A Guide To Budapest's Újlipótváros (District 13)

Note that I planned, wrote, and recorded several Budapest tours on VoiceMap. The app uses your location to play audio automatically at the right time and place – you can put your phone away and roam the city with me, so to say. My tours: City Center, Jewish Quarter, Andrássy Avenue.

Most visitors to Budapest don't usually make it to Újlipótváros because it is absent any obvious landmarks, but this middle-class residential neighborhood is worth visiting for its unique housing stock and lively commercial street. Újlipótváros is located a ten-minute walk from the Hungarian Parliament building in the southern section of District 13.

Although officially not part of Újlipótváros, I suggest you start out on Falk Miksa utca. Named after the prominent editor-journalist who tutored Queen Sisi in Hungarian language, this street is lined with antique stores and art galleries, more than 30 in total. Some places specialize in porcelain, silver, and glassware, others sell prints, paintings, yet others do textiles and furniture. 18th-century decorative swords are what you’re after? Not a problem. Most stores are relatively pricey but tchotchkes and knick-knacks are also aplenty (good place to start: Nagyházi, Darius, BÁV). Closed on Sunday!

Across the Grand Boulevard: Újlipótváros! This vibrant neighborhood sprung up following a sweeping real estate development in the 1930s to accommodate Budapest's swelling population. The strict zoning laws regulated the appearance of the new buildings which is why the highest concentration of Budapest's modernist architecture – also known as Bauhaus-style – is located in Újlipótváros. The neighborhood's main artery is Pozsonyi út, crowded with small cafés, restaurants, artisans, bookstores, and art galleries. The local residents, many of them Jewish, comprise lots of intellectuals and young families with children.

Láng-Téka Könyvesbolt specializes in Jewish authors from around the world also with a few English titles. I will let you decide whether it's an appropriate time for a drink, but if the answer is yes, drop by Piccolo Söröző next door, an iconic neighborhood watering hole known for its left-wing regulars. A low-priced shot of Unicum will help you mix in. Then pick up a delicious cabbage strudel at Házi Rétesbolt, another longstanding vendor on Pozsonyi that doubles as a community hub.

Many specialty coffee shops exist on Pozsonyi, such as My Green Cup. The aromas of still-steaming pastries and sourdough breads waft from Három Tarka Macska bakery and I usually let myself be lured in for a túrós batyu (cottage-cheese stuffed pastry), which might just be the most delicious in all of Budapest. Szent István Park is the epicenter of Újlipótváros, featuring landscaped lawns and handsome flower beds.

The houses ringing the park are considered to be the crown jewels of modernist Hungarian architecture and their Danube views command steep price tags. Especially impressive is the building at 38 Pozsonyi út: the limestone-clad facade hides a dramatically exclusive lobby with a spiral staircase. You could wait for a chance to sneak in for a glance. The historic Dunapark Café is located on the ground floor.

Inside the park stands a memorial to Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved the lives of thousands of Budapest Jews during the Nazi occupation of Budapest by placing many Újlipótváros buildings under the protection of the neutral Swedish government (in spite of this, Nazi raids were prevalent and the walled-off ghetto of the Jewish Quarter could offer more protection). It is for this reason that at the end of 1945, an Újlipótváros street was named after Wallenberg.

Although not yet a gastronomic paradise, Újlipótváros has several dining options. Oriental Soup House is a chic, open-kitchen Vietnamese restaurant. Pozsonyi Kisvendéglő serves low-priced traditional Hungarian fare, as does the lunch-only Norbi Étkezde. Heads-up jazz fans: Újlipótváros is home to the Budapest Jazz Club, a main outlet for jazz music in Budapest.