5 Budapest Shopping Tips

Shopping in Budapest, if you must...

One day I was riding the 4-6 tram on the körút when two Italian girls asked me where they should go shopping in Budapest; I was at a lost for what to tell them. But after thinking about it, I decided to compile my 5 tips for shopping in Budapest, if you need to go holiday shopping or just buy little Hungarian gifts for your family and friends back home.

Here goes:

1. Buying little "thoughts" for friends, colleagues, etc. - go local!
If they don't live here, I suggest buying them something Hungarian, like the little "bomb" bottles of Unicum, a small link of Pick Téli Salami, lovely sweets from Szamos Marcipán, or a good bottle of Hungarian red, which you can still find for about 2,000 forints.

Buying people 100 grams of a nice tea (can you say "Lapsang Souchong"?) is also a great little gift - each package will set you back about 1,000 forints. Find a Demmer's Tea House near you! (Demmer's 2 locations: II. Fény u. 1., tel: (+36-1) 345 4150; VI. Podmaniczky u. 14., tel: (+36-1) 302 5674)

Wander around the open air markets at the Grand Market Hall (Nagy Vásárcsarnok) or during the holiday season at Christmas markets at Vörosösmarty or Jókai Squares (the latter behind Oktogon). Buy a handmade tablecloth or an animal hide vest from one of the traditionally-dressed peasant women who've brought their wares all the way from Transylvania (the village off Szék). Don't be boring, barter! You'll be glad you did.

Check out the artsy WAMP handcraft market, which is now a mainstay for those looking for funky stuff from Hungarian artisans. www.wamp.hu

A shop called "Bolt" (Shop - Kertész utca 42-44) offers up an eclectic collection of t-shirts, bicycle tire belts, snakeskin gloves and t-shirts with hair glued to the armpits. Hmm...
http://www.boltmuhely.hu/eng/index.html

2. Books
Both the Libri and Alexandra book shops are breeding like rabbits (i.e. they're everywhere) and have ample collections of books in English as well as Hungarian. Art and coffee table books are also in abundance and sometimes not even that expensive.
www.alexandra.hu/
www.libri.hu

Don't forget the wonderful Antikvárium bookstores in Budapest, where you can find lovely old books in every language, maps and even lithographs from another day.

3. One of my favorite shops
For about a decade I've been returning to a sporting goods store near Kálvin tér called Hungária Sport (Kecskeméti utca 11) where they actually esteem their customers and give great service.
They've got everything from skiing equipment to 35,000 forint leather basketballs to swimming costumes and goggles, and they're willing to show it all to you with a smile - a truly refreshing experience in Hungary.

4. Funky shops on Rákoczi út
They change and can be seedy, so you just never know what you're going to run into. Warm your spirits in a great shop selling specialty pálinka on the corner of Rákoczi and Szentkirályi utca. The Corvin Aruház near Blaha Lujza tér is an old school department store that can also be a quirky place to find stuff. There's a huge Jeans Club shop just across from there, which has fashionable, affordable clothing.

5. Avoiding "mall hell" in Budapest
If you have to go to a shopping mall in Budapest, I say try to avoid the WestEnd City Center, especially around Christmas - unless you're masochistic. A good bet for beating the crowds is to head over to the Skála Department Store across the körút near Nyugati train station.
www.westend.hu

Duna Plaza (blue metro line, Gyöngyosi út stop) is an older mall, so it's not as important to be seen there with your gold chains and 'turbószolárium' tan, but the shops are okay. I've shopped there in the last dwindling hours before Xmas with ease.
www.dunaplaza.hu
My favorite and the most navigable mall in Budapest is the Mammut (near Moszkva tér), but it's not the most spacious and could prove claustrophobic at weekends. MOM Park on Alkotás utca is a decent if ritzy shopping center, which somehow never seems that crowded.
www.mammut.hu
www.mompark.hu