Buda Food Walk

Budapest is a city split in two by the Danube—Buda being the quieter hilly half and Pest the livelier commercial heart of the city. Most tourists don’t venture much into the inner-Buda neighborhoods—where the eateries, markets, and shops have been designed with locals in mind—but there are plenty of good reasons to do so.

As you taste your way through the neighborhood, , your guide will also fill you in on the fascinating sights, architecture, and history in this eclectic part of town. From the Ottoman occupation of the area to the Battle of Budapest (which devastated the neighborhood during World War Two), much has happened here to shaped the district.

You’ll visit a neighborhood market (one of the best in the city), where farmers and artisans from the countryside sell fresh produce, as well as gorgeous homemade jams, juices, spices, and preserves. Butchers specialize in indigenous Hungarian animals (like mangalica and grey cattle), and cheese mongers hawk delicious cheese made in local styles.

Lunch consists of authentic home-style Hungarian dishes at a few tiny eateries where the cooking is as grandmotherly as the décor. We’ll taste several desserts at a gem of a pastry shop—run by the same family for generations—where the pastries taste as beautiful as they look. We’ll have coffee at a Socialist-style coffee shop which has barely changed over the past several decades.

The Buda side has the best thermal bath houses, including several who sell big mugs of this curative water for drinking. If you are so inclined, you can taste a glass … and head back to experience the waters (which are conveniently, said to help digestion, at the tour’s end. This tour covers a wide area, so we’ll use the tram (as the locals do).

Travel Tip

Make it a full day! We designed the Buda Food Walk to complement the Buda Castle Walk. The Castle Walk begins not far from where the Buda Food Walk ends, so it’s convenient to take these tours on the same day!