True, Újpest is a bit out of centre, it looks like a small town in the countryside with dusty wattles on the side of the road. But this is just the thing which gives it its charm and the true local feeling. You can be sure, there are no tourists around, it’s a locals-only market.

I live quite close so it’s obvious for me to do the shopping here every now and then. For those coming from downtown, the blue metro line takes you as close as a block away.

There are three buildings: the big market hall, the connecting side wing and the separate dome. The hall is full of tables with piles of vegetables, fruits and eggs, while on the side various shops sell meat, pastries, dairy products and pickled vegetables. I was always wondering why there were supermarket-like shops, maybe it’s some weird tradition. The side wing has shops but no stands, the dome offers one important shop selling fish.

After a long and exhausting shopping spree there is nothing better than a fried sausage or meat along with some pickled vegetables, and a “fröccs” to help you digest. All this is available at the back of the main building.

The “new main square” project of Újpest includes the market area, you can already enjoy the positive changes of the expanded public spaces.

Now go and see for yourself. It’s worth the trip!

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Újpest market | Shopping, Snacks | Strawberries (1kg) HUF 999
Szent István tér | Outer Pest
Mon – Fri 06:00 – 17:00, Sat 06:00 – 14:00

Wekerle Estate is a calm, green island in the rushing city, the living example of the garden city movement, with the added spice of Károly Kós‘s “Transsylvanian style”. Some of Budapest’s biggest roads frame the area, but heavy traffic luckily avoids these neat streets.

The end of the 19th century saw a boom in the number of Budapest residents. Housing developments could not keep up with population trends, thus the mayor, István Bárczy created a concept together with the architect Róbert Fleischl to build a separate estate for those in need. Enjoying the support of prime minister Sándor Wekerle, the project was carried out from 1908 to 1925 resulting in the construction of 4412 new apartments. In a few decades the city incorporated the estate, still, the rural atmosphere has been preserved until today.

Lots of trees (50,000 were planted during the constructions), small gardens, beautiful architecture – it is easy to fall in love with the place. Architecturally the area is very compact and integral, yet the buildings don’t look the same. Those were the good old days, when state intervention meant “getting things done properly”. I wish today’s developments would take Wekerle as an example.

Once it counted as the “faraway outskirts”, now it is pretty close to the city center with good transport connections. And you thought you actually had to move out of the city to live in a village?

Check out more photos here.

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Wekerle Estate | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Kós Károly tér | Outer Pest
24 hours daily

The existence of this beach is a business miracle because no one seems to know about it. I spotted it by accident on a lonely bike trip around the natural side of Újpest in the 4th district. There isn’t much information to be found about the spot, neither online nor in the real world, which explains why only a few guests are around whenever I go to swim. Just be self confident and don’t turn back if you find a bunch of ships waiting to be repaired. Yes, it’s the dirt road running along the river that will bring you to the entrance.

The beach itself is pretty small, reaches from the bank of the Danube toward Váci road starting with the buffet and the colorful changing rooms. The orange building makes a nice contrast with the blue pool that’s surrounded by a hedge from 3 sides. The pool was apparently designed for bathing rather than swimming but it’s still enjoyable and there’s a tiny pool the size of a bigger bathtub for children too. The rest of the area is covered with grass, extra services include a volleyball court, football field, table tennis and three little cabins for rent.

The whole atmosphere is really chilly, the furniture, the design, the music coming from the speakers bring you back to the „good old days”. Don’t expect too much English knowledge, it would just ruin the sixties-feeling anyway.

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Duna Beach & Sunbathing Park | Relaxing | Entry fee HUF 1000
Üdülő sor 3. | Outer Pest | +3612333482
08:00 – 18:00 daily

Pótkulcs is a bar, club and restaurant popular with the bohemian crowd, full of laid-back vibes, but rather crowded sometimes. Located a few minutes’walk from Nyugati train and metro station, it has a garden completely separated from the street by a wall, as well as indoor seating – and some of the fussball tables so ubiquitous in these kinds of places.

