Luxury Budapest 2015 – Hotel Intercontinental – eGuide by Business Publishing Services Kft.

InterContinental Budapest

InterContinental Budapest offers superb views over the Chain Bridge and Royal Castle. Just a few steps away from the River Danube, the hotel is situated in the heart of the city and only minutes away from the historic sites of Budapest. 402 elegantly appointed rooms and suites – functional and comfortable with all expected modern amenities – are appealing to discerning business and leisure travellers equally. Designed for business people who appreciate personalized recognition and distinctive amenities, our Club Lounge provides enhanced range of services.

Corso Restaurant proudly presents authentic Hungarian cuisine twisted by the latest gourmand trends in an unobtrusively elegant environment, with delicious selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The 482 square meters state-of-the-art SPA InterContinental offers a variety of body, facial and beauty treatments. Our swimming pool, steam bath, sauna and gym are anxiously awaiting you to put the final touches on your day filled with pampering.

InterContinental Budapest 1052 Budapest, Apáczai Csere János utca 12-14. Hungary n Phone: +36 (1) 327 6333 n E-mail: budapest@ihg.com n www.budapest.intercontinental.com

LUXURY BUDAPEST 2015

Breguet, the innovator. The Marine 5827 chronograph

Having become a member of the Board of Longitude in Paris in 1814, Abraham-Louis Breguet was appointed Horologer to the French Royal Navy by Louis XVIII the following year. This prestigious title, embodying exceptional scientific competence, is now perpetuated through the Marine collection and the Marine 5827 chronograph, which features a central chronograph minutes and seconds. History is still being written...

BUDAPEST 2015

t is my pleasure to welcome you to Budapest, the largest and most exciting metropolis in Central and Eastern Europe, capital of Hungary, with a cultural heritage and natural beauty in abundance. Budapest enjoys a unique position in the heart of Europe, helping to form its natural, architectural and cultural character. Besides breathtaking panoramas, the city may offer the visitor the unforgettable pleasures of its many international cultural, art and scientific events, as well as ample opportunity for sport and recreation. Budapest has its own, currently re-strengthening identity, and a cultural life characterised by its variety, based on many traditions. As a city, the Hungarian capital is inclusive but also self-aware. Its multi-faceted cultural spectrum ranges from classical theatre and concerts to the most modern music events, festivals renowned throughout Europe and alternative performances. Visitors may sample an excellent selection of Hungarian and international dishes and drinks, and may choose from numerous restaurants, cafés and so-called ‘ruin’ bars. In addition, Budapest is one of the few capitals in the world with thermal baths, offering a unique experience with their historic heritage and elegant surroundings. Budapest awaits you in 2015!

István Tarlós Mayor of Budapest

ÂŠ2013 Harry Winston, Inc. harrywinston.com

Ocean Triple reTrOgrade chrOnOgraph by harrY WinSTOn

CONTENTS

LUXURY BUDAPEST 2015

SHOPPING DINING SIGHTSEEING ARTS CULTURE

Contents Hungary by numbers

Budapest by numbers

New in Budapest

Calendar

Past glories

Must See Classic buildings Must See Modern buildings Must See Churches Must See Museums Must See Romantic places Must See Unique to Budapest

32 34 36 38 40 42

LUXURY SHOPPING Herend & Zsolnay Hungary by hand Markets

44 46 48 52

LUXURY GASTRONOMY Specialities Hungary – land of wine Stylish wine bars Pálinka The Gourmet Metropolis Sunday best Hidden locals

60 62 64 66 67 68 72 74

LUXURY CULTURE Palaces of culture Art – modern and contemporary

76 78 80

LUXURY SPAS & SPORT Baths Formula 1 Polo Golf

82 84 86 88 89

DISCOVER BUDAPEST Castle District Gellért Hill Rózsadomb & Buda Hills Margaret Island Pest embankment Belváros Lipótváros Andrássy út Városliget District VII Nagykörút

90 92 104 112 116 122 130 148 156 172 180 190

Restaurant guide

198

DISCOVER HUNGARY Balaton Szentendre

208 210 212

Essential numbers Map

214 215

Marine Chronometer Manufacture Manufacture chronometer movement with Silicium technology. Self-winding. Water-resistant to 200 m. 18 ct rose gold case. Available also on rubber strap or gold bracelet. W W W . U LY S S E - N A R D I N . C O M

THE CITY OF HEALING SPRINGS

HYDRO MINERAL TRANSFERENCE ™

The Omorovicza story begins over 2,000 years ago, when the curative properties of Hungary’s healing waters were discovered and the first baths were built in Budapest. Hungary’s mineral-rich thermal waters have been prized ever since. Here the earth’s crust is thinner, so waters gather more beneficial minerals as they journey to the surface. This, combined with an unusually high number of natural springs, has earned Budapest the title of ’International Spa City’. In the 1800’s, the Omorovicza family built the beautiful Racz Bath in Budapest, on the site of a medieval healing spring, renowned for the curative properties of its water. Two hundred years later, founders Margaret and Stephen de Heinrich de Omorovicza met in Budapest. Relaxing at the Racz Bath and other ancient thermal baths, the couple were amazed by the effect the mineral rich healing waters had on their skin and saw their potential to be harnessed in a skincare range.

At the heart of each Omorovicza product is the patented Hydro Mineral Transference™ delivery system. Working with a Hungarian Nobel-prize winning Laboratory of Dermatology, Margaret and Stephen pioneered and patented a delivery system, Hydro Mineral Transference™, that reconfigures the molecular structure of the minerals in the healing waters and delivers the minerals to the deeper layers of the skin. Day by day, skin becomes more supple and younger-looking.

OMOROVICZA BOUTIQUE & SPA Andrássy út 2. 1061 Budapest +36 1 302 4604 www.omorovicza.com

PURE INGREDIENTS From the bed of Lake Heviz to the peak of the Andes Mountains, Stephen and Margaret travelled the globe to source its finest natural ingredients. Each product is fragranced with natural scents crafted just for Omorovicza in Grasse, in the south of France. Omorovicza uses high-performance, naturally derived alternatives to commonly used synthetics, ensuring the Omorovicza experience is one of total luxury and maximum efficacy.

HUNGARY BY NUMBERS

Hungary by numbers MAIN TOWNS BY POPULATION Area 93,035 sq km. Dimensions 525km (east-west), 250km (north-south). Population (2014) 9,900,000 Language Hungarian. Currency Hungarian forint (HUF or Ft). Time zone CET. International dialling code +36. Internet code .hu. Major rivers Tisza (585km), Danube (417km). Major lakes Balaton (590sq km), Fertő (82sq km).

Budapest (capital) 1,735,000 Debrecen 204,000 Miskolc 163,000 Szeged 162,000 Pécs 148,000 Gyo˝r 129,000 Nyíregyháza 118,000 Kecskemét 112,000 Székesfehérvár 99,000

Population 9,900,000 Budapest 1,735,000

TRANSPORT Airports Budapest www.bud.hu/english, Debrecen www.debrecenairport.com/en

Motorways As of 2014, Hungary had 1,360km of motorway (www.motorway.hu). M0 runs around Budapest, M1 goes to Austria, M3 to Miskolc and Debrecen, and M7 to Lake Balaton. Motorways operate by a toll sticker (matrica) system.

Trains As of 2014, Hungary had 7,395km of standard-gauge railway (www.mav.hu/ english). Inter-city services run from the main Budapest stations of Keleti (Miskolc, 2hrs), Nyugati (Debrecen, 2hrs 45min) and Déli (Lake Balaton, 1hr 30min-3hrs).

Buses Certain parts of Hungary are easier accessed by bus. Volán www.volan.hu is the main company.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS Jan 1 Mar 15 Apr 5 Apr 6 May 1 Aug 20

New Year's Day 1848 Revolution Memorial Day Easter Day Easter Monday Labor Day / May Day Hungary National Day

1956 Revolution Memorial Day All Saints' Day Christmas Eve Christmas Day Boxing Day New Year's Eve

Oct 23 Nov 1 Dec 24 Dec 25 Dec 26 Dec 31

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BUDAPEST BY NUMBERS

Budapest by numbers BUDAPEST BY AREA

1,804,606

1,945,083

2,059,226

2,016,681

1,777,921

1,721,556

1,744,665

93,000

1,590,316

98,000

1,712,791

114,000

1,442,869

120,000

1,232,026

XVIII

1,110,453

861,434

XIII

560,079

XIV

402,706

III

302,086

57,100

District

124,000

POPULATION OF BUDAPEST

139,000

Overall population 1,735,000

Area 93,035 sq km. Area 525 sq km. Population (2014) 1,735,000. Districts 23. International dialling code +36 1. Provincial dialling code +06 1.

1784

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2014

TRANSPORT Airport Liszt Ferenc (www.bud.hu/english) is 16km south-east of the city centre. There is a taxi kiosk immediately outside Arrivals or a point-to-point communal minibus service (www.airportshuttle.hu/en). Public transport is poor, involving a 20min journey on the No.200E between the airport and Kőbánya-Kispest station on blue metro M3, a line which currently doesn’t run at weekends. From there, central Deák tér is 20min away.

Transport Budapest city transport (www.bkk.hu/ en) consists of a four-line, colour-coded metro system and a network of trams, buses and trolleybuses. Each of its four main train stations has a metro station named after it – Keleti, Nyugati, Déli and Kelenföld. Tickets (HUF330, HUF3,000/10) are dispensed from machines at stops and stations.

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BUDAPEST, Andrássy út 5. Tel.+36 1 2661794 | ZEGNA.COM

Made to Measure is the Art of Personal Elegance

Su Misura

NEW IN BUDAPEST

New in Budapest KOSSUTH TÉR Budapest’s prestigious Kossuth tér, housing Parliament, the stately Museum of Ethnography and statues of sundry Hungarian heroes from the 20th century, has undergone a HUF2.5 billion revamp. The concept was to restore the square to how it looked before World War II, open and pedestrian-friendly. Reopened in 2014, Kossuth tér is now traffic-free, drivers able to use its underground car park below. Still a major attraction for passengers on tram No.2, Kossuth tér has also been embellished with a park and a number of sculptures, as well as a memorial to those who perished here during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956. Statues already in place include 1956 leader Imre Nagy and poet Attila József.

NEW IN BUDAPEST

METRO 4 If there’s a single feature that everyone would point to as the major one to be introduced in 2014, it’s metro line 4. Burdened by controversy and an over-running budget, this link between south Buda and north Pest was rubber-stamped well over a decade ago. Delayed 17 times since, metro line 4 was eventually unveiled by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in March 2014. Built at an estimated cost of €1.5 billion, this 7.4-km green-coded line consists of ten swish new stations, terminating at the rail hubs of Keleti in the north and Kelenföld in the south.

GROUPAMA ARÉNA Part of the current government’s plan to revive the long-moribund sport of football in Hungary, the Groupama Aréna is the new home of record champions Ferencváros. Opened with a pre-season friendly against Chelsea in August 2014, it will be later joined by similar new stadium ventures at MTK and Honvéd in Kispest. Meanwhile, the national Ferenc Puskás Stadium is also being completely rebuilt, a project made all the more vital by its recent choice as a venue for football’s European Championship Finals in 2020.

CALENDAR2015

Calendar

NEW YEAR’S EVE Christmas may be quiet in Hungary – it’s on New Year’s Eve that locals go out and party. Before the night’s festivities begin, some head out to the Kincsem Park racecourse for traditional New Year’s Eve afternoon’s horse racing. Budapest’s bars and restaurants start filling from the early evening on, with fireworks over the Danube at midnight. After that, anything goes – dinner dances on cruise boats, sumptuous meals in five-star restaurants, allnight DJ sessions in District VII. The next day, it’s traditional – perhaps even necessary – to eat kocsonya, pork in aspic. Many also soak away the night’s excesses at the Széchenyi Baths.

MANGALICA FESTIVAL February’s weekend-long Mangalica Festival, a celebration of Hungary’s own hairy hog. The event, initiated in 2008 to promote sales of this then-forgotten shaggy breed, has grown with the pig’s revival. This annual showcase has since been scaled up and moved to the main downtown square of Szabadság tér, where live music, folk dancing and family-friendly entertainment accompany the cheerful chomping of prime pork. Feb 6-8. www.mangalicafesztival.hu

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BUSÓJÁRÁS Set in Mohács, 210km south of Budapest, Busójárás is a six-day carnival whose roots lie in ancient end-of-winter rituals. Men in frightening masks and woolly cloaks parade around town, some arriving in rowboats along the Danube. A giant bonfire is set up in the main square, and everywhere you can find live music and stalls offering grilled food and local crafts. Feb 12-17. www.mohacsibusojaras.hu

BUDAPEST SPRING FESTIVAL The biggest event in the city’s cultural calendar, the Spring Festival is a showcase for mainly classical music. Highlights for 2015 are Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Bavarian State Orchestra, as well as jazz greats David Sanborn and Jack DeJohnette. All takes place at eight venues across town, including the Palace of Arts, Comedy Theatre and Franz Liszt Music Academy. Apr 10-26. www.budapestspring festival.com

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BUDAPEST PÁLINKA FESTIVAL Set over a long weekend in Városháza Park, the Budapest Pálinka Festival, showcases 300 varieties of Hungary’s favourite, and currently fashionable, spirit. Here you can sample pálinka made from every kind of fruit imaginable, from major producers and small family-run distilleries. Food and live music are also laid on. Admission includes a tasting glass and events go on well into the night. May 22-25. palinkaeskolbasz.hu

NIGHT OF THE MUSEUMS Running from midnight on June 20 to midnight on June 21, museums across Budapest and Hungary throw open their doors to the public. Altogether, more than 100 establishments are involved. Special workshops and demonstrations are laid on, and buses run between the more far-flung venues. One admission fee covers the whole event, the wristband allowing you access from one venue to the other. June 20-21. muzej.hu/index.php?lang=en

BALATON SOUND Run over four days in early July at lakeside Zamárdi, Balaton Sound has emerged from the shadow of its partner festival, the Sziget, to offer a top-quality music line-up. Concentrating mainly on DJ acts – 2014 saw David Guetta, Deep Dish and Armin Van Buuren – Balaton Sound tends to attract a more discerning crowd than the hedonistic hordes who swamp the Sziget. July 9-12. www.sziget.hu/balatonsound

CALENDAR2015

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX The biggest event on the sporting calendar, the Hungarian Grand Prix is held in the sweltering heat of summer. The Hungaroring course is at Mogyoród, 20km north-east of Budapest. The track has been modified to make the race more exciting, and improvements made to the press, VIP and pit areas. Those paying top dollar sit in the Super Silver Grandstand, over the start-finish line. July 24-26. www.hungaroring.hu/?lang=en

SZIGET FESTIVAL The biggest music festival in the region takes over an entire island – ‘Sziget’ – north of Budapest. Boats take festival goers from the foot of Margaret Bridge and Batthyány tér to Hajógyári-sziget, where a entire complex of stages and attractions. Visitors roam from stage to stage, taking in rock, folk, World Music and alternative acts, as well as theatre, film and all kinds of performances. Aug 10-17. szigetfestival.com

AUGUST 20 Hungary’s national day celebrates St Stephen, the country’s first king. The day begins with the raising of the national flag on Kossuth tér in the morning and finishes with fireworks over Chain Bridge in the evening – everyone reserves well in advance at riverside restaurants, panoramic hotels and cruise boats. During the day are military parades and flight and skydiving demonstrations.

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NATIONAL GALLOP Hungary’s long historic tradition in horsemanship is celebrated and displayed at the Nemzeti Vágta, loosely translated as the National Gallop. Races, shows and reconstructions of battle scenes entertain the public. Usually taking over focal Heroes’ Square for a three-day weekend, the event also features dance performances, live music and stalls offering traditional Hungarian cuisine. Prizes are given for winning riders in different categories. Sept. vagta.hu

BUDA CASTLE WINE FESTIVAL For five days in the warm sunshine of early September, Hungary’s finest wine producers showcase their latest products. In the historic setting of Buda Castle, live music, folk dance performances and food tasting provide a wealth of entertainment. A crystal tasting glass comes with every five-day or one-day ticket, which allows access to all areas of the festival. Sept 10-14. www.aborfesztival.hu

CALENDAR2015

BUDAPEST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL The inaugural running of the Budapest International Film Festival takes place in September 2015. At cinemas such as the historic Uránia, the Puskin, Toldi and Corvin, features, short films, documentaries and animated works compete for a number of awards. Top prize for the best production will be a gold replica of the Chain Bridge and €20,000 in prize money. Sept 19-20. www.urania-nf.hu/en

CHRISTMAS In the run-up to Christmas, traditional markets are set up across town, the biggest being in focal Vörösmarty tér. Backdropped by the façade of the Gerbeaud coffeehouse, transformed into a giant advent calendar, handmade goods, mulled wine and local specialities are purveyed from stalls spread across the square. Christmas itself is a quiet, family affair – few bars and restaurants open, except for those in high-end hotels.

1052 B U D A P E S T | P Á R I Z S I U . 3 T e l . : +36 1 318 2156 | w w w . b a r a k a d i a m o n d . h u

PAST GLORIES

Past glories CHAIN BRIDGE Hung like a pearl necklace over this most picturesque stretch of the Danube, the Chain Bridge was the first permanent crossing between Buda and Pest. Conceived by Count István Széchenyi, who never saw his creation completed, it was designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark. It was his Scottish assistant, Adam Clark, who saw the project through, even to the extent of hiding the plans from the Austrians who threatened to destroy the bridge shortly before it was due to open. Unveiled in 1849, reopened exactly a century later, the Chain Bridge is most iconic symbol of the Hungarian capital.

FERENC PUSKÁS Travel anywhere in the world, mention you come from Hungary and the next word in the conversation will be ‘Puskás’. The name of the finest footballer Hungary ever produced, Puskás refers to the left-footed genius who starred for two of the greatest teams in the game’s history. First came the Hungarian ‘Golden Team’ who famously beat England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953, then the all-conquering Real Madrid side later that same decade. Brought up in Kispest, along with boyhood teammate József Bozsik, Ferenc Puskás played for the local side under his father, a football coach. Later renamed Honvéd, this team provided the bulk of the players for Hungary’s great national side of the early 1950s. Known in Hungary as ‘Öcsi’, Puskás then carved out a successful career in Spain, earning the nickname ‘Pancho’. After his death in 2006, Hungary gave Puskás a state funeral at St Stephen’s Basilica. Today the national stadium is named after him, as well as a sports bar on Bécsi út in Óbuda.

PAST GLORIES

ERNŐ RUBIK Ernő Rubik was a professor of architecture at Budapest’s College of Applied Arts in the early 1970s when he unwittingly invented what would become the best-selling toy of all time. Devised by his own hand as a task for his students, his multi-coloured twistable puzzle – originally named the Magic Cube – became so popular that Professor Rubik could see commercial potential in this tuition aid. In 1979, he took the idea to America, and almost overnight the rebranded Rubik’s Cube became a worldwide hit.

MATTHIAS CHURCH Coronations, weddings and ceremonies, some of the most momentous events in Hungarian history have taken place at Matthias Church in the Castle District. Known in Hungarian as Mátyás templom, this soaring Gothic landmark is named after the illustrious medieval king who was twice married here in the 1400s, King Mátyás. Also known as Matthias Corvinus, Mátyás ‘The Good’ presided over an illustrious court at Buda Castle and Visegrád. He also collated one of the most impressive libraries in Renaissance Europe, the Bibliotheca Corviniana, some of which is stored today in the nearby National Széchényi Library. His reign, from 1458 to 1490, is considered to be the Golden Age of Buda and a highpoint in Hungarian history.

Classic buildings MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS Dominating the junction of the Nagykörút and Üllői út, the Museum of Applied Arts is one of the finest examples of Secessionist architecture in Budapest. It was created by the man considered to be the father of this local architectural genre, Ödön Lechner. Similar to its Viennese counterpart and art nouveau in Brussels, Szecesszió brought in exotic, eastern elements, crucially incorporating the signature bright glaze tiling produced by the Zsolnay factory in Pécs. After starting out in architectural partnership with Gyula Pártos from 1869 onwards, Lechner struck out on his own. The Museum of Applied Arts was his first major project and remains his masterpiece.

NEW YORK CAFÉ The finest of Budapest’s fin-de-siècle coffeehouses, the New York Café still enjoys a commanding position on the Nagykörút, Budapest’s main ring road. Converted as part of a contemporary five-star hotel – the Boscolo – in the early 2000s, the New York retains the splendour created by its original architects, Alajos Hauszmann, Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergi. Taking their inspiration from Italian Renaissance and Baroque architecture, the three created a riot of Venetian glass, marble, velvet, brass and bronze, with fountains and frescos thrown in. And all for an insurance office – the New York Life. In the café downstairs, writers, artists and film producers mingled in opulent surroundings.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS Comprising an entire side of monumental Heroes’ Square, Budapest’s Museum of Fine Arts provides suitably grandiose surroundings for its impressive collection of Spanish Masters and Venetian classics. The main architect responsible for this Neo-Classical landmark was Albert Schickedanz, an ethnic German born in modern-day Poland, who worked alongside the great Miklós Ybl. Adding his own typically eclectic elements, Schickedanz here collaborated with Fülöp Herzog over the course of six years. Opened in 1906, the Museum of Fine Arts mirrors the similar Palace of Art opposite – created by the same architects.

KELETI STATION One of the world’s greatest railway station buildings, Keleti (‘East’) has recently undergone long-awaited renovation. Painstakingly sandblasted to a near pure white, its grand façade now juxtaposes with the contemporary gleam of the equally new metro station immediately below. Keleti was originally built in the early 1880s, its construction overseen by Gyula Rochlitz, chief architect of the Budapest Railway Directorate. As a nod towards Keleti Station’s steam heritage, Rochlitz had statues of James Watt and George Stephenson installed on either side of the façade, in place to this day. The grand, echoing interior features frescos created by Károly Lotz, who was also responsible for the ornate ceiling in the Opera House. The overall result is both practical and dramatic.

SZÉCHENYI BATHS Europe’s largest thermal baths, the sumptuous Széchenyi was designed by Győző Czigler. NeoRenaissance and Neo-Baroque in style, the Széchenyi had been planned for several years before Czigler came on board – and was completed several years after his death. Hot springs at today’s Heroes’ Square had been drilled back in the 1870s. Locals had been taking the waters in this City Park location for 20 years before city councillors decided to commission grander surroundings for communal relaxation. Geothermal engineer Vilmos Zsigmondy, whose statue still stands in the main entrance, was responsible for establishing a supply of water rich in minerals. Outdoor pools were added in 1927.

Modern buildings METRO 4 STATIONS When it was opened in March 2014, Budapest’s fourth metro line unveiled ten gleaming new stations to a sceptical public. Like all projects of this nature, M4 had been mired in controversy, delays and rising costs, but these were swept to one side when free access was offered on the 7.4km Kelenföld-Keleti line for the first few days. Two generations removed from the drab, Soviet-built metro in place since the 1970s, M4 served swish, strikingly bold stations. The expert panel for US-based Architizer immediately showered Budapest’s Spora Architects with awards for its adjoining stations of Szent Gellért tér and Fővám tér.

NATIONAL THEATRE Opened on the national holiday of March 15, 2002, the National Theatre established a new cultural quarter by the Danube in south Pest. With a prow-like frontage alluding to this riverside location, the theatre entrance also comprises another symbolic water feature. Floating before it, echoing its cherished heritage, is a representation of the theatre’s previous and much-loved incarnation on Blaha Lujza tér. Hungarian cultural legends are also depicted as reliefs or as sculptures in the adjoining park. The park contains maze and a ziggurat, a singular exhibition space equipped with a staircase and spiral ramp offering splendid views from the top.

