This really was a very popular tour but unfortunately the Trabant car is so terribly polluting that I decided to stop it. Now the same tour is available by car, I’m happy to offer the same experience with less impact on the environment.
This was not an easy decision for me, especially after my tour was featured in a French travel TV show but our planet’s and our kids’ future is more important than some business opportunities.
I’m very much honoured because my Trabant tour will be included in a French TV show about Budapest. The idea is a really good one, it gives tips and recommendations about what to do in my lovely city when you visit Budapest for 2-3 days.
The filming was a very special experience for me, I can’t wait to see the cut version which I’ll share once I have it.
Budapest Memento Park is one of the most unusual and thought-provoking attractions in Budapest. Often described as an exhibition “in the shadow of Stalin’s boots,” this open-air museum offers a powerful insight into Hungary’s Communist past and the ideology that shaped public life for decades.
A visit here is not just about statues — it’s about understanding history, memory, and how societies deal with difficult legacies.
After the political changes of 1989, Communist monuments were removed from Budapest’s streets. For many Hungarians, these statues were painful reminders of dictatorship, oppression, and the cult of personality surrounding Communist leaders.
While some locals supported destroying them altogether, a different solution was chosen. Selected monuments were relocated to a dedicated statue park in the 22nd district of Budapest, where they could be recontextualized rather than erased.
The conceptual designer of the park famously stated that the park is not about the statues or the sculptors, but rather a critique of the ideology that used monumental art as a symbol of absolute power.
Walking through Memento Park, visitors encounter statues that once dominated public squares — heroic figures meant to be admired and obeyed by the proletariat. The exaggerated scale and dramatic poses reflect the monumentality of Communist-era art, whose purpose was to create new political idols.
One of the most striking symbols is the pair of Stalin’s boots, all that remains of a gigantic statue torn down during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The boots have since become one of the park’s most iconic and haunting images.
I remember many of these statues standing on Budapest’s streets. They even had nicknames, and people created ironic or humorous stories about them — subtle acts of resistance in a tightly controlled society.
During my Communist and thematic tours, I love sharing these personal memories alongside historical context. I explain:
why certain monuments were removed
how propaganda worked through public art
what everyday life was like under Communism
and why Memento Park remains relevant today
Although the Communist era officially ended over three decades ago, its legacy is still close enough to feel personal — and far enough away to be examined critically.
A visit to Memento Park is especially rewarding for travelers interested in:
20th-century European history
life behind the Iron Curtain
political symbolism and propaganda
alternative, off-the-beaten-path sights in Budapest
It’s a powerful addition to a Budapest Communist tour and a place that often sparks meaningful conversations long after the visit ends.
