"Shopping is fun in Budapest. You can browse in tiny shops or spend hours in shopping centers in several places in the city.Special products of Hungary
Unique traditional folk art items: ceramics, embroideries, painted eggs, dolls in folk costume, hand-painted Herend and Zsolnay porcelain, crystal and Halas lace.
Food: red paprika in gift boxes, goose liver, Pick salami*.
Spirits: apricot and plum brandy, Unicum liqueur, Tokaj and other famous regional wines.
Other: Helia-D cosmetic products and art books.
*Before you decide what you take home, we advise you to check the customs regulations of your country!
Shops are usually open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Shopping centers on weekdays are open till 8 p.m. and most of them are also open on Sundays.
In Budapest go to the Castle District to buy antiques at the small shops and on the streets "specializing" in folk art and antiques. You can also find an enormous selection of wine from the historical Hungarian wine regions at the House of Hungarian Wines.
One part of the most famous and most crowded pedestrian street, Váci utca (street) begins on the opposite side of the Grand Market Hall, at the foot of Liberty (Szabadság) bridge. The other part continues through the underpass at the entrance of Elisabeth Bridge and leads to Vörösmarty tér (Square). Several antique and folklore shops, galleries, designer boutiques, foreign-language book-shops, jewelry and wine-shops, restaurants, and cafés can be found on the neighboring streets. For example, on Kigyó utca the two finest porcelain shops face each other. The Herend and the Zsolnay porcelain shops sell Hungary`s most precious hand painted porcelain vases figures and dinner services.
The antique shopping street, Falk Miksa utca, runs from Szt. Istvan Blvd. to Parliament. The shops offer the richest collection of antiques in Central Europe.
The Ecseri Flea Market in the 9th district has many treasures for collectors, browsers and anyone looking for an unusual souvenir to take home."
Source: gotohungary.com
08.01.2008