There was some shopping in Budapest for our part, also this time. We went to one of the city's shopping centres to buy shoes, and we also had a guided tour of the Great Market Hall. Here are some tips on malls, shopping streets and Hungarian delicacies.
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Shopping in Budapest
We like shopping in Budapest for several reasons. Firstly, the price situation is very good, even if the prices of exclusive goods may not differ much. The price index in Budapest in autumn 2019 is 61 according to the Forex metropolitan index, compared to Stockholm, which has an index of 100. Secondly, you can find a lot of shops that you can't find at home, which is always fun.
Shopping in the Westend shopping centre
On our first day in Budapest, we went to the Westend mall, which is a large shopping centre with more than 400 shops. You can usually take the metro here, but it was currently under repair. We could also have taken tram number 2, but we chose instead to walk along the Danube in the nice weather. Then we went shopping!
The mall contains many of the brands you are used to from Sweden, but also some chains that are more common abroad, such as Bershka and the shoe store CCC. In addition, on the ground floor there are a lot of small shops that are not part of a chain. Of course, there are also lots of eateries and cafés, as well as a cinema.
More shopping centres - Mammut and ÁrkÁd
We have been to Budapest before, and then we visited two other large shopping centres: Mammut and Árkád. Here you will also find lots of shopping, both chains and boutiques.
shopping street
Of course, you can also choose to do your shopping in Budapest on the city's shopping streets. Perhaps the two most famous shopping streets are Váci utca and Fashion street (Deák Ferenc utca). On the first you will find many international chains such as Zara and Mango, and on the second you will find more luxurious brands such as Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren.
For a more exclusive shopping experience, visit Andrassy Avenue, where you'll find brands such as Gucci, Burberry and Louis Vuitton. Also close to this street is Király útca, with design and interior design shops.
Great Market Hall in Budapest
It is also really interesting and exciting to visit the Great Market Hall of Budapest (Nagycsarnok). Located on Fővám tér, this impressive hall houses everything from fruit and meat to delicacies and gifts. Both locals and tourists find their way here. The locals may be browsing the food, while the tourists want to find gift-wrapped delicacies to take home.
We were guided through the large market hall by Zsófi Mautner, a famous food blogger in Hungary and author of 15 cookery books. Zsófi enthusiastically told us about all the food we could see in the market hall and about Hungarian food traditions. Fantastically interesting!
We started by looking around at all the colourful fruit and vegetable stands. Of course, we already knew that paprika is a popular vegetable and spice, but we also learned that Hungarians make extensive use of yellow peppers, chillies of various kinds, parsley root, beans and walnuts.
Hungary eats a lot of meat, with pork being the most popular. They also eat a lot of poultry, chicken of course, but also duck and goose. Zsófi explained that all parts of the animal are eaten, including the kidney, liver and testicles.
Then our guide pointed to a product that we had to google to understand what it was in Swedish. Muscle stomach is apparently an organ that birds and reptiles have. Very good, if you believe Zsófi.
Shopping in Budapest - Hungarian delicacies
There are lots of Hungarian delicacies in the market hall, and many are packaged in nice gift boxes. For example, you can buy paprika powder, tokaj wine, pálinka liquor, Unicum liquor or foie gras.
Foie gras in particular is a major product here and is sold in many shops, either in pieces or as mousse. If you want to make sure you're getting a lot of foie gras for your money, check the percentage on the tin. Saffron is also sold, but if it's cheap, chances are it's not genuine.
You will also find honey, marmalade, truffles, cheese and traditional Hungarian sausages. Most sausages are made from pork, but you can also buy sausages made from, for example, poultry or game meat. We got to try several sausages in one stand, very good!
In one stand we found ready-made spice kits for goulash soup, along with recipes. And yes, it was also available in Swedish! The price? 1200 HUF corresponds to about 38 kronor.
Downstairs in the market hall we found several stands with "happy pickles". Fermented vegetables are very popular, and these particular vegetables looked very happy! In several of the jars you can find "mini-melons", which we have never seen before.
Budapest Christmas market
If you find yourself in Budapest at Christmas time, you can also check out Budapest Christmas market, where you will find crafts, jewellery, toys and delicacies. At the Christmas market you can also try Hungarian specialities such as langos and 'chimney cakes', a kind of long twisted pastry.
Of course, if you need to warm up, there is also mulled wine and other hot drinks, such as the drink called "punsch" (not the same as punsch in Sweden) and non-alcoholic apple drink.
