The Jewish Quarter's Forgotten Stories: A Budapest Walking Tour

(98 reviews)

Budapest audio tour: The Jewish Quarter's Forgotten Stories: A Budapest Walking Tour

This is a 1.4mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Budapest

Hungary

$11.99

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About the Tour

Budapest’s Jewish Quarter – or District 7 – is layered with forgotten stories and filled with hidden and often quirky historical sights. On this walking tour, you’ll go down its famous passages and streets past magnificent temples and synagogues, and hear about the vast and enchanting history that unfolded there. I’ll share the area’s interesting connection to Harry Houdini, the King of England, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt, and Tony Curtis.

The tour starts opposite the Budapest Operetta, right at the edge of Budapest’s Jewish Quarter. There you’ll see the statue of Kálmán Imre Szobra, and hear about the celebrated opera composer, who was born in Western Hungary and studied in Budapest. You’ll explore every inch of the Jewish district, passing by several prominent attractions, including the Dohány Street Synagogue (the largest in Europe), and the House of Emmanuel Mai, the most impressive residential building in the Hungarian capital. You’ll enter the iconic Gozsdu Passage, a historic complex linking two main streets of the Jewish Quarter. It was originally built in 1902 as a dormitory for Romanian scholars and is now one of Budapest’s colorful party districts. Along Kazinczy Street, you’ll hear about the Orthodox community and some of the nuances between the sects here. The tour ends at the Szimpla Kert Ruin Bar, a vintage bohemian pub built in an abandoned apartment building.

Along the way, you’ll have a chance to:

Hear about the Rumbach Street Synagogue’s different phases throughout history, from housing Jewish refugees to falling into disrepair, and then undergoing a state-sponsored revival in the 2010s
Find out who Hitler’s favorite Jewish composer was, and where Harry Houdini was born
Notice how the Great Synagogue of Budapest, the Dohány Street Synagogue, resembles a North African mosque in its architectural style
Listen to the true story of the Jewish plumber who commuted between Budapest and America for two years while working here so he could observe the Sabbath with his family
Explore the impact of the Holocaust on the city’s Jewish community and hear the remarkable stories of many Jewish Hungarians in Budapest’s survival

By the end of this tour, you’ll have immersed yourself in the largest Jewish community in Central Europe while discovering this district’s vibrant cultural life.

Tour Producer

Vince Bur

4 tours

Hello there! I'm Vince - born and raised in Budapest, I'm dividing my time now between my university studies and tour guiding in my hometown. I'm a history freak and a wine lover - you can also find my wine blog on instagram under the name @hungarianwineguy. On my VoiceMap tours I try to give you the same experience as on my actual private tours for luxury hotel clients: focusing on fun facts, stories and tales with a bit (actually quite a lot) of history, but also mentioning architecture, cuisine, everyday life and some politics. It takes time to discover Budapest, so let's start!

Preview Location

Location 22

The Spanish Angel of Budapest and an Italian impostor

Once you arrive to the terraces of the restaurants, turn around and take a look at the mural on the firewall. There's an image on your screen to help you find it. Let's stop for a moment and I will tell you in a nutshell the story of the man on the mural.

It represents Ange... Once you arrive to the terraces of the restaurants, turn around and take a look at the mural on the firewall. There's an image on your screen to help you find it. Let's stop for a moment and I will tell you in a nutshell the story of the man on the mural.

It represents Angel San Briz, a young Spanish diplomat, who saved the life of thousands of Jews in Budapest during the Holocaust. Without an order from his government Sanz Briz issued thousands of documents that provided immunity to the bearers. When the Germans interrogated him, he claimed that he issued these documents only for those who were of Spanish Sepharadic Jewish origin, whose right to be Spanish nationals was recognized by the Spanish government.

The Germans allowed him to issue documents for 200 individuals. He simply turned the individuals in the agreement into 200 families and then these 200 families could be multiplied indefinitely thanks to the simple procedure of not issuing any document or passport with a number higher than 200. All together he saved more than 5000 Jews with only a handful of them being actually of Spanish origin. For his relentless work to save lives during the Holocaust, he was awarded with the title "Rightous among the Nations" after the war by the Israeli Yad Vashem Institute.

Soon after Angel San Briz was ordered by the Spanish government to leave Budapest before the Soviet troops would completely encircle the city, an Italian friend of him, a certain Giorgio Perlasca walked into the Spanish Embassy calling himself the new Spanish consul to Budapest. Since he was often seen together with Angel San Briz, had a lot of self confidence and spoke an impeccable Spanish - Italians often do and he spent years in Spain during the Spanish civil war - everyone, even the Germans and the Hungarian Nazis believed that he was truly a Spanish diplomat. He continued to help Jews during the winter of 1944-45 in every possible way - according to some estimations up to 8000 people could thank their lives to him. One story says that he found several Spanish Fascist flags at the Spanish Embassy and then hanged them on buildings where Jews lived. The German and Hungarian Nazi patrols often avoided these buildings, believing that they belonged to the Spanish Embassy.

Now please continue walking down the street until you reach the wide boulevard at the end of it. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Budapest Operetta Theatre
Hungarian House of Photography - Mai Mano House
Jewish Ghetto Wall Fragment
Twentysix Budapest
Gozsdu Court
Rumbach Street Synagogue
Rubik's Cube
Mural of Angel San Briz
Mini Statue of Theodor Herzl
Dohány Street Synagogue
Heroes' Temple
Emanuel Tree
Kazinczy Street Synagogue
Street Food Karavan Budapest
Szimpla Kert
Ruin Bars Budapest

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Budapest, Nagymező u. 15-19, 1065 Hungary
Total distance

2km
Final location
Budapest, Kazinczy u. 14, 1075 Hungary
Distance back to start location

805.07m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins in front of the Budapest Operetta Theatre, Budapest, Nagymező u. 17, 1065 Hungary

Start right next to the bronze statue of a man sitting on a bench with his legs crossed and a cigar in his hand. You can get there easily by taking the subway line M1 until the station called 'Opera' then walk 3 minutes to the starting point.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Before the tour: You can get a coffee right by the meeting point at the Mai Manó Kávézó, the Komédiás Kávéház or at the Két Szerecsen Bistro.

During the tour: At around halfway you can get a snack and a drink or a coffee at the Központ Budapest or the Blue Bird Cafe. You can also stop at the Solinfo Café behind the Great Synagogue for a traditional Hungarian-Jewish pastry, the flódni.

At the end of the tour: You can have lunch/dinner at the Gettó Gulyás, the Macesz Bistro, the Twentysix or at the Mazel Tov restaurants. I highly recommend searching these places on your map application, calling them and making a reservation in advance especially between April and December, during the high season. Please not that the Twentysix doesn't take reservation per phone, but you have to use their online system on their website. If you just want to have a coffee after the tour, then check out the Coffee Stand Kazinczy or the Magvető Café just a stone's throw away from the ending point. If you finish the tour in the afternoon and you're looking for a drink then first of all, check out the Szimpla Kert and then move on to the Fekete Kutya, the Nappali Kávéház and the Lámpás student bar for a normal bar experience. For cocktails go for Boutiq Bar, Kaa (next to the Twentysix) or to the Unit Bar.

Best time of day

The tour can be done pretty much anytime, but in order to find the small hidden gems easily, I recommend doing it in daylight

Precautions

The Jewish quarter is usually very busy and the sidewalks are crowded with people. Be careful when crossing the streets. During the summer don't forget to have enough water with you and sunscreen if you need it.

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“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”