We love our coffee and we love our cafés, too

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!

 

 

 

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!

 

culinary_tour_17

A Must-See: the Houses of Parliament

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
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