More Art Nouveau

I was organising my Beautiful Budapest photographs last week and found some real gems. My Art Nouveau tour is really very popular, I understand why, the buildings are magnificent, the stories are very interesting and there is so much amazing symbolism about the Hungarian Art Nouveau. Here is a little gallery of my top favourite Budapest Art Nouveau details.

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Four seasons in the Castle Garden Bazaar

I’m spending a lot of time in Budapest every day, I consider myself very lucky to be able to see the changing of seasons, and I try to capture those special moments. Have a look at this photo gallery to see the four different faces of the Buda Castle Garden Bazaar in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Book a Buda Castle Walking tour with me to see the beautiful Royal Gardens for yourself!

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Magnificent views over Budapest

We were very fortunate with my travellers and got invited to the very top of the Buda Castle district, to the rooftop skybar of the Hilton Hotel. I highly recommend the White Raven Skybar, views are amazing and I can guarantee you’ll have a very good time. Don’t forget to reserve in advance!

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A full-day private tour in Budapest

Every private tour is different, the tour itinerary is fully customisable according to your interests and preferences. Watch this video to get a general idea of what you can expect when you book a full-day walking or driving tour with me. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me may you need further information. See you soon in Beautiful Budapest!

 

New tour – Herend Porcelain Factory

This isn’t really a new tour, as I’ve been offering the tour for a few years now as a custom tour, but the time has come to publish it on my website. To be honest, I’m in love with Herend products. It’s unique, beautiful, elegant, classy and clearly timeless. All my former travellers were fascinated by the factory, by the steps of porcelain making and the finest, most magnificent porcelain products. The tour is about 6 hours, including the drive to Herend and back to Budapest, the visit of the factory and the porcelain museum. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have questions or book the tour directly on my website.

Please note that his tour is only available from April to October, as the mini factory is closed in the winter months.

HEREND FACTORY AND MUSEUM TOUR

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Budapest museums – National Museum

The National Museum is one of the oldest museums of Budapest, founded by Ferenc Széchényi in 1802. It’s one of my favourite museums in the city, not only because it’s beautiful (both the outside and the interiors) but also because there is a beautiful garden around it which serves as a public park. The museum is a special place for Hungarian people, our entire history is on display in an easily digestible manner.

The building is a special place for national pride and heritage, the 1848-49 Hungarian war of independence against the Habsburgs started here, poet Sándor Petőfi read his famous poem on the stairs of the museum.

There are permanent and temporary exhibitions, the coronation robe of the Hungarian kings is on display here, too. A great place to spend a few hours in Budapest in the cold month of January.

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Mother Winter visited the Danube Bend with us

I took these images when we were touring the Danube Bend in December a few weeks ago. We were there just in time to see the magic of winter, unfortunately we don’t get too much snow, thus the visit was very special for both me and my travellers.

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Happy New Year from Budapest!

I would like to wish you a very happy new year and hope I’ll see you in Beautiful Budapest in 2024.

These were my most popular tours in 2023, feel free to contact me if you’re interested in booking any of my tours or in creating another one customised to your interests and preferences.

€500

FULL-DAY BUDAPEST TOUR BY CAR

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€180

BUDAPEST FOODIE TOUR

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Budapest Art Nouveau Private Walking Tour
€180

BUDAPEST ART NOUVEAU WALK

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Budapest Jewish Quarter Private Walking Tour
€180

BUDAPEST JEWISH QUARTER WALK

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€560

EGER AND WINE TOUR BY CAR

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€500

DANUBE BEND TOUR BY CAR

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Another great wine tour in Eger

You might have noticed that the Eger Wine Tour is one of my favourite daytrips from Budapest. I love Eger, it’s a charming little town with beautiful Baroque architecture and its castle is still considered as a national symbol of Hungarian patriotism. The tour is topped by wine tasting both in the city centre and in the Valley of the Beautiful Woman, where you can taste Bull’s Blood, the local cuvée.

The weather is getting more and more beautiful day by day so we enjoyed our time in Eger in beautiful sunshine and I can tell you that everybody loved the red wines we tasted. I hope I’ll have the chance to go back to Eger many times this year.

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A Must-See: House of Hungarian Music

A new museum opened in the City Park of Budapest, the museum of Hungarian Music. We had a private tour in the museum last week and were truly impressed by both the design of the building and the museum’s programmes and exhibitions.

