Medium
Difficulty
4 hours
Duration

Book a Communist Budapest walk with me, so that I can get you closer to the most painful periods of our modern history. I’ll show you monuments of our Communist past and will also explain you how people lived in my beloved city during the Communist dictatorship. We’ll finish the tour in the House of Terror where you can meet the victims and the victimizers of the Communist regime.

Hungary fell under Communist rule after WW2 and its new leaders not only changed the way of thinking and the everyday life of the people but the cityscape of Budapest, too. It’s hard to believe that the shiny and glorious city was all black and grey when I was a child.

I’d like to show you the very few Soviet Army Memorials left in Buda and Pest. We’ll see the monuments commemorating the 1956 revolution near the Parliament building and the Heroes square. I’d like to show you the examples of the Socialist-Realism architecture, so that you’ll have a better understanding about how local people lived during the last 70 years. We’ll end the tour visiting the House of Terror, which is one of the most poignant museums of the city.

I’ll explain about the years of the heavy dictatorship and about the consolidation from the beginning of the 1960’s, how Hungarians lived through the Goulash Communism. I’ll also tell about the political and economical changes of 1989, how Hungary became free and independent, how we witnessed the most important changes of our lives in Budapest and in Hungary.

 

INCLUDED
Tour guiding in English
NOT INCLUDED
Entrance fees

Public transportation tickets (if needed)

All the above tours are private tours for you and for your family and friends only. The prices are for a group of maximum 4 people. Please let me know if you need a quote for more people.

Would you please contact me if you experience problems with your booking or if you’d like to book a tour on a day when I’m not available.

Tour Reviews

5.00 based on 8 reviews
July 23, 2024

Simply the very best tour we have ever had; and we travel continually. Julia brought together the historical distant past, the more recent times (WW1 and 2), and post war years. Beautifully illustrated with visits to historic buildings and monuments – Julia brought to life the history of this region, its people and its hopes for the future. Do not hesitate to book a tour with Julia. It is a privilege and a pleasure.

May 14, 2023

Excellent!! Highly recommended!!

March 26, 2023

Julia is an excellent tour guide and lovely person! She has a deep knowledge of Hungary’s history and shared many interesting and difficult stories. We enjoyed our time with Julia and would highly recommend her for any tour of Budapest.

August 25, 2022

Excellent information and conversation. Wonderful look into life under Russia and Communists with additional background on contemporary life in Hungary.

October 27, 2018

Julia’s ‘Hammer&Sickle tour’ gave us a whole new perspective on the city. It was a perfect cocktail of history, architecture, captivating stories, fun facts and personal memories. We absolutely loved her sense of humour up to the very last second of the tour 🙂

July 9, 2018

My husband and I booked a private “communism” tour with Julia on July 9, 2018, which we really enjoyed! Julia met us in the lobby of our hotel and we spent a half-day walking around the city seeing the sights related to the communist period. Julia grew up in Budapest in the 80s and 90s so she provided very interesting insight about the communist period and the transition to democracy. Julia speaks fluent English and was a very engaging guide. Would definitely recommend this tour to a friend.

May 16, 2018

Julia was fantastic. We spent 4 quality hours learning all about the Hungarian Freedon Fighters (my name for the tour). Julia could answer any question we ask, not only about Budapest, but also Hungary in general. One thing we especially liked is Julia’s obvious love of her country and her city, it’s contagious! Her personal insights added a lot to the tour. Highly recommend!

November 4, 2016

Just got back from fabulous afternoon with Julia. Got the local color of growing up here as a teenager under the Communist regime. Very knowledgeable and personable.

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