MEGYERI BRIDGE Forming part of the M0 motorway, Budapest’s newest bridge runs for nearly two kilometres, linking Újpest with Budakalasz. Sweeping high over Szentendrei Island, Megyeri is in fact five bridges in one, and the first cable-stayed bridge in Hungary. A-shaped pylons rise 100 metres high, stunning when illuminated. Originally, plans called for a lift to ascend one pylon to offer visitors panoramic views of the Danube.

ING BUILDING One of the must-see contemporary buildings of Budapest, this dazzling, singular construction glimmers opposite the City Park. Designed by Erick van Egeraat, the Hungarian headquarters of this Dutch insurance company contrasts with the villas of the surrounding embassy quarter, something the Amsterdam-born architect was keen to accentuate. Here stainless steel lines create a jagged effect, divided by a strip of plain glass. The effect is discombobulating, giving the initial impression that the building is leaning to one side.

PALACE OF ARTS Unveiled three years after the National Theatre in 2005, the Palace of Arts added three cultural landmarks to the riverside arts complex in south Pest. The Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, the Ludwig Museum and the Festival Theatre are gathered under one roof, facilitated by an award-winning technical infrastructure and offering visitors panoramic views of the Danube. Guided tours are offered of this impressive cultural complex, depending on performance and rehearsal times. Tours also take in the huge organ in the Bartók National Concert Hall, with its 470 wooden pipes, 5,000 tin pipes and 1,200 reed pipes.

Churches BASILICA Named after St Stephen, the Basilica is not only the most important church building in Budapest but in Hungary itself. Created by several architects over the course of more than 50 years, it was finally unveiled in 1905. Chief designer Miklós Ybl, who was also working on the Opera House around the same time, died before the project was complete. József Kauser, who trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, saw it though to the end. Like Parliament nearby, the Basilica stands 96 metres high, in correlation with the Hungarian Millennial celebrations of 1896. Its dome and twin towers still dominate the skyline of downtown Lipótváros. These days a lift whisks tourists up to the dome for a panoramic view of Budapest. Within, the Basilica’s most notable sight dates back a thousand years – the mummified right hand of St Stephen. Hungary’s first king, who established the nation as a Christian country, died in 1038. Thereafter, his Holy Right Hand, referred to in Hungarian as the Szentjobb, was kept in the monastery of the same name, before a remarkable journey around Dalamatia, Bosnia and Austria. It was installed here in 1950, and is paraded around every year on August 20, the celebration of St Stephen.

GREAT SYNAGOGUE One of the largest of its kind in the world, the Great Synagogue is both a working place of worship and a major tourist attraction. It is also referred to as the Dohány utca Synagogue after its location at the gateway to District VII, the Jewish Quarter. Unveiled in 1859, the Great Synagogue is characterised by its North-African Moorish splendour as designed by Ludwig Förster. Two domes rise high over the complex, which also includes a Jewish Museum, the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park and the Heroes’ Temple. You’ll also find a cemetery within the Synagogue grounds Renovated during the 1990s, the main building is expansive enough to accommodate 3,000 in separate men’s and women’s galleries, as well as a 5,000pipe organ. Franz Liszt was one of many organists to have played here.

MATTHIAS CHURCH It took architect Frigyes Schulek more than 20 years to combine medieval design with fin-de-siècle finery and create today’s Matthias Church. The original Church of Our Lady, dating back to 1247, hosted a number of coronations and royal weddings. King Mátyás, who presided over the Golden Age of Buda, was twice married here. Destroyed by fire in 1526, rebuilt as a mosque by the Turks in 1541, this building atop Castle Hill was reconverted as a church after the Siege of Buda in 1686. Schulek reconfigured the church, literally block by block, adding his own interpretation of French Gothic medieval architecture. For colour, Schulek turned to Zsolnay, the ceramics firm from Pécs, whose bright, glazed-tiled roof gives the church its signature appearance. The gargoyles in the stone spire are another Schulek introduction. The church hosts classical concerts in summer – but not the coronations of yesteryear.

Museums NATIONAL MUSEUM Lending its name to the street it stands on and a restaurant and café alongside, Hungary’s National Museum pre-dates many of Budapest’s classic landmarks of the Habsburg era. In fact, the museum, designed in Neo-Classical style by Mihály Pollack between 1837 and 1847, played an unwitting role in Hungary’s Habsburg history. On 15 March 1848, poet Sándor Petõfi chose the museum as the backdrop for his recital of his own ‘National Song’, a rallying cry for Hungarians to rise up against Austrian domination. Inside, the permanent exhibition covers the history of Hungary from its foundation up to 1990, in two separate sections divided by the Turkish defeat of 1686.

MUSEUM OF ETHNOGRAPHY Before he created the spectacular New York Café, Alajos Hauszmann was commissioned to build the monumental Palace of Justice opposite Parliament. Around the same time, an ethnographic department was opened as part of the National Museum, where it stayed until 1973. It then moved to these stately surroundings, its high-ceilinged halls home to costumes, tools and furniture illustrating peasant life in Hungary and the region. Customs and traditions are also featured, giving an idea of how life was lived in the countryside, from birth to school, work to weddings, celebrations to funerals.

HOUSE OF TERROR Few museums in Budapest are as evocative as the House of Terror. Set in the same house where the events it describes took place, at Andrássy út 60, the House of Terror focuses on the torture of political opponents by the authorities during the war-time Fascist and post-war Communist eras. Torture cells and techniques are displayed, along with filmed interviews with those involved at the time. The exhibition broadens out to show life in Budapest under Communism from 1947 to 1989, the visitor left in no doubt as to its negative consequences.

Romantic places VÁROSLIGET

CITADELLA

Budapest’s City Park, the Városliget, is a favourite destination for couples. What could be more romantic? In summer, the boating lake comes into its own, backdropped by the charming Vajdahunyad Castle. In winter, everyone flocks to the skating rink nearby. Year-round, the trees and plentiful greenery provide plenty of space for picnics and relaxation. Alongside, though less secluded, Budapest Zoo and the amusement park are also ideal destinations for a romantic afternoon. For more intimacy, the Széchenyi Baths are perfectly suited to a long, casual soak à deux, inside or out. You can even hire cabins designed for changing as a twosome.

When recently married couples need a backdrop for the photograph that will stand on their mantelpiece, Citadella is often where they come to. Set atop Gellért Hill and offering a perfect panorama of Budapest below, Citadella refers specifically to the fortress built by the Austrians here after the Hungarian Uprising of 1848-49. Alongside are vantage points over the Danube. Above stands the Statue of Lady Liberty, brandishing a palm frond above her head, the monument a Soviet relic but also provides another classic photo opportunity. A short walk further down is a couple of terrace bars and restaurants for a quiet drink or meal al fresco.

FÜVÉSZKERT Initially the Füvészkert was popularised in Ferenc Molnár’s much-loved novel, ‘The Paul Street Boys’, a childhood favourite. At the time, few locals even knew about this gem hidden deep in the otherwise prosaic surroundings of District VIII. The Botanical Garden of Eötvös Lóránd University is a small oasis of romantic greenery. Designed as an English park, it was registered as a national nature reserve in 1960. Palm houses and rock gardens complement age-old maidenhair trees and evergreen ornamental trees.

ROBERTOC OIN .C OM

P RIM AV ER A C OL L E C T I ON

Unique to Budapest TRAM 2 Few journeys on public transport in any European capital are as memorable as the one offered by Budapest’s tram No.2. Hugging the Pest side of the Danube, the tram skirts round Parliament before taking in the hilltop sights of Buda on one side, downtown Pest on the other.

FUNICULAR Originally designed to shuttle civil servants up Castle Hill in the Habsburg era, the funicular now whisks tourist from Clark Ádám tér to the Royal Palace in a couple of minutes. It was revived in the 1980s, in historic style inside and out. Offering fabulous views of the city as it ascends, the funicular carries a maximum of 48 passengers up in two cars. Tourists can then skip out at the top terminus and take a short walk up to the National Gallery.

COG-WHEEL RAILWAY Created like Nikolaus Riggenbach’s rack rail that scales the Alpine slopes of Switzerland, Budapest’s cog-wheel was originally a horse-drawn tram that ran from the Chain Bridge to Zugliget in the Buda Hills. Today the cog-wheel runs from Városmajor, via the hills of Svábhegy and Szécheny-hegy until it reaches the panoramic setting of Normafa. The cogwheel is officially part of the city’s transport network as tram No.60.

METRO 4 Budapest’s newest urban attraction was opened in the spring of 2014. Comprising ten gleaming new stations, metro line 4 links the two main rail terminals of Kelenföld in south Buda and Keleti in Pest. Sleek escalators run deep down to platform level, where a strip of light flashes by passengers’ feet to indicate an incoming train. Below ground, stations display contemporary, often colourful design, juxtaposed with the functional feel of the stations themselves at street level. Green-coded metro 4 links with metro lines 2 and 3 at Keleti and Kálvin tér. If approved, an extension would take the line further north to Bosnyák tér.

KEREPESI CEMETERY Budapest’s answer to Père Lachaise, Kerepesi is where Hungary’s long departed great and good reside. Reform-era politicians lie buried beneath suitably stately mausoleums, as do many writers of the same period, while stage stars have been honoured in a more whimsical fashion. Singer/actress Lujza Blaha has been remembered by a stone likeness of a four-poster bed. As in Paris, pathways and avenues guide you amid the greenery. Guided tours are available upon request.

Luxury shopping

High-end brands and home-made crafts

LUXURY SHOPPING

luxury boulevard, a Fashion Street, a commercial thoroughfare, several major malls and scores of fascinating outlets for imaginative domestic designers – Budapest’s shopping scene has developed considerably in the last two or three years alone. The luxury boulevard, of course, is Andrássy út, the city’s answer to the Champs-Elysées. In its most fashionable stretch, from the city centre to theatre-lined Nagymező utca, either side of the Opera House, you’ll find many of the big names familiar to fashionistas in Milan or Barcelona. Stroll towards the city centre, across Deák tér, and you come to Deák Ferenc utca, rebranded in 2008 as Fashion Street. Several high-end international brands also line this relatively short, pedestrianised stretch that runs up to the main square of Vörösmarty tér. During December, the square sets up as the city’s main Christmas market, the whole façade of the landmark Gerbeaud coffeehouse transformed into a giant, life-sized advent calendar. Running off Vörösmarty tér, pedestrianised Váci utca is Budapest’s traditional commercial thoroughfare. Tourist-friendly souvenir stores and portrait painters now dominate, but the street still attracts its fair share of shoppers. Nearby, look out for the Párisi udvar, also referred to as the Brudern-ház, Hungary’s first shopping arcade dating back to the 19th century. Downtown Budapest is dotted with designer boutiques, where contemporary Hungarian clothes, accessories and furniture are available. These designers and shop owners have formed their own association to promote local products. Twice a year they organise an evening of workshops and informal visits in the form of a tour: Stylewalker. Designers present their creations, and describe their work, in English if preferred.

Herend & Zsolnay Dynasties of distinction

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ZSOLNAY You don’t have to browse Budapest’s shops to find examples of Zsolnay’s exquisite ceramic work – it’s all around you. Matthias Church in Buda, the Museum of Applied Arts in Pest, many of the city’s landmarks carry the signature bright gingerbread colours of this legendary Pécs-based family firm. You can still buy Zsolnay porcelain, tiles and stoneware at stores around Budapest, some produced by the eosin glaze process so favoured by Hungary’s great Art Nouveau designers of the early 20th century. Pieces designed for outdoor use are created with pyrogranite, fired at high temperatures, to render them frost-resistant. Recently, the Zsolnay company has allowed the public to observe these techniques at work at its former factory complex in Pécs.

HEREND The Habsburgs, Queen Victoria and many royal households around Europe all commissioned porcelain from Herend, from the town of the same name just north of Lake Balaton. Founded in 1826, the Herend company was transformed by incoming owner Mór Fischer from 1839 onwards. Displayed at the Vienna Fair of 1845, London’s Great Exhibition of 1851, exhibitions in New York, Herend’s increasingly florid designs became renowned throughout the world. Its products widely recognised more than a century later, Herend was taken over by its management and employees in the 1990s.

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Hungary by hand KALOCSAI Its colours as bright as the paprika that the Danubian community of Kalocsa is also famous for producing, Kalocsai embroidery is arguably the most popular of the various handmade forms youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find in the main shops and markets of Budapest. Certainly, its recent revival has kept many embroiderers of the older generation in business. Their familiar colours of flame red, green, yellow and blue only came into fashion in the earlier part of the 20th century. Among the signature floral patterns, you might spot red pepper motifs, a nod to Kalocsa itself. Tulips, bluebells and daisies feature among the flowers.

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Varga Design MATYÓ The distinctive embroidery of Matyó dates back more than two centuries. Developed in Matyóföld, in Hungary’s north-east towards Eger and the Bükk forest, most notably in Mezőkövesd, it features rich shades of blue, green, red, yellow, purple and black. In Matyó embroidery, typically roses appear in various shapes and forms, tulip leaves and spiral patterns. Produced with its own particular stitching technique, Matyó embroidery features on aprons, women’s scarves and tablecloths, as well as shirtfronts and cuffs. It wasn’t that long ago that it used to brighten the work clothes of both men and women, but that slowly died out in the 1950s.

Goldsmith Miklós Varga has been creating unique pieces of jewellery in silver, gold, platinum and Tahitian pearls, for almost 40 years. All pieces manufactured in his workshop are handcrafted. His masterpieces, made in the special ‘cobweb technique’, are internationally patented. The Hungarian master has been awarded outstanding prizes at international jewellery exhibitions many times and has become supplier to a number of royal families around the world. The Varga Jewellery House is located in downtown Budapest at 6. Haris köz, opening onto Váci street. Varga Design Jewellery 1052 Budapest, Haris köz 6. Phone: +36 1 318 4089 www.vargadesign.hu Made in Hungary

nted Pate

Miklós Varga Hungarian goldsmithartist has been creating unique pieces of jewelry of silver, gold, platinum and Tahitian pearls for almost 40 years. All pieces manufactured is his workshop are handcrafted. His masterpieces made in the special “cobweb technique” are inter nationally patented. The hungarian master has been awarded outstanding prizes at international jewelry exhibitions several times and has become supplier of a number of royal families around the world. the Varga Jewelry-House is located in downtown Budapest at 6 Haris köz, opening from Váci

Varga Design Jewelry-House 1052 Budapest, Haris köz 6. Telephone: +36-1 318-4089 www.vargadesign.hu

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SZIMPLA KERT The Szimpla kert is not only Budapest’s longest established and best loved ruin bar, the one that led the way for an entire new genre of nightlife. On Sunday mornings, from 9am to 2pm, not long after the last of the partygoers have left after Saturday night, that producers set up market stalls. On sale are fruit, vegetables and other organic products, freshly grown, picked, sorted and brought here. Alongside, grills offer meaty treats and assorted Hungarian specialities.

Markets GOUBA Its five letters standing for Gozsdu Bazaar, GOUBA is a weekly artisanal market set up in the atmospheric, interlinking courtyard of the Gozsdu udvar in the Jewish Quarter. More than 100 Hungarian designers, craftsmen, artists, ceramists and antique dealers offer their wares amid the bar-lined buildings. Jewellery, clothes, homeware, objets d’art and assorted gifts and trinkets are put out for display, while street performers and musicians provide impromptu entertainment. Homemade snacks, cakes, jams and fresh juices are also available, as well as local spirits such as pálinka. GOUBA takes place from 10am on Sunday mornings between April and October, with a break during the height of summer. Admission is free.

GREAT MARKET HALL Budapest’s most famous market hall dates back to the 1890s. Standing by Szabadság Bridge at the southern end of Váci utca, this landmark building once featured an underground canal running from the Danube, a conduit for goods going to market. Completely restored a century later, the Great Market Hall is now a tourist sight as well as a three-storey trading centre. Hungarian wines, meats, fish, spices, picked vegetables are the most popular items – as well as traditional strings of garlic and paprika.

Chrisand

Fur & Leather Kempinski Hotel Fashion Street side 1051, Budapest, Erzsébet tér 7-8. + 36-1-429-34-73 Four Season Hotel Gresham Palace 1051, Budapest, Széchenyi tér 5-6. +36-70-318-43-24 Open every day: 10-19. www.chrisand.hu

Top Women’s Fashion

Gucci

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Persol

Frey Wille

Clive Christian

Omega

Dolce & Gabbana

Christian Louboutin

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Top Women’s Accessories

Chanel

Sensai Estée Lauder

Chanel

Louis Vuitton

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Chopard

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Giuseppe Zanotti

Elizabeth Arden

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Luxury gastronomy Michelin stars and local delights

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here hasn’t been a better time to be a gastronome in Budapest. Michelin has recently bestowed stars and recommendations onto the city’s leading restaurants – and quality has risen significantly across the board. It wasn’t that long ago that dining out in the Hungarian capital wasn’t the experience it is now. No, Budapest isn’t London or Paris – but, then again, nor is Amsterdam or Prague. Today, any local establishment worth its salt has to meet exacting standards of cuisine, presentation and service. Chefs are now TV celebrities, cooking programmes abound and gastronomy is the topic du jour. All of this, of course, is underpinned by Hungary’s great culinary tradition. Much of what is considered the best in domestic cuisine was developed a century ago, when Joseph Maréchal, József Dobos and János and Károly Gundel introduced a strong French influence into Budapest’s kitchens. Some of these names live on, not just in restaurants such as Gundel itself, still the most famous establishment a century on, but in actual dishes and desserts invented by these masters of yesteryear. But, a century later, it needed a new generation of independent, globally aware chefs and restaurateurs to revive and reinvent these traditions. And the produce they have to work with is also top-class. Peppers, tomatoes, spinach, vegetables here are fresh from the garden, naturally organic. Fruit too. As for meat, Hungary has recently seen a revival of mangalica pigs and grey cattle, responsible for prime cuts in the finest restaurants. Finally, the standard of domestic wine has improved tremendously in recent years, along with pálinka, the local clear spirit similar to grappa.

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Specialities GOOSE LIVER If anything defines the exquisite taste of Hungarian cuisine, it is goose liver, libamáj. Served cold as an appetiser or used in a hot stew with peppers, tomatoes and onions, done in paprika sauce. Hungary is the world’s largest exporter of foie gras, France being its principal market. Here, goose dishes are particularly popular around St Martin’s Day, November 11, when specialities are served across Budapest.

CAKES AND PASTRIES Hungarian cakes and pastries are an art. Local pastry chefs spend years perfecting their craft, relying on age-old recipes, perhaps adding their own twist of modern invention. Poppy seeds, sour cherries and ground walnuts all come into play to create these irresistible delights. Displayed in windows of the pastry shop, cukrászda, or served in classic, traditional coffeehouses, cakes such as Dobostorta, Eszterházy torta and Rigó Jáncsi provide an authentic and unmissable taste of Hungary.

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HUNGARIAN GREY CATTLE Among the iconic symbols of Hungary, longhorned grey cattle, szürkemarha, are one of the endearing. Grazing on the Great Hungarian Plain since time immemorial, the Hungarian grey provided prime meat until the 19th century, when its role started to decline. Recently revived, its meat is now highly sought after, the cattle feeding on natural plant food to produce a particularly delicious variety of beef. Its most popular use is in stews, pörkölt, prepared in a traditional cauldron, bogrács.

HUNGARIAN TRUFFLES In August 2014, a black labrador unearthed the biggest truffle yet found in Hungary. Weighing a whopping 1.28kg, it was found in oak forest 130km from Budapest. The products of this burgeoning domestic industry are slowly being found on the restaurant tables of Budapest. Revered in France, where they are referred to as the ‘diamonds of the kitchen’, here truffles tend to be of the summer variety, similar to those found in Italy and Spain.

PAPRIKA Nothing typifies Hungary more than paprika. Fiery red, paprika differs here in that it varies in flavour from sweet to spicy. Hungary was the first country to cultivate these different varieties, in Szeged in the 1920s. Used mainly in soups and stews, particularly the stellar fish soup, halaszlé, paprika is usually served in a small dish alongside to sprinkle according to taste.

Hungary – land of wine It was the Romans who brought vines to Pannonia. Vineyards were extensively cultivated around Tokaj and Eger several centuries ago, sweet Tokaji and the full-bodied red Bull’s Blood still the best known varieties beyond Hungary’s borders today. In more modern times, grape types such as Kékfrankos, Furmint, Hárslevelű and Muscat began to dominate. From the 1990s onwards, a select group of private winemakers across Hungary started using modern production techniques to create some of the most interesting brands in the region. Particularly from around Lake Balaton, and Pécs and Villány in the south, these producers began to make a name for themselves in the high-end restaurants of Budapest. Today an establishment such as the House of Hungarian Wines on Castle Hill contains more than 700 labels from Hungary’s 22 wine-producing regions. Wine restaurants, wine boutiques and wine festivals have been set up across Budapest and Hungary as a whole. Wine is big business – though most of this business is kept within Hungary’s borders.

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LAKE BALATON Five of Hungary’s 22 wine-producing regions are to be found around Lake Balaton. The most distinctive wines here owe much to the volcanic soil of their provenance – specifically from Badacsony and the adjoining territory known as Balaton-felvidék. Badacsony in particular has its own micro-climate, its southern slopes receiving sunlight reflected from the surface of the lake. These conditions create full-bodied whites, traditionally stored in oak barrels, giving a rich taste. Szürkebarát, a descendant of Pinot gris, is a common variety here, along with Olaszrizling. The formerly dominant Kéknyelű is also making a modest comeback.

TOKAJ

EGER

Tokaj is synonymous with Hungarian wine. Set in the foothills of the Zemplén Mountains in Hungary’s far north-east, Tokaj is where the world-famous sweet dessert wine of the same name is produced. Here, warm Septembers and Octobers, combined with the moist conditions, create noble rot, a benevolent form of fungus affecting wine grapes. These botrytised grapes are picked one by one into buckets, puttonyos – the higher the puttonyos number, the higher the natural sugar residue.

The wine of Eger is steeped in legend. Bull’s Blood, Egri Bikavér, is said to have inspired Hungarian soldiers to defend Eger Castle from Ottoman attack. Back in the 16th century, Kadarka grapes were used in its production – now Bull’s Blood is usually made with a mix of Kékfrankos, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, to name but three. Eger also produces Olaszrizling and Chardonnay whites – and is home to the famous row of wine cellars, Szépasszonyvölgy, the Valley of Beautiful Women.

Stylish wine bars DI VINO Opened in 2011 and recommended by Michelin in 2012, Di Vino stands in the shadow of St Stephen’s Basilica. Budapest’s foremost, and certainly most central, wine restaurant, was set up by Junibor, a local association of young wine producers. Its members age between 23 and 37 – this is Hungary’s next generation of winemakers, and includes the children of the most famous names in the business. Sent to learn their trade in France and California, they have returned home to follow in their fathers’ footsteps – and carve new paths in the industry. Here, bottles are available from around 30 young producers, including Gere, Gál and Dúzsi. To complement, food runs from platters of fine hams and cheeses to main dishes such as duck breast and duck liver. In 2013, another Di Vino opened in the Gozsdu udvar, in happening District VII. V. Szent István tér 3.

DOBLO A pioneer in the domestic wine business, Doblo was the first destination bar here to focus purely on Hungarian wines. Opening as far back as 2009, in District VII near the entrance to the Gozsdu udvar, Doblo also led the field in creating a buzz in this now ever-busy bar vortex. From small wineries to the biggest players on the market, Doblo offers visitors the chance to sample all kinds of Hungarian wines, in an informal, funky atmosphere. Tasting menus are provided to help things along. VII. Dob utca 20.

INNIO Also within a short walk of the downtown Basilica, Innio operates under the motto of ‘Innio, ennio, élnio’ – ‘To drink, to eat, to live’. Broadening its scope to include worldwide wines as well as those from Hungary, Innio offers nearly 300 labels, complemented by a quality kitchen. V. Október 6 utca 9.

