Only locals know
Farger – for a good start to a long day
This cosmopolitan place is crowded from seven in the morning. There are sandwiches, salads, cookies and excellent coffee. Its French-sounding name should not be pronounced in the French way: it is a combination of the first syllables of the two owners’ names, so say ‘Far-Ger’ (faahr-gher). Free Wi-Fi, needless to say. (Zoltán utca 18, corner of Szabadság tér, District V)
Molnár’s Kürtőskalács shop – a sweet delicacy
This is a brand new café and home made ice-cream shop on Váci utca, with the Székely specialty Kürtőskalács: ‘festival cake’. Initially this dessert was made for weddings, baptisms or the reception of important guests, after baking bread over hot embers. Later wise people realised that the hot sticky caramelised layer of melted sugar could easily be sprinkled with chopped walnut, making it even more delicious. Try one of the eight most popular flavours: vanilla, cinnamon, walnut, almond, chocolate, coconut, cocoa and poppy-seed. Once you try one you won’t be able to get enough! (Váci utca 31, District V)
Web: www.kurtoskalacs.com
A pump-room pavilion, by the Széchenyi Baths
A pavilion to drink medicinal waters, and to ponder their positive effects. A notable example of the mix of old and new is this new pump-room to the left of the main entrance of the Széchenyi Baths: the entrance facing Vajdahunyad Castle. Connoisseurs of the city know that this is simply a very welcome re-creation of the old pavilion of 1939.
Unusual photo shot from the top of Gellért Hill
The oversized hotels on the Pest riverbank are a blot on the cityscape which may last for centuries. You can ‘remove them’ if you take a picture while descending Gellért Hill. Then the hotels are just the right size, and the Basilica can flaunt its majestic dome, no longer dwarfed by its immediate neighbours.
How to take a picture with the bridges aligned one behind the other
This is a favourite subject of photographers for coffee-table albums. It is possible to take a photo like this from the panorama terrace of the Royal Castle, from in front of the equestrian statue, looking to your right: you will be able to line up Elisabeth, Liberty and Petőfi bridges. The other option is the lesser-known Árpád Lookout Tower. It is best to get there by bus Number 11 and then walk up Látóhegyi út from the terminus. Then even the Chain Bridge can be included.
The ‘Drop’ on the roof of Andrássy út No. 9
The fabulous 360o panorama deck of the Basilica is a great photo opportunity. A not obvious shot for you is a most unusual roof structure added to a neo-Renaissance building in 1993, Andrássy út No. 9. It is as if God allowed a huge raindrop to fall from heaven, saying: ‘Let there be a boardroom.’ And there came to be a boardroom atop this building. It was designed by Eric van Egeraat, an architect based in Rotterdam and Budapest.
Napoleon near the Opera House
This Art Nouveau block, with three façades, should really be seen from a distance, but it is built in a very narrow street. High above, in the middle of the façade, the figure of Napoleon looks down on passers-by in the pedestrianised street. (Hajós utca 25, near the Opera, District VI) All along the Andrássy avenue there are beautiful decorated portals as well. Watch them carefully.
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