Budapest city break - cafe bars
Travel guide to cafes and bars on a Budapest city break holiday
Budapest is famous for its pastries and coffee houses. Coffee arrived with the Turkish occupation in the 1500s and the art of good living prospered in the 19th century when Budapest was the capital of a mighty Central European empire.
High-quality cafés are everywhere in Budapest. In the first half of the 20th century, Budapest was a city of coffee houses and cafés, very much like its nearby neighbour, Vienna. Today, those cafés are being discovered by visitors to Budapest from around the world.
Often lavishly furnished, the large windows make the cafés an extension of street life. Here you can pass many hours over just one cup of coffee, a strong mocha similar to an Italian espresso and very much the national drink of Hungary.
The pastries of Budapest are famous. Favourites include:
Krémes - custard slices
Rákóczi-túrós - cheesecake with meringue and apricot jam
Dobos - popular baked jelly roll with a caramel glaze.
Lúdlábtorta - chocolate cream gateau
Gesztenye - sweet chesnuts dipped in chocolate.
Krumpli - marzipan balls in cocoa powder
Budapest can still boast many luxurious and characterful cafés and coffee houses which ooze history. Here's a selection of Budapest's finest:
The world-famous café on Vorosmarty ter. Coffee or tea with top-quality pastries is an art form in Budapest with Gerbeaud the Old Master. Visitors from all over the world come to enjoy the ambience. Light lunches are remarkable value for such an exclusive and famous venue.
Gerbeaud Sorhaz, in the same building, provides hearty pub food with Gerbeaud's exclusively brewed beer.
On the korut Jozef, near Blaha Luiza ter, (trams 4 and 6), the New York café has recently been restored to its former glory. This is relaxation in style!
The New York was the artistic hub of Budapest where great names of literature and cinema met. Closed from 2001 for a major refurbishment of the entire New York Palace Hotel, the café was reopened in 2006 in its original pomp.
In the Buda castle district, this small stylish cake shop is packed with charm - and customers. There's often a queue to get in this café, one of the oldest in Hungary. Austrian royals are said to have been regular customers in the days of the Habsburgs. It's at Buda 1 Szentharomsag u.7.
Particularly enjoyable on a summer day on the Danube-side terrace, this Buda café boasts its own speciality - Angelika torte, a sumptuous chocolate and vanilla cake.
As you'd expect, this café comes with a little music. It's on the packed krt Erzsebet (trams 4 and 6) and is a peaceful enclave with traditionally dressed staff.
On the magnificent Andrassy ut, Budapest's copy of Paris' Champs Elysee, Muvesz is near the Opera House and features magnificent chandeliers.
The Gellert is a Budapest institution. The massive hotel at the Buda end of the Liberation bridge, with its popular thermal indoor and outdoor baths, boasts a café with magnificent pastries and decor to match.
The first underground railway in Europe was built in Budapest
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