárosi Plébánia Templom; Mon–Sat 7am–7pm, Sun 8am–7pm; free) masks its origins as the oldest church in Pest. Founded in 1046 as the burial place of St Gellért, it was rebuilt as a Gothic hall church in the fifteenth century (his remains had been long shipped off to Venice), turned into a mosque by the Turks and then reconstructed as a church in the eighteenth century. By coming after Latin Mass at 10am on Sunday you can see the Gothic sedilia and Turkish mihrab (prayer niche) behind the high altar, which are otherwise out of bounds. The vaulted nave and side chapels are Baroque.
On the square beside the church, a sunken enclosure exposes the remains of Contra-Aquincum, a Roman fort that was an outpost of their settlement in Óbuda. More pertinently to modern-day Hungary, the name of the square, Március 15 tér, refers to March 15, 1848, when the anti-Habsburg Revolution began, while the adjacent Petőfi tér is named after Sándor Petőfi, the poet whose National Song – the anthem of 1848 – and romantic death in battle made him a patriotic icon. The Petőfi statue has long been a focus for demonstrations as well as patriotic displays – especially on March 15, when it is bedecked with flags and flowers. Beyond it looms the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition, built by the Greek community in the 1790s and, more recently, the object of a tug-of-war between the Patriarchate of Moscow that gained control of it after 1945 and the Orthodox Church in Greece that previously owned it. The cathedral admits sightseers (Wed 2–5pm, Fri 1–5pm, Sat 3–8pm, Sun noon–5pm), and has services in Hungarian, accompanied by singing in the Orthodox fashion.
Just north of Petőfi tér, the gigantic Marriott Hotel is situated between the embankment and the street running parallel, Apáczai Csere János utca. On the Danube side of the Marriott, the concrete esplanade is a sterile attempt at recreating the prewar Duna-korzó, the most informal of Budapest’s promenades, where it was socially acceptable for strangers to approach celebrities and stroll beside them. The outdoor cafés here, which boast wonderful views, charge premium rates.
Vigadó tér
Further north, the promenade crosses Vigadó tér, an elegant square named after the Vigadó concert hall, whose name translates as “having a ball” or “making merry”. Inaugurated in 1865, this Romantic pile by Frigyes Feszl is encrusted with statues of the Muses and plaques recalling performances by Liszt, Mahler, Wagner, von Karajan and other renowned artists. Badly damaged in World War II, it didn’t reopen until 1980, such was the care taken to recreate its sumptuous decor. At the time of writing, the hall was once again closed for refurbishment, and the reopening date uncertain.
Don’t overlook the statue of the impish Little Princess, which has been sitting on the railings by the tram line since 1990. After dusk, you’ll hardly notice that she isn’t a person, if you notice her at all. By day, she looks like a cross-dressing boy in a Tinkerbell hat. Prince Charles was so taken by her that he invited her creator, László Marton, to hold an exhibition of his work in Britain. The nearby Vigadó tér docks are the point of departure for boats and hydrofoils to Szentendre, Visegrád and Esztergom on the Danube Bend.
Deák tér and Erzsébet tér
Three metro lines and several important roads meet at Deák tér and Erzsébet tér – two squares that merge into one another (making local addresses extremely confusing) to form a jumping-off point for the Belváros and Lipótváros. You’ll recognize the area by two landmarks: the vast mustard-coloured Anker Palace on the Kiskörút and, by the metro pavilion on the edge of the Belváros, the Lutheran Church, which hosts some excellent concerts that include Bach’s St John Passion over the fortnight before Easter. Next door, the Lutheran Museum (Evangélikus Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; 500Ft) displays a facsimile of Martin Luther’s last will and testament, and a copy of the first book printed in Hungarian, a New Testament from 1541. In the 1990s, Mayor Demszky’s plan to build a new National Theatre on Erzsébet tér was thwarted by the government, leaving a vast pit dubbed the “National Hole”. Eventually filled in and tidied up, it now houses the Gödör Klub, an underground concert and exhibition venue, visible from above through a glass-bottomed pool.
Accessible via the upper sub-level of Deák tér metro, the Underground Railway Museum (Földalattivasút Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; 270Ft or one BKV ticket) extols the history of Budapest’s original metro. The exhibits include two elegant wooden carriages (one used up until 1973) and period fixtures and posters, which enhance the museum’s nostalgic appeal. The metro’s genesis was a treatise by Mór Balázs, proposing a steam-driven tram network starting with a route along Andrássy út, an underground line being suggested as a fallback in case the overground option was rejected. Completed in under two years, it was inaugurated in 1896 – in time for the Millennial Exhibition – by Emperor Franz Josef, who agreed to allow it to bear his name, which it kept until 1918. The metro was the first on the European continent and the second in the world (after London’s Metropolitan line), and originally ran from Vörösmarty tér as far as the Millennial Exhibition grounds at Hősök tere.
Lipótváros and beyond
Lipótváros (Leopold Town), to the north of the Belváros, started to develop in the late eighteenth century, first as a financial centre and later as the seat of government Though part of the V district like the Belváros, it has quite a different ambience, with sombre streets of Neoclassical buildings interrupted by squares flanked by monumental Art Nouveau or neo-Renaissance piles. Busy with office workers by day, and something of a place to eat out at weekends, another source of vitality is the Central European University (CEU), funded by the Hungarian-born billionaire financier George Soros.
It makes sense to start a Lipótváros visit either with Roosevelt tér, just inland of the Lánchíd, or St Stephen’s Basilica, two minutes’ walk from Erzsébet tér. Most of the streets between them lead towards the set-piece expanse of Szabadság tér, whence you can head on towards Parliament – though the Kossuth tér metro station or tram #2 from the Belgrád rakpart will provide quicker access.
Roosevelt tér
At the Pest end of the Lánchíd, Roosevelt tér is blitzed by traffic, making it difficult to stand back and admire the magnificent Art Nouveau Gresham Palace on the eastern side of the square. Commissioned by a British insurance company in 1904, it’s named after the financier Sir Thomas Gresham, the author of Gresham’s law that bad money drives out good, whereby the circulation of coins of equal face value but different metals leads to those made of more valuable metal being hoarded and disappearing from use. The building was in an awful state when it was acquired by the Four Seasons hotel chain, but fears of a crass refurbishment have been dispelled by a loving restoration: authentic materials and even the original workshops were sought out to do the job. Today you can once again see Gresham’s bust high up on the facade, and members of the public may walk in to admire the subtle hues of the tiled lobby and glass-roofed arcade with wrought-iron peacock gates and stained-glass windows by Miksa Róth.
Statues of Count Széchenyi and Ferenc Deák, another major nineteenth-century politician, stand at opposite ends of the square. The statue of the former isn’t far from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Magyar Tudományos Akadémia), founded after Széchenyi pledged a year’s income from his estates towards its establishment in 1825 – as depicted on a relief on the wall facing Akadémia utca.
While the Academy and the Lánchíd are tangible reminders of Széchenyi’s enterprise, there is no reminder of Deák’s achievement in forging an Ausgleich (Compromise) with the Habsburgs. This was symbolized by the crowning of Emperor Franz Josef as King of Hungary in 1867, when soil from every corner of the nation was piled into a Coronation Hill, on the site of the present square. Here the emperor flourished the sword of St Stephen and promised to defend Hungary against all its enemies – a pledge that proved almost as ephemeral as the hill itself. Eighty years later, the square was renamed Roosevelt tér in honour of the late US president – a rare example of Cold War courtesy that was never revoked.
St Stephen’s Basilica and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út
St Stephen’s Basilica (Szent István Bazilika; Mon–Fri 9am–5.15pm & 7–7.30pm, Sat 9am–1pm & 7–7.30pm, Sun 1–5pm; free) took so long to build that Budapesters once joked, when borrowing money, “I’ll pay you back when the basilica is finished”. Work began in 1851 under the supervision of József Hild, continued after his death under Miklós Ybl, and was finally completed by Joseph Krauser in 1905. At the inaugural ceremony Emperor Franz Josef was seen to glance anxiously at the dome, whose collapse during a storm in 1868 had set progress back. At 96m, it is exactly the same height as the dome of the Parliament building – both allude to the putative date of the Magyars’ arrival in Hungary (896 AD).
In a chapel (April–Sept Mon–Fri 9.30am–4.30pm, Sun 1–4.30pm; Oct–March Mon–Fri 10am–4pm, Sun 1–4.30pm; free) to the left at the back is the gnarled mummified hand of St Stephen, Hungary’s holiest relic. The Szent Jobb (literally, “holy right”) is paraded with great pomp through the surrounding streets on August 20, the anniversary of his death, but at other times you can see it in the chapel by inserting 100Ft to illuminate the casket.
Although the treasury (same hours as the cathedral; 400Ft) is paltry compared to that at Esztergom’s Basilica, you shouldn’t miss the so-called Panorama Tower (daily: April–May 10am–4pm; June–Aug 9.30am–6.30pm; Sept–Oct 10am–7.30pm; 500Ft), reached by a lift to the base of the cupola, 65m up, and then another lift or a spiral stairway (mind your head on the joists) to the external walkway, which offers a grand view over the city, as well as the option of walking back down 302 stone steps. Masses are held in the basilica on weekdays (7am, 8am & 6pm) and Sundays (8am, 9am, 10am, noon, 6pm & 7.30pm).
