Csillaghegyi Árpád Baths

Tranquil Árpád Baths was originally opened in 1919, but it was expanded with a brand new wellness facility in 2018, giving bathers more bang for their buck than other similarly priced splashtablishments, boasting 15 different pools, an indoor water slide park, several saunas, and a unique rooftop jacuzzi.

Website

1038 Budapest, Pusztakúti út 2-6.

Palatinus Bath

Since the Bauhaus-style main building’s recent renovation a few years ago, the queen of open-air swimming complexes awaits visitors all-year-round with a wealth of aquatic amenities, including a heated, outdoor pool, three saunas, a medicinal pool with thermal water, and a kid’s pool.

Website

1138 Budapest, Margitsziget, Soó Rezső sétány 1.

Rudas Thermal Bath

The spa kingdom of Rudas is equipped with all the necessary ingredients for a full-scale charge-up of your battered down batteries, including massage therapy, various saunas, a range of pools filled with healing waters, imperial splendour, and a breath-taking panoramic view over the city.

Website

1013 Budapest, Döbrentei tér 9.

Széchenyi Thermal Baths

Széchenyi Bath’s iconic yellow walls are known by everyone who has ever looked at Budapest pictures shared on Instagram. One of the city’s must-visit attractions, the palatial monument features 18 pools, filled with healing natural hot spring water, as well as 10 saunas and steam cabins.

Website

1146 Budapest, Állatkerti körút 9-11.

Pesterzsébet Thermal Baths

The youngest of the Budapest bathing family, this water temple was reopened after two decades and a large-scale remodelling in 2019, enticing those looking for an aquatic autumn getaway with a number of indoor and outdoor pools, an exclusive-looking sauna department, and the usual wellness services.

Website

1203 Budapest, Vízisport utca 2.

Dandár Thermal Bath

District IX’s art deco-style wellness complex operated as a sanitary bath back in the day, and it only became a thermal bath following its 1978 renovation. Today, Dandár is one of the smaller bathing institutions of the city, outfitted with three thermal pools, two open-air baths, and a small sauna section.

Website

1095 Budapest, Dandár utca 3.

Szimpla Farmers Market

Held every Sunday between 9-14 inside the city’s most famous ruin bar, this farmers’ market welcomes customers with a mouth-watering selection of locally sourced cheese varieties, honey, jams, syrups, vegetables and fruits, meats, truffle specialties, spices, sandwich spreads, and live music.

Photo credit: Szimpla Kert (Facebook)

Facebook

1075 Budapest, Kazinczy utca 14.

Czakó Piacz

The rustic and family-friendly Czakó Piacz is open every Saturday from 8 AM to 3 PM, awaiting visitors with fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, organic seeds, various oils, marmalades, artisanal cheeses, handcrafted chili jams, eggs, mushrooms, and a beautiful panoramic view of the city.

Photo credit: Czakó Piacz (Facebook)

Facebook

1016 Budapest, Czakó utca 15.

Pancs Gasztroplacc

Located in the courtyard of the city’s biggest craft beer bar, Élesztő, Pancs operates between 9 AM and 2 PM on Sundays, with a merchandise consisting of smoked meats, cheese specialties, high-quality bakery products, and more, with workshops, meet-and-eats, and charity cooking events featuring regularly.

Photo credit: Pancs Gasztroplacc (Facebook)

Facebook

1094 Budapest, Tűzoltó utca 22.

Central Market Hall

Covered in colourful Zsolnay tiles, Budapest’s biggest indoor market draws the crowds inside its spacious hall with an unmatched abundance of edible riches, from fresh vegetables and a wide range of spices to lángos, blood sausage and delicious strudels. Open from Monday to Saturday from 6 AM.

Photo credit: Turcsányi Zita Johanna

1093 Budapest, Vámház körút 1-3.

Rákóczi Square Market Hall

Opened in the same year as the Central Market Hall, the one on Rákóczi Square offers a wealth of freshly sourced produces and hearty street food items from Monday to Saturday. In addition, it also houses a few budget-friendly restaurants, as well as a photo exhibition showcasing everyday life at the market.