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Pálinka Italians sip grappa, Germans neck schnapps and Hungarians… Hungarians revere pálinka. Loosely translated as brandy, pálinka is a clear spirit, flavoured by fruit, most commonly pears, pears and apricots. It is said in Hungary that if you can make jam out of it, you can make pálinka too. As well as these fruit flavours, there are types of pálinka whose variety depends on production techniques. The most sought-after are törköly, made from pomace, the solid remains of the grape, and ágyas, matured with fruit for at least three months. In the last two or three years, pálinka has become immensely fashionable, distributed in tall, thin bottles with designer-friendly labels and sold in the best bars and restaurants. How it’s consumed, however, hasn’t changed. Unlike vodka, it isn’t served chilled. Unlike tequila, it isn’t slammed. Pálinka is sipped among friends, glasses clinked beforehand, and a toast given. Produced at most celebrations, pálinka comes into its own in countryside villages, particularly for traditional occasions such as pig-slaughtering.

SZILVAPÁLINKA Any Budapest bar or restaurant is guaranteed to have szilvapálinka, made with plums. Since Hungary joined the EU, the international rules on pálinka production have been as clear as the drink itself. Only fruit spirits mashed, distilled, matured and bottled in Hungary can be called pálinka – with the exception of certain apricot varieties in Austria. Even more specifically, certain types of szilvapálinka, namely Szatmári and Békési, must have been produced in those particular territories. Békési itself is created with red plums harvested from the valley of the river Kőrös.

KÖRTEPÁLINKA The most famous type of pear pálinka, körtepálinka, derives from the late-season pears of Göcseji in Zala County close to the Slovene border. Here the soil is perfect to produce varieties such as Williams, Packham’s Triumph and Conference which go into pálinka production.

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The Gourmet Metropolis Budapest’s Best Fine Dining Restaurants

Alabárdos

Arany Kaviár

Bock Bisztró

Address: I.Országház utca 2 Telephone: +36 1 356 0851 Reservations: +36 1 356 0851 E-mail: alabardos@t-online.hu Website: www.alabardos.hu Manager: Péter Andrusch Head chef: Attila Bicsár Open: Mon-Fri 7pm-11pm, Sat noon-3pm, 7pm-11pm Cuisine: Hungarian Seats: 45 + 25 First opened: 1964

Address: I.Ostrom utca 19 Telephone: +36 1 201 6737 Reservations: +36 30 685 6000/+36 1 201 6737 E-mail: reservation@aranykaviar.hu Website: www.aranykaviar.hu Manager: Attila Molnár Head chef: Sasha Nyíri Open: every day noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight Cuisine: International Seats: 48 First opened: 1990

Address: VII.Erzsébet körút 43-49 Telephone: +36 1 321 0340 Reservations: +36 1 321 0340 E-mail: info@bockbisztro.hu Website: www.bockbisztropest.hu Manager: János Erki Head chef: Zoltán Danó Open: Mon-Sat noon-midnight Cuisine: International Seats: 40–50 First opened: 2004

Located in the Castle District, hence the slight historic touches in the décor, the 50-year-old Alabárdos could long have offered a tired tourist menu and still made money. Instead, it creates painstakingly conceived dishes such as roasted fillet of pike-perch with broccoli variations, saffron-seasoned pearl onions and sausage crumbs – and the grilled liver and breast of duck with home-made pasta is a favourite. All is beautifully presented in contemporary fashion, juxtaposing with the time-honoured surroundings viewed from the window. Closed, surprisingly, on Sundays.

Long a reference point for fine dining in Buda, the ‘Golden Caviar’ echoes the lavish dining of Tsarist Russia. Opened in 1990 by Attila Molnár and Sasha Nyíri, who learned his trade in the old country, the Arany Kaviár offers sample menus lunch- and dinnertime, and meals à la carte. Either option features wonderfully extravagant dishes such as sturgeon, wild-boar pel’mennyi and, naturally, caviar. Stellar dish is the five-caviar appetiser, including Siberian sturgeon royal black and Ossetra varieties. Quality vodkas may accompany.

Facing the Nagykörút from the grand façade of the five-star Corinthia Hotel Budapest, Bock Bisztró is a destination restaurant in its own right. Recognised by the Michelin Guide, renowned winemaker Lajos Bíró’s establishment is also locally acknowledged as one of the top kitchens in town. Contemporary bistro culture imbues Hungarian classics – Hortobágyi-style catfish, veal paprikás – to create something unique. Bock, a previous Hungarian Winemaker of the Year, has his complete selection is available. Other renowned domestic labels – Légli, Nyakas, Dúzsi – can also be found.

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Borkonyha

Costes

Fausto’s

Address: V.Sas utca 3 Telephone: +36 1 234 5678 Reservations: +36 1 234 5678 E-mail: borkonyha@t-online.hu Website: borkonyha.hu Manager: Zoltán Kalocsai Head chef: Ákos Sarkozy Open: Mon-Sat noon-midnight Cuisine: Wine restaurant Seats: 50 First opened: 2010

Address: IX.Ráday utca 4 Telephone: +36 1 219 0696 Reservations: +36 1 219 0696 E-mail: info@costes.hu Website: www.costes.hu Manager: Rita Szopkó Head chef: Miguel Rocha Vieira Open: Wed-Sun 6.30pm-midnight Cuisine: International Seats: 40 First opened: 2008

Address: VII.Dohány utca 3 Telephone: +36 30 589 1813 Reservations: +36 30 589 1813 E-mail: faustos@fausto.hu Website: www.fausto.hu Manager: Gergely Maul Head chef: Giorgio Chavicchiolo Open: Mon-Fri noon-3pm, 7pm-11pm, Sat 6pm-11pm Cuisine: Italian Seats: 50 First opened: 1994

Set in the restaurant-swamped streets of Budapest’s business quarter behind St Stephen’s Basilica, the ‘Wine Kitchen’ has to go that extra yard to attract discerning nine-to-fivers. And that, Tamás Horváth, Zoltán Kalocsai and team, including chef Ákos Sárközi, most certainly do. Here French and Mediterranean bistro fare is complemented by 200 types of mainly Hungarian wines, 45 available by the glass. There’s also a nice familiar feel to the place – Tamás and Zoltán are old schoolmates who worked together at the Magnáskert as headwaiter and sommelier respectively.

Budapest’s first restaurant to be awarded with a Michelin star, Costes has hit the top thanks to the culinary genius of head chef Miguel Rocha Vieira. Previously at London’s Le Cordon Bleu and under the umbrella of El Bulli, Rocha Vieira established a cutting-edge, contemporary kitchen on Ráday utca on the principle of ‘respect for the product and its season’. Costes is a safe bet for a memorable culinary evening – its gourmet wonders are currently presented in four- to seven-course menus, as well as à la carte.

For the last 20 years, Fausto’s has been at the top of Budapest’s culinary scene. Owner Fausto Di Vora learned his trade in Seoul, New York and Los Angeles, before opening the high-quality Fausto’s with chef Giorgio Cavicchiolo. Fish is still transported double quick from the market in Venice to feature on a small but imaginatively conceived à la carte menu. The starters are works of art – and the daily three-course lunch, considering the quality of produce, presentation and service, is a snip at HUF5,000.

LUXURY GASTRONOMY

Nobu

Onyx

Salon

Address: Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, V.Erzsébet tér 7-8 Telephone: +36 1 429 4242 Reservations: +36 1 429 4242 E-mail: reservation@noburestaurant.hu Website: www.noburestaurants.com/budapest Manager: György Halász Head chef: Gábor Schreiner Open: Every day noon-3.30pm, 6pm-11.45pm Cuisine: Japanese/Peruvian Seats: 80 + 50 First opened: 2010

Address: V.Vörösmarty tér 7-8. Telephone: +36 30 508 0622 Reservations: +36 30 508 0622 E-mail: onyx@onyxrestaurant.hu Website: www.onyxrestaurant.hu Managers: Ibolya Csahók, Balázs Sallya Head chef: Tamás Széll Executive chef: Szabina Szulló Open: Tue-Fri noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm-11pm, Sat 6.30pm-11pm Cuisine: Hungarian Seats: 58 First opened: 2007

Address: Boscolo Budapest, VII.Erzsébet körút 9 Telephone: +36 1 234 5678 Reservations: +36 1 234 5678 E-mail: newyorkcafe@newyork.boscolo.com Website: www.salonrestaurant.hu Manager: István Arvai Head chef: András Wolf Open: Tue-Sat 6pm-midnight Cuisine: Hungarian Seats: 25-30 First opened: 2010

Co-owner Robert De Niro himself came to town for the long-awaited opening of this upscale sushi chain in the Corvinus Kempinski Hotel. As did Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, the ‘Nobu’ famed for his fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine in similar restaurants from Beverly Hills to Beijing. This Budapest branch offers the same black cod delicacies that helped Nobu earn his worldwide renown. Tuna, seabass and yellowtail fish also feature heavily on the menu, in sushi, sashimi and tempura forms – the tempura menu alone is 15 items long.

Another of Budapest’s Michelin-starred restaurants, the lavish Onyx operates on the upstairs floor of historic coffeehouse Gerbeaud, on the main square of Vörösmarty tér. Opened in 2007, Onyx quickly gained a justifiable reputation under executive chef Szabina Szulló and sous-chef Tamás Széll. A current, selective, main-course menu includes John Dory in bouillabaisse sauce, venison and black pudding, and suckling pig with cabbage and quince. From Tuesdays to Fridays, look out for the weekly changing lunchtime menu. There are tasting menus too, to be ordered for the entire table.

Under executive chef András Wolf, the Salon in the Boscolo Budapest hotel has made its name with its reinvention of traditional Hungarian dishes. Opened in 2010, the Salon provides a seven-course menu, each dish – saddle of venison, stuffed rabbit with pumpkin, mustard and lentils – complemented by a specific Tokaji, Villány or Kadarka wine. A four-course selection and vegetarian menu are also offered, as well as the best dishes à la carte. Desserts are also matched with specific wines, either sweet treats or a cheese selection.

ZONA Budapest Address: I.Lánchíd utca 7-9 Telephone: +36 1 234 5678 Reservations: +36 30 422 5981 E-mail: hello@zonabudapest.com Website: www.zonabudapest.hu Manager: Zsombor Nagy Head chef: Krisztián Huszár Open: Tue-Sat noon-midnight Cuisine: International Seats: 42 First opened: 2012

Zona opened near the Buda foot of Chain Bridge in 2012, another arm of the omnipotent, gastro-focused Baldaszti Group. Poaching chef Krisztián Huszár from the mák Bisztró, Zona has kitchen run by a chef who earned his spurs under three-Michelinstarred Martín Berasategui in the Basque country. Basque touches are added to contemporary Hungarian dishes, served in a high-design interior based on the concept of zones. There’s a separate wine bar to enjoy a glass from the mainly Hungarian selection before your meal.

LUXURY GASTRONOMY

Sunday best

Budapest’s top weekend brunches

ARAZ

Brasserie & Atrium

Hotel Continental Budapest Corinthia Hotel Budapest Address: VII.Dohány utca 42-44 Reservations: +36 1 234 5678 Website: www.araz.hu Head chef: Áron Barka Seats: 120 Sunday brunch: Noon-3pm Cuisine: International

Address: VII.Erzsébet körút 43-49 Reservations: +36 1 479 4850 Website: www.corinthia.com/budapest Head chef: Joel Khalil Seats: 60-200 Sunday brunch: Noon-4pm Cuisine: International

Organised seasonally, with a focus on Christmas and the run-up to it, the ARAZ in the Continental Hotel Budapest offers a rare chance of a quality brunch in the heart of the Jewish Quarter. Typically, the selection shows French, Hungarian and Jewish influences.

The Corinthia Hotel Budapest is the only one in town to theme its brunches on a week-by-week basis. Executive chef Péter Bolyki and team can provide succulent meats cooked on a lava-stone grill and kiddie-pleasing desserts, including a popular pancake station.

ICON the restaurant Hilton Budapest Address: I.Hess András tér 1-3 Reservations: +36 1 234 5678 Website: www.iconetterem.hu Head chef: Csaba Horváth Seats: 220 Sunday brunch: noon-3pm Cuisine: International

Up in the Castle District, the Hilton not only provides Sunday brunch with a stunning slice of cityscape, but with free parking and unlimited consumption of wine, beer and sparkling wine. Executive chef Zoltán Horváth oversees classic, tourist-friendly fare, with own-label wines to accompany.

LUXURY GASTRONOMY

Buddha-Bar

Corso

ES Bisztró & Terrace

Buddha-Bar Hotel

InterContinental Budapest

Kempinski Hotel Budapest

Address: V.Váci utca 34 Reservations: +36 1 234 5678 Website: www.buddhabarhotelbudapest.com Head chef: Osama Kotaini Seats: 116 Sunday brunch: Noon-4pm Cuisine: Asian

Address: V.Apáczai Csere János utca 12-14. Reservations: +36 1 327 6392 Website: www.budapest.intercontinental.com Head chef: Ulf Burbach Seats: 250 Sunday brunch: noon-4pm Cuisine: International

Address: V.Erzsébet tér 7-8 Reservations: +36 1 429 3990 Website: www.esbistro.hu Head chef: Tamás Vajna Seats: 120 Sunday brunch: noon-3pm Cuisine: Austro-Hungarian

The Buddha-Bar is the first establishment in Budapest to offer an Asian Sunday brunch. Entertained by a live DJ and musician, diners can tuck into a wide selection of sushi and favourite Asian dishes prepared with fresh ingredients. A welcome cocktail starts things off nicely.

With a Kids’ Corner and a spectacular setting overlooking the Chain Bridge, the Corso at the Intercontinental has always been one of the city’s most popular choices for brunch. Live jazz often accompanies. December sees seasonal brunches in the run-up to and either side of Christmas.

Steaks and burgers are the stock in trade of this city-centre spot. Sunday brunch is duly a treat for carnivores, in slightly funkier setting than at the other luxury hotels nearby. This may be in the Kempinski, but it’s a contemporary brasserie, with a summer terrace too boot.

Le Bourbon

Mercato Italiano

peppers!

Le Méridien Budapest Hotel

Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace

Address: V.Erzsébet tér 9-10 Reservations: +36 1 429 5770 Website: www.lebourbonrestaurant.com Head chef: Laurent Vandenameele Seats: 60 + 60 Sunday brunch: noon-3pm Cuisine: French/international

Address: V.Széchenyi István tér 5-6. Reservations: +36 1 268 6000 Website: www.fourseasons.com/budapest/dining Head chef: Leonardo di Clemente Seats: 65 Sunday brunch: noon-3pm Cuisine: Italian

Address: V.Apáczai Csere János utca 4 Reservations: +36 1 737 7377 Website: www.peppers.hu Head chef: József Tamás Seats: 200 Sunday Brunch: noon-3pm Cuisine: Mediterranean

Live jazz, cooking demonstrations and sumptuous desserts are the key features of the extremely popular Sunday brunch at Le Bourbon at Le Méridien. Give the Gallic roots of this hotel chain, it’s no surprise to find main dishes and post-meal cheeses with a French flavour.

The prestigious Gresham Palace has a different take on Sunday brunch. The Mercato Italiano is a walk through a typical Italian market, featuring the exquisite antipasti, salads, cold smoked duck and best roast beef created by executive chef Leonardo Di Clemente and his team.

Hungary meets the Mediterranean at peppers!, where Sunday brunch is so popular there may even be a queue to get in. The signature restaurant of the Marriott manages to match the unsurpassable view from the Pest embankment with a delightful spread, complemented by unobtrusive live music.

Budapest Marriott Hotel

LUXURY GASTRONOMY

Hidden locals KÁDÁR ÉTKEZDE In this time-honoured, affordable classic, regulars and tourists share tables while tucking into homely Hungarian and kosher dishes in the heart of the Jewish Quarter. Unchanged since the 1970s, the Kádár features autographed caricatures and photographs of stage and screen stars who have dined here over the decades. Goose is the speciality here, served in traditional fashion, with red cabbage and mashed potato. Equally cheap wine can be splashed with soda from the signature syphons set on each checked tablecloth. VII. Klauzál tér 9.

BAJAI HALÁSZCSÁRDA This delightful traditional fish restaurant specialises in the dishes of Baja, southern Hungary, where spicy soups feature home-made pasta. The knowledgeable waiter talks you through the menu, whether you’d like carp or catfish, and explain the differences between fish soup in Baja and nearby Szeged. Diners may choose between a pretty garden and tasteful, dark-wood interior – and perhaps then ride on the adjoining cogwheel railway through scenic Buda. www.bajahalaszcsarda.hu

RÉTI SAS VENDÉGLŐ Practically defining the term ‘hidden local’, the Réti Sas is tucked away behind Kelenföld Station, now accessible by metro line 4. Barely changed from the day it opened in 1934, the Réti Sas serves age-old Hungarian favourites to regulars on a shaded terrace or in a snug wooden interior. Portions are simply humungous. XI. Rimaszombati út 7.

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Luxury culture

From grand opera to contemporary art

LUXURY CULTURE

udapest is awash with culture. World-class concert halls and several domestic symphony orchestras to perform in them, half-a-dozen major theatres and a thriving gallery scene – not to mention a glittering Opera House – await the culture-hungry visitor. Named after its Hungarian founder, Franz Liszt, the Music Academy is both a concert venue second-to-none and Hungary’s most prestigious music university. Reopened in 2013 after major renovation, it stands by a statue of Liszt –there’s another a short walk away, outside the Opera House. In between runs Nagymező utca, aka Budapest Broadway, steeped in theatrical legend. Statues and footprints of famous thespians decorate the pavement amid the theatres where they made their names. This is the city’s historic cultural quarter. Around the time of the 2000 millennium, a new one was created, by the Danube in south Pest. Budapest had long needed a prestigious national theatre, after the much-loved one that had stood for six decades was destroyed in 1965. Its former site is Blaha Lujza tér, named after the revered singer who once performed there. Its new one was opened in 2002, the façade of the old one a design feature in the waterside park surrounding it. In 2005, it was joined by the Palace of Arts, containing the Béla Bártok National Concert Hall, where leading domestic and international symphony orchestras play. In the same building, for short referred to as MÜPA, are the Festival Theatre and the Ludwig Museum. The Ludwig is the city’s main showcase for modern and contemporary art, its original establishment founded in 1989. It heads an ever-changing but ever-fascinating art scene worth investigating.

LUXURY CULTURE

Palaces of culture

URÁNIA CINEMA This sumptuous venue really is a modern-day working cinema – although it started life as a live theatre, in 1899. Screening films as part of the schedule from 1900, it began a full-time cinema in 1916. Retaining its original Moorish style, today it comprises a 700-seat main auditorium and two smaller screens. An EU-heritage building, the Uránia is one of the main hosts for the Budapest Film Festival.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS Rembrandt, Toulouse-Lautrec and Caravaggio are among the most recent artists to be featured in major exhibitions at Hungary’s most prestigious showcase for international art. The permanent collection, meanwhile, is a treasure trove of Spanish Masters, along with works by Titian, Tintoretto and Dürer. You’ll also find an extensive section on the Impressionists – including Manet, Monet, Renoir and Pissarro – and sculptures by Rodin and Meunier. The stock of 10,000 drawings is displayed on a rotating basis – there are 15 by Rembrandt alone.

LUXURY CULTURE

FRANZ LISZT MUSIC ACADEMY The Music Academy was established in 1875, in the residence used by its founder, Franz Liszt, when he was in Budapest. It later moved to Andrássy út then, in 1907, to this Art Nouveau masterpiece of a building created by Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergi. Renovated a century later, it was reopened in 2013. It has always been a concert hall, music university and library, home to the Liszt Collection of books and manuscripts. Liszt himself still sits outside, in statue form.

ERKEL THEATRE Ferenc Erkel composed the Hungarian anthem and was the first music director of the Opera House. In 1911, another theatre was opened across town, in District VIII. Its intention was to provide the general public with affordable opera – but it didn’t survive World War I. It became a theatre and, after World War II, was renamed after Erkel. The theatre underwent a six-year renovation from 2007 and now acts as a second stage for the main Opera House.

OPERA HOUSE The grand dame of Budapest’s palaces of culture, the Opera House dominates the showcase boulevard of Andrássy út. Opened before Emperor Franz Josef in 1884, the Opera House was reopened exactly a century later after major renovation. In its history, it has been graced by the world’s most prestigious orchestras, and by music directors such as Gustav Mahler and Otto Klemperer.

Art – modern and contemporary

VICTOR VASARELY Arguably Hungary’s most famous artist of the modern era, Pécs-born Victor Vasarely made his name in France. Considered the founder of the op art movement, Vasarely created a style of geometric abstract art, its optical illusions having an almost hypnotic effect. Using techniques learned as a graphic designer at advertising agencies in Paris, Vasarely produced enough paintings and sculptures to have his own museum in France from 1970. In 1987, a 400-piece Vasarely Museum opened at the Zichy Palace in Óbuda, near Árpád Bridge in Budapest.

MOHOLY-NAGY A pioneering photographer and a professor at the Bauhaus school in Berlin, László Moholy-Nagy is known for his bringing together of technology and design. Also a painter, Moholy-Nagy had a major effect on a generation of art and design students in Berlin – until he was forced to leave for London, and then America. There he opened a School, later an Institute, of Design.

LUXURY CULTURE

LÁSZLÓ FEHÉR The prolific László Fehér is known for his many works in styles such as neoavantgarde and hyperrealism. In this contemporary form of art, artists use photographic images as the reference point from which they can create a piece with a higher definition and more detail. Fehér’s works have been exhibited at the prestigious Musée d’Art Moderne Saint-Étienne Métropole, and feature in Vienna’s Sammlung Albertina, and the Hungarian National Gallery and Ludwig Museum in the Palace of Arts in Budapest.

ISTVÁN NÁDLER A major figure in the neoavantgarde movement of the 1960s, Visegrád-born István Nádler still exhibits regularly around Hungary. He is also known as being one of the three founders – along with Imre Bak and János Fajó – of the socalled Budapest Workshop in 1971. They had previously featured in two influential exhibitions, both named ‘Iparterv’, or ‘Industrial Plan’, held in 1968 and 1969. The Budapest Workshop was a focus for the city’s creative community, and its influence stretched further into design and literature.

IMRE BAK Budapest-born Imre Bak was one of the artists involved in the Budapest Workshop from 1971 onwards. In the 1990s, his paintings began to feature geometric structures, their perspective and bright colours giving a pleasing effect on the viewer. His works hang in the prestigious Ludwig Museum in Budapest’s Palace of Arts.

Luxury spas & sport Where to bathe, play and watch

LUXURY SPAS & SPORT

port, health, recreation and relaxation have always been major attractions of Hungary’s tourist industry. Budapest is one of the few capital cities with a surfeit of spa waters, and therapeutic soaking has been practised here since Roman times. Reactivated under the Ottomans, Budapest’s bathing culture was developed in the early 20th century, when ornate bathhouses were built. Promoting the city as a spa destination, establishments such as the Gellért, the Széchenyi and, most recently, the Rudas, have all seen major modern renovations and now are essential stops on any visit to the city. These have become more inclusive and tourist-friendly, some doubling up as lidos to provide a whole day of family-friendly leisure. Alongside, health tourism has flourished. Spas, day spas and many high-end hotels now provide a whole raft of treatments, therapies and massages. Just as Budapest has long been a spa destination choice, so Hungary has always excelled in the water at major sports events. For generations, dating right back to 1896, Hungarians have won Olympic golds for their sporting prowess. As well as enjoying success in the pool and on the pitch, Hungary is well versed in hosting sports events. In 2014, Budapest was among a select handful of cities chosen to host matches for football’s European Championships of 2020. A new national stadium is to be rebuilt. The biggest event on the sporting calendar is the Hungarian Grand Prix, that takes place at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, 20km north-east of Budapest. Established in 1986, the Hungarian Grand Prix brings tens of thousands of sports fans to Budapest every summer.