Personally, I find the garden to be my favourite part of the locale. There’s nothing objectively special about it, but it’s cozy, charming, and has just enough grass that isn’t covered by chairs and tables. In fact, it has such a nice ambience that once I’ve stayed there late at night just to watch a game of Bridge unfold – and I can’t even play Bridge!

One thing that separates Pótkulcs from many similar venues is that you can get some hot food here, making it a good stopping point on a late night crawl. You’ll need to walk a few minutes from and back to the nearest public transport, but that has the added bonus of clearing a bit of the alcohol haze from your head.

Do note that this is a smokers-friendly place, and the air can get rather thick even in the garden, so if you’re sensitive to cigarette smoke, you might want to go give the place a miss.

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Pótkulcs | Bars, Restaurants (Central-Eastern Eur.) | Beer HUF 450
Csengery utca 65/b | Outer Pest | +3612691050
Sun – Wed 17:00 – 01:30, Thu – Sat 17:00 – 02:30

If you approach Margit Island from the south – via Margit Bridge -, you’ll see a public fountain, with a large, rather strange-looking statue standing close to it. If you have a taste for the bizarre, you’ll find this statue worth checking out.

Built in 1972 to commemorate the ’73 centenary of the unification of Pest, Buda and Óbuda (and thus the formation of Budapest proper), this large metal spiral is… well, hard to describe. I know for a fact some people find it awesome, and I imagine some might find it absolutely hideous. Personally, I’ve decided after much thinking that I find it “weird”, but I’m happy I checked it out after a friend’s rave about it.

It’s hard to give a good description of these two embellished spiral towers that have countless plaques and items emerging from their surface, so all I’ll say is you should go there – the scary-ugly passageway leading to the island from the tram stop will emotionally prime you for the experience – and have a look. And if you find any hidden message in the teddy bear, the stick hand grenades, the candelabra and “Revolution! Revolution! Revolution!” sign, do tell me about it.

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Centenary Memorial Statue | Art & culture | Free
South end of Margit-sziget | Outer Pest
24 hours daily

Whatever signs and parents say, playgrounds are not only for children. Your waist might be a bit too wide for the slide or the swing but does playtime end if you have a grown-up body? Definitely not. Trying out toys, enjoying the sunlight or the green shades under the chestnut trees are serious matters that kids shouldn’t deal with.

There’s this small alley that connects Városligeti fasor with Benczúr utca where the houses encircle a park trapped in a cage. Many parks in the city are surrounded by fences like this e.g. Szent István park or Károlyi Kert, probably to prevent hooligans and homeless people from entering during the night. Makes sense but we don’t care about the sense of it, do we? At least I’m more upset when I face a closed park gate.

The playground is supposed to be open from 07:00 to 19:00 but I didn’t find it closed later in the evening so it’s worth a try, playgrounds without children are much better anyway. (If you think likewise and you’re looking for some chilling, I suggest to avoid the playground in the afternoon hours.)

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Benczúr köz playground | Relaxing | Free
Benczúr köz | Outer Pest
07:00 – 19:00 daily

Every once in a while you may feel like you want to get out of the city, not too far, just to feel the green love of Mother Nature. Although Buda is greener with all its hills, the Pest side also has a forest to discover – Farkaserdő.

While the name suggests this forest would be the home of wolves, I haven’t met any yet. But there is a variety of tree and forest types ranging from a dark oak forest to a clear, mixed poplar and pine park forest. On the Western side of the forest there is a swampy open area, a nature reserve which you can cross using the network of narrow paths.

Geographically this side of the city belongs to the Pest plain and is built on sand. You can explore all the original natural features of a sandy plain here without having to travel far away.