Photo credit: Rákóczi téri vásárcsarnok (Facebook)

1084 Budapest, Rákóczi tér 7-9.

Hunyadi Square Market Hall

Found in the vicinity of Oktogon, this is one of the lesser known, smallest market halls in the city. What it lacks in size, however, it more than makes up for in atmosphere and assortment, with different types of honey, sausages, vegetables, flowers, and cheese products. Open from Monday to Saturday.

Photo credit: Wikipedia 

1067 Budapest, Hunyadi tér 4.

When I got there, I could not believe my eyes: I was in wonderland. Zsófi Martos, one of the founders of the daycare, told me that she wanted to create a family daycare where the children can spend their time in an intimate, safe, and loving environment, where the huge terrace opens into a beautiful garden and the crystal-clear air exudes serenity. It was heart-warming to see the airy sitting room with its big playing areas while the sun flooded it with warmness and light. The indoor activity center is also in this room where the mothers can relax and chat while their children are playing.

Zsófi believes that it is important that the parents should experience something special when they walk inside Bodza Villa. She thinks that with their special services they represent a specific color among the Hungarian family daycares. There was no question that she wanted an outstanding Montessori education in the daycare where professional educators with great experience take care of the children, awaiting them with a big smile and lots of love every morning.

On the first floor, Zsófi showed me the three group rooms named Elderflower, Strawberry and Blueberry. In the group rooms the children can play with premium quality wooden toys that help their development. Children from the age of twenty weeks to four years can sign up to the three groups for a monthly fee. As a bonus, there is an English group as well that is called Ladybug which offers temporary child care. The group is led by Szilvia Darok and her English-speaking helper (the sign-up procedure is the same with all the groups). Szilvia got her diploma in early childhood education and development in Australia and has an international professional experience in child education.

As an additional service, there is a salt room and a gym room in the basement where the children are able to take part in large motor activities in bad weather. There is a playful English class and an art and craft class once a week for the groups and an indoor activity program for the children and their parents on every Saturday. Here you, as a parent can have a little time for yourself and can become part of a community in which you can talk about the joyous and hard moments of child rearing.

Lilla Mertain

Bodza Villa

bodzavilla.hu
1121 Budapest, Távcső utca 2.
+36 20 614 5916

Further good news is that company formation in Hungary takes only 24-48 hours after which you will get a valid EU tax number, and you can make the most of paying only 9% corporate tax. What’s more, you can start a European business from anywhere in the world, even from the comfort of your home.

Apart from the favourable tax rate, you can also get EU residency by investment.  If you invest in real estate or form a company in Hungary, you and your family can obtain a permanent residence permit. If you own a successful business and have a permanent income in Hungary, you and your family will be granted the opportunity to live, work and travel freely in any of the EU member countries. The other option to become an EU resident is an EUR 200,000 real estate investment in Hungary, from which you will have a permanent income.

Who should seize the opportunity?

This one-of-a-kind opportunity is especially useful for residents outside the EU, who are eager to start a business with advantageous tax conditions while being able to travel freely in the EU, says Dr. Melinda Gyori at BusinessImmigration.hu. What’s more, British citizens might also be interested in company formation in Hungary or EU residence permit by real estate investment in Hungary, thus getting (back) the rights they used to have before Brexit. However, those who live in the EU can also benefit from the 9% corporatie tax, since it is exceptionally low in the region.

One more reason to become a regular visitor of Hungary

In 2019, Budapest was voted the Best European Destination of the Year, preceding 20 of the most visited European cities such as Athens, Florence and Paris. The competition organized by European Best Destinations (EBD) numbered more than 500 thousand votes, the majority of which was for the Hungarian capital. We assure you, Budapest is just as charming in 2020 as it was back in 2019.

