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We've compiled the best of the best in Hungary - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Located within an ornate 19th century building centered around a charming courtyard, Paloma brings together a collective of local designers to showcase their handicrafts. The small boutiques are run by the designers themselves and sell all manner of creative designs, including handbags, ceramics, jewelry, stationery, and children's toys. The space also hosts regular contemporary art exhibitions.
Master wood craftsman László Holló has resurrected traditional motifs and styles of earlier centuries to create the beautiful handicrafts on sale in this shop. You'll find lovely hope chests, chairs, jewelry boxes, candlesticks, Easter eggs, and more—all hand-carved and hand-painted with cheery folk motifs (most commonly birds and flowers in reds, blues, and greens).
A trip to Budapest wouldn't be complete without a visit to this spectacular grand food hall, a 19th-century iron-frame construction that was reopened in the mid-1990s after years of renovation. Pictures on the east wall show the history of this market, when it was Budapest's central location for meat and produce coming in from the countryside. Even during the leanest years of Communist shortages, the abundance of food came as a revelation to shoppers from East and West.
Like most markets in Hungary, seasonal products prevail: in summer tomatoes and peaches are abundant; in November celeriac and pumpkin. The stalls on the ground floor sell meat and produce as well as prepared food. This is the place to buy Hungarian delicacies such as piquant salamis, robust paprika, and buttery goose or duck liver pâtés. Upstairs is filled with folk-art vendors, souvenir shops, and a few fast-food kiosks. Handmade tablecloths, painted boxes, and traditional embroidery are the best buys among the handicrafts. For the full experience, go morning or midday in the week, as its only opened until 3 on Saturday and closed on Sunday.
The city base of this design studio, run by a couple in the town of Szentendre, showcases cool, modern Hungarian and European design and homewares, from lamps to cutlery, bowls to pans.
