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| Café Centrál |
By Jacquelin Carnegie – (Budapest, Hungary)
Long before “café culture” flourished in Paris and Vienna,
it thrived in Budapest. The custom of drinking coffee was introduced by
invading Ottoman Turks in the 1500s. During Budapest’s Golden Age, between 1870
and 1910, there were some 500 coffee houses in the city.
In their heyday, Budapest’s cafés were hangouts for aspiring
writers, poets, artists, and the local intelligentsia. Before the age of
television and the Internet, people spent hours in their favorite café, sharing
ideas, gossip, and reading the newspapers, provided for free.
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| New York Café |
These Budapest coffee houses had sumptuous interiors with lustrous
chandeliers and frescoed ceilings to rival the Sistine Chapel. But, after two
world wars and the communist era in Hungary, the old famous cafes had been
destroyed or closed. In recent years, many of these once-grand cafés have been
restored to their original splendor:
New York Café
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| New York Café |
New York Palace Hotel, Erzsébet körút 9-11; Tel: 01/886-6167;
www.newyorkcafe.hu; Metro: M2 – Astoria; Open: 8am-midnight
Opened in 1894 on the ground floor of a stylish office
complex, designed by architect Alajos Hauszmann and financed by a New York life
insurance company (hence the name), the café was a favorite haunt of the
writers and editors who worked in the building (now a five-star hotel).
For struggling writers, the New York provided free ink and paper and offered a
low-cost "writer's menu" (bread, cheese & cold cuts). During
Budapest’s Golden Age, much of the city’s creative business took place here or
at the Café Central.
Café Centrál
Károlyi Mihály utca 9; Tel: 01/266-2110; www.centralkavehaz.hu; Metro: M3 -
Ferenciek Tere; Open: 9am-10pm or midnight
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| Café Centrál |
Opened in 1887, the Central was a popular meeting place for
writers, poets, editors, and artists. In the 1890s, writers sitting around the
café began an influential literary periodical, A Hét (Week). A few years later, another group of
regulars, who divided their time between the Central and the New York, launched
Nyugat (West), which became one
of the most influential Hungarian literary journals in the early 20th century.
Café Gerbeaud
Vörösmarty tér 7; Tel: 01/429-9000; www.gerbeaud.hu;
Metro: M1 – Vörösmarty tér; Open: 9am-9pm
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| Café Gerbeaud |
Founded by confectioner Henrik Kugler in 1858, this is
regarded as one of the most elegant and refined cafés. In 1884, its Swiss
pastry chef, Emile Gerbeaud, took over the establishment, making it as famous
for its cakes as its coffee.
Művész Kávéház
Andrássy út 29; Tel: 70/333-2116; www.muveszkavehaz.com;
Metro: M1- Opera; Open: 9am-8pm
Around since 1898, Művész means artist and since the café is
located opposite the Budapest State Opera House, over the years, it’s attracted
its fair share of artists and performers.
Café Gerlóczy
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| Café Gerlóczy |
Gerloczy u. 1; Tel: 01/501-4000; www.gerloczy.com; Metro: M1, M2, M3 – Deák
Farenc tér; Open: 7am-11pm
On a leafy square, in a pretty 1892 building, the Gerlóczy
has the feel of a Parisian café with its wonderful croissants and freshly-baked pastries—some consider it
the best breakfast in town. Lunch & dinner offerings aren't bad either! Sometimes there's even musicians playing,adding to the atmosphere. Another unique, Gerlóczy offering: stylish rooms in its upstairs boutique hotel, so you
never have to leave!
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| Stay at the Café Gerlóczy |
Getting There:
The best time to visit Budapest is between March and October. Both Delta and American offer connecting flights.
Read Before You Go: "The Great Escape” by Kati Marton: This wonderful book,
about influential Hungarians, describes life in the Budapest cafés at the turn
of the 20th century.
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