At Szent István tér 15, just north of the Basilica, the Museum of Trade and Tourism (Kereskedelmi és Vendéglátóipari Múzeum; daily except Tues 11am–7pm; 600Ft; www.mkvm.hu) has several rooms devoted to fashions and ephemera from the belle époque and interwar eras, and sometimes hosts culinary events. The avenue running past the Basilica is named after Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky (1866–1944), a right-wing MP who ended up an outspoken critic of Fascism and was shot as the Russians approached. Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út is the demarcation line between the Lipótváros and Terézváros districts, running northwards to Nyugati Station, an elegant, iron-beamed terminal built in 1874–77 by the Eiffel Company of Paris. Beside the station, the Westend City Center is one of Budapest’s largest malls, boasting four hundred outlets, an artificial waterfall and a rooftop ice-skating rink (daily 8am–10pm, Fri & Sat till midnight; 800–1000Ft depending on the time and day; www.jegterasz.hu).
Szabadság tér
For over a century, Lipótváros was dominated by a gigantic barracks where scores of Hungarians were imprisoned or executed, until this symbol of Habsburg tyranny was demolished in 1897 and the site redeveloped as Szabadság tér (Liberty Square). Invested with significance from the outset, it became a kind of record of the vicissitudes of modern Hungarian history, where each regime added or removed monuments, according to their political complexion.
In the early years of the twentieth century, Hungary’s burgeoning prosperity was expressed by two monumental temples to capitalism: the Stock Exchange, whose designer, Ignác Alpár, blended motifs from Greek and Assyrian architecture and crowned it with twin towers resembling Khmer temples; and the National Bank across the square, its facade encrusted with reliefs symbolizing honest toil and profit. While the former became the headquarters of Hungarian Television after the Communists abolished the stock market, the bank still functions as such. An entrance at Szabadság tér 8 leads to a stylish Visitor Centre (Mon–Fri 9am–4pm; free; http://english.mnb.hu) featuring curiosities such as the “Kossuth” banknotes that were issued in America during the politician’s exile after the failed War of Independence, and notes denominated in billions of forints from the period of hyperinflation in 1946.
From 1921 to 1945, the square was dominated by the Monument to Hungarian Grief – consisting of a flag at half mast and four statues called North, South, East and West – in protest at the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, which awarded two-thirds of Hungary’s territory and a third of its Magyar population to the “Successor States” of Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. After World War II, this was replaced by a Soviet Army Memorial commemorating the liberation of Budapest from the Nazis, with bas-reliefs of Red Army troops and tanks advancing on Parliament. Today, the Soviet obelisk is fenced off to protect it from vandalism by right-wing nationalists, who periodically erect a tent nearby, emblazoned “Give us back our flag!”, coyly neglecting to mention the revanchist impulse behind the original monument.
Ironically, the Soviet memorial and the protest tent stand near the former headquarters of the Fascist Arrow Cross, and the US Embassy (now cordoned off for security), which for fifteen years sheltered Cardinal Mindszenty, the Primate of Hungary’s Catholic Church, in the aftermath of the 1956 Uprising. Later, however, the US became embarrassed by his presence, as did the Vatican, who finally persuaded him to leave for Austria in 1971 (see The return of Cardinal Mindszenty). Nearby is a statue of General Harry Bandholtz of the US army, who intervened with a dogwhip to stop Romanian troops from looting the Hungarian National Museum in 1919. The statue was erected in the 1930s, removed after World War II, and reinstated by the Communists prior to President George Bush’s visit in 1989.
The Bedő House and Post Office Savings Bank
On Honvéd utca, behind the Soviet memorial, look out for the pistachio facade of the Bedő House (no. 3), a superb example of Hungarian Art Nouveau architecture, built by Emil Vidor in 1903. Recently restored after decades of neglect, it’s now the Museum of Hungarian Art Nouveau (Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; 1100Ft), showcasing furniture, graphics and interior design – right down to the toilets in the basement – with a shop selling reproduction and original pieces, and the Art Nouveau Café. For more in a similar vein, turn right onto Báthory utca and right again onto Hold utca, where you can’t miss the former Post Office Savings Bank, its tiled facade patterned like a quilt, with swarms of bees (symbolizing savings) ascending to the polychromatic roof, which is the wildest part of the building. Its architect, Ödön Lechner, once asked why birds shouldn’t enjoy his buildings too, and amazing roofs are a feature of his other masterpieces in Budapest, the Applied Arts Museum and the Geological Institute. Now an annex of the National Bank, its foyer is accessible during banking hours but the rest of the interior is only open to the public on European Heritage Day sometime in September (ask Tourinform for details).
From the Glass House to Vértanuk tér
Diagonally across the street from the Savings Bank is a wrought-iron market hall (Mon 6am–5pm, Tues–Fri 6am–6pm, Sat 6am–3pm), one of five opened on a single day in 1896, which still serve the centre of Pest – much less touristy than the Great Market Hall. Its rear entrance will bring you out on Vadász utca, not far from one of Budapest’s least-known memorials to the Holocaust, at no. 29, across the street.
The Glass House (Üvegház; daily 1–4pm; free) was so-called after the extensive use of glass in its Modernist design and its erstwhile role as a glass showroom. From 1944 to 1945, it was one of many properties in Budapest that were designated as neutral territory by the Swiss Consul Carl Lutz, serving as a refuge for 3000 Jews and the underground Zionist Youth organization. An exhibition (to the right of the courtyard) explains how Lutz, Wallenberg and other “Righteous Gentiles” managed to save thousands of Jews from the SS and Arrow Cross death squads.
A few blocks from the Glass House, at the junction of Hold utca and Báthori utca, a lantern on a plinth flickers with an Eternal Flame commemorating Count Lajos Batthyány, the Prime Minister of the short-lived republic declared after the 1848 War of Independence, whom the Habsburgs executed on this spot on October 6, 1849. As a staunch patriot – but not a revolutionary – Batthyány is a hero for conservative nationalists, and his monument is the destination of annual marches on October 6.
The refrains and paradoxes of Hungarian history are echoed on Vértanuk tér (Martyrs’ Square), between Szabadság tér and Kossuth tér, where a statue of Imre Nagy – the reform Communist who became prime minister during the 1956 Uprising and was shot in secret afterwards – stands on a footbridge, gazing towards Parliament. With his raincoat, trilby and umbrella hooked over his arm, Nagy cuts an all too human, flawed figure, and is scorned by those who pay their respects to Batthyány.
Kossuth tér
Lipótváros reaches its monumental climax at Kossuth tér, named after the leader of the 1848 Revolution, Lajos Kossuth, but also featuring a statue of an earlier hero of the struggle for Hungarian independence, Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II. The quote inscribed on the latter’s plinth – “The wounds of the noble Hungarian nation burst open!” – refers to the anti-Habsburg war of 1703–11, but could just as well describe the evening of October 23, 1956, when crowds filled the square, chanting anti-Stalinist slogans at Parliament and calling for the appearance of Nagy – the prelude to the Uprising that night. An eternal flame burns in memory of those who died here on October 25, when ÁVO snipers opened fire on a peaceful crowd that was fraternizing with Soviet tank-crews.
Two more notable monuments can be seen in the vicinity. Immediately south of Parliament sits the brooding figure of Attila József, one of Hungary’s finest poets, who was expelled from the Communist Party for trying to reconcile Marx and Freud, and committed suicide in 1937 after being rejected by his lover. His powerful, turbulent verse has never lost its popularity, and he earns his place here for his poem By the Danube. Further south beside the river is a poignant Holocaust Memorial: dozens of shoes cast in iron, marking the spot where hundreds of Jewish adults and children were machine-gunned by the Arrow Cross and their bodies thrown into the Danube. Before being massacred, they were made to remove their coats and footwear, which were earmarked for use by German civilians.
Parliament and the Museum of Ethnography
The Hungarian Parliament building (Országház; www.parlament.hu) makes the Houses of Parliament in London look humble, its architect Imre Steindl having larded Pugin’s Gothic Revival style with Renaissance and Baroque flourishes. Sprawling for 268m along the embankment, its symmetrical wings bristle with finials and 88 statues of Hungarian rulers, surmounted by a dome 96m high (alluding to the date of the Magyar conquest). One weakness in the design was the white limestone of the exterior, which has been degraded by the elements and pollution; since 1925 it has required almost constant cleaning and replacement.
For centuries, Hungarian assemblies convened wherever they could, and it wasn’t until 1843 that it was resolved to build a permanent “House of the Motherland” in Pest-Buda (as the city was then called). By the time work began in 1885, the concept of Parliament had changed insofar as the middle classes were now represented as well, though over ninety percent of the population still lacked the right to vote. Gains were made in 1918, but they were soon curtailed under the Horthy regime, just as the attainment of universal adult suffrage in 1945 was rendered meaningless after 1948 by a Communist dictatorship, until the advent of democracy in 1990.
