Central Pest – Local tips (shopping)

Arioso is a coffee-, furniture- and flowershop very close to Deák Ferenc Square. It’s a small, friendly place where you can sit down in the middle of the day for a tea and a hot sandwich, or maybe a salad, and have some peace away from the rush of the street. Besides the street front area, Arioso also has an even mellower garden in the back, open whenever the weather is nice.

They also have furniture and other home decoration elements like candelabras for sale, and if you walk a few meters down the street, you’ll find the Arioso flower shop (which is where the photo was taken) with a wide selection of really elegant potted and vase plants, bouquets and the like.

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Arioso | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks | Tea HUF 350
VII. Király utca 9 | Central Pest | +3612663555
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 16:00

Bestsellers is an international bookshop in downtown Pest, not far from St. Stephen’s Basilica that I’ve been going to for years. It was the first English language bookshop in Budapest.

It’s not too small but not too big either. It has a good selection of English and French books all the way from fiction to business, history and art, travel or children’s books and of course books on Hungary. Some German and Spanish books can be found as well.

Those staying in Budapest longer can also place book orders through Bestsellers. They might be able to order out of print books as well. They don’t do home delivery, you’ll have to go to the shop to pick it up. Besides books they also offer a selection of international magazines and newspapers as well as some greeting cards in English.

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Bestsellers | Shopping
Október 6. utca 11. | Central Pest | +3613121295
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 18:30, Sat 10:00 – 17:00, Sun 10:00 – 16:00

Antique shops and galleries of all size and content with treasures of various styles and age (and price tag) – paintings, furniture, jewellery, textiles, ceramics and glass, folk art… all that is the world of Falk Miksa street and its surroundings.

There are more than 50 shops and galleries in the street itself or in the neighbouring streets that will take you to another world, regardless whether you are a serious collector, just window shopping or looking for that little something to take home.

Twice a year there is an open air event taking place in the street, a Falk Art Forum – an antique and contemporary art festival. Galleries and the street itself open their doors to concerts and different programs.

Elite design on No. 14 and Antik Zsolnay on No. 28 offer some art nouveau Zsolnay ceramics and some designed by János Török and other Hungarian designers for Zsolnay in the 1960s and 70s. In Montparnasse on No. 17 you can check some great art deco furniture, in Wladis Gallery on No. 13 contemporary silver jewellery, in Anna Antikvitás on No. 18 the antique embroidery, in Virág Judit Galéria on No. 30 the Hungarian paintings of the 19th and 20th century… Just have a walk and see where it leads you.

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Falk Miksa street | Art & culture, Shopping
Falk Miksa u. | Central Pest
Generally Mon – Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 13:00 (14:00)

Hold means Moon, so it is already worth visiting. But not a lot of people are aware of the fact that there is a market quite hidden from the tourists’ eyes here.

You can find the delicious goods of the countryside (milk, cheese not the superficial ones in the stores) and fresh vegetables and fruits. It is also possible to have a dinner here if you like traditional Hungarian cuisine with a lot of fat.

Do not forget to open your eyes to the beauty of the building it has the exactly same style as the “Nyugati palyaudvar” (Western Railway Station) just in green. Some of the tourists are even posing the question if it is a railway station as well, but the size of it can guide you to the right answer.

The milk and cheese seller at the back on the left (if you enter from Hold utca) is really nice. They always have fresh yoghurt in different flavours.

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Hold utca | Art & culture, Shopping
Hold utca 13 | Central Pest
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 13:00

There is a very special little gallery in the Pest’s 5th district, in a quiet Vitkovics street, by the name of atelier Holló. You will find it in the beautiful neoclassical house from app. 1800 with a “Zopf” style front, typical only for central Europe. Not many of those are left in Budapest and this may as well be the last one.

Studio has a lovely shop selling hand painted and hand carved wooden furniture and other crafts. Everywhere you look you will see colourful flowers and birds covering the chairs, hope chests, jewellery boxes, candle-holders, mirrors and other decoration. The lively motives have their roots in the rich Hungarian folk art and yet they are unlike any other.

László Holló is the owner and craftsman behind the studio that builds on the rich family tradition dating back to 1929. Feel free to ask him anything, he is fun to talk to. He can also customise any of the products for you. The place is my favourite for buying presents or just stopping by to see what’s there and enjoy the atmosphere.