Who wouldn’t want to live in one of the trendiest places of Europe? We certainly would! The question is, will you join us in exploring Budapest?

What’s the main goal of BPSPC?

Imi: As a collective, we aspire to take candid photographs in a world dominated by staged images and show what Budapest is like in an uncompromising way. We don’t expect people to pose for our pictures, but it would be great if they didn’t feel threatened when being photographed.

Do you take thematic shots with the team?

Imi: Yeah, before the pandemic we agreed to photograph different districts of Budapest every month, then gather to discuss all the shots we’ve taken and create a zine out of the best ones. We started with District VIII and wanted to continue with District XIII, but the coronavirus hit the country. We have also had some ideas for an annual theme. During the lockdown, for example, everyone was carrying home huge packs of toilet paper…

Ádám: … but Berci and Jácint (BPSPC members – the ed.) had already taken pictures of people carrying piles of toilet paper before the lockdown! We all have a bunch of similar shots, so we decided to make people with toilet paper an annual theme, which later became a thing in quarantine, so we eventually dropped it.

From a photographer’s point of view, what is Budapest like?

Imi: Compared to people living in the countryside, I find Budapest locals much more tense; when they go to the streets, they try to behave. The nights are in strong contrast with this though: people get more relaxed and act in a completely different way than during the day. On the night buses, for example, you can witness many conversations, but at daytime no one would talk to a stranger.

Ádám: It’s also interesting that even though the city is timeless, the people and the vehicles harmonized better with the buildings in the past, while today the image of Budapest is quite eclectic. It happens to me a lot that a car appears and ruins the photo, because it just doesn’t match the vibe.

Do you have a favourite street photo story to tell?

Ádám: Two years ago, Bedynski (Krisztián Bedynski, member of BPSPC – the ed.), Imi and I went to the Hortobágy. We were travelling across the village of Sarud on 1 May, when we saw a maypole and a table crammed with booze and cakes, placed in front of a house. The women of the village were gathering at the gate, and we really wanted to take photos of them. One of us went closer to the maypole and the table, and the ladies were like “Gentleman, these are not for sale”. When we mentioned that we just wanted to take some pictures, they said that we should stay, because the musicians were just about to arrive. They gave us palinka, then the band arrived on a tractor. Men in boots and women in apron were dancing, hugging and celebrating while we were capturing everything at close range. No doubt it was the highlight of the trip. We were loading film into the camera like crazy not to miss a moment.

Do you ask for permission before photographing people?

Imi: Not really. At occasions when people are happy such as Labour Day, they don’t mind our presence, because they’re glad to have somebody capturing their joy. Once I took a photo of a guy who wanted to call the police. The way I put the camera in his face wasn’t really polite to be honest…

Ádám: … Tatsuo Suzuki, a Japanese street photographer became known for this arguably ethical approach. We were talking about him and hit the streets a bit later. A guy in a hat walked towards us, and using Suzuki’s technique, Imi put the camera really close to his face without asking. The guy wanted him to delete the picture, but it was shot on film, so Imi refused to remove it from the camera. He wanted to call the cops, but I explained to him that we won’t use his photo anywhere unless it’s okay with him. Eventually, he gave his contact and asked Imi to send him the photo.

Imi, did you send him?

Imi: I did, it’s an awful shot. It happens, we make a lot of mistakes. We’re supposed to do so.

Ádám: We shoot for the moon.

How do you find the special locations where you tend to open your venues?

Marci: It is partly pure luck, and also, I think we’re good at seeing the true potential of certain locations, such as Majomhoz and Normafa Síház which both have pretty extraordinary spots in the city. When choosing home to a new business, we need to consider if there is a local audience that will identify with our vision. As for these two venues, we felt the need for new places in Buda where people can enjoy good times, high quality services and great programs outdoors.

Both Majomhoz and Normafa Síház opened shortly after the lockdown in Budapest had ended. It was a pretty bold move, wasn’t it?