LUXURY SPAS & SPORT

Baths GELLÉRT BATHS The most famous baths in town, the Gellért Spa is part of the equally classic Art Nouveau hotel of the same name. Built at the same time, the baths were also an essential stop on the Grand Tour for high-spending visitors during Budapest’s Silver Age between the wars. They haven’t lost their cachet since. Consisting of an outdoor pool, a wave bath and extensive sunbathing area, they retain their historic character inside, where the spa baths and saunas operated as single-sex until relatively recently. All was extensively renovated in 2008. Hotel guests may access the spa for free – everyone else must pay top dollar.

LUKÁCS BATHS Originally part of a spa hotel opened in the 1880s, the Lukács Baths have been helping to heal people for generations. As you enter the leafy grounds, you’ll notice a wall of plaques from visitors down the ages, testifying to the efficacity of the waters. Once inside, there’s a series of pools and saunas, with a large pool outside, sheltered by the complex buildings. Staff in white coats patrol the warrenous cavern of corridors and walkways – the Lukács is the one spa in town that feels that it is used for medicinal rather than leisure purposes. It can still provide a pleasant day out – without the lido feel of the Széchenyi.

SZÉCHENYI BATHS No trip to Budapest is complete without a visit to the Széchenyi. The city’s busiest and most tourist-friendly spa, the Széchenyi provides the backdrop for the iconic image of bathers playing chess in the waters. This is one of three outdoor pools, complemented by saunas, steam rooms, relaxation areas and more baths at varying temperatures inside. There’s a terrace restaurant too. Of all the baths, this is the one where you can easily spend the whole day.

RUDAS BATHS The most recent of Budapest’s baths to be renovated, the Rudas Baths near the Buda side of Elizabeth Bridge now feature a panoramic pool roof and restaurant, as well as tastefully restored spa areas. Despite this 21st-century makeover, the Rudas still echoes its distinct Ottoman roots – it was first built and developed in the 1550s and 1560s. In another recent development, the spa now allows men and women to bathe together at weekends, with all-night opening hours.

LUXURY SPAS & SPORT

Formula 1

he Hungarian Grand Prix is the biggest event in the local sporting calendar. Estimated to bring in HUF20 billion annual revenue – HUF13 billion in direct takings and HUF6 billion in indirect advertising for Hungary – the weekend attracts 200,000 paying customers, 80% of them foreign. It was introduced in 1986 by Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who wanted a Grand Prix circuit behind the Iron Curtain without the bureaucracy headache that his first choice, Moscow, would have presented. The first Hungarian Grand Prix had taken place 50 years before, at Népliget in 1936. German Bernd Rosemeyer won the race, pipping Mussolini’s favourite driver, Tazio Nuvolari. Also competing was British woman Eileen Ellison, supported by her mechanic Thomas Pitt Cholmondeley-Tapper – this was a bygone era. Ecclestone originally wanted a race through the streets of Budapest, à la Monaco. Instead, a track based on the same concept was built in a pretty valley 20km north-east of Budapest in Mogyoród. The Hungaroring was Hungary’s shop window to the West. Nearly half the construction costs of HUF340 million (then $7.6 million) were recouped with the earnings from the inaugural race, won by Nelson Piquet.

LUXURY SPAS & SPORT

The Hungaroring was characterised by its twisty, turny circuit and the near perfect view afforded to all spectators by the bowl-shaped landscape.Â As overtaking was tricky, the race would turn into a procession of cars unable to build up speed in the straight. This meant advertisers could display more billboards as cars slowed around the bends in the fierce heat of Hungary in mid-summer. With the increased costs to raise the venue to Western standards, the Hungaroring came under frequent threat of closure, but ad-savvy Ecclestone was determined to keep it part of the annual Grand Prix jamboree. The Hungaroring track was modified to increase the size of the home straight, tighten the first curve and make overtaking less of a rarity. Improvements were made to the press, VIP and pit areas, making the Hungaroring a pleasant place to work and watch. Those paying top dollar to sit in the Super Silver Grandstand are perched over the reconstructed start-finish line. To keep the cash tills ringing all year, the complex now features a gokart track and adventure park.

LUXURY SPAS & SPORT

Polo

he sport of kings was developed in India under the British, who then took the sport back home, then over to Argentina and America. Polo clubs sprang up around Europe in the late 19th century. Given its proud tradition of horsemanship, it was no surprise that Hungary soon took to the sport. It was Count Géza Andrássy who brought it to Hungary, shortly before he introduced golf. Hungary enjoyed its most successful era in the sport before the war, when the Honvéd Polo Club won the European title and the national team beat hosts Germany at the 1936 Olympics. Today Hungary hosts tournaments throughout the year, from the season opening in April, to the Diplomats’ Tournament in June, the President’s Cup in July and the Hungarian Cup in September. All takes place in Tabajd, an hour’s drive south-west of Budapest. For details, see magyarpoloclub.hu.

LUXURY SPAS & SPORT

Golf

ungary has eight, 18-hole golf courses across the country, all developed since the early 1990s. The Magyar Golf Club had opened a decade earlier in Kisoroszi, 90 minutes’ drive from Budapest past Vác. As golf was slow to catch on as a modern-day pastime here, this course remained nine-hole until the arrival of the Birdland Golf & Country Club in Bükfürdő and the Hencse Golf & Country Club. Kisoroszi was then extended to a full 18 holes. Not that Hungary lacked tradition in the sport. It was Count Géza Andrássy, son of Count Gyula of Andrássy út fame, who first swung a golf club in earnest here, in 1902. The sport was at its height in the 1930s, when world-famous golfer Bobby Jones played at Széchenyi-hegy in Buda. Discouraged after the war, Hungarian golf then enjoyed its late 20th-century revival. The Hungarian Golf Club was reformed and the Pólus Palace Golf Club opened in Göd in 2002. There are also nine-hole courses in and around Budapest – see hungolf.hu for details.

Discover Budapest Explore Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prettiest capital

Castle District Historic hilltop attractions

CASTLE DISTRICT

he Castle District is the first stop on any sightseeing tour of Budapest. Easily accessed by a funicular from Clark Ádám tér, it contains the city’s main tourist attractions. The Royal Castle, Matthias Church and Fishermen’s Bastion, they’re clustered here, surrounded by quiet cobbled streets, the spectacular panorama of the Pest embankment spread out below. This is tourist central so be prepared for crowds. After your funicular makes the short climb up Castle Hill, you are immediately greeted by a statue of a turul, a mythical bird whose legend is attached to the history of the original Magyar tribes settling in this part of the Carpathian Basin. Hungarians first settled atop Castle Hill after the first Mongol invasion in the 13th century. Around the same time, King Béla IV made Buda his capital, building a castle and a church here. Destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed, rebuilt, these twin landmarks would bear the scars of Buda’s many invasions over the next millennium. The most recent conflict, the 31st to date, came in 1945, when bitter hand-to-hand conflict took place between Nazi and Soviet troops while citizens hid away in their cellars. Much that you see today around Castle Hill has been reconstructed since then. The Royal Palace itself, the first attraction you come to as you walk up from the funicular, was rebuilt over three decades after the war. A sprawling complex of wings, courtyards and cultural institutions, it remains a mixture of styles, with little left of the grand

CASTLE DISTRICT

“THE ORIGINAL PALACE WAS SUMPTUOUS, WITH ORNATE FOUNTAINS AND RUNNING WATER FOR GUESTS OF THE ROYAL COURT.”

residence developed under ‘Good’ King Mátyás in the second half of the 15th century. Statuary from the medieval monarch’s court, created in the style of the Renaissance, is on display in the Budapest History Museum in Wing E of the Royal Palace. His original palace was sumptuous, with ornate fountains and running water for guests of the royal court. Fifty years later, the Turks took Buda, causing partial damage to the palace, which was reduced to rubble when the Holy League retook it in 1686. The present-day structure of the palace is mainly due to Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa, who commissioned a new complex in the late 1700s. Again, some 150 years later, much of the 200-room building was severely damaged during the War of Independence between Hungarians and Habsburgs. After Budapest became a twin capital in the Habsburg Empire in 1867, the palace was revamped in neo-baroque fashion by the two leading architects of the day, Alajos Hauszmann and Miklós Ybl. Around the same time, Frigyes Schulek was rebuilding nearby Matthias Church and creating the similarly ornate look-out feature of Fishermen’s Bastion alongside. The main attractions in today’s palace are the Hungarian National Gallery, the National Széchényi Library and the Budapest History Museum.

Royal Palace

CASTLE DISTRICT

Fishermen’s Bastion

“AFTER BUDAPEST BECAME TWIN CAPITAL OF THE HABSBURG EMPIRE IN 1867, THE PALACE WAS REVAMPED.” Grand in scale, the Hungarian National Gallery is almost too big to take in over one visit. Along with sculptures and graphics, its vast permanent collection covers more than half a millennium of Hungarian art. Highlights include works by the nation’s most renowned artists, Mihály Munkácsy, József Rippl-Rónai and Tivadar Koszta Csontváry, from around the last turn of the century.

Another rarely on display, further treasures from the Golden Age of Buda under Mátyás are housed in the equally huge National Széchényi Library. In the archives are the remains of the king’s library, said to be one of the largest in the world at the time. Out front are millions of books, documents and manuscripts donated to the Hungarian State in 1802. The story of Hungary’s capital is told in the Budapest History Museum, which runs from prehistoric times to the present day. Note the displays relating to victory over the Ottomans in 1686 and Budapest’s role as capital of the short-lived Soviet republic in 1919. The two other major attractions of Castle Hill are a five-minute walk away

CASTLE DISTRICT

Matthias Church

CASTLE DISTRICT

Vรกrkert Bazรกr

CASTLE DISTRICT

on Szentháromság tér. Towering over this focal square is Matthias Church, named after the king who was married here on two occasions, Mátyás. When rebuilding the church in the late 1800s, architect Frigyes Schulek managed to incorporate elements from the original medieval church with or-

“THE FISHERMEN’S BASTION IS INTERSPERSED WITH VANTAGE POINTS, EWACH OFFERING A VIEW OF PEST CITYSCAPE” nate features typical of Habsburg Budapest. The most striking is the multi-coloured roof, created by bright tiles from the renowned Zsolnay factory in Pécs. Alongside, Schulek complemented the bright church with the faux-historic confectionery of the Fishermen’s

Bastion. Comprising seven turrets representing the Hungarian tribes who came here in the 800s, it is interspersed with a row of vantage points, each offering a fabulous view of the Danube and Pest cityscape. Moving from here, past the statue of St Stephen, Hungary’s first king, you come to the corner of Úri utca. There, another equestrian statue, that of Habsburg hussar András Hadik, stands. Tradition has it that local students come here before their end-ofyear exams to rub the horse’s testicles for good luck. Recently reopened below Castle Hill, the Várkert Bazár is a faithful and stylish recreation of the original structure created by Miklós Ybl in the 1880s. Dramatically illuminated, it brings back to life the former Buda Youth Park of Socialist-era concerts and public events. Running along the embankment, the Várkert Bazár now offers ample space for all manner of exhibitions.

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PHOTO: KRISZTIÁN BÓDIS

SPRING AT ROYAL CASTLE

PANORAMA VIEW OF THE DANUBE FROM BUDA

AQUAPARK

PHOTO: KRISZTIÁN BÓDIS

CLAUDIO ABBADO AT THE PALACE OF ARTS

PHOTO: ANDREA FELVÉGI

ICE SKATING AT CITYPARK

PHOTO: KRISZTIÁN BÓDIS

METROPOLIS OF FOUR SEASONS

Thanks to its remarkable situation, the beauty of its built and its natural environment, Budapest holds a distinguished place in the World Heritage. Visitors can enjoy the colourful variety of seasons where besides rest and relaxation they also discover excitement and a real buzz in the air: Budapest is the city of spas, parks, museums, theatres and festivals, where the pleasures also include leisure activities, dining, relaxing and rejuvenating.

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GellĂŠrt Hill Spa waters and spectacular views

GELLÉRT HILL

ellért Hill is named after the Italian missionary who helped convert Hungary to Christianity in the 11th century. In a pagan uprising, he was thrown down this slope into the Danube, thus becoming Hungary’s first Christian martyr. For his troubles, he was commemorated with a statue that stands halfway up the hill, overlooking Elizabeth Bridge, usually with a waterfall gushing below his feet. Beneath the unfortunate saint, the recently renovated Rudas Baths now makes panoramic use of its riverside location, while the nearby Rác still awaits reopening. Waters, healing waters, have always been a major attraction around the foot of Gellért Hill. The landmark Gellért Hotel, the accommodation du choix during Budapest’s Silver Age between the wars, was built around its equally famous spa baths. Its art nouveau façade still echoes the days of the Grand Tour, when there was even a seaplane jetty right outside, waiting to take high-paying passengers to Lake Balaton. Today, the square outside the hotel, Gellért tér, contains the city’s most recent form of transport, a stop on new metro line 4. The station itself is worth a look, a bright example of contemporary urban design, complete with a water feature as you reach street level. Even before the recent introduction of a metro station, Gellért tér was always a major transport hub, trams criss-crossing Buda or heading over to the central hubs of Pest. Carrying them over there, Szabadság Bridge also features statues of the turul, the mythical bird of prey attached in legend to the Hungarian colonisation of this region.

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GELLÉRT HILL

Once named after – and unveiled by – Habsburg Emperor Franz Josef, the bridge was one of many buildings and monuments erected for the Hungarian Millennial celebrations of 1896. As it to accentuate the watery theme, in front of the Gellért Hotel is an arch-topped fountain, designed to represent the city’s eight natural springs. As you leave the Gellért Hotel, keeping the spa and outdoor wave pool to your left, you’ll notice to the right a rather stern entrance. This is the Cave Church, founded by the monks of St Paul in the 1920s. Caves run the length of Gellért Hill – it is thought

“SZABADSÁG BRIDGE FEATURES STATUES OF THE TURUL, THE MYTHICAL BIRD OF PREY ATTACHED IN LEGEND TO THE HUNGARIAN CONQUEST.” that this particular one has been inhabited for some four millennia – but this is the only one used as a place of worship. Closed after 1945, the Cave Church was reopened after 1989 and now offers curious visitors a somewhat spooky experience. Gellért Hill itself is 230 metres high, and it’s a steep climb from the side of the hotel up a series of steps and paths – which also zig-zag up from the Gellért Statue on the other side of the hill. With the view below becoming ever more dramatic, you slowly reach the destination visible from all over the city: the statue of Citadella. Representing Lady Liberty, this 14-metre-high monument has a somewhat chequered history. It was created by Zsigmond Kisfaludi-Stróbl, originally in memory

Citadella

GELLร RT HILL

Szabadsรกg Bridge

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“REPRESENTING LADY LIBERTY, THIS 14-METRE-HIGH MONUMENT HAS A SOMEWHAT CHEQUERED HISTORY.” of István Horthy, eldest son of Hungary’s Regent Admiral Miklós. Horthy junior, a fighter pilot, died in a plane crash in 1942. Hungary’s new Soviet leaders decided to have the sculptor adapt the statue to celebrate the Liberation of Budapest by the Red Army. The inscription around the base sang the praises of the Soviet heroes who fell in 1945, while Stalin’s soldiers were depicted in dramatic poses. Since 1989, the words have been changed to ‘all those’ who gave their lives for Hungarian freedom, while the bronze soldiers themselves have been moved to the join the grandiose likenesses of

Lenin, Marx and Engels in Memorial Park on the city’s southern outskirts. Though many still call the monument as ‘Citadella’, this actually refers to the citadel fortress that spreads out immediately below. It was built by ruthless Habsburg commander Julius Jacob von Haynau in the immediate aftermath of the failed Hungarian uprising of 1848-49. Better known in Hungary for his hanging of 13 rebel generals in Arad – an event marked to this day by the Hungarian custom of not clinking beer glasses – von Haynau had the fortress built by forced labour. It remained a manned Habsburg garrison long after the Compromise of 1867 that made Budapest and Vienna twin capitals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today this shoe-shape structure still commands a superb – and strategic – view over the Hungarian capital, one enjoyed by partygoers at a nightclub that occasionally operates here.

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Liberty Statue

The youth solution Few things are as inevitable as gravity’s toll on your skin. One day, all of a sudden, reality stares you square in the face. You might initially think it’s because you did not sleep well the previous night, but eventually you admit that an afternoon nap is not going to solve this issue. It’s a bona fide eyebrow droop! Non-surgical methods to treat laxity of the face and neck are among the most sought-after solutions in aesthetic medicine. Many technologies to tighten the skin have been introduced in the past, and a variety claim to achieve skin tightening. Yet none have been shown to be consistent and reproducible, and many patients leave dissatisfied. Enter Ultherapy: a novel technology and a quantum leap from other non-surgical, energy-based devices used to tighten and lift the skin. This technology combines ultrasound imaging with acoustic energy to visualize tissue under the skin followed by the precise delivery of energy to the desired depth. Leading the way is Ultherapy, the first ultrasound technology to receive FDA approval as a nonsurgical brow and neck lift. Ultherapy drives sound waves into the skin’s top layers, as well as to deep muscular layers underneath. (These deeper layers are known as the SMAS, or the superficial musculoaponeurotic system.) The sound

waves cause skin cells to vibrate and generate heat. Existing collagen tightens—a phenomenon called collagen remodeling—and new collagen is produced.

ULTHERAPY: A NON-SURGICAL BREAKTHROUGH As we get older, our faces sag and wrinkles appear due to gravity and sun. It doesn’t matter how stylish our hair or fabulous our dress. Sagging skin is a sure sign of premature aging. Until recently, the main approach to the improvement of skin laxity was a facelift – an effective but invasive procedure associated with downtime plus a risk of scarring and side effects. Ultherapy using ultrasound is a novel device that delivers energy that tightens the skin without cutting. No scalpels, no needles, no cutting. Ultherapy slows down the aging process by creating new structural collagen. As a standalone treatment, Ultherapy may be optimal for surgical candidates who are unwilling or unable to undergo facial surgery or for those candidates who wish to postpone surgery. The beauty of Ultherapy is that there is no downtime. There is no swelling, bruising or crusting and patients can return to work the same day. It’s aptly called the “lunchtime lift.” Ultherapy uses ultrasound

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heat to set collagen production into overdrive deep below the skin’s surface. As it kicks in, the brow firms, the jaw line becomes well defined and the neck lifts. It’s a lunchtime lift without any surgery. Even more alluring is that Ultherapy provides an immediate smoothing effect. And since the collagen continues to grow, results actually improve over the course of a few months. More than 90 percent of patients notice improvement in tone, texture and some tightening within a few weeks, and are even more excited with the results after three to six months, when the deep wrinkles become fine lines and eyes appear more open. Ultherapy can provide lasting results in one 60-minute session. The duration of response after a single treatment is estimated to last about 3-5 years. The ideal candidate is someone between 35 and 60 with early signs of laxity. These patients see results within three to six months with a single treatment. Patients over the age of 60 may require a second treatment in six months. Many patients are looking to stay competitive in the workforce, which they believe is tied to their appearance. „Whether improving their appearance to look more vibrant or for the associated confidence boost, people perceive this to be important and they come into our office looking for help.”-says Éva BANELLI owner of SolenneMed Center for Aesthetics.

STAND FIRM IN THE FACE OF GRAVITY Ultherapy has been extensively publicized in the media as a safe and effective procedure for lifting and tightening of the skin. You may have seen Ultherapy through Dr. Oz, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar or other fashion magazines. With Ultherapy, the heat from the procedure could make you wince, and transient numbness along the jaw line is possible, though temporary. It is, therefore, important to locate an experienced physician to perform the procedure. „At SolenneMed Center for Aesthetics we already performed more than 1000 Ultherapy treatments since

2013. We are one of the most experienced Ultherapy treatment center in Europe.”-says Éva BANELLI. Ultherapy offers a distinct advantage over other non-surgical alternatives. Most non-surgical, energy-based devices currently on the market treat only the skin’s surface. Ultherapy goes deeper, providing a different dimension to rejuvenation; depositing energy at very precise depths because it sees and treats at the same time. Treatments can also be individualized according to each patient’s concern. Because the effects occur below the surface, treating specific facial areas individually is certainly possible with Ultherapy. However, most patients select full-face treatments as the best option for a more uniform result. Book your Ultherapy treatment today at www.solennemed.hu or call +36 1 231 6047 SolenneMed Center for Aesthetics 1046 Budapest Kiss Ernő u. 4. Phone: +36 1 231 6047 Web: www.solennemed.hu

R贸zsadomb & Buda Hills

Turkish history and rolling greenery

RÓZSADOMB & BUDA HILLS

he outer districts of Buda reveal the Hungarian capital at its most bucolic. Within a short ride of the city centre, you can be amid rolling hills, woods and scenic, terrace restaurants. If you’re using public transport, you’ll be leaving from Buda’s main hub of Széll Kálmán tér. Nearby, the Millenáris Park is a family-friendly recreation complex, created from the former Ganz Electric Works. Among its many attractions are the Palace of Wonders, an interactive science museum for youngsters, and the House of Future, a display of cutting-edge discoveries. If you head towards Margaret Bridge, you stumble upon the steep, cobbled streets of Budapest’s Turkish quarter, and the most intact remains of 150-year Ottoman occupation of the 16th and 17th centuries. The most notable sight lends its name to today’s upscale district that stretches beyond it: Rózsadomb, Rose Hill. Gül Baba, ‘The Father of the Roses’, was a Turkish dervish and close associate of the sultan, Süleyman the Magnificent. Here this member of the Bektashi order was said to have introduced roses to Budapest. He died in 1541, the sultan declaring him the patron saint of Buda. His tomb was built here, at the top of Gül Baba utca, shortly afterwards. Within, handwritten verses inscribed a century later outline his life’s achievements.

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Mecset utca

Recently restored by the Turkish government, the Tomb of Gül Baba is still a place of pilgrimage for Bektashi Muslims. It is worth the calf-crunching climb for the views alone – Rózsadomb, Budapest’s snazziest residential area, stretches out beyond. Then come the verdant landscapes of Hűvösvölgy, Szépvölgy and János-hegy. This is the domain of hikers, bikers and dogwalkers. The hills and valleys of Buda attract locals all year round. In autumn, the scenery changes colour every week, from green to every shade of red and brown. In winter, deep snow brings out families to sledge down the slopes of Normafa, the smell of mulled wine in the air. Spring and summer encourage picnics and sunbathing. Hiking and biking trails are clearly marked. There are all types of transport that wind their way through the woods, from a cog-wheel train that sets off from Városmajor to the famous children’s railway, the world’s largest. Connecting Széchenyihegy with Hűvösvölgy, this quaint little vehicle is still operated by children, under adult supervision. The driver, of course, is a grown-up. Finally, a chair-lift climbs from Zugligeti út to János-hegy, and the Elizabeth look-out tower.

RÓZSADOMB & BUDA HILLS

Tomb of Gül Baba

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Margaret Island Pleasure, leisure and famous pools

MARGARET ISLAND

alfway between Buda and Pest, Margaret Island is the city’s green lung and most accessible area for recreation. Most of its attractions are relatively modern – spa hotels, sports grounds – but you’ll also find the remains of the Dominican convent where Saint Margaret prayed in the 1200s. The daughter of Béla IV, Margaret later lent her name to the island. Stretching between Árpád Bridge in the north and recently renovated Margaret Bridge in the south, 2.5km-long Margaret Island remains car-free. Wheeled transport, though, is actively encouraged, with plenty of places to hire bikes and four-man pedalos. Jogging, tennis and swimming are only three of several other sports practised here. Those who prefer to watch gather at the Alfréd Hajós National Swimming Stadium. Designed by the legendary Hajós himself, the pool has recently hosted two European Aquatics Championships and, in the summer of 2014, the European Water Polo Championships. Hajós was not only Hungary’s first Olympic champion, he was also the youngest winner at the inaugural Games in 1896, braving the freezing Aegean in early April to claim gold.