The building was designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, to me it looks like an extremely ornate spaceship abandoned in the woods. For example I love the 12m high glass windows and panels and the hundreds of golden stylised leaves decorating both the interior and the outside. As a result it looks like a huge forest of gold, which is even more beautiful in the sunshine when the lights are nicely reflected on each and every gold leaf.

In the sound dome you can enjoy a unique audio-visual experience with sounds and music coming from all directions. I loved when all the sounds and music came together by the end of the show. It really felt like as if we witnessed a special chemistry experience in a musical laboratory. As an addition the permanent exhibition offers a musical journey in space and time. You must take some time to explore it, because you can easily spend hours in this underground musical maze. Music lovers should plan to spend some 2-3 hours in the building. Visitors can expect to get a better understanding of Hungarian music from the different periods of our musical history.

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(On a personal note I have to add that I’m very much against all new constructions in the second largest public park of Budapest. The reason is that I think we should preserve and enlarge the green spaces in the city. However, I like the modern approach and the fact that the building is supposed to use sustainable and climate-friendly solutions.)

Private Cooking Class at Borganika

Last week we had the chance to meet and cook with chef Zita from BORGANIKA. Zita has an amazing gastro space in Klauzál market in the Jewish district. She offers cooking classes, all sorts of gastro events and she also hosts private dinners. She is amazing and is truly in love with Hungarian culture and food, all of my guests were fascinated by this unique culinary experience.

We cooked green pea soup, chicken paprikas with nokedli and strudel, it was a lot of fun, we enjoyed cooking and eating together and we also tasted some great Hungarian wines.

It’s a great experience for smaller and larger groups and her enthusiasm and professionalism will most probably brighten your day and contribute to an amazing Budapest experience.

Private cooking class at Borganika
Private cooking class at Borganika

15th of March – Independence Day

We celebrate Independence Day on the 15th of March, the Hungarian freedom war against the Habsburgs started on the 15th of March in 1848.

I collected some Hungarian flags from all around Budapest for celebration. On the Hungarian flag RED stands for life, blood and passion, WHITE stands for honesty and GREEN stands for hope.

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Independence Day Hungary 15th of March

War in Ukraine

I know that many of you who are planning a visit to Europe are now concerned about the war in Ukraine. Personally I’m more concerned about the people who are at great risk, those who stayed in Ukraine and those who decided to flee their homeland. This is sad, this is awful and I hope that Russia’s leaders will held responsible for this unscrupulous aggression.

For you, as a traveller, there are no risks when you come to Europe. Yes, by now over 100.000 refugees arrived to Hungary, they are being taken care by local NGOs and charities. The volunteers of these organisations work 24/7 to provide refugees with shelter, food, transport tickets and hope. You won’t see crowds of refugees at the borders or at the train stations because of the heroic work of the volunteers and local people who offer to share their homes with people fleeing the war.

We’re supporting local charities and I’m also supporting a tour guide in Ukraine because I cannot imagine how it feels to lose your ground, your home, your entire life from one day to another. There are many charities to support, they need all the help they can get.

From the bottom of my heart I wish that the heroism of the Ukrainians defeats the aggressor and peace will be restored.

Your reviews

Your reviews on TripAdvisor or on my website are highly appreciated and I’m always very glad to read how much you enjoyed your tours. This is a recent review from my TripAdvisor profile:

Julia is the best tour guide I ever had
Our PR agency spent one weekend in Budapest – a team of 5 people – we wanted to celebrate a challenging business year in this beautiful city so close (and connected) to Vienna. We contacted Julia as we wanted to get some really good insights for Budapest, yet we did not have so much time – so we booked 3 hours with her. Julia took us on an outstanding tour in Budapest – I have never met such a dedicated, experienced and in the meantime passionate tour guide / a person loving her home country – every minute with Julia was interesting and exciting, she gave us such a vivid impression of Budapest from its interesting history / culture / architecture – connecting to todays story .. To be with a tour guides like her is pure luck, thank you Julia for this wonderfuld day – we would book her again and can only recommend to anyone who really wants to get a great insight to Budapest.
Thank you very much!

Winter in Budapest

Yes, it’s relatively cold and some days may be foggy and gray but Budapest is still the most beautiful city of the world. However, I’d recommend to book shorter tours if you don’t want to stay out in the cold for a full day 🙂

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Merry Christmas from Beautiful Budapest

Merry Christmas from Beautiful Budapest! #merrychristmas #boldogkarácsonyt #budapest#beautifulbudapest #christmas

 

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Merry Christmas
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