This Central European city has Michelin-starred restaurants, contemporary museums and high-end shopping

With its history dating back to Roman times and its grand palaces and cultural institutions, Budapest is one of the most beautiful and architecturally significant capitals in Europe. Nicknamed the “Paris of the East”, the Hungarian city comprises Buda and Pest, situated on opposite banks of the Danube River, connected by the spectacular Chain Bridge.

The city is recognized for its cultural significance as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offering spectacular architecture, riverside views and thermal baths. But Budapest, although rooted in the past, is also emerging as a world-class modern destination, with Michelin-starred restaurants, a globally acclaimed arts scene, top-notch hotels, stylish spas and countless independent boutiques and design stores.

“Budapest has been an ‘exceedingly cultured’ city for about a hundred years, with more theaters, symphony orchestras and museums than the country could have,” said András Török, a Budapest-based author and lecturer whose latest book “Budapest Gem” was published by Assouline in April. “Today, Budapest, a city of the right size, offers all the sophistication of much larger cities, especially after the gastronomic revolution of the mid-2010s.”

Read on for a curated list of Budapest’s best hotels, restaurants, spas, and galleries that reveal the city’s modern spirit.

Where to eat

Overlooking the River Danube, Felix occupies an impressive neo-Renaissance building and a former Royal Palace pumping station. The elegant restaurant, often frequented by celebrities, has several dining rooms, including an airy (and shaded) terrace with spectacular views of Gresham Palace and Buda Castle. With globally inspired seasonal menus and some year-round classics like oysters and caviar, Felix sources the freshest local ingredients and prime cuts of Australian and Japanese meats. Customers also enjoy an impressive selection of hundreds of bottles of classic and rare Hungarian and international wines. Try Oremus Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos 1995, a sweet dessert wine from Hungary’s most renowned wine region, or indulge in a bottle of dry white Balassa country and master sommelier Tamas Czinki, responsible for the restaurant’s wine list.

In 2022, the Michelin Guide released its inaugural Hungary guide, awarding two stars to just two restaurants, including the Budapest-based Stand. The cozy city center restaurant is helmed by award-winning chefs Tamás Széll and Szabina Szulló, whose elaborate dishes are rooted in traditional Hungarian culinary traditions but prepared with modern palates in mind. The result is a fine dining experience that showcases modern techniques and takes guests on a culinary journey across the country in an elegant and cozy dining room.

Another highlight of Budapest’s modern gastronomic scene is Babel, which, like Stand, has been part of the Michelin Guide for two years. There’s something whimsical and welcoming about your dining room, which features exposed stone walls, lush greenery, and warm wood accents. The eight-course menu is a refined celebration of Central European flavors and ingredients with a touch of Scandinavian minimalism.

Nightingale by Beefbar, W Budapest’s elegant Art Nouveau restaurant and bar, attracts the city’s cool crowd. Craft cocktails, live DJ sessions, and shareable platters of Asian and Mediterranean-inspired dishes are complemented by front-row views of the city’s Opera House across the street on elegant Andrássy Avenue.

Where to stay

It’s easy to see why luxury hospitality brands love Budapest – the city has no shortage of grand palaces and mansions exuding Old World charm that have been transformed into five-star hotels.

But a list of new openings mixes past and present, uniting the best of both worlds and aesthetics.

W Budapest, which opened its doors in the summer of 2023 and was a finalist in this year’s competition Travel + Leisure It List, is an excellent example of the timeless sophistication of the city’s historic buildings. Housed in the UNESCO-listed Drechsler Palace on Andrássy Avenue, the property’s spectacular interiors reference the building’s past – at one point it served as the headquarters of the Ballet Insitute, so all bathrooms are fitted with dressing room-like mirrors and lamps are inspired by the delicate pearl earrings that ballerinas wear – with the brand’s design approach to hospitality. There are spacious accommodations with custom furnishings, a spa with a heated indoor pool, an incredibly chic speakeasy, and an Instagram-worthy patio covered by a wave-shaped glass roof.

