6 Best Places to Shop in Erzsébetváros (Elizabeth Town) and the Jewish Quarter, Budapest

Open every Sunday, this relaxed flea market is set in the Jewish District's main food hall. A regular assortment of stalls sell everything from old jewelry to Soviet-made watches, vintage cameras to communist-era household goods, making it a great source for rare souvenirs. It's all priced quite fairly, but most sellers are also willing to bargain. The market is officially open from 9 am to 4 pm, but stalls start packing up around 2:30 pm, so it's best to get there early.

For a uniquely Hungarian souvenir, check out this homegrown shoe company named for a beloved river that flows through eastern Hungary. The company is known for its rubber-soled shoes, boots, and sneakers, which were all the rage behind the Iron Curtain in the 1970s. Tisza soles were the basis for scores of "domestic" shoes back then as well, providing workers with sturdy and comfortable shoes in which to toil. New designs as well as heritage classics make the sneakers popular with the hipster crowd. You can also find them at Westend Shopping Center, but this shop in the 7th District is the original and the biggest.

It might seem like Hungarian fashion can't get out of its Central European comfort zone, with its heavy preference for monochrome. But costume designer and stylist Kriszta Szakos offers refreshingly vibrant, colorful knitted patterns for clothing and household decor. You can also find her work at Retrock, but this shop on Nyár utca offers a much wider range of her fashion collection as well as jewelry and clothing by other local designers.

Massolit Budapest Bookstore and Café is an excellent place to find rare English translations of books by Hungarian and other Central Eastern European writers. A popular meeting place with expats, it serves good coffee as well as delicious homemade cakes and cookies, and regularly hosts book launches, poetry readings, and literary events.

Printa is a local design house dedicated to offering modern, environmentally conscious fashion with Budapest flair. This store is part design shop, part art gallery, plus a screen-printing studio and café. You'll find one-of-a-kind pieces, some with vintage, repurposed elements; be sure to check out limited edition clothing collections and zero-waste products.

Located next to Szimpla Kert, Budapest's most famous ruin bar, this quirky shop is one of the easiest spots in town to find unique and interesting antiques, clothing, toys, furniture, and decor. With Szimpla Kert being famed for its eclectic style as well as recycled and upcycled wares, it makes sense that their design team would peddle lovingly restored and repurposed finds, along with works from other local designers. It's pricier than the dusty antiques stores you'll find dotted around town, but a safe choice for travelers.