Tickets for tours of the interior in English (daily at 10am, noon & 2pm; free for EU citizens with passport, otherwise 2950Ft) and other languages sell out fast, once the ticket office opens at 8am. It’s sited by Gate X on the Kossuth tér side, beyond the rope near the Eternal Flame, where visitors with tickets wait to be admitted; you’ll need to ask the guards to let you cross the barrier. Statues, carvings, gilding and mosaics are ten a penny, lit by lamps worthy of the Winter Palace – but there are also cosy touches such as the individually numbered brass ashtrays where peers left their cigars smouldering in the lounge while they popped back into the chamber to hear someone speak; a good speaker was said to be “worth a Havana”.
Besides the magnificent interior, visitors get to see St Stephen’s Crown, the symbol of Hungarian statehood for over 1000 years. Its distinctive bent cross was caused by the crown being squashed as it was smuggled out of a palace in a baby’s cradle; at other times it has been hidden in a hay-cart or buried in Transylvania, abducted to Germany by Hungarian Fascists and thence taken to the US, where it reposed in Fort Knox until its return home in 1978, together with the orb, sceptre and sword that comprise the Coronation Regalia. On a humbler note, there’s also a scale model of Parliament made of 100,000 matchsticks, built by a patriotic family over three years.
Across the square at no. 12 stands a neo-Renaissance pile housing the Museum of Ethnography (Néprajzi Múzeum; Tues–Sun: 10am–6pm; 800Ft; www.neprajz.hu), one of the finest museums in Budapest. Its permanent exhibition on Hungarian folk culture is fully captioned in English and thematically arranged, and although such beautiful costumes and objects are no longer part of everyday life in Hungary, you can still see them in regions of Romania such as Maramureş and the Kalotaszeg, which belonged to Hungary before 1920. Upstairs, temporary exhibitions can cover anything from Bedouin life to Hindu rituals, while in the weeks leading up to Easter and Christmas the museum puts on concerts of Hungarian folk music and dancing, and craft fairs.
Further out
Szent István körút, running from Nyugati Station to the Danube, marks the end of Lipótváros – but there are a few sights further out worth a mention. Szent István Park, opposite Margit-sziget, is the social hub of the old wealthy Jewish neighbourhood, with the finest flowerbeds in the city – an apt site for a monument to Raoul Wallenberg, who gave up a playboy life in neutral Sweden to help the Jews of Budapest in 1944. Armed with diplomatic status and money for bribing officials, Wallenberg and his assistants plucked thousands from the cattle trucks and lodged them in “safe houses”, manoeuvring to buy time until the Russians arrived. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested as a spy and vanished into the Gulag, never to return. The monument itself was constructed in the 1950s but “exiled” to Debrecen before being stashed away for decades, only taking its rightful place in Budapest in 1999.
The Danube bank below the park, the Újpesti rakpart, is the site of the summertime Budapest Beach (Budapest Plázs; www.budapestplazs.hu), which takes its cue from the Paris original. From May onwards the whole of the embankment facing Margit-sziget is closed to traffic and covered in sand and palm trees, recreating a seaside feel, and there are stages, live music, children’s programmes and numerous food stalls and restaurants to keep beach-goers happy.
Inland, the engagingly hands-on Hungarian Railway History Park, or Hungarian Railway Museum (Magyar Vasúttörténeti Park; Tues–Sun: April–Oct 10am–6pm; late March & Nov to mid-Dec 10am–3pm; 950Ft, child 300Ft, family 1900Ft; www.mavnosztalgia.hu), lurks in the freight yards of the XIV district. Its roundhouse and sidings house over seventy locomotives and carriages from 1870 onwards, including the Árpád railcar that set the 1934 speed record from Budapest to Vienna in just under three hours, and a 1912 teak dining carriage from the Orient Express. Between April and October (10am–4pm), you can drive a steam train (1000Ft), luggage cart (300Ft) or engine simulator (500Ft), ride a locomotive turntable (200Ft) or a horse-drawn tram (100Ft), or operate a model railway (200Ft). Children’s Day (May 25) and Transport Day (June 7–8) see all kinds of events, with free admission for under-18s.
From April to October, the ticket price includes travel to the museum by vintage train from Nyugati Station (9.40am, 10.40am, 1.40pm & 3.40pm), for enthusiasts who don’t mind being choked by diesel fumes for half an hour. Tickets are available from the MÁV Nosztalgia office next to platform 10 in the station. Otherwise, the park gates at Tatai út 95 are a short walk from the Rokolya utca stop, which is a longish ride by bus #30 from Keleti Station or Hősök tere.
Terézváros
Laid out in the late nineteenth century, Terézváros (Theresa Town), or the VI district, was heavily influenced by Haussmann’s redevelopment of Paris, and at that time it was one of the smartest districts in the city. Under Communism, the area became pretty run-down, but the appeal of the old apartment blocks lining its streets is now bringing in the middle classes; the villas near the park have recovered their value and café society flourishes around Liszt Ferenc tér.
Andrássy út
Running in a perfect straight line for 2.5km up to Hősök tere on the edge of the Városliget, Budapest’s longest, grandest avenue was inaugurated in 1884 as the Sugár (Radial) út but soon renamed Andrássy út after the statesman Count Gyula Andrássy. The name stayed in popular use throughout the years when this was officially Stalin Avenue (1949–56) or the Avenue of the People’s Republic (1957–89), until it was formally restored. With its greystone edifices laden with dryads, its Opera House and coffee houses, the avenue retains something of the style that made it so fashionable in the 1890s, when “Bertie”, the Prince of Wales, drove its length in a landau, offering flowers to women as he passed. The initial stretch up to the Oktogon is within walking distance of Erzsébet tér, but if you’re going any further it’s best to travel from sight to sight by the yellow metro beneath the avenue, or bus #4.
At Andrássy út 3 the Post Office Museum (Posta Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; 500Ft) occupies a fabulous old apartment, complete with parquet floors, marble fireplaces, Venetian mirrors, and frescoes by Károly Lotz; its owners fled to the US in 1938. Exhibits include a compressed-air mail tube, vintage delivery vehicles, and a display on the inventor Tivadar Puskás, a colleague of Thomas Edison, who set up the world’s first switchboard and telephonic news service in Budapest in the early 1900s. Press #10 on the entry-phone to gain access to the building.
The State Opera (Állami Operaház) was founded by Ferenc Erkel, the composer of Hungary’s national anthem, and occupies a magnificent neo-Renaissance pile built in 1875–84 by Miklós Ybl. It can boast of being directed by Mahler (who complained about the anti-Semitism in Hungary), hosting performances conducted by Otto Klemperer and Antal Doráti, and sheltering two hundred local residents (including Kodály) in its cellars during the siege of Budapest. Tickets for English-language tours of the interior (daily 3 & 4pm; 2600Ft) are available from the shop to the left of the foyer; see also information on tickets for performances. In a similar vein, don’t miss the New Theatre (Új Színház) on Paulay Ede utca, off the other side of Andrássy, whose blue and gold Art Nouveau facade and foyer (by Béla Lajta) are superb.
One block beyond the Opera, Andrássy út is crossed by Nagymező utca – nicknamed “Broadway” because of the theatres and nightclubs on the street. During the interwar years, the best-known club was the Arizona, run by Sándor Rozsnyai and his wife Miss Arizona (which inspired Pal Sándor’s 1988 film of the same name, starring Hanna Schygulla and Marcello Mastroianni); the Rozsnyais were murdered by the Arrow Cross in 1944. Their club was at Nagymező utca 20, in the former home of the Habsburg court photographer who lends his name to the bottle-green tiled Mai Manó House (Mai Manó Ház; Mon–Fri 2–7pm, Sat, Sun & holidays 11am–7pm; 700Ft; www.maimano.hu), which features temporary photographic exhibitions in three separate galleries, and an excellent photographic bookshop on the first floor. Across the street, notice the statue of the composer Imre Kálmán, lounging on a bench outside the Operetta Theatre.
At Nagymező utca 8, on the far side of Andrássy, the Ernst Museum (Ernst Múzeum; Tues–Sun 11am–7pm; 600Ft; www.mucsarnok.hu) is another venue for temporary exhibitions, affiliated to the Műcsarnok on Hősök tere (see The Palace of Art and Dózsa György út). It’s worth a peek inside purely to see the building’s Art Nouveau features by József Rippl-Rónai and Ödön Lechner, and also checking out the Art Deco lobby of the Tivoli theatre next door.
Further up Andrássy, two elongated squares lined with pavement cafés provide a vibrant interlude. On the left (north of Andrássy út) is Jókai tér, with a large statue of the novelist Mór Jókai, while across the road on Liszt Ferenc tér, the composer Liszt hammers an imaginary keyboard with his vast hands, blind to the drinkers and diners surrounding him. At the far end of the square, the Music Academy that bears his name (no. 8) contains a magnificent Art Nouveau entrance hall designed by Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch, and two gilded auditoriums whose glorious decor matches the quality of the music played there.
