The historical Jewish district – Paul Street Tours

Pest’s 7th district is in my opinion one of the nicest, best-looking areas of the city. Formerly the Jewish district – and part of it the Jewish ghetto during World War 2 -, it has undergone many changes in the last half century, but still has lots of nice architecture, and probably the greatest density of synagogues in all of… I don’t know, probably Europe. Some of it is in excellent condition, other parts are sadly ran-down, but all of it is quite full of urban history and moofy little streets.

Now, if you like exploring quaint cities, you’ll probably wish to learn a bit more about the area than what’s in the guidebooks, and there’s a guy who can deliver just the information you want, and do it really well. Jeff Taylor of Paul Street Tours is an American expat who’s an academic expert on history, arts, architecture, and his specialty happens to be the historical period when much of Budapest reached the ‘classic’ look it still retains today. He also lived in this very district for quite a while, and can point out many interesting locations that you just won’t find in any book.

Jeff does appointment-only private walking tours of the 7th district (and other areas as well). I’ve been to his tour once, and even as a Pest resident of a decade and a half, I found it really engaging, understandable, full of interesting stuff I didn’t know, and wandering into areas (both physically and metaphorically) that another tour guide would have steered away from. You probably hate kitsch tourist trap bus tours with the same burning passion I do, but this really is something different.

Paul Street Tours don’t have a street office, you have to make reservations on phone or email (see the website).

Details about this spot (Show on map)
The historical Jewish district | Art & culture | Per hour for small groups HUF 25 Euros per hour for groups up to 3, 30 Euros per hour for larger, regardless of numbers
Deák Ference Square (starting point tour) | Central Pest | +36209335240
See the website to make a reservation