Icsi: We’ve always felt a certain risk factor with all of our businesses. This time we have started two new businesses in Buda, where the focus shifted from partying all night to frequenting outdoor venues with good live music. Majomhoz and Normafa Síház target the Hungarian audience, which increases the risk factor per se, but I’m happy that we managed to open them, and they are attracting more and more people.

Marci: It’s important to note that we started to prepare these projects way before the pandemic broke into the country. We had a vision in our heads that Buda needs our kind of energy and hospitality. If you consider the development potential of Majomhoz and Normafa Síház in ten years time, you will see that we’re at the beginning of a long road, regarding construction plans and attendance rates. Answering your question, opening these new venues was pretty bold, but they are both long-term projects, so there was no space for hesitation.

What was the biggest challenge you have had to overcome in the last few months?

Marci: The biggest challenge of the last 4-5 months has been the unpredictability the pandemic brought about. We’re sitting at this table knowing nothing about what requirements we need to meet next week that will serve our health or the national economy. We need to make decisions week by week and can’t really prepare for the upcoming season in advance.

How do you think the hospitality sector has changed recently in Budapest?

Icsi: When the lockdown ended, people in Budapest started to party like there is no tomorrow. Pandemics and lockdowns are something our generation has never experienced before: this is the first time we have faced a world event that directly affected Hungary. COVID-19 didn’t hit the outdoor spots in Budapest the most but those venues in the city centre that particularly targeted tourists.

Marci: The greatest damage the hospitality sector has experienced in Budapest is the decrease of daytime customers. The venues that previously kept the Hungarian people in mind when organizing programs and making food still run smoothly; however, there are no daytime customers anywhere, as they were, in most cases, tourists.

What are the lessons learned from these difficult times?

Marci: One can only talk about their own reality, and draw conclusions based on that. For me, I’m proud that all of our venues re-opened. Also, I believe that the Hungarian customers are especially important now and always. Any business in Budapest should first meet the local needs and standards, because visitors from abroad have completely different expectations. This time the survival of an enterprise depended on whether it could have both audiences enjoy their times at one location.

What are your short-term plans?

Icsi: We’re doing our best regarding programming and communication while enjoying ourselves. We’re lucky to have a job we love doing in all its dimensions. We also try to support local artists and the Hungarian music industry in general, since we’re very grateful to be able to work with them. We have been working to employ them as much as we can at all our venues.

What were you planning to do after graduating from high school?

At high school I gained experience both in PR and online marketing thanks to being Samsung’s ambassador, but at first, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to study. Later I realized that I would love to work with artists, supporting them with branding services. I was looking for a university course accordingly, but Art Management was only available as a Master’s degree. Despite being a very practical person, I applied for Theories of Art studies. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get in, and as an 18-year old, I took it as a huge failure. Looking back, I think it was one of the best things that happened to me, because, without that, I wouldn’t have gone to Scotland and Australia, where I could study branding off the cut.

What do you do now?

I work for an advertising agency called Artificial Group as a content creative, meaning I am responsible for strategies, creative concepts and contents. Among others, I work with clients like Telenor, Rossmann and Allee. This might be a smaller segment of branding, but I really enjoy it. I learn a lot, I love this environment. The world of agencies is very interesting.

Thanks to the Kind Notes project the whole country got familiar with your name in 2017. How did it all start?

Even as a teenager, I tended to get caught up in social media frenzies right away; I registered to Instagram as soon as it was available. After a while my profile became a kind of diary, in which I started sharing my thoughts. I always enjoyed doodling and encouraging people, and slowly it got to me how great it would be if we would come across inspiring thoughts offline too. In 2017, the theme of Worldwide InstaMeet was “kind comments”, and I knew immediately that after many years of planning, it was time to realize my ideas. First, I wrote the messages alone and stuck them everywhere, and then the right people found them at the right time, promoting the story. It was then that I started to feel like it is more than a one person project.

More and more people joined you.