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Hajós, also a notable architect, had started a long and noble tradition of Olympic achievement for Hungarian swimmers. Generations of champions have trained in the pool that bears his name. For many families, though, Margaret Island means the Palatinus. Open from June to September only, with a newly renovated thermal pool, the Palatinus is Budapest’s best-loved lido. Many Hungarians have spent entire childhood summers here. Guests at the Danubius Grand Hotel Margitsziget and Danubius Health Spa Resort Margitsziget may also take advantage of the spa waters around which each of these four-star hotels has been built. Margaret Island is not all swimming and cycling. You’ll also find a recently renovated Japanese garden, with fishpond, a petting zoo and a concert stage where open-air performances are hosted all summer. Towering over the island’s 10,000 trees is a UNESCO-designated water tower, created in art nouveau style in 1911, when many of the surrounding attractions and hotels were built. Today this

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“IN THE SUMMER OF 1989, EAST GERMANS SLEPT HERE BEFORE THE TREK TO THE WEST ACROSS THE AUSTRIAN BORDER.” 57m-high landmark serves as a look-out tower and exhibition space. The unusual statue you’ll see in the middle of the island was erected in 1973 – exactly 100 years after the then separate communities of Buda, Pest and Óbuda were unified. The other notable sight usually springs to life on Saturday afternoons, when many weddings take place in Budapest. At the southern end of the island, the musical fountain is a favourite place for newly wed couples to pose for photos while pieces of popular music accompany the flumes of water. Margaret Island is accessed from the bridge of the same name, French-built in the 1870s. Recently closed for a year during a major overhaul, Margaret Bridge doesn’t run straight over the Danube like its older neighbour, the Chain Bridge, but was created in a V-shape to allow trams and pedestrians easy passage to the tip of the island. Immediately below, the embankment is popular with sunbathers and fishermen – and, in the summer of 1989, with East Germans, who slept here before the momentous trek to the West across the Austrian border.

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Pest embankment New meets old in elegant fashion

PEST EMBANKMENT

he elegant sweep of buildings you see from the heights and historic sights of Buda is the Pest embankment. From Margaret Bridge in the north to Rákóczi Bridge in the south, the Danube provides the most dramatic element to this gorgeous cityscape, arguably the most attractive of any capital in Europe. In Vienna, the Danube is hidden away. In Bratislava, it’s present but not quite central. In Budapest, the river creates the city, its banks a stone’s throw from Pest’s focal squares and streets. Here you can walk from Váci utca to the Pest embankment in minutes, the views becoming more enticing as you approach the waterfront. Passing before you will be the No.2 tram, which hugs the Danube on the Pest side, providing passengers with spectacular views of Buda landmarks for the modest price of a transport ticket. Another way of both getting around and gawping at Budapest is by boat – frequent sightseeing tours and regularly scheduled services to Szentendre up the river depart from the harbour building adjacent to Vigadó tér on the Pest embankment. Here the Danube it at its narrowest. To your left rises Elizabeth Bridge, a slender, cable structure created in the 1960s, different in shape and style from the original one that stood here from 1903.

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To your right stretches the most iconic sight in the whole capital: the Chain Bridge. It was conceived by anglophile Count István Széchenyi, who came upon the idea when unable to cross the Danube by flimsy pontoon one bitter winter’s day in 1820. Prevented from attending his father’s funeral, Széchenyi vowed to build the first bridge to connect the then separate communities of Pest and Buda. Inspired by the bridges he had seen in Hammersmith and Marlow, both devised by Bristol-born engineer William Tierney Clark. Széchenyi had Clark design a bridge of similar strength and beauty. Clark only visited Budapest on a couple of occasions, leaving the day-to-day construction to a young Scottish engineer, Adam Clark, no relation. It was the Scot who saw the project through, even to the extent of hiding the plans from the Austrians who wished to blow up the bridge during the War of Independence in 1848-49. Clark is not only revered in Hungary for his guile and bravery, but because he married a Hungarian and settled down in Budapest to raise three children. The rond-point at the Buda foot of the Chain Bridge is named after Adam Clark. The bridge itself, guarded by stone lions and illuminated dramatically, perfectly complements the Pest embankment. The most prominent landmark to grace the riverbank, Parliament, was the largest of its kind in the world when

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Great Market Hall

PEST EMBANKMENT

Bálna Budapest

“ONCE A CUSTOMS HOUSE, AT THAT TIME IT WAS EQUIPPED WITH AN UNDERGROUND CANAL THAT WAS USED TO SUPPLY TRADERS.” opened in 1902. Still vast and imposing, it now benefits from a relandscaping of Kossuth Lajos tér around it. Further down are the grand façades of five-star hotels, built in the 1970s, fronting a stretch of the Pest embankment known as the Duna korzó. This was once a strip of elegant coffeehouses where locals would stroll for their evening’s passegiata.

Further south, by Szabadság Bridge, the Great Market Hall is another revamped landmark. Once a customs house, at that time it was equipped with an underground canal that was used to supply traders. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously visited in 1984. The rest of south Pest is somewhat prosaic until you reach the riverside arts complex conceived for the new millennium. Comprising the Palace of Arts, National Theatre, National Concert Hall and Ludwig Museum, it has brought previously unsung District IX into the limelight, encouraging young families to move into this rapidly gentrifying area.

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Belvรกros

Commerce and culture side by side

BELVÁROS

owntown Budapest, the Belváros, comprises a compact area squeezed between the Inner Ring Road, the Kiskörút, and the river. These borders follow the lines of Pest’s medieval city walls, long disappeared. Within you find the city’s shopping hub, most of its five-star hotels, the university quarter, any number of restaurants and the occasional museum. Fanning out from the Belváros are the pie-slice districts of Pest, VI, VII, VIII, IX and IX. This, though, is District V, a desirable address for shop owner, restaurateur and resident alike. Its main square is Vörösmarty tér, named after the romantic poet and playwright of the first half of the 19th century who helped translate Shakespeare into Hungarian. His statue centrepieces the square, sitting three metres high above depictions of typical Hungarian figures described in his works. Surrounding them are the façades of modern-day commerce. In the run-up to Christmas, a traditional market is set up here, purveying only hand-made artefacts and traditional eats and drinks. Backdropping this festive scene, the entire front of the landmark Gerbeaud coffeehouse becomes a giant advent calendar, its windows illuminated as Christmas slowly arrives. The café itself is arguably the most famous in a city known for them – certainly, its founder, Geneva-born Emil Gerbeaud, invented a house confectionery that was later sold all over Budapest. With tables outside in summer, this venerable establishment still echoes finde-siècle elegance, all chandeliers and dark wood. Since 2009, the Gerbeaud has had a sister operation of similar style – in Tokyo. Here, upstairs, is the Michelin-starred Onyx restaurant. The main shopping street of Váci utca runs arrow-straight from Vörösmarty tér, parallel to the river. This is Budapest’s

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BELVÁROS

“THIS IS BUDAPEST’S BUSIEST COMMERCIAL THOROUGHFARE, EVER PACKED WITH TOURISTS UNHINDERED BY TRAFFIC.” busiest commercial thoroughfare, almost permanently packed with tourists unhindered by traffic. Portrait painters, souvenir sellers and buskers ply for custom between the gleaming shopfronts. Váci utca runs up to permanently busy Szabad sajtó út that carries traffic over Elizabeth Bridge to Buda. Tucked in to the right, the Inner City Parish Church survived the construction of the modern-day bridge in the early 1960s. Originally the planners had envisioned having to move the church, founded 900 years previously.

This is where Saint Gellért, whose statue stands on the other side of the bridge, was buried in the 11th century. The church later underwent a series of rebuilds, reflected in its Gothic, Baroque and Neo-Classical styles. Islamic too – you can still find a Turkish prayer alcove inside. Alongside the church by the river lie the Roman remains of Contra Aquincum, dating back to the second century AD. Overlooking them stands a statue of Hungary national poet, Sándor Petőfi, who met his fellow revolutionaries at the nearby Pilvax

St Stephenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Basilica

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Chrisand

coffeehouse before inciting an uprising against Hungary’s Austrian rulers. Now on Pilvax köz, the site stands amid some of Budapest’s most desirable boutiques, on Haris köz, Párizsi utca and the ornate fin-de-siècle arcade of the Párisi udvar. Váci utca continues across Szabad sajtó út, the shops becoming somewhat more eclectic. This is the historic quarter of the inner city, dotted with churches, museums and prestigious seats of learning. Of particular note, on Veres Pálné utca, is the Endre Ady Memorial Museum, set in the last residence of Hungary’s most renowned poet of the 20th century. Photographers, manuscripts and personal artefacts are on display amid the poet’s own furniture.

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BELVÁROS

Klotild Palace

Nearby, the Petőfi Literary Museum is set in the former Károlyi Palace on Károlyi Mihály utca. Original items here include a beautiful 1847 edition Petőfi’s poems and sundry documentation, in Russian, relating to the writer’s death on the battlefield in 1849. Mystery surrounds the poet’s disappearance – he was last seen taking part in the Battle of Segesvár, today’s Sighisoara, against Tsarist troops. His body has never been found. Behind the museum is the pretty, pocket park of Károlyi-kert, which once belonged to the aristocratic

family of the same name. Now fenced-in but open to the public, it recalls similar urban gardens in Paris. Around it have sprung contemporary fashion boutiques and bars, who take part in the downtown design event known as Stylewalker. This regular opendoors event allows the public to see local creatives at work, even meet them face-to-face. Beyond is the Kiskörút, the Inner Ring Road, here named after the landmark that dominates it: the National Museum. Although officially in District VIII, as it stands on the other side of Múzeum körút,

BELVร ROS

Pรกrizsi udvar

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Gresham Palace

the museum is a short hop from the city centre. This grand Neo-Classical monument is not only known for its exhibits – which cover the history of Hungary from its foundation until 1990 – but also for its role in Hungarian history. It was on these steps that poet Sándor Petőfi read out his ‘National Song’ to ignite the 1848 Uprising against Austria. Walking back towards the city centre, you pass the famous Hotel Astoria, where the first Hungarian government was formed in 1918. Its grand coffeehouse remains a popular meeting place to this day.

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BELVÁROS

Vörösmarty tér

BELVÁROS

Váci utca

Keeping the Synagogue and the Jewish Quarter to your right, you come to Deák tér, the city’s main transport hub. Here three of Budapest’s four metro lines converge, beneath an open square named after a leading Hungarian statesman from the mid 1800s. Ferenc Deák also lends his name to an adjoining thoroughfare, rebranded Fashion Street as it’s lined with the kind of upscale boutiques you would usually see in Paris or Milan. Towering over this bustling commercial zone, in place year-round from 2014, the Giant Wheel, or Sziget Eye, was originally installed by the music festival of the same name. It stands on Erzsébet tér, officially in Lipótváros, the northern, business-focused half of the Belváros.

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Belváros shopping guide adidas V.Váci utca 24 +36 1 266 3671 www.adidas.hu Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 11am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm. Anda Emilia V.Galamb utca 4 +36 30 933 9746 www.andaemi.com Mon-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-2pm. Anik Jewellery V.Váci utca 19-21 +36 1 266 3264 www.anikjewellery.com Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 10am-5pm. Desigual V.Váci utca 12 +36 1 580 9110 www.desigual.com Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-5pm. Eclectick V.Irányi utca 20 +36 1 266 3341 www.eclectick.hu Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 11am-4pm. Ékes Kesztyu˝ V.Régiposta utca 14 +36 1 266 0986 Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-1pm. Furla V.Deák Ferenc utca 23 +36 1 328 0851 www.furla.com Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 11am-7pm. Hampel Katalin V.Váci utca 8 +36 1 318 9741 www.hampelkati.com Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-1pm. Hugo Boss V.Deák Ferenc utca 19 +36 30 992 5901 www.hugoboss.com Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 10am-6pm.

Intimissimi V.Deák Ferenc utca 19 world.intimissimi.com Every day 10am-9pm. iStyle V.Deák Ferenc utca 23 +36 1 453 3939 www.istyle.eu/hu Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-6pm. Je Suis Belle Párisi udvar, V.Ferenciek tere 11. +36 1 951 1353 www.jesuisbelle.hu Tue-Fri noon-7pm. kamchatka design V.Nyári Pál utca 7 +36 1 266 1720 www.kamchatkadesign.com Mon-Fri noon-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm. Katti Zoób V.Szent István körút 17 +36 30 657 5794 www.kattizoob.hu By appointment. Lacoste V.Deák Ferenc utca 21 +36 1 266 9458 www.lacoste.com Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-5pm. Lloyd V.Deák Ferenc utca 21 +36 1 429 0101 www.lloyd.de Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 10am-5pm. L’Occitane en Provence V.Váci utca 11B +36 1 411 1221 hu.loccitane.com Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 11am-7pm. Marks and Spencer V.Váci utca 27 +36 1 266 2605 global.marksandspencer.com/hu Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm.

Massimo Dutti V.Bécsi utca 5 +36 1 501 2030 www.massimodutti.com Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 11am-8pm.

Swarovski V.Váci utca 11A +36 1 411 0983 www.swarovski.com Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 11am-5pm.

Metropolitan V.Aulich utca 4-6 +36 1 302 5243 www.metropolitanbudapest.hu Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm.

TATUUM V.Váci utca 1-3 +36 1 766 3994 www.tatuum.com Mon-Fri 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm.

mono V.Kossuth Lajos utca 20 +36 1 317 7789 www.monofashion.hu Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm.

Tipton Eyewear V.Belgrád rakpart 26 +36 1 243 2931 www.tiptonbudapest.com Mon-Fri 11am-6pm.

nanushka V.Deák Ferenc utca 17 +36 1 202 1050 www.nanushka.hu Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm. OREX V.Petőfi Sándor utca 6 +36 1 266 6304 www.orex.hu Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-1pm. Orsay V.Váci utca 9 +36 1 951 0890 world.orsay.com Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm. Oysho V.Bécsi utca 5 +36 1 580 2313 www.oysho.com Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 11am-8pm. PAZICSKI V.Henszlmann Imre utca 3 +36 1 411 0631 www.pazicski.hu Tue-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm. Süel V.Deák Ferenc utca 13 +36 30 670 1455 www.suel.hu Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-8pm.

Tommy Hilfiger V.Deák Ferenc utca 15 +36 30 676 9458 eu.tommy.com Mon-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 10am-6pm. United Colors of Benetton V.Deák Ferenc utca 19 +36 30 682 3617 www.benetton.com Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm. USE Unused V.Sas utca 15 +36 30 549 0868 www.useunused.com By appointment. women’secret V.Váci utca 8 +36 20 512 2778 womensecret.com Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm. Zara V.Váci utca 6 +36 1 327 0201 www.zara.com Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm. Zara Home V.Bécsi utca 5 +36 1 580 2356 www.zarahome.com Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 11am-8pm.

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Top Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fashion

Versace

BELVĂ ROS

Maui Jim LG

Ermenegildo Zegna

Y-3

Ressence

Louis Vuitton

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Top Men’s Accessories

Franck Muller

Jack Row

Delamain

Louis Vuitton

Tesla

St. Dupont Ghurka

Bayan

Nikon

Blancpain

Lip贸tv谩ros

Where laws and money are made

LIPÓTVÁROS

usiness and bureaucracy dominate the agenda and the architecture of Lipótváros. Stately, Neo-Classical institutions of the Austro-Hungarian era rub shoulders with gleaming, contemporary office blocks. This is very much a nine-to-five neighbourhood, busier by day than at night, its many restaurants catering to the lunchtime crowd. Officially, Lipótváros is District V, part of the Belváros, but this northern half has a distinctly more formal feel to the commercial zeal of Vörösmarty tér and Váci utca. The tone is set by its most prominent landmark, Parliament. The largest building in Hungary, the equal tallest in Budapest, Parliament was created by Imre Steindl in the 1890s when Hungary, and Budapest, were at their height. Twin capital of an expansive empire in central Europe, Budapest required a parliament worthy of its status. This was the largest parliament in the world, heavy with symbolism. Its Neo-Gothic exterior dominates a graceful bend in the Danube, granting Parliament historic stature. Steindl didn’t live to see his building completed but its historic associations live on. Inaugurated the year of the Hungarian Millennial celebrations, 1896, it stands exactly 96 metres high. Not even then were all 691 rooms utilised – some, in fact, have never been used. In the Cupola Hall, the Holy Crown of Hungary was a gift from the Pope to St Stephen in 1000 AD to mark Hungary becoming a Christian state.

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Images of Hungary’s historic heroes – Hunyadi, St Stephen, Árpád – stare down on those taking guided tours around the vast edifice. Outside, in one corner, sits a statue of a brooding Attila József, the poet raised in the grinding poverty of finde-siècle Ferencváros. He died at 32, hit by a train by Lake Balaton. In another corner, on Vértanúk tere, stands a statue of Imre Nagy. An unlikely hero with his round-rimmed spectacles and brush moustache, Nagy was the Hungarian leader who turned against Moscow in 1955 but was reinstalled by popular demand a year later. The key figure of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, he was arrested during the Soviet invasion, secretly tried and executed. Thrown into an unmarked grave, his

“TODAY A PLEASANT EXPANSE OF GREEN IN THE HEART OF THE CITY, RECENTLY SZABADSÁG TÉR HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF MUCH DEBATE.” reburial in 1989 was a pivotal event in the fall of Socialism in Hungary. Here he stands on a small bridge looking wistfully toward Parliament. The surrounding square of Kossuth Lajos tér has recently been relandscaped, traffic-free and embellished by sculptures. Another prominent new feature is a memorial to the victims of 1956. Conceived as the Ministry of Justice by prominent architect Alajos Hauszmann, who also worked on Parliament opposite, the stately building dominating the east side of Kossuth Lajos tér today houses the Museum of Ethnography. Exhibitions of peasant

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life, work and customs are displayed around its grandiose, echoing halls. Running north from here is Falk Miksa utca, lined with galleries and antique shops, a favoured destination for collectors who gather for regular auctions. Running east is Báthori utca, which leads to the Eternal Flame at the junction of Aulich utca and Hold utca. It was here, in 1849, that Count Lajos Batthyány, head of the Hungarian government during the Uprising of 1848, was executed. Nearby is another of the city’s prominent squares. Surrounded by stately buildings, Szabadság tér stands on the site of the prison where Batthyány was incarcerated. Today a pleasant expanse of green in the heart of the city, Szabadság tér has recently been the subject of much debate. One of the rare spots in Budapest still to feature Soviet statuary, erected in 1946, Szabadság tér also contains the former MTV television building, currently empty and awaiting occupation. Here, also, stand the American Embassy, a statue of Ronald Reagan and another of Harry Hill Bandholtz. This little-known US general stopped Romanian soldiers from looting historic Hungarian treasures from the National Museum in the immediate aftermath of World War I. Turning south, the skyline is dominated by another of Budapest’s grand landmarks. Designed in 1845 but not completed until 1905, St Stephen’s Basilica is named after the first king of Hungary. The saint’s mummified right hand is displayed in its own side chapel, and paraded on St Stephen’s Day, August 20. This is Hungary’s national day, with firework celebrations at night.

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“OUTSIDE, IN ONE CORNER, SITS A STATUE OF A BROODING ATTILA JÓZSEF, THE POET RAISED IN THE POVERTY OF FIN-DE-SIÈCLE FERENCVÁROS.” Like Parliament, the Basilica stands 96 metres tall, in recognition of the Millennium celebrations of 1896. Its main architect, Miklós Ybl, of Opera House fame, was forced to rebuild the almost-finished church after the dome collapsed in 1868. József Kauser saw the project through after Ybl died in

1891. Today funerals and weddings of prominent Hungarians take place here. Huge bells fill the two towers, accessed by lift or stairs by paying visitors for panoramic views of Budapest and the river. The façade of the basilica looks down Zrínyi utca towards the Danube, and Széchenyi tér. Since 2004, this riverside square has been dominated by a five-star Four Seasons hotel, the sparkling Gresham Palace, restored to its fin-desiècle finery. Conceived as an insurance office, this art nouveau landmark displays bright Zsolnay tiling and much of its original marble in its sumptuous entrance.

Parliament

Andrássy út

From luxury stores to prize art

ANDRÁSSY ÚT

ndrássy út is Budapest’s grand boulevard, its Champs-Elysées. Wide and mainly tree-lined, this palatial avenue runs for 2.5 kilometres up to the city’s own Arc de Triomphe, the colonnade on Heroes’ Square. High-end international boutiques, elegant coffeehouses and the Opera House stand on the busier lower section leading from the city centre. After the transport hub of Oktogon, Andrássy út crosses the Nagykörút to become less commercialised as it approaches Heroes’ Square. This is the embassy quarter, a villa district where many of Budapest’s diplomats and magnates resided when the city was developing as an imperial capital around the last turn of the century. Beyond lies Városliget, the city park where the Széchenyi Baths, the circus, the zoo and other attractions beckon. Bike paths now line Andrássy, encouraging cyclists to ride up the boulevard to Városliget. Alternatively, an electronic rail, fashioned in the same style as when it was built, runs the length of Andrássy below ground. Opened for the Millennium celebrations of 1896, this was the first underground rail in Continental Europe and its carriages continued in operation for 80 years. Revamped in its original style, today the Földalatti is part of the city’s metro network, the yellow M1 line running north from Vörösmarty tér. The third stop up is Opera. Here, in 1884, Miklós Ybl unveiled his Opera House, cultural icon and focal point of Andrássy út. With a sumptuous interior of gold, marble and wrought iron, it features frescoes by Károly Lotz and statues of prominent Hungarian

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composers Franz Liszt and Ferenc Erkel. Gustav Mahler was its musical director for four years. Soon after the opening of the Opera House, the grand boulevard was named after Count Gyula Andrássy, the great statesman who had been a leading light in its creation over a decade earlier. Walking up from the Opera House towards Oktogon, you pass Nagymező utca, known as Budapest’s Broadway. Theatres and pre-show restaurants are dotted amid statues and footprints of famous thespians. Further up Andrássy, the Írók Boltja bookshop was once a legendary coffeehouse and meeting place for artists, the Café Japan. This stands on the corner of Liszt Ferenc tér, featuring a statue of the famous composer who lends his name to the nearby Music Academy. The next major crossing point is Oktogon, where grand coffeehouses once stood. Conceived, as its name suggests, as octagonal, this major transport junction was brought to life by architect Antal Skalnitzky. Winning an award at the Vienna World Fair for his design, Skalnitzky devised four facing buildings on four corners. Skalnitzky was also responsible for the Academy of Sciences and Budapest’s first National Theatre. Three blocks up from Oktogon, the fated residence of 60 Andrássy út is now a major tourist attraction. The House of Terror is set in the actual building used for the torture of political opponents, first by the right-wing Arrow Cross, then by the Communist Secret Police, the ÁVO. Reconfigured as an award-winning museum in 2002, the House of Terror displays video interviews, original artefacts and actual torture cells to tell the building’s dark history.