Continuing up Andrássy brings you shortly to the intersection with the Nagykörút (Great Boulevard) at the Oktogon, an eight-sided square flanked by eclectic buildings. With 24-hour fast-food chains ensconced in two of them, and buses and taxis running along the Nagykörút through the small hours, the Oktogon never sleeps. During the Horthy period it rejoiced in the name of Mussolini tér, while under the Communists it was called November 7 tér after the date of the Bolshevik revolution.
Beyond the Oktogon
You can’t miss the House of Terror (Terror Háza; Tues–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7.30pm; 1800Ft; www.terrorhaza.hu), due to the ominous black frame surmounting this house at Andrássy út 60 – once the dreaded headquarters of the secret police. Dubbed the “House of Loyalty” by the Fascist Arrow Cross during World War II, it was subsequently used for the same purpose by the Communist ÁVO. Opened in 2002 as a cross between a museum and a memorial, the House of Terror has been criticized by some for glossing over Hungary’s role in the invasion of the Soviet Union, and its emphasis on Stalinist terror compared to the Holocaust (a subject treated in far more depth at the Holocaust Memorial Centre). A video in the lobby repeatedly plays the image of a man weeping at the execution of 1956 insurgents, saying “this was their socialism”. Perhaps balance is impossible in such a sensitive area, and the public treatment of the Stalinist years is at least a much-needed, if simplified, beginning.
The moment you step in through the spooky automatic door you’re bombarded with funereal sounds and powerful images, starting with a Soviet tank and photos of ÁVO victims in the courtyard. An audioguide (1000Ft) can save you the trouble of reading the English-language sheets in each room, but the latter pack far more information. The displays begin on the second floor (you take the lift, then work downwards) with a couple of rooms dealing briskly with the murder of 600,000 Jews and Gypsies in the Holocaust, before moving on to the Soviet “liberation”, deportations of “class enemies”, rigged elections, collectivization, and other themes. The most harrowing part is the basement, with its reconstructed torture chamber and cells, where the music mercifully stops as the exhibits are allowed to speak for themselves.
A little further up Andrássy on the opposite side, the Old Music Academy at no. 67 harbours the Liszt Memorial Museum (Liszt Ferenc Emlékmúzeum; Mon–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm; closed on national holidays; 800Ft; www.lisztmuseum.hu), entered from around the corner at Vörösmarty utca 35, where the composer – who was the first president of the Academy – lived from 1881 until his death in 1886. His glass piano and travelling keyboard are the highlights of an extensive collection of memorabilia and scores. Concerts are performed here by young pianists every Saturday at 11am (800Ft; Budapest Card covers entry to the museum but concert tickets must be bought separately).
Another great Hungarian composer lends his name to the Kodály körönd (named Hitler tér during World War II), one of Budapest’s most elegant squares, flanked by four neo-Renaissance mansions (one with gilt sgraffiti). At no. 1 on the northeast corner, the flat where Kodály lived until his death in 1967 is now the Kodály Memorial Museum (Kodály Emlékmúzeum; Wed 10am–4pm, Thurs–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–2pm; 600Ft; www.kodaly-inst.hu), preserving his library, salon, dining room and folk-art collection.
Two fine collections of Asian art lurk just beyond the körönd. The György Ráth Museum (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; 600Ft) displays lovely artefacts from all the great civilizations, in an Art Nouveau villa at Városligeti fasor 12 – reached via Bajza utca – whose garden contains a statue of the Hungarian Orientalist Sándor Körösi-Csoma, as a Buddhist monk. The Ferenc Hopp Museum (same hours; 600Ft; www.hoppmuzeum.hu) at Andrássy út 103 hosts temporary shows of Asian art from the same collection; you can buy a combined ticket for both for 1000Ft. From here, the final stretch of Andrássy út up to Hősök tere is lined with spacious villas set back from the avenue, mostly housing embassies.
The ÁVO
The Communist secret police began as the party’s private security section during the Horthy era, when it betrayed Trotskyites to the police to take the heat off their Stalinist comrades. After World War II it became the 9000-strong Államvédelmi Osztály or ÁVO (State Security Department), its growing power implicit in a change of name in 1948 – to the State Security Authority or ÁVH (though the old acronym stuck). Ex-Nazi torturers were easily persuaded to apply their skills on its behalf, and its network of 41,000 informers permeated society. So hated was the ÁVO that any members caught during the Uprising were summarily killed, and their mouths stuffed with banknotes (secret policemen earned more than anyone else).
Hősök tere and around
Laid out in 1896 to mark the thousandth anniversary of the Magyar conquest, Hősök tere (Heroes’ Square) is appropriately grandiose. The Millenniary Monument at its centre consists of a 36-metre-high column topped by the figure of Archangel Gabriel who, according to legend, appeared to Stephen in a dream and offered him the crown of Hungary. Around the base are Prince Árpád and his chieftains, who led the Magyar tribes into the Carpathian Basin. As a backdrop to this, a semicircular colonnade displays statues of Hungary’s most illustrious leaders, from King Stephen to Kossuth. During the brief Republic of Councils in 1919, when Hungary was ruled by revolutionary soviets, the square was decked out in red banners and the column enclosed in a red obelisk. In 1989, it was the setting for the ceremonial reburial of Imre Nagy and other murdered leaders of the 1956 Uprising (plus an empty coffin representing the “unknown insurgent”) – an event which symbolized the dawning of a new era in Hungary. Today it’s more likely to be filled with rollerbladers and skateboarders, for whom the smooth surface is ideal, and it’s also used to host events such as the National Gallop or Army Day.
Museum of Fine Arts
To the north of the square, the Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–5.30pm; 1400Ft; www.szepmuveszeti.hu) is the pan-European equivalent of the Hungarian National Gallery, housed in an imposing Neoclassical building completed in 1906. Most exhibits are labelled in English and a free floor-plan is available, but if you want more information you should go on an English-language tour (Tues–Sat 11am & 2pm from the lobby; free) or rent an audioguide (1000Ft). Besides its permanent collection, there are regular temporary exhibitions (1400–3200Ft; combined ticket 3600Ft) and cultural events on Thursdays (6–10pm; 3000Ft), as advertised.
On the lower ground floor, a hippopotamus-tusk wand carved with spells to protect a child presages the Egyptian Collection, chiefly from the Late Period and Greco-Roman eras of Egyptian civilization. Its highlights are four huge painted coffins and a child-sized one, a mummified crocodile, cat and falcon, and a tautly poised bronze of the cat-goddess Bastet. Across the lobby, the section entitled Art around 1900 starts with Symbolist and Decadent works such as Franz von Stuck’s The Kiss of the Sphinx, moving on through works by the Hungarian Art Nouveau masters József Rippl-Rónai and Károly Ferenczy to two iconic images by Oskar Kokoschka: Veronica’s Veil and the poster Der Sturm.
The ground floor proper features an excellent bookshop (where you can have a poster of any picture in the museum printed for 9000Ft) leading to a wing used for temporary exhibitions (requiring a separate ticket), and several rooms devoted to ancient Mediterranean cultures from Etruria to Athens, mainly represented by jugs and vases. Before heading upstairs, visit the grand Renaissance Hall, used for hanging large allegorical works on loan from other museums; the Baroque Hall (often used for televised events), and the Prints and Drawings Room at the far end on the right, mounting temporary displays (free) drawn from the museum’s holdings of work by Raphael, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Dürer, Picasso and Chagall.
The museum’s hoard of Old Masters is based on the collection of Count Miklós Esterházy, which he sold to the state in 1871. These works are organized into eight sections on the first floor, which are harder to navigate than you’d imagine due to a system of numbering main rooms with Roman numerals and smaller ones with Arabic digits. The Spanish Collection of seventy works is arguably the best in the world outside Spain, with seven El Grecos (most notably Christ Stripped of His Garments and The Agony in the Garden) in room V; five Goyas in room III, and Velázquez’s Peasants at Table and Ribera’s Martyrdom of St Andrew in room VI.
The Italian Collection is almost as impressive, with Raphael’s “Esterházy Madonna” and a self-portrait by Giorgione (room XIX), Titian’s Madonna and Child with St Paul and several Tintorettos (rooms XII and XX), plus a Veronese grandee (room XVII). The German Collection ranges from Kauffann’s The Wife of Count Esterházy as Venus (room X) and darkly Gothic works by Cranach the Elder, Holbein’s Dormition of the Virgin (room XI) and a Young Man by Dürer (room 14). Whereas the Flemish Collection has such gems as Van Dyck’s St John the Evangelist (Room VIII), and the Dutch Collection an array of Brueghels, from Pieter the Elder’s Sermon of St John the Baptist to Jan’s Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man (room XII), the single room of English art can only muster a dull portrait apiece by Hogarth, Reynolds and Gainsborough.
For a change of mood, enter the section entitled From Romanticism to Postimpressionism, where room XII displays Courbet’s wild landscapes and life-sized Wrestlers, and Rodin’s sculpture The Brazen Age. Tucked away elsewhere you’ll find Lady with a Fan by Manet (room 20), orchards and river-views by Renoir, Monet and Pissarro (room 21), Toulouse-Lautrec’s Ladies and a little-known Gauguin, Black Pigs, from his Tahitian period (room 22).
