Budapest’s Jewish Quarter: A Walk Through its Past and Present

Budapest is home to the largest Ashkenazi Jewish community in continental Europe. On this walking tour through the city’s Jewish Quarter, you’ll learn how this important community was formed, why Budapest became such an attractive destination for Jewish people, and how – despite horrific persecutions – they largely survived the Holocaust.

The tour starts in Deák Ferenc tér, an open square near the Jewish Quarter’s entrance. From there, you’ll weave through the neighborhood’s narrow streets, passing synagogues and memorials. You’ll see some of my favorite stores, cafés, restaurants, and markets that make the district so vibrant and fashionable today. Along the way, I’ll share interesting facts about the Jewish Quarter, like how the long interconnected courtyards gave people flexibility during Shabbat.

As you make your way to the grand Anker Palace where the tour ends, I’ll show you the Judeo-Art Nouveau Kazinczy Street Synagogue.

On this 90-minute Budapest walking tour, you’ll:

• Stand in the neighborhood’s famous synagogue triangle, a square sandwiched between three synagogues including Europe’s biggest, Dohány Street Synagogue
• Walk down Grand Boulevard (which isn’t so grand these days) and Király utca, which is once again becoming the heart of the Jewish Quarter
• See the poignant and thought-provoking Holocaust Tree of Life memorial in the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park
• Take in the Carl Lutz Memorial stone, where I’ll tell you how this man saved many lives by issuing protective documents
• Visit Szimpla Kert, the first among many ‘ruin bars’ – created in the open-air courtyards of neglected buildings – and my favourite of these low-price watering holes
• Pop into the Klauzál Market Hall, where you can say hello to my favorite butcher in Budapest
• Linger at some of my favorite food and drinking establishments, including Gettó Gulyás where you can find Hungarian Stew, Massolit Budapest Books and Cafe, and the Middle Eastern restaurant, Mazel Tov

The tour is meant to give you a fascinating historical and present-day context to fully appreciate the Jewish Quarter and Budapest as a whole.