Shopping, Markets

Before setting out, make sure you have your Budapest Card with you as you are entitled to reductions in a lot of shops.

Visit the shopping centers and markets, too.

The renovated Nagycsarnok (central market hall) on Fõvám tér (metro: Kálvin tér) is Budapest’s finest. There are some quite good food stalls on the upper level serving everything from Chinese spring rolls to enormous German sausages.

There are large supermarkets everywhere in Budapest including the Kaiser’s opposite Nyugati train station in Pest. Rothschild is another large chain. Its branch at VII Nyár utca 1, at the Nyugati train station and at the Jaszai Mari square sells kosher products only.

Shopping Tips If you do not have much time, it is best to go to the inner city though it may be expensive (Váci utca, Petõfi Sándor utca, Régiposta utca, Haris köz, Párizsi utca, Kigyó utca). If you have more time, walk along Kossuth Lajos utca, Rákóczi út, Károly kõrút, Múzeum körút, Szent István körút, Erzsébet and József körút. Recommended gifts and souvenirs are: folk art goods, ceramics, embroideries, dolls in folk costume, hand-painted "Herend" porcelain, "Halas" lace, Zsolnay porcelain, books, CDs, antiques, red paprika, goose liver, Pick salami, apricot and cherry brandy, wines.

Major folk art stores: V., Váci u. 14. and VIII., József krt. 78. Both sell high-quality articles made by folk artists only.

For records, musical scores, cassettes, CDs the best place to go to is the Rózsavölgyi Music Store (V., Szervita tér 5.).

An excellent foreign language bookshop is in Párisi Arcade (V., Petõfi S. u. 2.), where you can also buy photo books about Budapest and Hungary, maps and CDs.

The exclusive Helikon Bookstore (VI., Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 37.) is also a pleasant place to relax, where you can browse foreign language publications, art books and foreign translations of Hungarian authors over a cup of coffee.

Speciality stores selling world-famous Herend porcelain: V., József nádor tér 11. and V., Kígyó u. 3.

On purchasing valuable paintings and works of art see Museums, galleries. If you like antiques, Budapest is the right place for you. Some tips: Antik Bazár (V., Váci u. 67.), Antik Diszkont (V., Falk Miksa u. 22.), Antik Udvar (V., Szent István krt. 1.), Enterieur Antikvitas (I., Országház u. 2.). BÁV Trading House has the largest number of outlets and speciality stores. Jewellery, paintings, gifts: V., Bécsi u. 1-3. Works of art,paintings, furniture: V., Párizsi u. 2. Gifts, carpets: V., Ferenciek tere 5. Antiques, porcelain, paintings: V., Kossuth Lajos u. 1. Weapons: V., Semmelweis u. 15. Coins: VII., Károly krt. 3/A.

When you are looking for gifts, don’t forget about wine shops: Borház (VI., Jókai tér 7.), Budapest Bortársaság (I., Batthyány u. 59. free tasting on Saturdays), Le Sommelier (V., Régiposta u. 14.), Magyar Borok Háza (I., Szentháromság tér 6. Full range of Hungarian quality wines.) Budapest Wine City Budapest (V., Párizsi u. 1.).

+ one more idea If you search for something little, why don’t you go into Szamos Marzipan Shop (V., Haris köz). Their stuff does deserve the fame it enjoys.

Market’s You should drop into one of the twenty markets of Budapest. The largest, the "larder" of the city, a favourite tourist destination is the Grand Market Hall. The Lehel Market (XIII., Lehel tér) is mainly open, and you can visit it on Sunday morning as well.

If you like curiosities, look around the two flee markets. The bigger is called Ecseri: XIX., Nagykõrösi út 156. Open: 08.00-16.00 Mon-Fri M3 Határ út, then Bus 154. The other is outside Petõfi Hall in the City Park. Open: 07.00-17.00 Sat-Sun.

NONSTOP FLOWER SHOPS: On either side of Szent István krt. at the Margaret bridge (Margit híd) on the Pest side are two flower shops that are open 24 hours

SOUVENIRS
CHILL S HERD SHOP
XIV. Dózsa György út 17. T. 343-9197 Open, Tu: Fri., noon-7 p.m., Sat, 11 am: 7 p.m. Closed on Mon. Cigarette papers, rolling papers, pipes, and much more...

VIDEO
VIDEO MANIA -MULTI LANGUAGE VIDEO SHOP ENGLISH AND HUNGARIAN
VI. Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 57. T. 332-4367 Fax. 312-3859. Sun. to Thurs. 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 10 a.m.-midnight. Take Ml to Nyugati or the 4-6 Tram.