The Palace of Art and Dózsa György út
On the south side of the square is the Exhibition Hall; (Műcsarnok Tues, Wed & Fri–Sun 10am–6pm, Thurs noon–8pm; 1400Ft; www.mucsarnok.hu), also called the Palace of Art (not to be confused with the Palace of Arts, covered in Várhegy). A Grecian pile with gilded columns and a mosaic of St Stephen as patron of the arts, it was inaugurated in 1895. Its magnificent facade and foyer are in contrast to the four austere rooms used for temporary exhibitions (two or three at a time), often of modern art. It’s possible to buy a combined ticket (1400Ft) valid for a month, which also covers exhibitions at the Ernst Museum on Nagymező utca.
Dózsa György út, the wide avenue running off alongside the Városliget, serves as the setting for occasional fairs and concerts. In Communist times it was here that Party leaders reviewed parades from a grandstand, beneath a 25-metre-high statue of Stalin that was torn down during the Uprising, dragged to the Nagykörút and hammered into bits for souvenirs. After the re-imposition of Communist rule a statue of Lenin was erected in its place, which remained until it was taken away “for structural repairs” in 1989 and finally ended up in the Memento Park. Three monuments mark the distance that Hungary has travelled since then. The Timewheel is the world’s largest hourglass, a metal canister 8m in diameter that rotates 180º on the last day of each year, symbolizing Hungary’s accession to the European Union in 2004. Where the Stalin statue once stood, the Monument to the Uprising is a forest of oxidized columns merging into a stainless-steel wedge, beside a Hungarian flag with a circle cut out, recalling the excision of the Soviet symbol in 1956 (this long strip alongside the park has been named Ötvenhatosok tere – Square of the 56-ers). Beyond this, a crucifix rises over the foundations of the Virgin Mary Church that the Communists demolished in 1951.
The Városliget
The leafy Városliget (City Park) starts just behind Hősök tere, where the fairy-tale towers of Vajdahunyad Castle rear above an island girdled by an artificial lake that’s used for boating in the summer and is transformed into a splendid ice rink in winter. Like the park, the castle was created for the Millenniary Anniversary celebrations of 1896, so dramatic effects were the order of the day. This “stone catalogue” features replicas of the Chapel at Ják (May–Sept daily 10am–8pm; 100Ft) in western Hungary and two Transylvanian castles, enclosing a Renaissance courtyard that makes a romantic setting for evening concerts from July to mid-August.
In the main wing of the castle, the Agriculture Museum (Mezőgazdasági Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; 600Ft; www.mezogazdasagimuzeum.hu) traces the history of hunting and farming in Hungary. Its most interesting sections relate to the early Magyars and such typically Hungarian breeds of livestock as long-horned grey cattle and woolly pigs. Don’t miss the hooded statue of Anonymous outside. This nameless chronicler to King Béla is the prime source of information about early medieval Hungary, though the existence of several monarchs of that name during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries makes it hard to date him (or his chronicles) with any accuracy.
Leaving the island by the causeway at the rear, you’re on course for the Petőfi Hall; (Petőfi Csarnok 01/363-3730 or www.petoficsarnok.hu for information), a 1970s “Metropolitan Youth Centre” that regularly hosts good concerts (outdoors in summer), films, parties, and a flea market at weekends. Accessible by a staircase around the back, the Aviation and Space Flight Exhibition (Repüléstörténeti és Űrhajózási kiállátás; April–Nov Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; 800Ft) features some vintage planes and a space capsule. The museum is an offshoot of the Transport Museum (Közlekedési Múzeum; Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; 800Ft; 1100Ft for both museums), 250m away on the edge of the park, which contains antique cars, mothballed steam trains and models galore – don’t miss the model railway that runs every hour on the hour.
The Széchenyi Baths, Zoo, Circus and Vidám Park
On the far side of the park’s main axis, Kós Károly sétány, the Széchenyi Baths (Széchenyi Gyögyfürdő; daily 6am–10pm; 2400Ft/2800Ft with locker/cabin) could be mistaken for a palace, so grand is its facade. Outside is a statue of the geologist Zsigmondy Vilmos, who discovered the thermal spring that feeds its outdoor pool and Turkish baths. This is perhaps the best venue for mixed-sex bathing, and in one of the large outdoor pools you can enjoy the surreal spectacle of people playing chess while immersed up to their chests in steaming water – so hot that you shouldn’t stay in for more than twenty minutes. The best players sit at tables around the pool’s edge (the late former world champion Bobby Fischer among them in the 1980s); bring your own set if you wish to participate.
Beyond the baths on the other side of Állatkerti körút, the Municipal Circus (Fővárosi Nagycirkusz; all year except Sept Wed, Thurs & Fri 3pm, Sun 11am & 3pm, Sat 11am, 3pm & 7pm; 1900–2800Ft; www.maciva.hu) traces its origins back to 1783, when the Hetz Theatre played to spectators on what is now Deák tér. To the right is Vidám Park, an old-fashioned fairground known as the “English Park” before the war (daily 11am–6pm, till 8pm July–Aug; weekdays adult/child 3900/2500Ft; weekends & holidays 3900/2900Ft; free for children under 100cm in height; www.vidampark.hu); the funfair was the setting for Ferenc Molnár’s play Liliom, which inspired the musical Carousel.
Further down towards Hősök tere you’ll find the delightful Elephant Gates of Budapest’s Zoo (Állatkert; Jan, Feb, Nov & Dec daily 9am–3pm; March & Oct Mon–Thurs 9am–4.30pm, Fri–Sun 9am–5pm; April & Sept Mon–Thurs 9am–4.30pm, Fri–Sun 9am–5.30pm; May–Aug Mon–Thurs 9am–6pm, Fri–Sun 9am–6.30pm; 1850Ft, child 1290Ft; www.zoobudapest.com), which opened its doors in 1866. Its Art Nouveau pavilions by Károly Kós (dating from 1911) seemed the last word in zoological architecture, but it slowly stagnated until the 1990s, when a new director began long-overdue improvements. In 2007, the zoo proudly announced the world’s first birth of a rhino conceived by artificial insemination, and the little rhino remains one of its top attractions. Don’t miss the exotic Elephant House, resembling a Central Asian mosque, the Palm House with its magnificent aquarium below, or the Bonsai garden. Look out also for children’s events and evening concerts, as advertised outside the main entrance; the children’s corner is signposted “Állatóvoda”. Note that the animal houses open one hour later and close thirty minutes before the zoo itself.
The stadium district
The stadium district, 1km south of Vajdahunyad Castle, is chiefly notable for the Puskás Ferenc Stadium, where league championship and international football matches, concerts by foreign rock stars and events such as the national dog show are held. Originally known as Népstadion (“People’s Stadium”) and built in the early 1950s by fifty thousand Budapestis who “volunteered” their labour, unpaid, it was renamed in 2002 after the legendary footballer and manager Ferenc Puskás (1927–2006), who captained the Mighty Magyars in their stunning triumph over England at Wembley Stadium in 1953, before defecting to forge a second career at Real Madrid.
To the west of the stadium is the smaller Kisstadion, while to the east Stalinist statues of healthy proletarian youth line the court that leads to the indoor Papp László Sportaréna (or Aréna), a mushroom-shaped silver structure which also hosts concerts and sporting events – Papp was the first boxer to win three Olympic gold medals (1948, 1952 and 1956). The intercity Stadion bus station completes this concrete ensemble.
Catching trolleybus #75 along Stefánia út, past the Aréna, you can admire the Geological Institute at no. 14, one of the major edifices in Budapest designed by Ödön Lechner. The exterior is as striking as his Post Office Savings Bank and Applied Arts Museum, with a gingerbread facade, scrolled gables and steeply pitched Transylvanian roofs patterned in bright-blue tiles, crowned by figures holding globes on their backs. By visiting its small Geological Museum (Földtani Múzeum; Thurs, Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; 400Ft), you can also see something of the interior, with its fairy-tale stucco and cobalt-blue stairways.
Erzsébetváros
Budapest’s VII district, Erzsébetváros (Elizabeth Town), is the most atmospheric of Pest’s inner suburbs, and the city’s Jewish quarter. Its boundary with Terézváros runs down the middle of Király utca, which used to be a main thoroughfare before Andrássy út was built, and contained 14 of the city’s 58 licensed brothels in the 1870s. After decades of shabby respectability under Communism, cafés, restaurants, design and furniture boutiques now herald its gentrification. Though not the most logical place to start exploring the Jewish quarter, the route here from the direction of Andrássy út makes a wonderful approach, as you zigzag through the backstreets. However, if you approach the area from the Kiskörút, as most people do, the obvious first stop is the Dohány utca (Tobacco Street) Synagogue.
This is the starting point for English-language guided walking tours of the quarter, run by Aviv (1/462 0477), departing daily except Saturday at 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm & 1.30pm, with extra tours at 2.30pm and 3.30pm from April to October. The cheapest tour (1900Ft) simply covers the synagogue and memorial garden; another (2250Ft) includes the Jewish Museum, while the most expensive (2600Ft) also features the Rumbach utca Synagogue. For a fascinating personalized walking tour of the entire quarter, contact Eszter Gömöri (bp.cityguide@gmail.com), who charges €25 an hour. None of the prices cited include admission charges, where these apply.
