The Great Synagogue is one of the most beautiful buildings of Budapest with unique architecture. It looks like a Mosque from the outside, the interior is very similar to the interior of a Christian church, still, it’s the most important cultic and cultural center of the Budapest Jewish community. Don’t miss to visit the interior and the Jewish Museum together with the garden and the park of the Synagogue with moving Holocaust monuments. I’m happy to show you around the building and the neighborhood as part of the “Jewish Quarter Walk“.
I very often tell my guests to walk as much as they can, walking around is probably the best way to discover a new place; you have enough time to admire even the smallest details and to absorb the atmosphere of the city.
But, if you feel you’re too tired to walk, you can also choose public transport. Here is a list of some of the best options if you’re about to explore the everyday life of locals. And, don’t forget to validate your ticket!
Metro #1, the 120-year old metro connects the city center with the City Park. Taking the metro is a real time-travel, some of the stations are authentic from the end of the 19th century.
Tram #2, the streetcar or tram (short for tramway) rides all along the Pest side of the Danube river between the Margaret and the Petőfi bridges. Famous for the best view over the Parliament and the beautiful Buda hills.
Bus #16, the one and only bus taking to you to the historic old town of Buda, the buses are small and usually very crowded. It crosses the river on the 170-year old Chain Bridge and the journey ends on the cobblestoned streets of the Buda Castle District.
Funicular: it’s exactly like the one that appears at the beginning of ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, it’s great fun although very busy, take it from the top of the Castle hill to the Chain Bridge if you want to skip the line.
Yes, the Trabant is noisy and it smells. Every time I get in the Trabi I feel like a child again. It was our family car, our holiday car, I can’t count how many times our precious little car took us to the lake Balaton or to the Mátra mountains. It was the only treasure we had as the communist leaders didn’t really allow people possessing much.
There are some parts of Budapest where the time stopped 30 years ago when the last few Trabants rolled down the assembly line. I’d like to show them to you during the Trabant tour, I’ll tell you about the not that glorious decades of socialism, I’ll share with you funny and poignant stories from behind the Iron Curtain. I’m sure you’ll shortly realize that freedom is one of the most valuable gifts and we have to learn to appreciate it.
Budapest’s largest, Hungary’s third largest church, the richly ornate St. Stephen’s Basilica. It had been built for 55 years and showcases the characteristics of three great architects’ favourite styles: Baroque, Neo-Renaissance and Classicism.
It’s the richest church of the city with exquisite red marble and 22-carat gold ornaments. It’s a working church with services, wedding ceremonies and organ concerts. You can walk up the steps or take the elevators to the top of the dome, so that you can enjoy an amazing view over the Pest side.
The Basilica houses one of our most important national relics, the 1000-year-old mummified right hand of our first king, St. Stephen. Let me show you the Basilica and its neighborhood, book a Pest walk with me.
The Budapest coffeehouse culture is over 150 years old. Cafés have always been the center of socializing and getting together, the place where idealism and dreaming overcame reality.
The most important Hungarian war of independence against the Austrians started with young enthusiastic guys enjoying a cup of coffee in one of the coffeehouses of Pest.
Some 100 years ago a Hungarian writer stole the keys of a coffeehouse and dropped them inti the Danube river to make sure the place is open 24 hours a day.
Enjoy our coffee, enjoy the special atmosphere of the Budapest cafés! Book a Foodie Tour with me, so that you can discover the best places of the city!
The Jewish quarter, the 7th district of Budapest is the most fun and creative neighborhood of Budapest. It’s hip and always busy, full of cafés, clubs and restaurants, charming little streets and monuments.
After visiting the world’s second largest synagogue in Dohány street we take a walk around the synagogue triangle. I’ll take you to the famous ruin pubs and will also show you around local pastry shops and cafés. I’ll show you the monuments commemorating the victims of WW2 when the Jewish quarter was the ghetto of Budapest. I’ll show you a piece of the ghetto wall, will tell you about the time when the neighborhood witnessed so many dark memories and will also tell you about the well-known and lesser known heroes who had saved the life of tens of thousands.
We finish the tour by the moving Shoe memorial at the Danube river.
The Jewish quarter is the center of the Jewish community and walking around it is fantastic cultural experience too, we’ll see great design ateliers and the most amazing examples of Budapest Street Art. Come and join me for a walk in the Jewish quarter, so that I can show you and tell you more!
The State Opera House is one of the most impressive buildings of the Andrassy avenue, Budapest’s Champs Elysées. The building’s extremely richly ornate façade and arched main entrance both present an imposing sight from the outside but you really have to walk inside because the interior of the building is equally beautiful. No wonder that the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph found the idea that this building was actually more richly decorated than the Vienna Opera House outstanding and irritating, too.
The Opera House can of course be visited, there are guided tours in the building every afternoon and if you’re lucky, you might also book tickets for the evening performances, such a nice and unique experience when you visit Budapest. You’ll of course learn all the funny and dark secrets of the building and its statues if you choose to join a “Pest Walk” with me.
Full Day Budapest Private Driving Tour 
Budapest State Opera House 
Best of Pest Private Walking Tour 
Budapest State Opera House 
Budapest State Opera House 
Budapest State Opera House
The 20th of August is always very special for Hungarians, not only because we celebrate St. Stephen, the founder of the Hungarian Christian state but also because our country’s “birthday cake” is introduced. The cake is selected every year by the panel of reputable master confectioners, the applicants are to create innovative and creative cakes reflecting traditional Hungarian tastes and the cake should also have to be connected to the 20th of August holiday.
And now, please meet the “Green Gold of Őrség”, this year’s winner. It comes from a small Salgótarján cake shop and has the colours of the Hungarian flag (red-white-green). The layers of the cake are: pumpkin seed oil and almond flour sponge cake, white chocolate ganache, crunchy pumpkin seed praline, raspberry jelly and pumpkin seed jelly.
What can I say? We’we just tasted this beautiful cake with my guests today in the Ruszwurm cake shop near the Matthias Church and it was delicious. Enjoy!
Whenever you see a picture of Budapest, chances are high that it’ll be taken of the magnificent Parliament building. It’s the largest and the most expensive building which was ever built in Budapest.
You might wonder why a small country like Hungary has the second largest Parliament building in Europe. The answer is simple, by the time of its construction Hungary was three times bigger than it is today. Also, by the end of the 19th century public buildings meant to express strength and power. Let me tell you more about the building, book a “Pest Walk” with me, let me amaze you by the grandeur of the building.
There are guided tours every hour, it’s about 1 hour and you can see the most beuatiful parts of the building and the 1000-year-old Hungarian royal crown. You can buy tickets in advance or on the spot and I can also help you booking tickets.
Budapest Private Driving Tour with Parliament visit 
Must-See: Budapest Parliament 
Must-See: Budapest Parliament 
Must-See: Budapest Parliament 
Must-See: Budapest Parliament 
Must-See: Budapest Parliament
Yes, it’s that time of the year, there are several Christmas Markets in downtown Budapest open during the 4 weeks of Advent. You can eat traditional Hungarian dishes, drink mulled wine and amazing hot chocolate and do some Christmas shopping, too. Don’t forget to watch the unique video mapping show over the St. Stephen’s Basilica and to try our special treat, the Chimney Cake (Kürtöskalács). Enjoy!