Opera House

O M O ROV I C Z A B O U T I Q U E & S PA ANDRÁSSY ÚT 2. 1061 BUDAPEST +36 1 302 4604 OPENING HOURS MON – SAT 10AM – 6PM www.omorovicza.com

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Gradually being renovated, Kodály körönd is the once elegant rond-point where composer Zoltán Kodály once lived and worked. An associate of Béla Bartók, Kodály invented a method of music tuition still in use today. His apartment is now a museum containing original personal effects, with an archive accessed by special appointment only. Lesser-known, more exotic museums await further up. At No.103, the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts displays the stunning, 4,000-strong collection gathered by this adventurous Hungarian explorer. Hopp made several trips around the world in the late 1800s, amassing objects from India, China and the Far East. After he died in this villa in 1919, it was converted into a public museum, as his will intended. The nearby György Ráth Museum at Városligeti fasor 12 runs in partnership, displaying the Chinese, Japanese and Indian artefacts garnered by Ráth, a contemporary of Hopp. In similar vein, the István Zelnik South-East Asian Gold Museum at Andrássy út 110 was recently opened by the former diplomat of the same name who travelled widely in the region. Ritual and sacred objects, religious art and jewellery are neatly divided by culture and civilisation over two floors, with a tea house downstairs and library in the loft. Past embassies and grand terrace restaurants, Andrássy út feeds into grand Heroes’ Square, centrepieced by the Archangel Gabriel atop a 36-metre-tall column. Around the base are depictions of the seven Magyar chieftains, led by Árpád, who brought the Hungarian people to the Carpathian Basin.

Museum of Fine Arts

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“THE CENOTAPH IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR HUNGARIAN FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE.”

Another feature created for the Millennium celebrations of 1896 is a pair of facing colonnades supporting statues of prominent figures from Hungarian history. These begin with the first king, St Stephen, and run up to 19th-century politician Lajos Kossuth. Beneath is a cenotaph dedicated to the memory of those who gave their lives for Hungarian freedom and independence. Two stately cultural institutions face each other either side of Heroes’ Square. The Museum of Fine Arts is Hungary’s largest reliquary of international works, mainly European, many garnered from the great estates of the Esterházy and Zichy dynasties.

Most of all, you’ll find a surprising number of Spanish Masters, an excellent Venetian section and pieces by Dürer, da Vinci and Breughel. In total, there are some 100,000 items in the permanent collection, which runs from Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, to Rodin and Renoir. Across the square, the Hall of Arts (known in Hungarian as Műcsarnok or Kunsthalle) focuses on temporary exhibitions of contemporary art and culture. This Neo-Classical edifice was created by Albert Schickedanz and Ferenc Fülöp Herzog for the Millennium celebrations of 1896. Its grand steps have hosted events as significant as the lying in state of painter Mihály Munkácsy and the reburial ceremony of Imre Nagy.

History and Development of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group

eptember 2014 - The Ermenegildo Zegna Group is the worldwide leader in luxury menswear with more than 7,000 employees worldwide and consolidated Group revenues that totaled €1.270 billion in 2013. Over 90% of the Group’s sales are from exports; China is the largest market followed by Europe and the Americas. The Zegna retail channel represents 78% of the total sales of the brand and is of great strategic importance. By the end of 2013, Zegna had branched out in the most important cities of 100 different countries, with a total of 546 stores (312 of which are directly operated). The Ermenegildo Zegna Group, founded in 1910 in Trivero (Italy) by the young entrepreneur Ermenegildo Zegna, continues to be run as a family business that remains faithful to the vision of the founder: the ethical production of the best and most exclusive fabrics in the world through innovation and the sourcing of noble fibers directly from their markets of origin. Now managed by the third generation of the Zegna family, the Group is led by Ermenegildo Zegna, CEO, and by Paolo Zegna, Chairman. Zegna’s entrance in the high-end menswear market was led by Ermenegildo’s sons, Angelo and Aldo, in the 1960s. In the late 1980s the Group solidified its position as a leading global luxury and lifestyle brand when it completed its process of vertical integration. Today, with the management of the third generation, the commitment to the highest quality of fabrics, garments and accessories, the focus on direct retail operations, the continuous investment in innovation and the penetration of emerging markets are strategic elements that define Zegna’s identity and its 100 years of excellence. Ermenegildo Zegna was the first of the luxury clothing brands opening a representative store on Andrássy Avenue in Budapest in March 2005. We celebrate our 10th anniversary this year and so welcome our visitors with brand new look and novelties in this elegant, attractive ambience.

Besides the classic lines (Sartoria and Upper Casual) we proudly present the newest, innovative ZZegna designs in our 210 m 2 store, where we also offer various accessories and the special, unique, luxury perfume collection Essenze. Address: 1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 5. Telephone number: +36 1 2661794 Opening hours: Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

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Andrássy út shopping guide adidas VI.Andrássy út 37 +36 1 239 1361 www.adidas.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat-Sun noon-5pm.

Frey Wille VI.Andrássy út 43 +36 1 413 0175 www.frey-wille.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-4pm.

Louis Vuitton VI.Andrássy út 24 +36 1 373 0487 www.louisvuitton.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 11am-6pm.

Armani VI.Andrássy út 9 +36 1 550 0300 www.fashioncompany.hu Mon-Sat 10.30am-7.30pm.

Gas Jeans VI.Andrássy út 14 +36 30 382 1782 www.gasjeans.hu Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-7pm.

Manier Szalon VI.Andrássy út 18 +36 1 483 1140 www.manier.hu

Il Bacio di Stile VI.Andr.ssy .t 19 +36 1 211 1000 www.ilbaciodistile.hu Boggi Milano VI.Andrássy út 15 www.boggi.it Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm. Bonbonetti VI.Andrássy út 44 www.bonbonetti.hu Breitling VI.Andrássy út 14 www.breitling.com Burberry VI.Andrássy út 24 +36 1 302 0628 www.burberry.com Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 11am-6pm. Caprice VI.Andrássy út 27 +36 1 321 2057 www.caprice.co.hu Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm. Coccinelle VI.Andrássy út 13 www.coccinelle.com D&G VI.Andrássy út 33 +36 1 235 0504 www.dolcegabbana.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 11am-6pm. Ermenegildo Zegna VI.Andrássy út 5 +36 1 266 1794 www.zegna.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-5pm.

Glamour Boutique VI.Andr.ssy .t 35 +36 1 322 1046 Mon-Fri 10am-8pm.

Marco Bicego VI.Andrássy út 13 +36 1 328 0117 www.marcobicego.hu Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-2pm.

Gold Store VI.Andrássy út 33 +36 30 324 8004 www.goldstore.hu Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 11am-6pm.

Max Mara VI.Andrássy út 21 +36 1 413 0717 www.mmbudapest.hu Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm.

Gucci VI.Andrássy út 23 +36 1 322 0971 www.gucci.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 11am-6pm.

Moncler VI.Andrássy út 23 +36 1 413 2680 www.moncler.com

Guess VI.Andrássy út 4 +36 1 354 0565 www.guess.com Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm. Herendi VI.Andrássy út 16 +36 1 374 0006 www.herend.com Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm. Högl VI.Andrássy út 12 +36 1 267 0947 www.hoegl.com Hublot Boutique VI.Andrássy út 16 +36 1 269 0148 www.hublot.com Langiotti VI.Andrássy út 26 +36 1 332 2197 www.langiotti.com

Naracamicie VI.Andrássy út 27 +36 20 298 1412 www.naracamicie.hu Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-5pm. Nespresso VI.Andrássy út 27 +36 1 322 0722 www.nespresso.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-5pm. Nubu VI.Andrássy út 13 +36 70 607 4903 www.nubu.hu Mon-Fri 11am-8pm, Sat 11am6pm, Sun 10am-4pm Omega VI.Andrássy út 20 +36 1 312 6449 Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-1pm. Omorovicza VI.Andrássy út 2 +36 1 302 4604 www.omorovicza.com Mon-Sat 10am-6pm

Pelote VI.Andrássy út 15 +36 1 411 1615 www.pelote.hu Mon 10am-4pm, Tue-Wed 10am7pm, Thur 10am-8pm, Fri 10am7pm, Sat 10am-5pm. Replay VI.Andrássy út 11 www.replay.it Sáfárik Luxury Salon VI.Andrássy út 10 www.safarik.hu Salamander VI.Andrássy út 37 +36 1 434 5551 www.salamander.hu Mon-Wed & Fri 10am-6pm, Thur 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-2pm. Silka VI.Andrássy út 9 +36 30 238 8881 www.silkafashion.com Stan Ahuja VI.Andrássy út 38 +36 1 354 0195 www.stanahuja.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 11am-4pm. S T Dupont VI.Andrássy út 3 +36 1 7200 108 www.st-dupont.hu Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 11am-6pm. Tag Heuer VI.Andrássy út 2 +36 1 269 4199 www.tagheuer.hu Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-1pm. Wolford VI.Andrássy út 6 +36 1 342 1576 www.wolford.com Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-3pm. Zilli VI.Andrássy út 13 +36 1 267 4448 www.zilli.fr Mon-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat 11am-4pm.

Párizsi Nagy Áruház

f all the elegant commercial buildings along Andrássy út, the Párizsi Nagy Áruház at No.39 is arguably the most impressive. Built in 1882, it was reconfigured in 1909 in Art Nouveau style, its other main door facing Paulay Ede utca with Neo-Renaissance touches. Converted by Zsigmond Sziklai from a place of recreation – originally it housed a beer hall, restaurant, billiard and games rooms – No.39 Andrássy út reopened as the Paris Department Store in 1911. With its atrium, glass-walled lifts and glass-roofed courtyard, with a panoramic walkway, this was easily the most elegant of its kind in Hungary. The Párizsi Nagy Áruház survived World War II but not the 1950s. First a book warehouse then a Communist-era clothes store, the Divatcsarnok, the building had fallen into disrepair by the 1990s. Renovated in the early 2000s, it was reopened as the Alexandra bookstore in 2009.

Upstairs, the beautifully restored Lotz Hall was converted into a literary café, where recitals and auctions are held today. Originally, this was the ballroom. Its artist Károly Lotz died in 1904, before the building became an elegant department store – you can also see his murals in the nearby Opera House, as well as Parliament, the Basilica and the Vigadó concert hall. Under the same roof is a gallery and art salon, the Párisi Galéria és Müveszeti Szalon, with works by, among others, legendary ceramics dynasty Zsolnay.

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NAPSVGAR Thanks to its unique products, NAPSVGAR towers above other brands in the market. Besides other clothing items and accessories, its limited-edition smartcoats will soon appear to further distinguish this luxury brand. A prototype of the unique smartcoat is currently being developed. www.napsvgar.com

NUBU The NUBU brand was created in 2007 by Judit Garam, with 15 years of international fashion experience. In 2011, she was joined by two talented young designers, Adél Kovács and Anett Hajdú. NUBU’s seasonal collections show beautiful consistency: an enduringly subtle, classic urban style, discreet luxury and soft colours. Each season sees NUBU reborn in cohesion with changing trends, reflecting aspects rather then following them. Inspired by the world of product design, NUBU’s core values centre on continuous experimentation and the need for progressive innovation. Demonstrating outstanding quality, with elaborate attention to detail, NUBU offers a wide range of lines for the discerning woman – from ready-to-wear to small accessories and desirable leather handbags. NUBU is the contemporary you. www.nubu.hu

ANH TUAN Luu Anh Tuan, a leading Hungarian fashion designer of Vietnamese origin, started his own brand, ANH TUAN, in Budapest in 2006. He was named ‘Young Designer of the Year’ at Fashion Awards Hungary in 2008. To draw inspiration for his work, the young designer travelled across Europe and the Far East, picking up on cultural crossovers. He then spent a semester at the London College of Fashion, returned to Hungary and made his first collection of women’s wear. The uniformity of ANH TUAN apparels and bags evolve from a unique use of textures and fabrics developed by the designer, his hand-made trademark. His contrasting collections embody luxury. The designer often applies forgotten artisanal techniques that he combines with modern ones. This special combination of leather and fabrics is finished off with metal accessories. Anh Tuan designs two collections per year, available in his Budapest showroom and in several boutiques. www.anh-tuan.com

ANDRÁSSY ÚT

REKAVAGO Reka Vago, the Budapest-based footwear designer, graduated from MOME in 2003. She then attended the London College of Fashion and VSVU in Bratislava. Her own brand, REKAVAGO, was launched in 2005 and soon became favoured among fashion-driven women. Its shoes are designed not just to follow but dictate trends. All are made of the highest quality raw material, exclusively by Hungarian craftsmen. Once a professional dancer, Reka knows exactly how high-heeled shoes can provide comfort and yet still be extremely feminine – without compromise. Now an established designer, Reka has been asked to collaborate with many brands and multinational companies, such as Puma or Maybelline New York. Her own brand became known internationally renowned after being shown at Design Week in New York in 2009. After her successful debut there, she has been invited back to present seminars in Brooklyn. The REKAVAGO brand provides the wearer exactly with what a perfect brand should do: comfort, quality and beauty. www.rekavago.com

NANUSHKA

VARGA DESIGN

Nanushka is the childhood nickname of head designer Sandra Sandor. Born in Budapest, she graduated from the London College of Fashion, coming home to establish her label. Through her collection, Sandra aims to combine playful cuts and lush fabrics with elegance and comfort to create collections that exude a harmony and contrast the overwhelming noise of the big-city experience. Nanushka is fashion for the urban nomad, for those who are on the move but always at home. Though Sandra’s collections are finding new followers and the brand is aggressively expanding into new markets, it is still based in Budapest, where it recently opened its flagship store. Its unique design has received praise from over 250 design blogs from Moscow to Rio.

Miklos Varga and his craftsmanship are well known across Europe. After mastering silver, over a 35-year career Varga has become an expert in working with precious metals of all sorts, fashioning uniquely designed masterpieces. Today Varga Design is a dynamic and creative team of young artists and craftsmen, with a distinctive and significant role in Hungarian jewellery design.

www.nanushka.hu

www.vargadesign.hu

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OMOROVICZA Omorovicza skincare harnesses the healing powers of Hungary’s thermal waters for firmer, more supple and younger-looking skin. These waters carry unique and beneficial minerals from below the earth’s crust, minerals that enrich and empower the natural healing processes of the skin. For hundreds of years people have travelled to Hungary’s spas for the powerful benefits of these miracle waters. Now, using technologies developed in a Nobel prize-winning laboratory, Omorovicza has pioneered a transference process that captures these healing minerals in their original form and conveys them directly to the skin as a cream – allowing optimal absorption to empower genuine healing. www.omorovicza.eu

USE UNUSED

DORA MOJZES Dora Mojzes first broke the surface in 2008 with her graduation work for Budapest’s Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, which earned the prize of the National Association of Hungarian Artists. In 2009 she launched her individual brand named Dora Mojzes. Soon her first collection made a great impact on the domestic and international markets. With her specialised collections in women’s wear, Mojzes created items to reveal her unique style and emotions, and highlight her particular vision. Her designs offer artistic self-expression and emphasise womanhood. Since initiating her own brand, Mojzes has appeared in many international publications such as ‘Vogue Italia’, ‘Zink’ or ‘Neo2’, and featured in prestigious fashion forums, and almost every acclaimed Hungarian fashion magazine. One particular turning point came when top model Tyra Banks wore her design at a photo shoot, praised by Kanye West soon afterwards in his blog. www.doramojzes.com

Founded in 2004 by Eszter Füzes, Attila Godena-Juhász and András Tóth, USE unused has become the leading Hungarian contemporary highfashion brand in the domestic market. Since 2008, it has also been present in the US and Asian markets. The ambition of its three designers was always to create a label that is both globally successful yet which still carries something inimitably Hungarian to distinguish it from others. Innovation and an artistic approach are the vital characteristics of the company. This allows the designers to create ever-new styles, with a significant effect on the fashion world. Their collections are made for discerning women who want their own style not limited by age. This creates a reserved yet erotic, sophisticated, feminine style, with clear, minimalist colours and forms. www.useunused.com

ANDRÁSSY ÚT

JE SUIS BELLE Dalma Devenyi and Tibor Kiss founded their brand Je Suis Belle back in 2005. Since then it has become one of Hungary’s leading fashion houses, and an internationally recognised label. From the beginning, their concept has been to collaborate with various branches of art, especially with the visual arts. Two of their core values centre on traditional techniques and on giving a contemporary frame to folk art. Theirs is a muse profoundly interested in her surroundings as well as in herself. She is creative, embracing talent, witty and cool. They believe that anyone who wears their clothes shapes the world through their own personality. Their pieces reflect current social and cultural changes. Constant quality is another core value – their clothes lack unnecessary detail, and are straightforward and communicative. Their philosophy is that fashion is not a privilege but a fundamental part of everyday life. Beyond comfort and durability, fashion is a vital tool to create the unique you. www.jesuisbelle.hu

DORA ABODI

Kata Szegedi is one of Hungary’s emerging young designers who came into focus before she graduated in 2009 at the KREA Contemporary Arts Institute Budapest. That year, she became the top young designer at Fashion Awards Hungary. Her vision is one of innovative, modern designs for the cosmopolitan woman, someone self-assured, independent and proud of her image, a woman who values the expression of originality in her day-to-day life. Kata’s love of contrast is reflected throughout her work, experimenting with silhouettes, shapes, textures and colours. This playful attitude presents the powerful, feminine woman of the 21st century. Her powerful and vibrant creations are now reaching a wider audience.

Born in Transylvania and raised in Budapest, Dora Abodi showed early signs of interest in fashion and began to draw sketches in her grandfather’s studio at a young age. She graduated from the French Mod’ International Art and Fashion Academy in 2009 and obtained a Masters in Fashion Design at the Domus Academy Milan in 2013. She founded her eponymous brand DORA ABODI in 2009. DORA ABODI has been featured in ‘vogue.com’, ‘Vogue UK’, ‘Vogue China’, and many other magazines. Celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Jena Malone and Tyra Banks have chosen her pieces. DORA ABODI’s signature style can be defined as baroque futurism, fusing past and future classical art and religious rituals with high technology. DORA ABODI offers exclusive quality with her demi-couture details, highest hand craftsmanship and uniquely prepared bags and shoes, all finished by the handiwork of experienced professionals devoted to quality. DORA ABODI does not use real fur, exotic leathers or any materials of uncontrolled origin. Dora divides her time between Milan and Budapest.

www.kataszegedi.com

www.doraabodi.com

KATA SZEGEDI

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MICHAEL KORS Michael Kors is a world-renowned, award-winning designer of luxury accessories and ready-to-wear gear. His namesake company, established in 1981, currently produces a range of products under his signature Michael Kors Collection and Michael Kors labels. These products include accessories, footwear, watches, jewellery, men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, eyewear and a full line of fragrance products. Michael Kors stores operate, either directly or through licensing partners, in some of the most prestigious cities in the world, including New York, Milan and Paris. www.michaelkors.com

LOUIS VUITTON

IL BACIO DI STILE Given its prestigious location on Andrássy út, it is no surprise that the glitzy fashion store Il Bacio di Stile stocks the most renowned brands in the business. This five-storey showcase displays nearly four-dozen global labels, including Giorgio Armani, Lanvin and Saint Laurent. www.ilbaciodistile.com

The skilled artistry that goes into creating each Louis Vuitton product guarantees impeccable quality. Louis Vuitton’s gifted artisans dedicate their attention to crafting products such as handbags, shoes, wallets, watches, sunglasses and other accessories using the most exclusive materials and state-of-the-art workmanship. www.louisvuitton.com

ANDRÁSSY ÚT

BOTTEGA VENETA

GUCCI

Discretion, quality, and craftsmanship — Bottega Veneta has been a new standard of luxury since its foundation in Vicenza in 1966. Steeped in the traditions of Italy’s master leather craftsmen and long celebrated for its extraordinary leather goods, Bottega Veneta has recently emerged as one of the world’s premier luxury brands. The company’s motto, ‘When your initials are enough’, expresses a philosophy of individuality and confidence that now applies products ranging from women’s and men’s ready-to-wear to fine jewellery, and beyond. While Bottega Veneta continues to grow, the qualities that define it are unchanging: outstanding craftsmanship, innovative design, contemporary functionality and the highest quality materials. Another constant is Bottega Veneta’s commitment to its ateliers, where artisans of remarkable skill combine traditional mastery with breathtaking innovation.

Guccio Gucci opened his first leather-goods store in his native Florence in 1921. It enjoyed considerable success. By the 1960s, with stores in Milan, Manhattan and elsewhere, Gucci had made its name as the most cherished brand in its field. www.gucci.com

www.bottegaveneta.com

BURBERRY Founded in 1856, Burberry today remains quintessentially British, with outerwear at its core. Digital luxury positioning and the optimisation of the trenchcoat across innovative mediums, trademark check and Equestrian Knight Device heritage icons, make the brand purer, more compelling and more relevant globally, across genders and generations. www.burberry.com

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VĂĄrosliget Budapestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest pleasure park

VÁROSLIGET

he City Park, Városliget, is where Budapest goes to play, relax, row, skate, bathe and cycle. Set behind Heroes’ Square, its gateway, the Városliget comprises 125 hectares of greenery. A boating lake, a skating rink, a concert hall, a Transylvanian castle and the city’s showpiece spa baths, the Széchenyi, are only a few of the leisure attractions here. On the west side of the park, a row of family-friendly attractions include the zoo, the circus and the amusement park, recently reopened with some of the old rides from yesteryear. There’s a nostalgic feel to the Városliget, of simpler, communal pleasures that were first enjoyed here long before malls and laser zones came along. Indeed, many of its attractions date back a century or more. It was here in the Városliget that the Millennium celebrations of 1896 left ceremonial formalities behind. Here locals danced, dined and even tried out ballooning. Erected for the occasion, the faux-historic Vajdahunyad Castle remains to this day, housing the Museum of Agriculture and lending the immediate surroundings a somewhat fairy-tale atmosphere. Below, couples glide by in rowing boats and, in winter, families skate in the adjoining open-air rink. A cycle path runs round the lake – most bars, restaurants and beer gardens here have places to lock your bike.

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Vajdahunyad Castle

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Beyond is the Petőfi Csarnok concert hall, where a flea market is held every weekend. If you keep walking east, to Hermina út, you find the Transport Museum. Rail enthusiasts will love the early locomotives on display, and the museum is large enough to accommodate a history of sailing, horse-drawn road vehicles and a section dedicated to Hungary’s first astronaut, Bertalan Farkas. Hermina út pens in the Városliget the length of its eastern border – to the west, nearest to the city centre, runs Dózsa György út. This stern boulevard was where the Socialist-era May Day parades took place, the leaders waving to the crowds from their podium halfway along. It was here that a large statue of Stalin once stood, famously torn down during the Hungarian Uprising. This open space is now named Ötvenhatosok tere in honour of those who fell in 1956, a memorial erected on the 50th anniversary of Stalin’s dramatic fall from grace. A life-size replica of Stalin’s boots, representing the statue’s demolition, stands in Memento Park in south Buda, where many authentic examples from the era have been gathered from around Budapest. Near the ’56 memorial is a symbolic disc-cum-hour glass, whose sands run out over the course of the year as May 1 approaches. Dózsa György út leads to Heroes’ Square, and back to the ice rink and boating lake. Beyond is where you’ll find the year-round attractions of the Városliget, conveniently set alongside each other: the zoo, circus and amusement park.

Széchenyi Baths

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“ERECTED IN 1896, THE FAUX-HISTORIC VAJDAHUNYAD CASTLE LENDS THE SURROUNDINGS A SOMEWHAT FAIRY-TALE ATMOSPHERE.” Before reaching them, however, you’ll notice a rather elegant whitefronted edifice, set on a quiet section of the Állatkerti körút renamed in honour of the legend behind the building: Gundel. This is Budapest’s most famous restaurant, the one where Queen Elizabeth II dines when she’s in town. Originally opened as Wampet-

ics on the eve of the 1896 Millennium celebrations, the restaurant changed hands in 1910. Károly Gundel not only transformed the restaurant, he revolutionised Hungarian cuisine by bringing in French influences. His famous pancake, the Gundel palacsinta, is still found on nearly every menu in town. Next door, Gundel opened a more family-friendly, and affordable, restaurant, the Bagolyvár, also still in operation a century on. Sitting in its popular garden, tucking into traditional Hungarian home cooking, you’ll hear the noises of various birds and animals. Overlooking the restaurant garden is Budapest Zoo, one of the finest of its kind in the region.