Was there any shopping in Budapest for us?
Yes, there was shopping in Budapest! I (Helena) needed really new winter shoes, as the ones I had were getting broken and letting water in. Even my handbag was broken. Perfect to be able to shop in Budapest!
Three pairs of new winter shoes/boots and a handbag for me. We found everything in the West End mall, at a reasonable price. Very happy with the shopping in Budapest!
More to see and do in Budapest
There is of course much more to What to see and do in Budapest. Don't miss the Hungarian baths and they Hungarian caves. You can also experience restaurants in Budapest and cafés in Budapest. Below you will find even more tips for experiences and activities, in Budapest and around Hungary.
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Good to know about shopping in Budapest
- Currency: Hungarian forint (HUF). 100 HUF is equivalent to approximately 3.17 euros (November 2019).
- Payment: Most shops take cards. It can be useful to have some cash, for small purchases at markets, visits to the toilet, etc.
galleries in Budapest
- West end, Váci út 1-3, Metro (M3) to Nyugati station
- Corvin Plaza, Futó utca 37-45, Metro (M3) to Ferenc körút.
- Arena Plaza, Kerepesi út 9, Metro (M2) to Keleti station
- Mammoth, Lövőház utca 2-6, Metro (M2) or tram 4 or 6 to Széll Kálmán tér.
- Árkád, Örs Vezér tere, Subway (M2) to Örs Vezér tere
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Ama de casa says:
I got an error response when I left the comment, so at the risk of being annoying, here it is again:
Shopping for clothes/shoes makes me cringe. I avoid it for the longest time, like until it's almost too late 😉.
Food and delicacies on the other hand, I really like that. There seemed to be a lot of fresh and fun stuff there 🙂.
24 November 2019 - 10:06
Helena says:
Food and delicacies are a little extra fun, I think so too. I think clothes are fun to shop sometimes, if I find something reasonably fast 😉 (Peter loves to shop for clothes ;)).
24 November 2019 - 17:02
bmlarstravellingblog says:
We really like market halls and the one in Budapest is no exception, if I remember correctly it has a cool architecture.
This is where I first became acquainted with langos some twenty years ago.
24 November 2019 - 16:55
Helena says:
Yes, the market hall is nice on the outside too! From the late 1800s or early 1900s, if I remember correctly.
24 November 2019 - 17:03
BP says:
Oh, I thought Täby Centrum and MoS were big malls. Westend is twice as big!!! In Budapest, the retail trade does not seem to be as much on its knees as here, which is gratifying.
The food market was lovely! What a selection and so heavenly appealing. "A little" bigger than Hötorget you could say.
Laughed at your shoe purchases. Remember the shoe rack you have in the houseboat... Hahaha:-)
I actually like shopping, but as a pensioner you automatically shop a little less, which is a shame really.
PS. Love Peter's jacket/coat or whatever you can call it. Soooo cool with orange. DS.
24 November 2019 - 17:20
Helena says:
Now I had to check out MoS, but you are right, Westend has significantly more shops! (Iofs many of the shops on the lower level are very small, so it's probably not twice as big). And the food market, yes we loved it! 🙂 And haha, the shoe shelf ... Yes, but I have not shopped for shoes for a long time, and many started to go bad 😉 Glad you like Peter's "garments"! 🙂
24 November 2019 - 19:45
Åsa says:
Hello!!! Going with my best friends to Budapest in March to celebrate my 50th birthday. Best place to have dinner? But also want to know how you got a guide to the market hall? How to do the best sightseeing. Guided bike tour? Last but not least - which bathhouse to go to if you only take one? Thankful for your answers. Have a great day!
09 January 2020 - 10:59
Helena says:
Hi Åsa! How nice to celebrate your 50th birthday in Budapest! 🙂 We have written about several really good restaurants here: https://www.freedomtravel.se/2019/12/restauranger-i-budapest/ Onyx and Aranykaviar, among others, were fantastic. Of course, these are relatively expensive restaurants, but on the other hand, you get much more for your money than you would in Sweden. As for the guided tour of the market hall, we did not book it ourselves (we were on a press trip, and they had booked this for us). However, I tried to google "guided tour Budapest market hall" and then you get several options. As for which sightseeing tours are the best, I can't answer that ... If you haven't seen it, we have collected most of our tips about Budapest here: https://www.freedomtravel.se/2019/12/gora-i-budapest/
11 January 2020 - 22:58