The Dohány utca Synagogue and Jewish Museum
The splendid Dohány utca Synagogue (Dohány utcai Zsinagóga; April–Oct: Mon–Thurs 10am–5pm, Fri 10am–3pm, Sun 10am–6pm; Nov–March: Mon–Thurs 10am–3pm, Fri & Sun 10am–2pm; 1600Ft including the Jewish Museum) is one of the landmarks of Pest. Located only five minutes’ walk from Deák tér, just off Károly körút, it is Europe’s largest synagogue and the second biggest in the world after the Temple Emmanuel in New York, with 3600 seats and a total capacity of over 5000 worshippers. Built between 1854 and 1859 by a gentile architect, Ludwig Föster, its design epitomizes the Byzantine-Moorish style that was popular in the 1850s. The colours of its brickwork (yellow, red and blue) are those of Budapest’s coat of arms, reflecting the patriotism of the Neolog community, a Hungarian denomination combining elements of Reform and Orthodox Judaism, which today accounts for eighty percent of Hungarian Jewry (the Orthodox and Hassid communities in the provinces having been all but wiped out in the Holocaust). In the 1990s the synagogue was restored at a cost of over $40 million, funded by the Hungarian government and the Hungarian-Jewish diaspora, notably the Emmanuel Foundation, fronted by the actor Tony Curtis, born of 1920s emigrants.
You have time to admire the gilded onion-domed towers while waiting to pass through a security check, before entering the magnificent interior by Frigyes Feszl, the architect of the Vigadó concert hall. Arabesques and Stars of David decorate the ceiling, the balconies for female worshippers are surmounted by gilded arches, and the floor is inset with eight-pointed stars. The layout reflects the synagogue’s Neolog identity, with the bemah, or Ark of the Torah, at one end, in the Reform fashion, but with men and women seated apart, according to Orthodox tradition. On Jewish festivals, the place is filled to the rafters with Jews from all over Hungary, whose chattering disturbs their more devout co-religionists. At other times, the hall is used for concerts of classical or klezmer music, as advertised outside and on www.jewishfestival.hu.
The cemetery behind the synagogue only exists there because the Nazis forbade Jews from being buried elsewhere – one of many calculated humiliations inflicted on the ghetto by the local SS commander, Eichmann. Some 2281 Jews are buried beneath simple headstones, erected immediately after the Red Army’s liberation of the ghetto on January 18, 1945. Beyond the cemetery looms the cuboid, domed Heroes’ Temple, erected in 1929–31 in honour of the 10,000 Jewish soldiers who died fighting for Hungary during World War I. These days it serves as a synagogue for everyday use and is not open to tourists.
To the left of the main entrance and up the stairs is the Jewish Museum (Zsidó Múzeum). Notice a relief of Tivadar (Theodor) Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, who was born and taught on this spot. In the foyer is a gravestone from the third century AD – proof that there were Jews in Hungary six hundred years before the Magyars arrived. The first three rooms are devoted to Jewish festivals, with beautifully crafted objects such as Sabbath lamps and Seder bowls, while the final one covers the Holocaust, with chilling photos and examples of anti-Semitic propaganda. Oddly, the museum says nothing about the huge contribution that Jews have made to Hungarian society, in every field from medicine to poetry. Upon leaving, turn the corner onto Wesselényi utca and enter the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Garden, named after the Swedish diplomat who saved 20,000 Budapest Jews by lodging them in safe houses or plucking them from trains bound for Auschwitz (see World War II). The park’s centrepiece is a Holocaust Memorial by Imre Varga, shaped like a weeping willow, each leaf engraved with the names of a family killed by the Nazis. Also within the grounds is the Goldmark Hall, named after Károly Goldmark, the composer of the opera The Queen of Sheba.
Other sights in the Jewish quarter
Fanning out behind the synagogue is what was once the Jewish ghetto, created by the Nazis in April 1944. As their menfolk had already been forced into labour battalions intended to kill them from overwork, the 70,000 inhabitants of the ghetto were mainly women, children and old folk, crammed into 162 blocks of flats – over 50,000 of them around Klauzál tér alone.
In happier times, each Jewish community within the quarter had its own place of worship, with a yeshiva (religious school) and other facilities within an enclosed courtyard invisible from the surrounding streets – as epitomized by the Rumbach utca Synagogue (Mon–Thurs 10am–4.30pm, Fri 10am–2.30pm, Sun 10am–5.30pm; 800Ft). Built by Otto Wagner in 1872, for the so-called “Status Quo” or middling-conservative Jews, it now belongs to the Neolog community and may be turned into a museum or cultural centre. Its octagonal Moorish interior – decorated in violet, crimson and gold – has yet to be fully restored after being ruined during the war. As a plaque outside notes, the building served as a detention barracks in August 1941, from where up to 1800 Slovak and Polish refugees were deported to the Nazi death camps.
En route from Dohány utca to the Status Quo Synagogue you’ll cross Dob utca, where you’ll see a monument to Carl Lutz, the Swiss consul who began issuing Schutzpasses to Jews, attesting that they were Swiss or Swedish citizens – a ruse subsequently used by Wallenberg. After the war Lutz was criticized for abusing Swiss law and, feeling slighted, proposed himself for the Nobel Peace Prize. His monument – a gilded angel swooping down to help a prostrate victim – is locally known as “the figure jumping out of a window”.
Just beyond Lutz’s memorial, a grey stone portal at no. 16 leads into the Gozsdu-udvar, a 200-metre-long passageway built in 1904 and running through to Király utca 11. Connecting seven courtyards, it was a hive of life and activity before the Holocaust; after many years of dereliction, it has now been redeveloped as a luxury plaza containing flats and shops.
The kosher Frőhlich patisserie at Dob utca 22 is one of several Jewish businesses around Kazinczy utca, the centre of the 3000-strong Orthodox community, where Yiddish can still be heard. There’s a butcher’s in the yard of Dob utca 35 and a wigmaker at no. 31, while down to the right at Kazinczy utca 28 are a kosher baker and pizzeria, opposite the kosher Carmel restaurant. Almost next door to the last stands the Orthodox Synagogue (Mon–Thurs 10am–4.30pm, Fri 10am–2.30pm, Sun 10am–5.30pm; 800Ft), built by Béla and Sándor Löffler in 1913 in the Art Nouveau style, with a facade melding into the curve of the street, and an interior with painted rather than moulded motifs.
For something quite different, visit the Museum of Electrotechnology (Magyar Elektrotechnikai Múzeum; Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 9am–6pm; 400Ft) in a former electricity sub-station at Kazinczy utca 21. Its curators demonstrate the world’s first dynamo (invented in 1859 by Ányos Jedlik) and other devices in rooms devoted to such topics as the history of light bulbs, or the Hungarian section of the Iron Curtain. Though the current was too weak to kill and the minefields were removed in 1965, patrols kept it inviolate until 1989, when the Hungarians ceased shooting escapees, thereby spelling the end of the Iron Curtain as a whole.
Beyond the Nagykörút
Where Dohány utca crosses the Nagykörút you’ll spot the New York Palace, a venerable Budapest landmark. Named after the insurance company which commissioned the building in 1895, its magnificent coffee house was one of the great literary cafés of interwar Budapest. Under Communism the edifice housed a publishers, and its Beaux Arts facade – with a small Statue of Liberty high up on the corner – survived being rammed by a tank in 1956. Now reopened as a luxury hotel, its gilded and frescoed restaurant-cum-coffee house is worth a look even if you can’t afford to eat there.
Further along Dohány utca the district changes, becoming more working class and tinged with Arab and Chinese influences as you near the “Garment District” around Garay tér, whose bustling old market hall has just been thoroughly modernized, which may squeeze out much of the market’s old atmosphere. Take the metro to Keleti pu. to save yourself walking further than necessary to the Miksa Róth Museum (Róth Miksa Múzeum; Tues–Sun 2–6pm; 600Ft; www.rothmuzeum.hu) at Nefelejcs utca 26, in the backstreets to the north of Keleti Station. Located in the former home of this leading figure in the Art Nouveau movement, it shows the diversity of Róth’s work in stained glass and mosaics, which can be seen in Parliament, the Gresham Palace and the Music Academy.
Józsefváros
Separated from Erzsébetváros by Rákóczi út, Józsefváros (Joseph Town) – the VIII district – is an amalgam of high and low life. While the Hungarian National Museum, Eötvös Loránd University and the Szabó Ervin Library on Múzeum körút make for a lively student quarter, its seedier hinterland beyond the Nagykörút – nicknamed “Chicago” between the wars – is still associated with vice and crime, despite efforts to clean it up. You can wander safely anywhere in Józsefváros by day, and between the Kiskörút and Nagykörút in the small hours, but elsewhere stick to main roads and avoid pedestrian underpasses after midnight.