Budapest Zoo

VÁROSLIGET

It is also one of the oldest, opened in 1866. Though financial constraints forced its closure, when it re-opened in 1912, it became as renowned for its architecture as for its four-legged, finned and winged residents. The original idea was to commission renowned architects to each create a house suitable for the creatures within. Thus Kornél Neuschloss designed the exotic Africa House and the Elephant House, and the Eiffel company of Paris created the indoor tropical garden of the Palm House. A progressive zoo management has recently instigated a number of childfriendly initiatives to promote awareness and encourage return visits.

Alongside, the Budapest Circus harks back to the classic days of the art form, in which Hungary has a long and famous tradition. Extraordinary shows from China and the Far East often form part of the year-round agenda. Beside the circus, the much-loved, old-school Amusement Park closed in 2013. Six months later, it reopened as the Holnemvolt (‘Once upon a time..’) Park, which retains some of its vintage attractions. Opposite stands the grand façade of Budapest’s most touristfriendly spa baths, the Széchenyi. Having recently celebrated its centenary, the Széchenyi comprises two large outdoor pools and an extensive indoor sauna complex. The venue runs year-round.

“WHEN THE ZOO REOPENED, IT WAS KNOWN AS MUCH FOR ITS ARCHITECTURE AS FOR ITS FOUR-LEGGED, FINNED AND WINGED RESIDENTS.”

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District VII Jewish Quarter and busy bar hub

DISTRICT VII

udapest’s most happening neighbourhood, in terms of bars, boutiques and general buzz, is undoubtedly District VII. Known also as the Jewish Quarter, it consists of a relatively compact cluster of busy streets set behind the vast signature landmark of the Great

Synagogue. The parallel streets of Wesselényi, Dob and Király, criss-crossed by Rumbach Sebestyén, Kazinczy and, most characteristically, the elongated courtyard of the Gozsdu udvar, are constantly being regenerated with new bars, clubs and restaurants. This is where you’ll find the bulk of Budapest’s famous ruin bars, romkocsma, typically set in dilapidated residential courtyards. Shops – particularly focusing on fashion and interior design – also dot the urban landscape. Restaurants too, some authentically Jewish, abound, interspersed with kosher bakeries and butchers. Much like the city around it, this quarter started to develop after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 which made Budapest a twin capital of the Habsburg Empire. That same year, the leadership rewarded Jews with legal equality, a provision that attracted entrepreneurs from Russia and southern Poland. This commercial prowess saw Budapest become the largest financial centre east of Vienna before the end of the century.

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“MUCH LIKE THE CITY AROUND IT, THIS QUARTER STARTED TO DEVELOP AFTER THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN COMPROMISE OF 1867.” When Budapest was at its height as an imperial capital, Jews comprised a quarter of the city’s population. They had long resided here, in Erzsébetváros, the Habsburg-era name for District VII. Half a century later, this was the Jewish Ghetto during World War II. Gradually after the war, this neighbourhood recovered. Today the Jewish community is 80,000 strong and District VII is thriving. As well as taking in the week-long summer festival held here at the end of August, visitors may glean further understanding of the history and culture of this district

by one of the many walking tours offered in English. This understanding can also be enhanced by a walk around the enormous Great Synagogue, one of the largest in the world, which dominates the busy junction of Dohány utca, Wesselényi utca and the Kiskörút. Completed in 1859, the Great (or Dohány utca) Synagogue was conceived in North African Moorish style by Austrian architect Ludwig Förster, also responsible for its more prosaic counterpart in Miskolc. Here, twin domes rise up 43 metres high, giving the building an exotic feel. Taking five years to build, the synagogue can accommodate 3,000 people in separate men’s and women’s galleries. Unusually for a synagogue, it contained an organ, a 5,000-pipe instrument built the same year as the building opened. Franz Liszt was one of the early organists. The synagogue gained a new organ when it was extensively renovated through the 1990s. Behind is a small Heroes’ Temple. Built in 1931, it was dedicated to Jewish soldiers who fell in World War

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Mazel Tov

DISTRICT VII

I. At the same time, a Jewish Museum, with a collection of ritual objects, was attached to the main building. Connecting Heroes’ Temple to the synagogue, a colonnade encloses the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park. Its centrepiece is Imre Varga’s poignant representation of a weeping willow, the names of war-time victims delicately inscribed on each of its leaves. Unusually, too, the synagogue complex also contains a cemetery. A short walk away down Rumbach Sebestyén utca, another synagogue in Moorish style was created by renowned Viennese architect Otto Wagner and unveiled in 1872. The Rumbach utca Syna-

gogue is open to the public but not operational as a place of worship. With its imaginative murals and funky boutiques, Rumbach Sebestyén utca is a bright introduction to the busier streetlife around it. Crossing it at rightangles, the pedestrianised thoroughfare of Madách Imre út is lined on both sides with popular bars and cafés – but this is nothing compared to the masses that throng Gozsdu udvar at the far end. An interlinking, six-section courtyard that connects Király utca 13 to Dob utca 16, the Gozsdu udvar was created by the foundation set up in the name of Hungaro-Romanian politician and lawyer Manó

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Gozsdu. In 1854, he bought this parcel of land, first building a row warehouses on it. After his death in 1869, Gozsdu’s will declared his assets pass to the ‘Romanian nation in Hungary and Transylvania’ via his foundation. As well as sponsoring two generations of Romanian students in Budapest, the Gozsdu foundation had noted architect Győző Czigler create a series of courtyards here in 1901. For decades, its post-war fate was entangled in cross-border bureaucracy. Nationalised in 1952, the Gozsdu udvar was claimed by the Romanian State in 1990 – a claim rejected by Hungary. Empty and abandoned, it passed into private hands in 1999. It took another decade for the 200-metre-long passageway to come alive again, filling with bars, shops and nightspots. Today the Gozsdu udvar is ar-

“IT TOOK ANOTHER DECADE FOR THE LONG PASSAGEWAY TO COME ALIVE AGAIN, FILLING WITH BARS, SHOPS AND NIGHTSPOTS.” guably the busiest bar hub in Budapest, no idle boast. Round the corner, the main bar strip of Kazinczy utca buzzes almost every night. Here you’ll find the Szimpla kert, the legendary ruin bar that set the template for a score more across the city. Typified by ramshackle furniture, a bohemian vibe and an inspired music policy, this type of bar was characteristic of pre-gentrified District VII, with its many underused urban spaces. Today these venues are so part of the city fabric, there are ruin-bar souvenirs sold in tourist shops. Also in Kazinczy utca is one of Budapest’s more unusual attractions. The Museum of Electrotechnics at No.21 is a wonderfully old-school institution dedicated to Hungary’s role in electrical engineering. Motors, machines and sundry household items from the radio era are displayed in a converted, pre-war,

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“EVERY JUNE 21, BUDAPEST’S MUSEUMS THROW OPEN THEIR DOORS, AND THIS COURTYARD FILLS WITH BEAUTIFUL OLD NEON.”

Bauhaus-style transformer station. Every June 21, when Budapest’s museums throw open their doors into the night, the courtyard here is decked out with beautiful old neon signs, collated from across the city, illuminated for the occasion. A few doors along the street stands another synagogue, the Orthodox one built in 1911-13 by the Löffler brothers, Sándor and Béla. Its façade displaying the beautiful stained-glass work by Miksa Róth, this is a lesser-known example of local art nouveau, Secession. Just the other side of the Nagykörút, at Dob utca 85, is another little-discovered architectural gem, the gorgeous façade of a primary school created by Armin Hegedűs in 1906. This darker part of District VII was the haunt of composer Rezső Seress, responsible for the infamous worldwide hit ‘Gloomy Sunday’. A pianist at the Kispipa restaurant on Akácfa utca, Seress never went to America to claim the royalties rightfully his after his heart-breaking ballad was covered by the likes of Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. A plaque marks where Seress lived at Dob utca 46b – until his selfassisted death one January Monday in 1968.

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NagykĂśrĂşt

Grand hotels and stage stars

NAGYKÖRÚT

udapest’s Great Ring Road, the Nagykörút, pens in the city centre as it winds for four kilometres through five districts of Pest. Carrying with it the world’s busiest tramline, the Nos.4/6, the körút, as locals refer to it, also runs across the Danube in two places. Connecting Pest and Buda across Margaret Bridge in the north and Petőfi Bridge in the south, the Nagykörút allows easy and frequent access to Margaret Island, Nyugati Station, Oktogon, a number of major hotels including the Corinthia, and the Museum of Applied Arts. On its journey, it runs from the upscale area of Újlipótváros, through the cultural and theatre quarter of District VI, skirts the bar vortex of District VII, then heads to grittier District VIII and rapidly gentrifying District IX. Most sections are named after a Habsburg, relating to the district it serves, Teréz körút beside Terézváros, Erzsébet körút beside Erzsébetváros, and so on. Tram Nos.4/6 begin at separate nearby transport hubs in Buda before converging near Petőfi Bridge. The first stop in Pest is Boráros tér, from where a suburban train runs to Csepel island. Here the tramline for the Nos.4/6 crosses the No.2, making the contemporary culture complex of south Pest, the Palace of Arts and

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New York Café

NAGYKÖRÚT

National Theatre, an easy hop away. From Boráros tér, the Nos.4/6 cuts through District IX, passing the distinctive bottle-green roof of the Museum of Applied Arts. The work of the most renowned architect of the Secession period, Ödön Lechner, the museum was one of earliest of its kind in the world. Another Budapest landmark created for the 1896 Millennium celebrations, the building demonstrates the designer’s attempt to create a Hungarian style as distinct from the Viennese form of Secessionism. Lechner, praised long after his lifetime as Budapest’s Gaudí, can be considered as the father of Hungarian Secessionism. The museum represents Lechner’s first major work without his architectural partner Gyula Pártos. Combining Hungarian folk influences with Indian and Moorish touches, here Lechner relied heavily on the signature bright glazed tiling created by the Zsolnay factory in Pécs. More than a century on, it remains a stunning showcase for Hungarian furniture, glassworks and textiles. The next major junction on the Nagykörút is Blaha Lujza tér. This was where the city’s main People’s Theatre stood from 1908 – hence the name of the adjoining street that runs north, Népszínház utca. Hence, also, the name of Blaha Lujza tér, after the much-loved singer and actress who performed here. Nicknamed the National Nightingale, Lujza Blaha is buried under the most ornate mausoleum in Kerepesi Cemetery, a short tram ride up Népszínház utca. The theatre was knocked down in 1965 to make way for red metro line M2 that runs up to Keleti Station. Actresses and starlets also gathered at the glamorous New York Café, the most legendary of all Budapest’s

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fin-de-siècle coffeehouses. Set just beyond Blaha Lujza tér, it was opened in 1894, shortly before the age of cinema. Within two decades, Hollywood moguls were holding court here, hiring Hungarian talent on the promise of Hollywood stardom. The first picture house, though, was a little further on the körút, at the Royal Hotel. Just as the New York is now a contemporary, five-star hotel,

“THE EIFFEL COMPANY OF PARIS FAME CREATED THIS FABULOUS STEAM PALACE OF IRON AND GLASS, OPENED IN 1877.” Nyugati Station

NAGYKÖRÚT

the Boscolo, so the Royal is now the five-star Corinthia Budapest. It was here, in the café, that the first film screening took place in Hungary, of a Lumière Brothers film in May 1896. The hotel even later housed an actual cinema, the Royal Apollo. Past nearby Oktogon stands Budapest’s second most important railway station, Nyugati. It was the Eiffel company of Paris fame who created this fabulous steam palace of iron and glass, opened in 1877. Behind it is Budapest’s busiest mall, the WestEnd City Center, recently complemented by a relandscaped pedestrianised zone alongside. Past Nyugati, the ring road is named after a non-Habsburg, Szent István. Here’s where you’ll find the pretty Vígszínház, the Comedy Theatre, where many of Hungary’s great actors made their name. A Baroque confection created by Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, responsible

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Comedy Theatre

“THE PRETTY COMEDY THEATRE IS WHERE MANY GREAT HUNGARIAN ACTORS MADE THEIR NAME.” for designing dozens of theatres across central Europe before World War I, the Vígszínház stands on the Újlipótváros side of the Szent István körút. Behind lies quiet, sought-after residential District XIII. Ahead, tram Nos.4/6 heads towards Margaret Bridge and the island of the same name. Before you cross the river, to your left runs Falk Miksa utca, lined with galleries and auction houses, parallel to the waterfront towards Parliament. Halfway over the Danube, the tram makes a stop directly above the leisure zone of Margaret Island. The tram then veers left into Margit körut, towards another busy mall, the Mammut, opposite Ostrom utca. Named after the Siege of Buda, it heads up Castle Hill, just as Holy League forces would have done in 1686. The final stop is Széll Kálmán tér, from where buses run up to the Buda Hills.

NAGYKÖRÚT

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RESTAURANTS

Restaurant guide A38 Hajó XI.Petöfi Bridge, Buda side International +36 1 464 3946 restaurant@a38.hu www.a38.hu Mon-Sat 11am-11pm. Alabárdos I.Országház utca 2 Hungarian +36 1 356 0851 alabardos@t-online.hu www.alarbardos.hu Mon-Fri 7pm-11pm, Sat noon3pm, 7pm-11pm. Arany Kaviár I.Ostrom utca 15 Russian +36 1 201 6737 reservation@aranykaviar.hu www.aranykaviar.hu Every day noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight. Aranyszarvas I.Szarvas tér 1 Hungarian +36 1 375 6451 bistro@aranyszarvas.hu www.aranyszarvas.hu Every day noon-11pm. ARAZ VII.Dohány utca 42-44 International +36 1 815 1100 araz@araz.hu www.araz.hu Every day 7am-11pm. Arcade Bistro XI.Kiss János altábornagy utca 38 International +36 1 225 1969 arcadebistro@arcadebistro.hu www.arcadebistro.hu Tue-Sat noon-11pm, Sun noon4pm. Baltazár I.Országház utca 31 Grill restaurant +36 1 300 7051 hello@baltazarbudapest.com www.baltazarbudapest.com Every day 7.30am-midnight.

Biarritz Restaurant & Café V.Balassi Bálint utca 2 Hungarian +36 1 311 4413 etterem@biarritz.hu www.biarritz.hu Mon-Fri 9am-10pm, Sat 10am10pm, Sun 10am-5pm. Bock Bisztró VII.Erzsébet körút 43-49 International +36 1 321 0340 info@bockbisztro.hu www.bockbisztropest.hu Mon-Sat noon-midnight. Boom & Brass V.Vigadó tér 4-6 International +36 1 877 7788 info@boombrass.hu www.boombrass.com Every day 11am-1am. Borkonyha V.Sas utca 3 Wine restaurant +36 1 266 0835 borkonyha@t-online.hu borkonyha.hu Mon-Sat noon-midnight. Brasserie & Atrium Corinthia Hotel Budapest, VII.Erzsébet körút 43-49 International +36 1 479 4850 cuisine.budapest@corinthia.com www.corinthia.com/hotels/ budapest Mon-Sat 6.30am-10.30/11am, noon-3pm, 6pm-11pm, Sun 6.30am-11am, noon-4pm, 6pm-11pm. Buddha-Bar Restaurant Buddha-Bar Hotel, V.Váci utca 34 Asian +36 1 799 7300 info@buddhabarhotel.hu www.buddhabarhotelbudapest.com Every day noon-midnight. Café 57 II.Pusztaszeri út 57 International +36 1 325 6078 cafe57@cafe57.hu www.cafe57.hu Mon-Fri 8am-11.30pm, Sat-Sun 9.30am-11.30pm.

Café Kör V.Sas utca 17 International +36 1 311 0053 cafekor@hotmail.com www.cafekor.com Mon-Sat 10am-10pm. Callas Café & Restaurant VI.Andrássy út 20 International +36 1 354 0954 callascafe@gmail.com www.callascafe.hu Every day 10am-midnight. Chez Daniel VI.Szív utca 32 French +36 1 302 4039 restaurant@chezdaniel.hu www.chezdaniel.hu Every day noon-3pm, 7pm-11pm. Columbus Pier 4, V.Vigadó tér Hungarian +36 1 266 9013 res@columbuspub.hu www.columbuspub.hu Every day noon-midnight. Corso Restaurant & Terrace InterContinental Budapest, V.Apáczai Csere János utca 12-13 International +36 1 327 6392 cuisine.restaurant@ihg.com budapest.intercontinental.com Every day 6.30am-11pm. Costes IX.Ráday utca 4 International +36 1 219 0696 info@costes.hu www.costes.hu Wed-Sun 6.30pm-11pm. Cyrano V.Kristóf tér 7 International +36 1 266 4747 cyrano@cyrano.hu cyrano.hu Every day 8am-midnight.

Déryné Bistro 1914 I.Krisztina tér 3 International +36 1 225 1407 www.bistroderyne.com Mon-Thur 7.30am-midnight, Fri 7.30am-1am, Sat 9am-1am, Sun 9am-midnight. ES Bisztró & Terrace Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, V.Erzsébet tér 7-8 Hungarian/Viennese +36 1 429 3990 info@esbisztro.hu www.kempinski.com/en/budapest Every day 11.30am-11.30pm. Fausto’s VII.Dohány utca 3 Italian +36 30 589 1813 ristorante@fausto.hu www.fausto.hu Mon-Fri noon-3pm, 7pm-11pm, Sat 6pm-11pm. Fausto’s Osteria VII.Dohány utca 5 Italian +36 1 269 6806 osteria@fausto.hu www.fausto.hu Mon-Sat noon-11pm. Fuji II.Csatárka utca 54 Japanese +36 1 325 7111 restaurant@fujirestaurant.hu www.fujirestaurant.hu Every day noon-11pm. Gerlóczy Café V.Gerlóczy utca 1 International +36 1 501 4000 info@gerloczy.hu www.gerloczy.hu Every day 7am-11pm. Gundel XIV.Gundel Károly út 4 Hungarian +36 1 889 8100 info@gundel.hu www.gundel.hu Every day noon-midnight.

RESTAURANTS

Halászbástya I.Szentháromság tér 5 Hungarian +36 1 458 3030 info@halaszbastya.eu www.halaszbastya.eu Every day noon-midnight.

Macesz Huszár VII.Dob utca 26 Jewish +36 1 787 6164 solet@maceszhuszar.hu www.maceszhuszar.hu Mon-Wed, Sun noon-11pm, Thur-Sat noon-midnight.

Paris Budapest Restaurant & Café Sofitel Budapest Chain Bridge, V.Széchenyi István tér 2 International +36 1 235 5600 reservation@parisbudapest.hu www.parisbudapest.hu Every day 11am-11pm.

ICON the restaurant Hilton Budapest Hotel, I.Hess András tér 1-3 International +36 1 889 6757 info.budapest@hilton.com www.iconetterem.hu Every day 6.45am-10.30/11am, noon-3pm, 6pm-11pm.

mák V.Vigyázó Ferenc utca 4 Hungarian +36 30 723 9383 info@mak.hu www.mak.hu Tue-Sat noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight.

Kéhli III.Mókus utca 22 Hungarian +36 1 368 0613 postmaster@kehli.t-online.hu www.kehli.hu Every day noon-midnight.

Mátyás Pince V.Március 15 tér 7 Hungarian +36 1 266 8008 info@matyaspince.hu www.matyaspince.eu Every day 11am-midnight.

Pata Negra IX.Kálvin tér 8 Spanish +36 1 215 5616 patanegrapest@patanegra.hu www.patanegra.hu Every day 11am-midnight.

Klassz VI.Andrássy út 41 International No reservations www.klasszetterem.hu Mon-Sat 11.30am-11pm, Sun 11.30am-11pm.

Náncsi Néni II.Ördögárok út 80 Hungarian +36 1 397 2742 www.nancsineni.hu Every day noon-11pm.

peppers! Budapest Marriott Hotel, V.Apáczai Csere János utca 4 Mediterranean +36 1 737 7377 reservations@peppers.hu www.peppers.hu Every day 6.30am-11pm.

KNRDY V.Október 6 utca 15 Grill restaurant +36 1 788 1685 info@knrdy.com www.knrdy.com Mon-Sat 11.30am-1am, Sun 11am-1am. KOGART VI.Andrássy út 112 International +36 1 354 3820 etterem@kogart.hu www.kogart.hu Mon-Fri 10am-6pm. Le Bourbon Le Méridien Budapest Hotel, V.Erzsébet tér 9-10 French +36 1 429 5770 concierge.budapest@lemeridien. com www.lebourbonrestaurant.com Every day noon-10.30pm.

Nobu Budapest Kempinski Hotel Corvinus, V.Erzsébet tér 7-8 Japanese/Peruvian +36 1 429 4242 reservations@noburestaurant.hu www.noburestaurants.com/ budapest Every day noon-3.30pm, 6pm-11.45pm. Onyx V.Vörösmarty tér 7-8 Hungarian +36 30 508 0622 onyx@onyxrestaurant.hu www.onyxrestaurant.hu Tue-Fri noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm11pm, Sat 6.30pm-11pm.

Pastrami III.Lajos utca 93-99 International +36 1 430 1731 pastrami@pastrami.hu www.pastrami.hu Every day 8am-11pm.

Pomo D’Oro V.Arany János utca 9 Italian +36 1 302 6473 info@pomodorobudapest.com www.pomodorobudapest.com Every day noon-midnight. Porcellino Ristorante II.Ady Endre utca 19 Italian +36 1 886 7880 porcellino@porcellino.hu www.porcellino.hu Every day noon-midnight.

Rickshaw Corinthia Hotel Budapest, Pampas Argentin Steakhouse VII.Erzsébet körút 43-49 V.Vámház körút 6 Asian Grill restaurant +36 1 479 4855 +36 1 411 1750 cuisine.budapest@corinthia.com info@steak.hu www.corinthia.com/hotels/ www.steak.hu budapest Every day noon-12.30am. Wed-Sun 6pm-11pm.

Robinson XIV.Városligeti tó International +36 1 422 0222 robinson@t-online.hu www.robinsonrestaurant.hu Every day 11am-5pm, 6pm-11pm. Rosenstein VIII.Mosonyi utca 3 Hungarian +36 1 333 3492 rosenstein@t-online.hu www.rosenstein.hu Mon-Sat noon-11pm. Salon Boscolo Budapest, VII.Erzsébet körút 9 International +36 1 886 6111 www.salonrestaurant.hu Tue-Sat 6pm-midnight. Spíler Gozsdu udvar, VII.Király utca 13 International +36 1 878 1320 hello@spilerbp.hu spilerbp.hu Every day 8am-2am. Spoon V.Vigadó tér 3 International +36 1 411 0933 spoon@spooncafe.hu www.spoonrestaurants.hu Every day noon-midnight. Symbol III.Bécsi út 56 International +36 1 333 5656 info@symbolbudapest.hu www.symbolbudapest.hu Mon-Fri 7.30am-midnight, Sat-Sun 11.30am-midnight. ZONA Budapest I.Lánchíd utca 7-9 International +36 30 422 5981 hello@zonabudapest.com www.zonabudapest.hu Tue-Sat noon-midnight.

