A walk around the Jewish Quarter

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!

 

Top 5 Budapest restaurants

This is of course a very subjective lists and is based on my own experiences and on my guests’ feedback. There are hundreds of great restaurants in Budapest and it’s very hard to pick only 5 as I keep discovering new places all the time and show them to my guests on my Foodie tours.. These are the places I’d recommend to my guests and where I would go with my family, too. I only selected places with Hungarian meals, so that you can taste the best dishes of our cuisine.

Aszu restaurant: great food, great wines and cozy atmosphere with live cimbalom music. My favourite is the Chicken Paprikás.

Budapest Bistro: such a nice place near the Parliament with very special and modern Hungarian dishes and live piano music. My favourite is the Hungarian Bistro plate.

Pest-Buda Restaurant: is in the heart of the Buda Castle District, a classy little place with red and white checkered tablecloth. My favourite is the Goulash soup.

Rézkakas Bistro: an amazing mix of the authentic Hungarian dishes and international flavours topped with great wines. This is one of the very few places where vegeterians can have a fantastic selection, too. My favourite is the Lajosmizse “terrine de foie gras”.

WineKitchen: yes, it’s a Michelin-star restaurant, still the prices are reasonable, the staff is friendly and they offer fresh and creative daily menus every day. My favourite is the Fresh fish from the market.

+1: Strudel House: a place where you can actually see the strudel making and you can try the best sweet and salted Hungarian strudels. My favourite is the sweet cottage cheese strudel.

Pre-Cruise Post-Cruise Budapest Experience

Many of my guests participate in a rivercruise starting or ending in Budapest. The rivercruise companies offer a general sightseeing tour in Budapest. My guests contact me very often whether I can show them more without duplicating what they see duiring their tour.

You have to believe me when I say that there is so much more to see. I know excatly what is included in a local tour as I guide those tours, too. I can recommend one of my thematic tours, a trip to the countryside or I can send you a plan fully customized according to your needs. Don’t hesitate to contact me for further details.

A Must-See: State Opera House

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

Happy New Year!

I’d like to wish you happiness, peace, love and harmony, I hope all your dreams will come true in 2017.

I’m looking forward to seeing you and to showing you around my beautiful Budapest!

 

 

A Hungarian Christmas

Christmas in Hungary is celebrated with traditions similar to those found in other Central European countries.

The holiday season starts with Advent, the period of expectant waiting for the birth of Jesus. We celebrate 4 Advent Sundays before Christmas lighting one candle on the Advent wreath each Sunday.

Christmas Eve, the 24th is a private family holiday. The family members decorate the Christmas tree together – except the kids because they believe the tree and the Christmas presents are brought by the baby Jesus, they can enter the room with the Christmas tree only when the bells ring three times.

On the 25th and 26th the whole city calms down a little bit, people visit their relatives and friends and of course it’s the best time of the year to taste the very special Hungarian Christmas treats.

Merry Christmas – Boldog Karácsonyt!

Cake of the country: Green Gold of Őrség

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!

 

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Budapest Christmas Markets

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!

 

 

A walk around the Buda Castle District

The Buda Castle district is the oldest part of Buda, many of the buildings are originally from the Middle Ages. Buda became the capital of Hungary by the middle of the 13th century, the castle and the medieval town were constructed in the top of the Castle hill.

I don’t want to disappoint you but The Castle district is not a real castle. The Hungarian Medieval castle, residence of many of our great kings, constructed in Gothic and Renaissance architectures was destroyed in the 17th century. Only some parts of it are accessible in the Budapest History Museum, unfortunately the rest of the castle rest in the ground now.

You can walk up the hill along the ramparts of the Medieval Castle to get to the 18th century Baroque Palace which houses the Budapest History Museum and the National Gallery. The cobblestoned streets of the historical old town of Buda lead you to the Matthias Church, one of the oldest churches of the city originating from the 13th century. If you have some time, you really need to climb the 197 stairs to the church tower from where you can have the best view over our beautiful city.

From the top of the Fisherman’s Bastion you can enjoy the panorama over the Parliament building and the Pest side.

Continue your walk in the civilian town, admire the unique architecture of the National Archives and wonder around the old Jewish quarter. Probably the most interesting fact about the distric is that there is a 12 km long underground cave and cellar complex underneath the Castle District. There are 2 museums where you can discover this unique labyrinth. The Hospital in the Rock was a military hospital during WW2 and a nuclear bunker during the Communist era. The Labyrinth museum is all about scary fun and you might also meet Dracula, the infamous vampire count.

I’d be glad to show you the famous attractions and the hidden treasures of the neighborhood, too, book the Buda Castle walk!

 

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