I decided to organize a Kind Notes event in Budapest and informed a café that 50-100 people would write notes there. However, when I created the Facebook event, I saw thousands of people confirming their attendance! The initiative has grown enormously.

Nowadays you have been creating Hungarian GIFs.

This project started last year, and the reason is very simple: I could not find good Hungarian GIFs for Instagram stories. Since then, I try to make relevant ones on a daily basis, which I myself would also like to use. It created a wave as well: more brands, a lot of Hungarian artists and many agencies started to make GIFs, the sticker store got filled. I really enjoy that I could have a role in kick-starting this whole craze.

What do you think, are you also an influencer on a certain level?

I like the original meaning of the word “influence” very much; in that sense, everyone is an influencer because we all have some kind of an effect on each other. From the marketing perspective, this expression has a rather negative meaning, thanks to those “content hussars” who do not necessarily use their power for a good purpose. Hence I do not use the word influencer when referring to myself, because unfortunately, it lost its original, deep meaning. I like to call myself a creator, as well as the people who I’m following on the platform. Despite the fact that I don’t like the word, the topic is very close to my heart, because there’s something magical in consciously creating something that we will later share with people. My aim is to show that online surfaces can be used for a good purpose.

What is your message to those who choose a profession similarly creative to yours?

First, everyone should start creating something that they love, because that is the way we can develop and after a while, it might become a passion we can’t keep just for ourselves. And when you share your art with others, considering that we, humans have so many things in common, it is guaranteed that there will be someone who can relate to it. If you put your heart into something, your creation will grow into a love project that will bring you job opportunities.

The concept for Earth Hour was born in 2006 from a collaboration between WWF Australia and advertising agency Leo Burnett Sydney, who started discussing ideas for engaging Australians on the issue of climate change in 2004. Last year, Earth Hour was observed by millions of people in 7,000 towns and cities across 187 countries, driven by a common goal: to save energy and increase awareness about environmental issues.

In 2013, WWF Uganda has created the world’s first Earth Hour Forest, as a means of fighting against the country’s harrowing deforestation rate, which results in the clearing of 6,000 hectares of woodland every month. The organization has secured more than 2,700 hectares of degraded land, and set a goal to fill it with at least 500,000 indigenous trees. Other successful initiatives include pushing a bill through the Russian State Duma focusing on protecting the country’s seas from oil pollution, and raising the marine areas under Argentina’s protection from 1 to 4 %.

To spread awareness about the movement, participating cities usually turn off the lights for their most renowned monuments, letting their silent darkness stand as a symbol of sustainable energy use. Famous landmarks associated with the event include the Colosseum, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, Moscow’s St. Basil Cathedral, the Acropolis in Athens, and St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

5 Simple Steps For a More Sustainable Life

1. Switch to energy-efficient CFL or LED lights instead of traditional incandescent bulbs.
2. If you’re not using it – unplug it! Your computer, television, cell-phone charger, microwave oven, and other appliances and electrical devices consume energy even when on standby.
3. Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
4. Only heat the rooms you use regularly and adjust the thermostat to keep your home a little cooler in winter and a little warmer in summer.
5. Use less hot water. This will not only save you water, it will also reduce the amount of electricity (or natural gas) you use to keep water hot, thus cutting down on your energy bills.

The demand for water grows together with the global population, and according to unwater.org, water availability is becoming less predictable in many places around the world due to climate change. At the same time, increased incidences of flooding threaten to destroy water points and sanitation facilities while also contaminating water sources. The solution lies in our hands: we must protect oceans and wetlands, adopt climate-smart agricultural techniques, and increase the safe reuse of wastewater. It is also important to balance all of society’s water needs with special attention to third world countries.

What happens if you don’t drink enough?