Múzeum körút
Running from Astoria to Kálvin tér, Múzeum körút is a stately arc lined with trees, shops and grand buildings. Immediately beyond the East–West Business Centre by the Astoria junction stands the old faculty of the Eötvös Loránd Science University (known by its Hungarian initials as ELTE). It’s named after the physicist Loránd Eötvös, whose pupils included many of the scientists who later developed the US atomic bombs at Los Alamos. Across the street, on Ferenczy utca, you can see a small crenellated section of the medieval wall of Pest. The wall gradually disappeared as the city was built up on either side, but fragments remain here and there – a larger chunk lurks in the courtyard of no. 21.
Staying on the outer edge of Múzeum körút, you’ll find the Múzeum Kávéház at no. 12. One of the earliest coffee houses in Pest, its original frescoes and Zsolnay ceramic reliefs from 1885 still grace what has long since become a restaurant. From here, you can wander down Bródy Sándor utca, beside the garden of the Hungarian National Museum. It seems an unlikely place for a revolution to start – yet this is where the Uprising began, outside the Radio Building at no. 7, when ÁVO guards fired upon students demanding access to the airwaves, an act which turned the hitherto peaceful protests of October 23, 1956 into a revolt against the secret police and other manifestations of Stalinism.
Hungarian National Museum
Like the National Library on Várhegy, the Hungarian National Museum (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; 1000Ft; free on March 15, Aug 20 & Oct 23; www.hnm.hu) was the brainchild of Count Ferenc Széchenyi (father of István), who donated thousands of prints and manuscripts to form the basis of its collection. Housed in a Grecian-style edifice by Mihály Pollack, it was only the fourth such museum in the world when it opened in 1847, and soon afterwards became the stage for a famous event in the 1848 Revolution, when Sándor Petőfi first declaimed the National Song from its steps, with its rousing refrain “Choose! Now is the time! Shall we be slaves or shall we be free?” Ever since, March 15 has been commemorated here with flags and speeches.
By way of amends for losing the Coronation Regalia in 2000 (now on display in Parliament), the National Museum has undergone a major refit, resulting in two new subterranean levels devoted to medieval and Roman stonework – the latter starring a second-century AD mosaic floor from a villa at Nemesvámos-Baláca in western Hungary. To the left of the ground-floor foyer, a darkened room displays King Stephen’s Byzantine silk coronation mantle, which is far too fragile to be exhibited in the Parliament building. Equally impressive is the section to the right of the foyer, called On the East-West Frontier, which covers the pre-Hungarian peoples of the Carpathian Basin. Its highlights include three skeletons and grave goods from a 1600 BC cemetery, gold Germanic bangles and the Nagyszentmiklós treasure, a gorgeous 23-piece gold dinner service belonging to an Avar chieftain.
The main exhibition on the upper floor traces Hungarian history from the Árpád dynasty to the end of Communism. Béla III’s crown and sword, a wall fountain from the royal palace at Visegrád, and a huge carved pew are among the treasures in the medieval and Renaissance section, which ends with a gallery of the oldest portraits in Hungary (omitting only the infamous “Blood Countess” Báthori). The Reform era and the belle époque are covered in rooms 11–18, followed by World War II and the Communist era in room 20. The last features a radio set dedicated to Stalin’s 70th birthday, a scaled-down model of the Stalin statue torn down by crowds in 1956, and kitsch tributes to János Kádár, who reimposed Communist rule with a vengeance, but later liberalized it to the point that his successors felt able to abandon it entirely. Not to be missed are the propaganda films from the Horthy, Fascist and Stalinist eras, whose resemblance to each other makes the point.
Kálvin tér
Múzeum körút ends at Kálvin tér, a busy intersection with roads going to the airport, the east, and westwards across the river, where street fighting was especially fierce in 1956. It seems miraculous that the Szabó Ervin Library (Mon–Fri 10am–8pm, Sat 10am–4pm; closed July, reduced hours in Aug; free), on the corner of Baross utca, survived unscathed. Built in 1887 by the Wenckheim family – who enjoyed a near-monopoly on Hungary’s onion crop – the library is well worth a look. At the main entrance on Reviczky utca, you can ask at the information desk about visiting the ornate fourth-floor reading rooms, reached by a lovely wooden staircase. Staff may ask you to register but will probably just wave you through.
Outside the library and facing Kálvin tér stands one of the few surviving monuments marking the hated Treaty of Trianon: the so-called Fountain of Hungarian Truth (Magyar Igazság kútja). Erected in 1928, it honours the British press magnate Lord Rothermere, whose campaign against the treaty in the Daily Mail was so appreciated that he was offered the Hungarian crown. On June 4, the anniversary of the treaty’s signing, nationalist and Fascist groups gather to pay their respects.
To the Nagykörút and Keleti Station
Behind the library lies an atmospheric quarter of small squares and parochial schools; formerly shabby, it’s now buzzing with cafés and bars popular with students, and is promoted by the local council as “Budapest’s Soho”. Having face-lifted Mikszáth Kálmán tér and much of Krudy utca, the process of gentrification is set to cross the József körút – one of the sleazier arcs of the Nagykörút – to embrace Rákóczi tér, the locus of street prostitution until it was outlawed in 1999. At the time of writing, the square was fenced off for the construction of the new metro line, with its market hall a place for locals to shop and a centre for Chinese wholesalers – but the whole area may well move upmarket in the future.
While theatregoers bestow bourgeois respectability upon Köztársaság tér – the home of Budapest’s “second” opera house, the Erkel Theatre (named after the composer of the national anthem, Ferenc Erkel) – the grittier side of life prevails at Keleti Station on Baross tér. As the station is Budapest’s “gateway to the east”, it’s not surprising that Chinese takeaways and Arab shops are a feature of the area – as are frequent ID checks by the police, who patrol here in threes (“One can read, one can write, and the third one keeps an eye on the two intellectuals”, as the old joke has it).
The Police History Museum
Handily for the police, their precinct HQ is only two blocks from the station, on Mosonyi utca. Tourists who’d never go there otherwise can visit the Police History Museum (Rendőrség-Történeti Múzeum; Tues–Sun 9am–5pm; free; www.policehistorymus.com) next door at no. 7, guarded by a dummy sentry. Since the exhibits are captioned in Hungarian only, you can easily miss the ideological cast of the display of uniforms and memorabilia, which harbours a tribute to the Communist border guards and militia, and CIA leaflets inciting the Uprising. Be thankful you’re not an exhibit in the other hall, where many displays depict murders and mutilations in horrific detail, unlike the staged – and very 1960s – crime scene with a sign listing key points for trainee investigators. Stuff on forgery and art theft in the 1980s begs the question why there’s nothing about crime in Hungary nowadays. The show ends with a display of police uniforms from fellow forces in the EU, and there’s also a shop selling police memorabilia, where you can have your fingerprints taken as a souvenir.
Kerepesi Cemetery
Five minutes’ walk from the museum, along Fiumei út, you’ll find Kerepesi Cemetery (Kerepesi temető; daily: April & Aug 7am–7pm, May–July 7am–8pm, Sept 7am–6pm, Oct 7am–5pm, Nov–March 7.30am–5pm; free), the Père Lachaise of Budapest, where the famous, great and not-so-good are buried. Vintage hearses and mourning regalia in the Funerary Museum (Kegyeleti Múzeum; Mon–Thurs 10am–3pm, Fri 10am–1pm; free) near the main gates illuminate the Hungarian way of death and set the stage for the necropolis. In Communist times, Party members killed during the Uprising were buried in a prominent position near the entrance and government ministers in honourable proximity to Kossuth, while leaders and martyrs who “Lived for Communism and the People” were enshrined in a starkly ugly Pantheon of the Working Class Movement; some have been removed by their relatives since the demise of Communism. Party leader János Kádár – who ruled Hungary from 1956 to 1988 – rates a separate grave, still heaped with wreaths from admirers.
Further in lie the florid nineteenth-century mausoleums of Kossuth, Batthyány, Deák and Petőfi (whose family tomb is here, though his own body was never found). Don’t miss the Art Nouveau funerary arcades between Batthyány’s and the novelist Jókai’s mausoleums, nor the nearby tomb of the diva Lujza Blaha, the “Nation’s Nightingale”, whose effigy is surrounded by statues of serenading figures. Other notables include the composer Erkel, the confectioner Gerbeaud and three chess grandmasters whose tombs are engraved with the chess moves that won them their titles. A more recent addition is József Antall, the first post-Communist prime minister of Hungary, honoured by an allegorical monument with horses struggling to burst free of a sheet.
The New Public and Jewish cemeteries
Two more notable cemeteries lie further out in the X district of Kőbánya, 15km from central Pest, a 35-minute ride by tram #37 or #28 from Népszínház utca (near Blaha Lujza tér metro) to the main gates on Kozma utca. The New Public Cemetery (Új köztemető; daily dawn–dusk; free) is the final resting place of Imre Nagy and 260 others executed for their part in the Uprising, who were buried in unmarked graves in 1958. Any flowers left at Plot 301 were removed by the police until 1989, when the deceased received a state funeral on Hősök tere. The plot is 2km from the main gates, with minibuses running there every twenty minutes. Near the graves, an ornate wooden gateway and headposts mark a mass grave now designated as a National Pantheon – as opposed to the Communist pantheon in Kerepesi.