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R E STAUR A NT · BAR · LOUNGE

ASIAN-COLONIAL DESIGN · SUBTLE PACIFIC RIM CUISINE LIVE BUDDHA-BAR DJ MUSIC · SIGNATURE COCKTAIL CREATIONS DIRECT ACCESS FROM VÁCI STREET

SUNDAY BRUNCH: 12-4 PM

OPEN FOR LUNCH

BAR & LOUNGE

All You Can Eat & Drink Live Seafood & Sushi Station Asian Buffet Live Entertainment HUF 7.900 / person (+12% Service Charge)

Lunch Bento Degustation Menu Daily Soup 2 Appetizers + 2 Main Courses Dessert from HUF 3.700 / person (+12% Service Charge)

Home of the exotic ﬂavours Special & novel cocktails Buddha-Bar Snacks & Sushi plates Unique atmosphere Several organized events

www.buddhabarhotel.hu H-1052 Budapest, Váci u. 34. · Phone: +36 1 799 7302 · restaurant@buddhabarhotel.hu Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 12.00-23.00 Member of Mellow Mood Hotels

RESTAURANTS

Gundel Restaurant

Discover Hungary by its unique taste of food invented by a Bavarian-born genius Károly Gundel who tamed the Hungarian cuisine at the end of the 19th century and put Hungary on the world map of gastronomy. The New York Times wrote that Gundel did more for Hungary’s popularity than a shipload of tourist brochures. Gundel’s menu recalls flavours, memories and traditions. Just like our great composers, Kodály and Bartók collected Hungarian folk music within the borders of historical Hungary, so did our restaurant collect Hungarian food specialties. Gundel is the place where you can find traditional Hungarian dishes based on original recipes, served on the world famous china of Zsolnay or Herend. The Bar is ready to please you with coffee, cocktails, snacks or our famous Gundel crépe. Winelovers are encouraged to taste the Gundel selection served by our award-winning sommelier while enjoying the live music of the Gundel Band every night. All this is made perfect with the immaculate service of Gundel’s professional staff.

Address of restaurant: 1146 Budapest, Gundel Károly út 4. Telephone number: +36 1 889 8100 Telephone number for reservations: +36 1 889 8111, +36 30 603 2480 E-mail address: info@gundel.hu / Website address: www.gundel.hu Name of manager: Attila Bándoli / Name of Executive Chef: Gábor Merczi Name of Sous-Chef: János Kovács / Name of Sommelier: Mihály Fabók Opening hours: Monday-Sunday: 09:00–24:00, Sunday Brunch: 11:30-15:00 Type of cuisine: Hungarian and international Number of seating places: 176 + 400-1000 Year of Establishment: 1894

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Nobu Budapest “You can tell how much fun a city is going to be if Nobu has a restaurant in it.” (Madonna) Nobu Budapest is the first Central-European member of Nobu’s worldwide dining empire conveniently located in the very heart of Budapest. Enjoy and explore Nobuyuki Matsuhisa’s new style Japanese cuisine where our executive chef, Gábor Schreiner, combines the Japanese-Peruvian taste with Hungarian ingredients as well. The Nobu restaurants are well worth to visit if you are keen on tasting Nobu’s world famous and special signature dishes, like Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno, Tuna Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing and the Black Cod Den Miso. Nobu Budapest welcomes guests with 80 seats including a private room and the sushi bar, while the Nobu Lounge Bar accomodates guests with a wide selection of Nobu Signature Cocktails. Address of restaurant: 1051 Budapest, Erzsébet tér 7–8. Telephone number: +36 1 429 4242 Telephone number for reservations: +36 1 429 4242 E-mail address: reservation@noburestaurant.hu, Website address: www.noburestaurants.com Name of manager: Halász György Name of Sous-Chef: Pósa Géza, Name of Sushi Chef: Yoshiyuki Sone Name of Executive chef: Schreiner Gábor Opening hours: Monday-Sunday, Restaurant: 12:00–01:00 Lunch: 12:00–15:30, Dinner: 18:00–23:45, Lounge: 12:00–01:00 Type of cuisine: New Style Japanese cuisine redefined by South American flavours Number of seating places: 80 + 50 Year of Establishment: 2010

RESTAURANTS

Tokio Address of restaurant: 1051 Budapest, Széchenyi István tér 7-8. Telephone number: +36 1 801 9862 Telephone number for reservations: +36 70 333 2176 E-mail address: info@tokiobudapest.com Website address: www.tokiobudapest.com Name of manager: Csizmadia Örs, Demján Balázs Name of chef: Luczy Krisztián Opening hours: Monday-Thursday 12:00-24:00, Friday-Saturday 12:00-01:00, Sunday 12:00-24:00 Number of seating places: 80 + 15 Year of Establishment: 2007

Tokio is on the Pest-side of Chain bridge, Széchenyi István square (formerly Roosevelt) and its environs are the heart of the business district, which transformes into a popular entertainment and clubbing quarter at night. Tokio offers a culinary experience in an exciting enterior designed by talented young Hungarian designers. Tokio still presents excellent and upmarked food, but the selection has been extended the perfectly constructed coctails, and dj’s entertain after dark. The kitchen is run by Luczy Krisztián who works with authentic Thai chefs to serve up the most exciting flavours intha capital. Japanese specialities, great atmosphere, and the coctail creations by the head of bartender guarantee a perfect bar experience.

Costes Restaurant The Chef of Costes Restaurant, Miguel Rocha Vieira, is forever inspired by several international and Hungarian recognisable effects. Using only the best ingredients available, he and his team make sure that the guests enjoy only the finest food compositions. The atmosphere is elegant, yet free and easy. A fine dining restaurant with stylish design, great service and an extensive wine list. According to Tripadvisor's Travel Choice we are the 25th best restaurant in the world and the 14th best restaurant in Europe. Address of restaurant: 1092 Budapest, Ráday u. 4. Telephone number: +36 1 219 0696 Telephone number for reservations: +36 1 219 0696 E-mail address: info@costes.hu Website address: www.costes.hu Name of owner: Gerendai Károly Name of chef: Miguel Rocha Vieira Opening hours: Wednesday–Sunday: 18:30-24:00 Number of seating places: 40 Year of Establishment: 2008

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RESTAURANTS

� e Spoon is a restaurant boat located in the central spot of Budapest-Hungary. � is 75m engineless �ne dining event and restaurant place is able to provide it’s services 365 days in the year. On the top it has two huge terraces and an additional one with glass sided walls, the winter garden. On the middle level there are two diﬀerent designed restaurants, we call them the “Cafe” which is more like a real �ne dining hall and the “Lounge”, which is a luxurious relaxing eating area. As an additional service we provide a night club on the bo� om level, with direct access from the Lounge. It’s design is based on the Arabian fantasy, called “� e Oriental”. On each level we have a full kitchen, that makes the Spoon capable of serving every type of event and customer at diﬀerent times and every season of the year. Our goal is to give high quality service to the corporate events, private parties and of course as the location of the Spoon is right on the most wanted spot of Budapest, we are a must see restaurant.

Spoon Restaurants H-1052 Budapest, Vigadó tér 3. kikötő tel.: +36.1.411.09.33 fax: +36.1.411.09.46 spoon@spoonrestaurants.hu www.spoonrestaurants.hu

RESTAURANTS

Arany Kaviár Restaurant

The maze of rooms oozes homely warmth and ornate elegance. It is the perfect spot for romantic dinners sheltered from the outside world, for important business lunches in a discreet, relaxed atmos-phere and for spending undisturbed quality time with friends & family. Arany Kaviár offers three degustation menus, laying emphasis on marine and freshwater fishes as traditional Russian dishes. The wine list is often broadened with reserve items and Hungarian artisan wine specialities. In summer the enchanting inner garden awaits guests with an exclusive Champagne terrace. It’s recommended for all gastronomy fans who wish to indulge in culinary delights in an intimate ambience.

Address of restaurant: 1015 Budapest, Ostrom utca 19. Telephone number: +36 1 201 6737 Telephone number for reservations: +36 30 685 6000, or +36 1 201 6737 E-mail address: reservation@aranykaviar.hu Website address: www.aranykaviar.hu Name of Owner-Manager: Attila Molnár Name of Owner-Executive Chef: Szása Nyíri Name of Chef: Árpád Györffy Opening hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 12:00–15:00 and 18:00-24:00 Type of cuisine: international cuisine Number of seating places: 48 (additional 32 can be seated on the terrace in spring&summer season) Year of Establishment: 1990

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Callas Café & Restaurant On Budapest’s finest street, right next to the State Opera House. Art Déco style classic coffee house, designed by legendary architect David Collins. Pre & after opera: international and Hungarian cuisine, wide sortiment of home-made pastries, Hungarian wines, coffees and cocktails. Live salon music at dinner time 8.00-12.00 p.m. on Tuesday-Sunday. The Blue Danube Concert and Salon Music Orchestra conjure up a pleasant atmosphere with classical pieces, operetta and Broadway musicals.

Address of restaurant: 1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 20. Telephone number: +36 (1) 354-0954 Telephone number for reservations +36 (1) 354-0954 Website address: www.callascafe.hu Email address: callascafe@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/callascafe Opening hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00-24:00 Type of cuisine: Hungarian and International Number of seating places: 100 Year of Establishment: 2006

RESTAURANTS

Fire Restaurant

Fire Churrascaria Steakhouse gives you more – more of everything to make this the most wonderful “Continuous Dining Experience” you will ever have! Enjoy the sumptuous taste of this rich dining tradition, experience the attentive service in the “Rodizio” style at Fire Churrascaria Steakhouse.

Address of restaurant: 1051 Budapest, Petőfi Tér 3-5. Telephone number for reservations: +36 70 450 1750 E-mail address: info@firerestaurant.hu Website address: www.firerestaurant.hu Restaurant Manager: Akos Nemeth Opening hours: Lunch: Monday - Saturday: 12-15, Sunday: 11-16 · Dinner: Monday - Saturday: 18-24

A brand new

FUJI!

Executive chef: Usuda Masato Address of restaurant: 1025 Budapest, Csatárka u. 54. Telephone number: +36 1 325 7111, +36 30 393 3000 Telephone number for reservations: +36 1 325 7111 E-mail address: restaurant@fujirestaurant.hu Website address: www.fujirestaurant.hu Opening hours: Monday–Sunday 12:00–23:00 Number of seating places: 75

1 Michelin star Onyx Restaurant 1051 Budapest, Vörösmarty tér 7-8. Asztalfoglalás: +36-30-508-0622 onyx@onyxrestaurant.hu www.onyxrestaurant.hu

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Discover Hungary Wine, wildlife and water sports

DISCOVER HUNGARY

here’s much more to Hungary than Budapest. Although many of the country’s major attractions are in the capital, you’ll find castles, museums and spas a-plenty a relatively short drive or train ride away. The country’s favourite getaway and key summer destination is Lake Balaton. Set a couple of hours south-west of Budapest, it’s the nearest Hungary gets to a seaside experience, with family-friendly entertainment and shallow, safe waters for paddling. Hungary’s main towns all offer worthwhile attractions. The second city of Debrecen, with a major university, has recently seen serious funding come its way, resulting in the opening of the Kölcsey Központ cultural centre and a new sports stadium. The city is also the gateway to the Hortobágy, a national park of 800 square kilometres known for its extensive birdlife and lesserknown native breeds of cattle. Tours here often include displays of horsemanship by mounted herdsmen known as csikós. The north-east is also known as a major wine-producing region, the town of Eger famed for its cellars and restaurants. Its castle is also a must-see and a steeped in legend. Hungary’s other main wine region is Villány, to the south, close to the Croatian border. The nearest major town is Pécs, European Capital of Culture in 2010. Attractions here include the new Zsolnay Quarter, based around the former ceramics factory of the same name. Historic landmarks from the Ottoman era dominate the mainly pedestrianised town centre. Closer to the Serbian border, Szeged is known for its annual open-air theatre festival and fiery fish soup, a local speciality best enjoyed by the Tisza river.

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Balaton Lake Balaton is Hungary’s main tourist destination. Easily accessible by road or rail, the lake is lined north and south by dozens of resorts, some with historic attractions and most with recommendable wine cellars and restaurants. The south shore generally appeals to a younger clientele, Siófok the main hub of summer nightlife. The north shore tends to attract the older generation, happier with fine wines and casual sightseeing. The key single sight is Festetics Palace at Keszthely, at the far western tip of the lake. Baroque in style, it was constructed over the course of a century or more. It currently houses the agricultural faculty of the University of Pannonia and one of the finest libraries in Hungary. Nearby Hévíz, beside the famous thermal lake of the same name, is one of Hungary’s most popular destinations for health tourism.

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Surrounded by hotels, the deep lake is believed to replenish itself every day. The waters of Balaton are shallow, safe and fun for children. Slides, chutes and steps line the popular bathing spots, particularly on the south shore, where volleyball and other beachside games are set up. Lake Balaton is also a major destination for cycling, sailing and fishing – and, in winter, skating. Balaton wines are justifiably popular, with the north-shore resort of Badacsony a major producer. Vineyards have been planted here since Roman times, the surrounding volcanic soil particularly rich in minerals. Wine producers encourage visitors to sample their wares in situ. As elsewhere around Balaton, restaurants in Badacsony offer pike-perch, a variety of fish native to the lake. Fish soup is another speciality, carp and catfish other ingredients. The best view of Lake Balaton is from the tourist attraction of Tihany Abbey on the north shore. Established in the mid 11th century, Tihany was rebuilt in Baroque style 700 years later. Its founding charter is the oldest existing document written in Hungarian. The only ferry on Balaton operates nearby, running to Szántód on the south shore in ten minutes.

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Szentendre

A short hop north of Budapest by boat or electric suburban train, the Danubian settlement of Szentendre is almost everyone’s choice for a day trip from the capital. Its attractions are not immediately obvious. Souvenir shops and craft stores line cobbled streets patrolled by clip-clopping horse-drawn carriages. But explore further and you won’t be disappointed. Szentendre owes its charming allure to the two main groups who settled here in the last 200 years or so: Serb refugees and artists. The Serbs came at various times, fleeing Ottoman rule to set up a thriving community some 20km north of Budapest. They left not only a handful of beautiful traditional Orthodox churches, some still active today – but the atmosphere and lay-out of modern-day Szentendre.

DISCOVER HUNGARY

Irrelevant of location, these churches all face east, the streets leading up to them giving Szentendre its twist, turny feel, unlike the more carefully planned communities elsewhere outside Budapest. Stunning icons and Baroque architecture can be observed at the churches of Pozarevacka, Blagovestenska and Belgrade Cathedral. After the Serbs came the artists. Soon after World War I, artists arrived here, finding a quaint if slightly run-down community of Serb houses and churches. Galleries were set up and a network to support a community of artists, writers and musicians, still in place today. The couple Margit Anna and Imre Ámos, who met Chagall in Paris, were the leading lights of this community – a museum now shows their works. Around the same time, painter Jenő Barcsay was another seminal figure in local artistic circles – his works can also be seen in a museum here. Prolific ceramist and sculptor Margit Kovács, pre-war avant-garde painter Lajos Vajda and influential Impressionist artist Károly Ferenczy of the Nagybánya School also all have galleries around Szentendre. After a morning of sightseeing in churches and galleries, visitors may relax at one of the many terrace cafés and restaurants on focal Fő tér or along the Danube.

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Essential numbers EMERGENCY NUMBERS Ambulance Breakdown service (Automobile club) Central emergency number Fire service Police TRANSPORT Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport Terminals Flight information Information Lost and found Airport shuttle (minibus service) Parking Reservations Railway stations Déli pályaudvar Keleti pályaudvar Nyugati pályaudvar International information Car rental Autorent Avis Budget Ciao Europcar Fox Auto Hertz Titan World Wide Taxi A-taxi Budapest Taxi City Taxi Főtaxi Taxi 2000 Taxi4 Taxi Plus Tele5 Taxi 6x6 Taxi Sightseeing Cityrama EUrama Program Centrum Limousines Limo Center Budapest Limousine Service Hungary +36 1 220 6120, Limo-King Magyarország +36 1 788 0138, StarLimo Hungary MEDICAL SERVICES Medical attendance (24 hours) Falck SOS Hungary Dentist (24 hours) SOS Dental Service Night-duty chemists Déli Gyógyszertár, XII.Alkotás u. 1/B Teréz Patika, VI.Teréz krt. 41 CULTURE Theatre ticket off ices Ticket Express Customer service Ticket Portal

104 188 112 105 107

+36 1 296 9696 +36 1 296 7000 +36 1 296 7000 +36 1 296 5966 +36 1 296 8555 +36 1 296 3553 +36 1 577 6284 +36 1 371 9449 +36 (40) 494 949 +36 1 349 8503 +36 1 444 4499 +36 (70) 550 9588 +36 1 318 4240 +36 1 214 0420 +36 (30) 729 0099 +36 1 421 8333 +36 1 382 9000 +36 1 296 0999 +36 (20) 992 2137 +36 1 302 0431 +36 20 934 4267 +36 1 777 7777 +36 1 211 111 +36 1 222 2222 +36 1 200 0000 +36 1 444 4444 +36 1 888 8000 +36 1 855 5555 +36 1 266 6666 +36 1 302 4382 +36 1 327 6690 +36 1 317 7767 +36 (20) 319 3138 +36 1 273 0076 +36 (20) 398 9880 +36 (20) 433 8042

+36 1 240 0475 +36 (30) 383 3333 +36 1 355 4691 +36 1 311 4439

+36 (30) 303 0999 +36 (30) 533 9933

FINANCIAL SERVICES Lost/stolen credit cards Amex Visa BANKS AXA Budapest Bank CIB Bank Citibank Credigen Deutsche Bank Erste Bank FHB Bank ING Bank KDB Bank K&H Bank MKB Bank OTP Bank Raiffeisen Bank Sberbank UniCredit Bank Bureaux de change Exclusive Change Western Union EMBASSIES Australia 24-hour consular service Austria VI.Benczúr utca 16 Belgium II.Kapás utca 11–15 Bulgaria VI.Andrássy út 115 Bosnia and Herzegovina II.Verseghy Ferenc utca 4 China VI.Városligeti fasor 20–22 Canada II.Ganz utca 12–14 Croatia VI.Munkácsy Mihály utca 15 Cyprus V.Dorottya utca 3./II. em. 2–3 Czech Republic VI.Rózsa utca 61 Denmark XII.Határőr út 37 Egypt XII.Istenhegyi út 7/B Estonia II.Áldás utca 3 Finland XI.Kelenhegyi út 16/A France VI.Lendvay utca 27 Germany I.Úri utca 64–66 Great Britain V.Harmincad utca 6 Greece VI.Szegfű utca 3 India II.Búzavirág utca 14 Ireland V.Szabadság tér 7 Italy XIV.Stefánia út 95 Japan XII.Zalai út 7 Korea VI.Andrássy út 109 Lithuania XII.Hóvirág út 44 Malta VI.Andrássy út 100 Netherlands II.Füge utca 5–7 Norway V.Ostrom utca 13 Poland VI.Városligeti fasor 16 Portugal XII.Alkotás utca 53 Romania XIV.Thököly út 72 Russian Federation VI.Bajza utca 35 Serbia VI.Dózsa György út 92/B Slovakia XIV.Stefánia út 22–24 Slovenia II.Cseppkő utca 68 South Africa II.Gárdonyi Géza utca 17 Spain II.Kapás utca 11/B Sweden II.Kapás utca 6–12 Switzerland XIV.Stefánia út 107 Tunisia XII.Nárcisz utca 36 Turkey VI.Andrássy út 123 Ukraine XII.Istenhegyi út 84/B United States V.Szabadság tér 12

+36 1 235 4349 +36 (40) 333 666 +36 (40) 303 030 +36 1 477 7777 +36 (40) 242 242 +36 (40) 248 424 +36 1 453 5111 +36 1 301 3700 +36 (40) 222 222 +36 (40) 344 344 +36 (40) 464 464 +36 (40) 532 532 +36 1 328 9000 +36 1 327 8600 +36 (40) 366 666 +36 (40) 484 848 +36 (40) 414 243 +36 (40) 504 050 +36 1 260 0593 +36 (80) 463 676 +61 2 6261 3305 +36 1 479 7010 +36 1 457 9960 +36 1 322 0836 +36 1 212 0106 +36 1 413 2401 +36 1 392 3360 +36 1 269 5884 +36 1 266 1330 +36 1 462 2511 +36 1 354 2570 +36 1 225 2150 +36 1 354 2570 +36 1 279 2500 +36 1 374 1100 +36 1 488 3500 +36 1 266 2888 +36 1 413 2600 +36 1 325 7742 +36 1 301 4960 +36 1 460 6200 +36 1 398 3100 +36 1 462 3080 +36 1 224 7910 +36 1 354 3613 +36 1 336 6300 +36 1 325 3300 +36 1 413 8200 +36 1 201 7617 +36 1 384 0271 +36 1 332 4748 +36 1 322 9838 +36 1 460 9011 +36 1 438 5600 +36 1 392 0999 +36 1 202 4006 +36 1 460 6020 +36 1 460 7040 +36 1 336 1616 +36 1 344 5025 +36 1 422 4120 +36 1 475 4400

DISCOVER HUNGARY

Shopping in Budapest

Hotels in Budapest 1 THE AQUINCUM HOTEL Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

9 QUEEN'S COURT HOTEL Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

2 HILTON BUDAPEST CITY Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

10 SOFITEL CHAIN BRIDGE Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

3 MAMAISON ANDRÁSSY Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

11 L E MERIDIEN BUDAPEST Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

4 HOTEL PRESIDENT Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

12 BOSCOLO BUDAPEST Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

5 ST GEORGE RESIDENCE Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

13 INTERCONTINENTAL BUDAPEST Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

6 HILTON BUDAPEST Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

8 CORINTHIA HOTEL BUDAPEST Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

7 MOM PARK Website www.mompark.hu Telephone +36 1 487 5500

2 ÁRKÁD BUDAPEST Website www.arkadbudapest.hu Telephone +36 (30) 246 0820

8 RÓZSAKERT BEVÁSÁRLÓKÖZPONT Website www.rozsakert.hu Telephone +36 1 391 5998

3 DUNA PLAZA Website www.dunaplaza.hu Telephone +36 1 456 1666

9 VÁCI 1 Website www.vaci1.hu Telephone +36 1 880 7200

4 HEGYVIDÉK KÖZPONT Website www.hegyvidekkozpont.hu Telephone +36 1 951 0578

14 K EMPINSKI HOTEL CORVINUS Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

7 IBEROSTAR GRAND HOTEL Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

1 ARÉNA PLAZA Website www.arenaplaza.hu Telephone +36 1 880 7010

15 BUDAPEST MARRIOTT Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

10 WESTEND CITY CENTER Website www.westend.hu Telephone +36 1 238 7777

5 IL BACIO DI STILE Website www.ilbaciodistile.hu Address Andrássy út 19. Telephone +36 1 211 1000

11 ANDRÁSSY ÚT Avenue of Luxury Fashion boutiques

6 MAMMUT Website www.mammut.hu Telephone +36 1 345 8000

12 FASHION STREET Website www.fashionstreet.hu Telephone +36 1 235 2070

16 BUDDHA-BAR HOTEL Website www.xxxxx.hu Telephone +36 1 123 4567

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LUXURY CITIES 2015

SHOPPING DINING SIGHTSEEING ARTS CULTURE

Publisher Thomas Botka CEO Balázs Román Advertising Dóra Horváth, Krisztina Egri Editor Peterjon Cresswell

Design & Layout Absolut Design Studio Art Director Csaba Szomor Photo Production Absolut Media Circulation 10,000 copies

International Publisher Luxury Cities Media FZ LLC CEO & Managing Director Thomas Botka International enquiries publisher@luxury-cities.com

assumes no responsibility to any party for the content of any advertisement in this publication, including any errors and omissions therein. By placing an order for an advertisement, the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher against any claims relating to the advertisement. All content in this publication is the property of Absolut Media Zrt and its suppliers or licensors or contributors, and is protected by the Hungary and International copyright laws. © Absolut Media Zrt. All rights reserved.

Published by Absolut Media Zrt. 1075 Budapest, Madách Imre út 13–14. Hungary • Phone + 36 1 398 0344 • www.amedia.hu ISSN 2060-940X All photos used in this publication are by Absolut Media, Árpád Pintér, Attila Dubniczki, Balázs Herceg, Éva Hajdu, Dóra Sajó, Míra Judit Szántó, Zsolt Szigetváry, Vexton Kft and Shutterstock unless otherwise credited. Luxury Budapest 2015 is a registered trademark. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without the express prior written permission of the publisher. The publisher

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