While the health benefits of water consumption are unquestionable, too many of us do not drink enough water on a daily basis. Research shows that as little as 1% dehydration affects your mood, attention, memory, and motor coordination negatively. Blood becomes more concentrated, and the thicker it gets, the harder it will be for your cardiovascular system to compensate, while your heart rate will increase to maintain blood pressure. There is a list of other consequences: dry skin, dry eyes, joint pain, headache, and premature aging which will eventually give way to grumpiness, and mental and physical decline.

Increase your daily water intake

The amount you need to drink depends on several factors: how active you are, where you live, your overall health, metabolism, diet, and so on. In case you are uncertain, the colour of your pee can tell whether you are drinking enough or not. If it is clear or pale yellow, it means you are all set, but darker means you need to drink more. The recommended water intake defined by the Institute of Medicine is somewhere around 2.7 litres for adult women and 3.7 for men.

How to stay hydrated?

Look for ways to build drinking water into your day, for instance by making water your go-to drink. Try to drink a glass of water between each meal, set an hourly reminder on your phone, carry a water bottle, download an application, or leave post-it notes for yourself in the places where you spend most of your time. Don’t forget: sometimes the body confuses thirst for hunger, so if you are hankering for a snack, have water instead.

Did you know?

By the time you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. The recommended amount of water one should drink every day covers fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20% of your daily fluid intake comes from food.

Beautiful Margaret Island is a treasure chest of wonders: the 96 hectares large patch of earth sports a petting zoo, some gorgeous medieval ruins, a Japanese garden, a huge swimming complex and most importantly, the city’s longest and most scenic running course, measuring at 5.350 metres in length. The tartan course circling around the island is in top shape after a complete refurbishment in recent years, and you can even use it for a night time run, as the whole path is lit by public lighting.

Facing Margaret Island from the east, Moszkva promenade runs between Árpád and Margaret bridge on the Pest side, in a total length of 2.5 kilometres. Although lacking a tartan course, this fairly new promenade has become a popular running venue among local joggers due to its convenient location, wide footpath, and the great views it offers to the Danube and the island.

Boasting a number of attractions, such as the ornate, sprawling bathing complex of Széchenyi Thermal Baths, Budapest Zoo, or the captivating Vajdahunyad Castle, there are definitely less picturesque places to lick yourself into shape than the vast and easily-reachable City Park. Choose one of the several running routes criss-crossing the park, or do the four kilometres long loop run!

Surrounded by lush greenery, Lake Feneketlen is like a small oasis in the middle of the concrete jungle that is the city’s up-and-coming Újbuda neighbourhood. Formed in 1877 when clay miners happened upon an underground spring, the lake (with its name translating to ‘bottomless’, even though it’s just 5 meters deep) is frequented by local fishermen, sunbathing turtles and ducks, while the park itself gives home to a number of statues, a scenic, 530 meters long tartan course, and an outdoor fitness park.

The steep slopes of János Hill leading up and down, to and from Normafa, feature one of the most popular running paths amongst the seasoned runners of the city. The 5.000 meters long track may lack a proper tartan course, but the breathtaking panorama, the fresh air of the Buda Hills, and the romantic wilderness surrounding you more than make up for that weakness. Prepare for a tough uphill battle if you choose this one!

Located in District VIII, Orczy Park is one of the largest green areas of inner Pest: the former hunting grounds turned relaxed recreation hub features a quaint boating pond, a cozy café, a cool playground, as well as modern sporting facilities, including an outdoor fitness park and a 760 meters long running course.

The two kilometres long running course at Kopaszi-gát is one of Budapest’s best-kept secrets: starting at the Buda end of Rákóczi Bridge, the tartan track leads you through the well-manicured park of Lágymányosi bay, providing you with some added extras to burning those unneeded calories, including ducks and a waterside atmosphere.

For an even more romantic high-pulse outing, visit the idyllic Római promenade in the city’s District III. The four kilometres long waterfront walkway stretches southwards from Aquincum to the northern border of Budapest, is dotted by old-timey boathouses and cozy eateries, and is a favoured spot amongst undemanding runners, who can do without a professional tartan course if that means they can exercise in a natural environment.