Central Buda Budapest – All our local tips

Rudas Ivócsarnok (”Drinking Hall”) is a place where you can drink very healthy thermal water that comes out of the ground hot.

Located near Rudas, one of Budapest’s thermal baths, the hall is a small, single-room construction where you can often see old ladies and gentlemen waiting for their turn with empty bottles in hand. Inside, you pay at the register to the right, then take your slip of paper to a stand where hot and smelly water is bubbling out of three taps. These are coming directly from three subterranean hot springs, and you can either get a half-liter mug for 30 Forints, or fill your own empty bottle for similar, ridiculously low prices.

Now, all three types of spring water are warm, and the one with high sulfur content also smells like eggs, so it’s not something you probably want to drink to cool yourself down on a blistering summer day. Instead, it’s what you drink if you’re health-conscious and wish to prevent any one of a good dozen ailments from rheumatism to high blood pressure.

The Hall is a bit hard to find. First you should get to the Buda side of Erzsébet bridge (the closest tram stop is Döbrentei tér, or you could walk across from Pest), then look for the entrance on the edge of a wide, circular open-air area, surrounded on several sides by the elevated motorway that leads up onto the bridge.

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Ivócsarnok | Relaxing | Mug of thermal water HUF 30.00
Erzsébet híd (Buda end) | Central Buda
Mon, Wed & Fri 11:00 – 18:00, Tue, Thu 07:00 – 14:00

End your day here, prepare for the night or even stay and enjoy the buzzing Moszkva square from a higher level. Moszkva Bistro sits on the top of the metro building, its logo resembles the one of the famous London Underground. However, it’s easier to find your way, just go up the stairs and you can be pretty sure the place is crowded.

The Bistro is rather a “Skihütte” concerning the looks and the offerings. Warm too during wintertime. Have you ever tried to drink Arctic Light? Prepare for the ride as it means chilled fizzy vodka down your throat, with a touch of lemon for the Southern Aurora Borealis feeling. Cold night come with the obligatory mulled wine.

Moszkva square as a major traffic centre is an ugly place but from up above everything looks different and you easily switch to observing mode. According to my observations the teenagers of Buda tend to start the night here, so be quick and grab a seat before the lessons end.

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Moszkva Bistro | Bars | Bistro beer HUF 450.00
Moszkva square (metro building) | Central Buda
Mon – Thu & Sun 12:00 – 00:00, Fri & Sat 12:00 – 03:00

Nyitott Muhely – “Open Workshop” – is one of the most unique spots in Budapest, a teahouse, performance venue, exhibition gallery, second-hand bookstore, netcafé, meeting point and (surprisingly) leatherworkshop in one.

Laci, the jovial proprietor, originally launched the place as a leatherworkshop (he himself is a leatherworker by trade). But then, to quote him, “culture kicked in the door,” and he gradually expanded it into the many different functions above. If you walk in today, you’ll find bunches of art magazines by the entrance, some exhibition or another on the walls of the back room, and quite often some sort of lecture, music jam, round table discussion or some other kind of activity in progress. One corner still holds leatherworking tools, and there are piles of rolled-up leather on overhead shelves, reminding the visitor of the place’s original function.

And then there is the bar. One of the many things Nyitott Muhely excels at is tea. There are dozens of different types of teas, all in neat stacks of colourful boxes. Besides that (and other drinks), you can also get something hot to eat in the evening, as Laci often cooks something on his stove both for the guests and himself – sometimes it’s goulash, sometimes it’s pasta or chicken legs; but always a surprise. Those who don’t like the item on offer or arrive when there’s no hot food can always get hot or cold sandwiches.

A word of warning: Nyitott Muhely is a performance venue first, and an eating/drinking place only second. Therefore, if you happen to drop in while there’s an event going on, you’ll be asked to keep your voice down.

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Nyitott Muhely | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Music | Tea HUF 300
XII. Ráth György utca 4 | Central Buda | +3612140676
14:00 – 00:00 daily

Budapest is chock-full of gyros and falafel stands, many of which operate all night to service the roving bands of stout pub crawlers. Yet, I’m going to recommend Szinbád Büfé, which is an atypical example for closing late afternoon. “But Kalman, you dark horse, you,” – some of you, dear readers, might exclaim – “you got us all excited about the idea of nighttime cuisine! Why recommend a daytime-only place, then?”

Well, I recommend Szinbád because, simply put, the food is just so much better than elsewhere. You see, the food in many of these gyros places just tastes samey. Not bad, just rather indistinguishable from the food in all the other gyros places. That’s because (at least so I hear) all these places buy their stuff from the same central distributor, from the meat on the spit to the spices and sauces.

And that’s where Szinbád is different. The Syrian owner and his sons make all the food themselves on the spot, from original raw ingredients (except the baklava, but even that’s from some special source). As a result, their stuff has its own distinguishable – and very good – taste. So much so, in fact, that there people coming here from the very far end of the city, passing half a dozen other takeaways of a similar profile on the way.

Personal tip: try the grape leaves filled with rice and ground meat. Just be aware that it’s rather messy for finger food, so you might want to take it away and eat in in the vicinity of a bathroom.

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Szinbád Büfé | Snacks, Restaurants (Takeaway) | Meal HUF 500
XI. Kruspér utca 6-8 | Central Buda | +36203545390
10:00 – 19:00 daily

The word ’spa’ has taken on a connotation that infers a luxury treatment, which is why I call the Gellert a ‘bath’ rather than a ’spa’. Here, going to the baths is an important part of the culture, it is believed that the waters help with all kids of ailments.

Don’t expect fluffy towels and new age music- but this bath is definitely worth a visit! Budapest is the only large city built on thermal springs- there are 118 thermal springs in the city.

The Gellert baths are an Art Nouveau splendor. I love looking at the mosaics, stained glass and sculpture everywhere. The entrance to the baths works like it always did – which I find a bit confusing- you walk up to the window and get some small pieces of paper that prove you’ve paid the entrance, rented a cabin, ordered a massage, etc. The ladies standing around directing you where to go will check the papers. Massages happen in large rooms where others are receiving treatments, which was a surprise to me the first time- but this is the Gellert!

The indoor baths are perfect for warming up in winter, and I love the outdoor area with the wave pool in summer. There is a nice grassy area outside where you can sit and picnic- go earlier in the day as the place gets packed on hot summer days.

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The Gellert Baths | Art & culture, Relaxing | Entrance fee HUF 3,600
Kelenhegyi út 4-6 | Central Buda | +3614666166
06:00 – 18:00 daily