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Holló Műhely | Art & culture, Shopping
Vitkovics Mihály u. 12. | Central Pest | +3612669410
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 13:00 & 13:30 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 13:00 & 13:30 – 14:00

This small shop which is inside the Klauzal ter market is the best chance to get some “semi-antique” staff for a moderate price in the area.

With semi-antique” I mean nothing older than 1940. Obviously if you are lucky you can find some older stuff here but you have to know that almost all of the things are submitted here by local pensioners who are struggling with financial problems or homeless people who found this stuff in the trash bins. But everything is safe, nice and clean you do not have to be afraid.

It is a good spot for people interested in porcelain tea pots and cups from the 50s or to get some old school socialist memorabilia for some hundred forints.

You have to know that the staff is not really familiar with English but they will try to help you if you point on any of the objects in the shop.

Saturday early afternoon can be a good time for a visit.

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Market antique store | Art & culture, Shopping
Klauzal ter market | Central Pest
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 16:00, Sat 10:00 – 13:00

This store is half way on being a tourist attraction but just to pop in for a while can be fun.

The prices are quite high: do not expect to find the treasures of the past fifty years here for some hundred forints. Instead of that you can get an idea about what you can find on the flea markets held usually during the weekends.

Mr. Maj himself can be quite interesting also. He usually sits in his armchair the whole day long, sometimes occupied by phone calls so long that if you want to pay, he just writes down the price on a piece of paper. If you like it, just borrow his pen and put a tick next to the price or cross it and write a new one under it. But do not forget: he is not really flexible. Ten percent less does not exist at all.

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Mr. Maj | Art & culture, Shopping
Klauzál utca 1 | Central Pest
Opening times changing all the time

The truth is I like chocolate and even more I like marzipan. If you fit the category or you are simply looking for a nice place to rest and have a cup of coffee or to shop for traditional Hungarian desserts the chance is you will like the Szamos Marcipán confectionery.

You can find several Szamos confectioneries and stores in the city but my favourite is the Royal Café on the Great Boulevard (Nagy körút), the one next to the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal (a beautiful hotel by itself whose spa is very well worth enjoying as well).

Royal Café Szamos is a traditional Hungarian pastry and coffeehouse with cakes, confectioneries, coffee and hot chocolate, breakfast and snacks. The atmosphere tries to bring some of the old monarchy feeling (Sacher hot chocolate and coffee might contribute to that) and their website will tell you more about their story. You can also buy their marzipan sweets and chocolate gifts either in the cafe or in another store just a few steps further away, on the other side of the hotel entrance.

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Royal Café Szamos | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks | Cake HUF 350.00
Erzsébet krt. 43-49 | Central Pest | +3614137968
10:00 – 20:00 daily

Heaven for music lovers (and shoppers, of course) is a music shop on Szervita square, Rózsavölgyi and Partner. Established in 1850, it offers new and antique – more than 18000 music sheets, many first editions, music related books, librettos, music education materials for children and of course a huge amount of music recordings (CDs, DVDs, LPs) featuring Hungarian and international composers and performers, spanning all across classical, opera, musical, film, jazz, gospel, klezmer, folk, rock, pop music…

Many vinyl collections from the 70s as well. When the present shop on Szervita square was opened in 1912 it was the largest music shop in central Europe.

I always find it exciting to dig into the piles of music sheets to find some old editions or something challenging me to run home to open the piano again and play. Not to mention those great recordings that are just too difficult to resist. All kinds of treasures are hidden there.

You can also search and shop some of their online offers, unfortunately their website is at the moment only available in Hungarian but it may still give you a glimpse of what’s there.

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Rózsavölgyi | Music, Shopping
Szervita tér 5 | Central Pest | +3613183500
Mon – Fri 09:30 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 17:00

Handmade quality chocolate, all forms and tastes that a real connoisseur can dream of. Pralines and table chocolates are just the top of the iceberg. Personally I am a big fan of (dark) chocolates, I don’t even want to hide my enthusiasm.

The shop is really small where the design and the lights create a calm atmosphere that accentuates the bitter-clean smell of chocolate and cocoa beans. I’m still in the phase of tasting various pralines, certainly I can recommend all of the flavours but I wouldn’t miss the lemon-oil caramel bonbon at no cost. The sweets are wrapped in stylish wrappers or put in design-boxes.

Chocolate can also be used as raw material to create artworks: chocolate sculptures, boxes or “rusty tools” show the skills of the craftsmen and -women. Eating these beautiful pieces of art would be blasphemy! Well, hard times sometimes bring the heretic out of the chocolate believer.