The adjacent Jewish cemetery (Izráelita temető; Mon–Fri & Sun 8am–2pm; free) is the burial place of Ernő Szép (author of The Smell of Humans, a searing Holocaust memoir), as well as many rabbis and industrialists. Beside the wall on Kozma utca stands the dazzling blue-and-gold tiled Art Nouveau tomb of shopkeeper Sándor Schmidl, designed by Ödön Lechner and Béla Lajta. The gates to the Jewish cemetery are 700m up the road from the New Public Cemetery; tram #37 runs past.
Ferencváros
Pest’s IX district, Ferencváros (Francis Town), was developed to house workers in the latter half of the nineteenth century, on the same lines as the more bourgeois Józsefváros. During the 1930s and 1940s, its population confounded Marxist orthodoxy by voting for the extreme right, who returned the favour by supporting the local football team FTC – popularly known as “Fradi” – which became the unofficial team of the opposition under Communism, subsequently known for its hooligan “ultras”. The club’s green and white colours can be seen throughout the district; its stadium is way out along Üllői út. (See also information on Fradi and the football scene in general.)
Initially, Ferencváros takes its tone from two institutions on Vámház körút, the section of the Kiskörút that separates it from the Belváros. The wrought-iron Great Market Hall (Nagycsarnok; Mon 6am–5pm, Tues–Fri 6am–6pm, Sat 6am–3pm) is as famous for its ambience as for its produce, with tanks of live fish and stalls festooned with strings of paprika downstairs and cheap eateries upstairs. Nearer the Danube, the Economics University (named after Karl Marx during Communist times) makes a fine sight from Buda at night, reflected in the river, and adds to the liveliness of the area by day. The building was originally Budapest’s main Customs House (Vámház) – hence the name of the körút. A freestanding section of the medieval wall of Pest can be found off Vámház körút in the courtyard of no. 16, if the door is open.
Further inland off Kálvin tér, Ráday utca hums with restaurants, cafés and bars, their pavement tables packed till after midnight, occasionally disturbed by stag parties. In late June/early July, the Ferencváros festival (FETE) sees concerts on Bakáts tér at the far end of Ráday, and other events in the neighbourhood, while the Goethe-Institut at no. 58 has its own programme of events throughout the year.
The Applied Arts Museum and Corvin Cinema
Grey, polluted Üllői út isn’t an obvious place to linger, but there’s much to see within a few blocks’ radius of Ferenc körút metro. Take the signposted exit in the underpass to marvel at the Applied Arts Museum (Iparművészeti Múzeum; Tues 2–6pm, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm, Thurs 10am–10pm; 800Ft; www.imm.hu), the most flamboyant creation of Ödön Lechner, who strove to create a uniquely Hungarian form of architecture emphasizing the Magyars’ Ugric roots, but was also influenced by Art Nouveau. Inaugurated by Emperor Franz Josef during the 1896 Millennial celebrations, it has a vast dome tiled in green and yellow and a portico with ceramic Turkic motifs on an egg-yolk-coloured background, from the Zsolnay porcelain factory in Pécs. By contrast, the all-white interior is reminiscent of Mogul architecture: at one time it was thought that the Magyars came from India. The museum has a large collection but no permanent displays, instead mounting small exhibitions of its own material and major shows drawn from other collections.
Returning to the subway and crossing the Nagykörút, duck into Corvin köz, a U-shaped Art Deco maze of passages and apartment blocks surrounding the Corvin Cinema, from which teenage guerrillas (some as young as 12) sallied forth to battle Soviet tanks in 1956. Since the fall of Communism, they have been honoured by a statue of a young insurgent outside the cinema. Inside, the auditoriums are named after illustrious Hungarian actors or directors such as Alexander Korda – one of many Magyars who made it in Hollywood. From the cinema you can walk round the corner and along Práter utca to find a delightful statue of the Paul Street Boys – the heroes of Ferenc Molnár’s eponymous 1906 novel – portraying the moment they are caught playing marbles in the yard of their enemies, the Redshirts. The most widely sold and translated Hungarian book ever, it’s both a universal tale of childhood and a satire on extreme nationalism.
If you’re wondering how locals were able to fight so well in 1956, the answer lies across Üllői út, where the Hungarian garrison of the Kilián Barracks was the first to join the insurgents, organizing youths already aware of street-fighting tactics due to an obligatory diet of films about Soviet partisans. It was in Budapest that the Molotov cocktail proved lethal to T-54s, as the “Corvin Boys” trapped columns in the backstreets by firebombing the front and rear tanks. Memorial plaques honour Colonel Pál Maleter and others who directed fighting from the Corvin Cinema.
Holocaust Memorial Centre
One block past the barracks, a right turn into Páva utca brings you to the Holocaust Memorial Centre (Holocaust Emlékközpont; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; 1000Ft; www.hdke.hu), more chilling than the House of Terror; think twice about bringing children here. Like Libeskind’s Jewish Museum in Berlin, the building is distorted and oppressive; darkened ramps resounding to the crunch of jackboots and the shuffle of feet lead to artefacts, newsreels and audiovisual testimonies relating the slide from “deprivation of rights to genocide”. From 1920 onwards, Jews were systematically stripped of their assets by right-wing regimes with the participation of local citizens, and Gypsies forced into work gangs. The family stories and newsreel footage of the death camps after liberation are truly harrowing, accompanied by the roar and clang of a furnace being stoked. Visitors emerge from the bowels of hell to find themselves within a glorious and sunlit Art Deco synagogue, built by Leopold Baumhorn in the 1920s, which has been restored and incorporated in the memorial centre, itself designed by István Mányi.
On your way back to the metro, it’s worth a detour onto Liliom utca to see another striking building – an old transformer plant turned into an outstanding contemporary arts centre, Trafó.
The Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden
A kilometre further down Üllői út just past the Klinikák metro stop, a left turn up Korányi Sándor utca brings you to the revamped Hungarian Natural History Museum (Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum; daily except Tues 10am–6pm; 600Ft, 1000Ft for temporary displays; www.nhmus.hu). Though slightly out on a limb, it’s worth the hike, especially if you have children, with lots of colour, wide-open spaces, and explanations in English. A hall dominated by a whale skeleton leads through to a fantastic underwater room, with colourful fish in salt- and freshwater aquariums – the mock seabed under the glass floor makes you feel as if you’re walking on water. The first floor has lots of interesting displays on animals from around the world, while the top floor focuses on what Hungary is doing for the environment. The shop by the entrance sells an excellent range of animal-related souvenirs.
Across the road is a small Botanical Garden (Fűvészkert; daily 9am–5pm, greenhouses closed noon–1pm and from 4pm; 800Ft). Delightfully jungle-like, it derives part of its appeal from its rather run-down state.
The National Theatre and Palace of Arts
Spectacularly floodlit in blue and gold on the banks of the Danube, the National Theatre and Palace of Arts complex looks like the crowning jewel of Budapest’s cultural life from a distance, being a three-kilometre ride from Deák tér (take tram #2 to the penultimate stop, Vágóhíd utca). Though still isolated by tracts of wasteland, the landscaping, outdoor bars and hip warehouse developments are colonizing the riverside from the Petőfi bridge outwards, gradually creating a whole new arts and leisure zone.
The National Theatre (Nemzeti Szinház; www.nemzetiszinhaz.hu) resembles a Ceaučescu folly, its exterior and environs strewn with random architectural references and statuary. The Classical facade submerged in a water feature is a replica of the frontage of the original theatre on Blaha Lujza tér, torn down to build the metro in 1964 – seen by many as a Communist plot to undermine Hungary’s identity – which condemned the company to a dump in the backstreets of Pest while the debate continued as to where this national institution should be housed. The fiasco of the “National Hole” on Erzsébet tér was followed by a scandal over the existing site, when it emerged that the minister in charge awarded the contract to the architect of his holiday home. Lacklustre performances since the theatre opened haven’t helped.
Next door is the Palace of Arts (Művészetek Palotája; www.mupa.hu), a vast edifice that is the new home of the excellent Philharmonic Orchestra and National Dance Theatre. No expense has been spared to make this a top venue; particularly in the concert hall, whose acoustics are so sharp that some orchestras are said to dislike it, as you can hear their mistakes. The Palace incorporates the Ludwig Museum or Museum of Contemporary Art (Kortárs Művészti Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–8pm; 1000Ft; www.ludwigmuseum.hu), established in 1996 to build upon an earlier bequest by the German industrialist Peter Ludwig. The collection includes US pop art such as Warhol’s Single Elvis and Lichtenstein’s Vicki, as well as Picasso’s Musketeer with a Sword and a Sealed Letter by Beuys. It also hosts temporary exhibitions by international artists, who sometimes personally conduct guided tours (Thurs at 7pm and Sat at 5pm; 1000Ft for under ten people; reserve 14 days ahead 1/555 3469, guidedtour@lumu.hu).