The forest is just the right place for running, biking, it has a little technical track for mountain bikers (and there’s also a bike park nearby, at the crossing of Farkaserdő and Óceánárok streets). In late spring I usually come here to pick some elderflowers and acacia flowers, put them in water for a few days and they make a wonderful drink. If the weather allows, you can use the fireplaces available for grilling.

Click here for more photos.

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Farkaserdő | Relaxing | Free
Farkaserdő utca | Outer Pest
24 hours daily

Just nearby the Keleti Station you’ll find the biggest park of downtown Budapest but don’t be surprised if you find some tombs there too – it is a cemetery after all. I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I compared it to Pere Lachaise in Paris – a spacey, green island where amongst thousands of others the great men of Hungarian history are buried. The cemetery was established in 1847 and officially opened on the 1st of April 1849. Opening times change every month, however, if you go between 07.30 and 17.00 it’ll be open in all seasons.

No wonder it is called a ‘garden’ – the first time I visited the place I was really surprised to find monuments, trees and green fields rather than tombs. Check out some photos here. Such a calm park, and although some might find it odd, I like to hang out there, walk around, sit on a bench contemplating or even enjoying the sun. The cemetery even features a museum that exhibits mourning and burial accessories.

Best time of the year to visit the cemetery is spring or autumn, when nature is at its best to provide beautiful scenery for a long, quiet walk: either harsh green with the colourful spots of blooming trees and flowers or the decadence and last dance of falling leaves. Beauty, not grief makes you cry.

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Fiumei Road Cemetery Garden | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Fiumei út 16 | Outer Pest | +3613235100
07:30 – 17:00 daily

Népsziget ranks among the least known Budapest beauties. It is nothing more than a calm, tucked-away, fishermen’s favorite peninsula, off Újpest-Városkapu metro stop on line 3 (you can also get off at Gyöngyösi utca the stop before). No one lives there permanently, except for a MAV retired man who raises goats in his backyard…

During the summer season (and not only then), there’s some camping sites open as well as a few Goa-party places (most of them boat-shaped!). And there is also some kind of abandoned house where it’s not really clear what kind of business takes place there. The sight of the sun raising and setting on the Danube is particularly beautiful on Népsziget. Go there till it’s still time! The face of Nepsziget might change altogether soon: there are talks about developing a big real estate complex here…

Right now Népsziget is perfect for a good beer, a nice walk, for camping (there is actually a cool camping where you can drink some very nasty stuff) or make a goulash party, a Sunday picnic, or go fishing!

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Népsziget | Coffee & tea, Relaxing
Népsziget | Outer Pest
24 hours daily

Budapest is the only thermal capital city in continental Europe. That – along with a few other things – makes it special. The city underground is full of thermal sources and a good dozens of them are used in spa complexes of very different categories.

The bath culture is an essential element of the Hungarian lifestyle. Budapest has sumptuous spas – where relaxation, wellness, architectural grandeur and centuries-long history meet. Gellért, Széchenyi, Rudasn Lukács and Király rank among the most visited.

But the spa tradition is not only an elite thing: there is a bath for everyone in Budapest. With an average salary of about € 400.00 a month, who can actually afford a week-end ticket to the Gellért (€ 16.00)? So let me introduce you to Dandár, one of the cheapest Budapest spas!

It’s a totally low-key place, which was used as a public bath for the poor workers of Ferencváros (the 9th district). It was renovated in the 70′s and many of its current customers come here for medical treatments as the thermal water is said to be of top quality.

Dandár has only two small pools with thermal water (35° and 38° Celsius degrees), another 20° pool, a Finnish sauna and that’s all! It’s not really possible to swim: the limited facilities (including massages however) allow you to concentrate on the essential: yourself and the water! It has a very very local taste, if you feel the soul of a spa explorer, go for Dandár but only in that case!

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Dandár fürdő (spa) | Relaxing | Entrance HUF 1400
Dandár utca 5-7 | Outer Pest | +3612157084
Mon – Fri 06:00 – 20:00, Sat 06:00 – 14:00