The street where the shop is located is currently undergoing a major transformation, it is about to turn into a pedestrian street by 2010. Until then be prepared for a huge ditch in the middle of the street leaving only a narrow stripe of the sidewalk on each side. You’ve got to watch out not to walk past the shop, look for the chocolate brown shop front.

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Rózsavölgyi Chocolate | Shopping, Snacks | Box of bonbons HUF 3250
Királyi Pál utca 6 | Central Pest | +36305044294
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 11:30 & 12:00 – 18:30, Sat 10:00 – 11:30 & 12:00 – 15:00

Siptár is a cute little shop near Deák square. A brand Siptár is a clothing line by Hungarian designer Réka Siptár. In the shop you will find dresses, t-shirts, trousers and skirts for women and children. They are brightly colourful, with swirly floral or geometric motives, hand dyed and drawn on batiked, natural materials. They are also practical and comfortable to wear besides, of course, being pretty.

You will also see a multitude of corresponding hats, shawls, handbags, hair accessories as well as something for your home, such as pillow cases and bedspreads. All from velvet, cotton or linen. Have fun!

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Siptár | Shopping
Károly krt. 10 | Central Pest | +3612660841
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 14:00

Tasenka is a shop featuring many young Hungarian designers. The shop owner Zsuzsi Perlaki is a bag designer herself and makes bags from almost anything and combination of everything – rubber, canvas, wool, fur, plastic, patterned textiles… You can also order a custom designed bag personalised for your needs and wishes. Besides their own bags they sell international brands as well.

In the shop you will also find a great mixture of accessories such as jewelery, hand knitted caps and shawls plus some clothes as well. Some second hand bags available. Definitely fun to go through it all.

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Tasenka | Shopping
Dob u. 2. | Central Pest | +3613448444
Mon – Wed & Fri 11:00 – 18:00, Thu 12:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 14:00

Well, many of us (those who are old enough) remember the traditional toys made of plate (cars, airplanes, etc), the cardboard cutout heroes, the musical boxes, the teddy bears in all sizes, the dolls made of porcelain, the puppets, the wood cubes and many more.

All of these can be bought in this tiny shop which is also an exhibition room (probably the smallest). If you are looking for a particular toy it’s better to look around on the website of the shop or ask it from the experienced vendor because you might not find it in the exhibition-case.

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Toys Anno Shop | Shopping
Teréz körút 54. | Central Pest | +3613026234
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat 09:00 – 13:00

Treehugger Dan’s Bookstore & Café is owned – very appropriately – by “Treehugger” Dan Swartz, an avid local environmental activist. As such, the selection of second-hand books includes quite a few titles on enviromentalism, politics, sociology and the like. Dan also uses the venue for various public lectures and events, such as “Free Independent Financial Advice” and “Greenpeace Friday”.

The place’s name includes “& Café” for a reason. It offers a selection of tasty Fair Trade teas and coffees, which you can drink in the back of the store at two tiny tables – don’t plan on bringing more than 3 friends!

Treehugger Dan also has two other venues in Budapest: a larger one in Lázár Street (just behind the Opera house), which also acts as a tourist information centre as well as a regular venue for Budapest’s premier English-language poetry reading series, The Bardroom; and a third place at Süto Street 2.

Besides selling used books, Dan also buys them, but only at the Csengery Street location.

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Treehugger Dan’s | Coffee & tea, Shopping | Books HUF 900
VI. Csengery utca 48 | Central Pest | +3613220774
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 17:00

Két mackó (Two Teddy Bears) is a cute, small artisan toy shop, pleasantly hidden at Károlyi Gardens. It offers plenty of creative and interesting toys of all kinds of forms and colours, made of wood, textile, paper and clay. You will also find board and outdoor games, puppets, illustrations, decor and much more… and all that will either make you feel young at heart and try things out yourself or solve your gift shopping problems.

There are also many “building games” where you can mould your building material in a very simple way and create whatever you want. Those are, I believe, difficult to resist to, no matter what your age is. I also find the cardboard theatre interesting, accompanied by all kinds of puppets, big or small.

As you can see I have plenty of gift solutions for my niece that I can most happily end up playing with, whether she likes it or not Designs are by Hungarian designers and independent artists and all the toys seem environmentally friendly. No electronics and no plastics there either.

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Two Teddy Bears | Art & culture, Shopping
Magyar utca 18 | Central Pest | +3612660928
Tue – Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 14:00