With 84 rooms, the splendid Kozmo Hotel Suites and Spa falls into the boutique hotel category and calls itself the “modern reinterpretation of luxury”. The five-star property, also housed in a historic building, proves that sophistication is in the small details, like Penhaligon toiletries, four-poster beds, bathtubs and expansive city views.

Spanning three buildings, the Dorothea Hotel, Budapest, Autograph Collection debuted in November 2023 in the heart of the city center, just blocks from the Danube River. With 216 rooms, all impeccably decorated by Milan-based studio Lissoni & Partners, and featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, soaking tubs, and private balconies, the property’s interiors balance old and new.

Where to see art

In recent years, the artistic scene in Budapest has changed thanks to the growing recognition of Hungarian artists abroad and the rise of young Hungarian collectors in the country.

“Hungarian people have become more open to contemporary art,” explained Márton Nemes, one of Hungary’s most prominent contemporary artists, in his studio in central Budapest. He said more young people are encouraged to pursue careers as professional artists at home. Nemes studied in London and divides his time between New York and Budapest. His colorful abstract work is currently on display in the Hungarian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

The Hungarian capital’s art scene is full of galleries and spaces that showcase a diaspora of artistic mediums from established and emerging artists. acb Galéria, housed in a neo-Renaissance building a few blocks from the city’s Opera House, was founded in the early 2000s, but has since become one of Hungary’s most prestigious art galleries, with three exhibition spaces and concentrated on emerging local and international themes. artists. (Nemes’ work was exhibited here in 2023.)

In September 2021, 37-year-old Hong Kong art collector Queenie Rosita Law opened Q Contemporary, a non-profit art center dedicated to Central and Eastern European art, located in the elegant 19th-century Rausch Villa, on Andrássy Avenue. Law has been an advocate of Hungarian art for over a decade, after spending time in the region as a student at the prestigious Central St. Martins School of Art and Design in London. The space has been renovated and now features whitewashed walls where travelers can peruse around a hundred works of art by dozens of the region’s most prominent multidisciplinary contemporary artists, such as the internationally acclaimed László Fehér, Ilona Keserü and Mira Brtka.

For decades, the Young Artists’ Association Studio has supported Hungary’s art professionals, and its FKSE Stúdió, a permanent exhibition space in Budapest’s bohemian 7th district on the Pest side, promotes the work of the country’s youngest artists and the most recent graduates from art schools. The dynamic space also hosts lectures, debates, video presentations and other events where the general public can meet the artists in person.

And among the many galleries and art spaces along Bartók Béla Avenue on the Buda side, you’ll find Godot Intézet (entrance is through a café), a beautiful little gallery space with huge circular windows that regularly displays art of local newcomers. . Godot Intézet is associated with Budapest’s Godot Galéria, an Independent Museum of Contemporary Art, which is also a worthy stop.

Where to buy

Nanushka, the sustainable fashion brand revered among fashionistas on both sides of the Atlantic, was founded almost two decades ago in Budapest by Sandra Sándor and is today one of the best-known Hungarian brands in the world. The company’s aesthetic combines details of traditional Hungarian folklore with urban simplicity and impeccable craftsmanship. Nanushka’s Budapest store is fronted by a modern coffee shop serving sweets and caffeinated drinks, hinting at the company’s lifestyle appeal. The curated boutique collection includes women’s and men’s clothing, including accessories like bags and sunglasses.

Just steps away from Nanushka is the bright and airy boutique of Aeron, another Hungarian brand well-known in fashion circles, which offers pieces that showcase its designer’s penchant for sustainable practices and materials, as well as exquisite tailoring and timeless design.

On the opposite end of the creative spectrum is Eszka, whose brightly colored patterns and bold knits are designed to boost the wearer’s confidence.

And if you need sophisticated R&R, head to the Omorovicza Insitute. The serene spa and store for the celebrity-favorite beauty brand (Anne Hathaway, Gwyneth Paltrow and Uma Thurman are fans) uses minerals from the city’s hot springs. Book a detoxifying facial with Omorovicza’s Moor mud products that refine and nourish or boost your skin’s hydration levels with the brand’s Hydrafacial Skin Therapy Session, combining its signature healing concentrate for instant radiance and rejuvenation.