As of 2021, I’d say Budapest is at the beginning of its sustainable journey. There are really great, mostly community and civil-led initiatives, and a new city leadership that is committed to building a more sustainable city, but there’s a very long way to go. Still, there are a lot of spots and places a conscious traveler can check out if looking for a more sustainable travel experience, like trying organic or plant-based food, supporting independent shops, or discovering niche spots. I suggest downloading the Mapstr app and save these places – it’s a really handy app that I use for all my travels as well as for keeping up with local spots.
Here’s a curated list of my favorite sustainable spots in Budapest.
Getting around
While we, residents tend to criticize the Hungarian public transport system a lot, the truth is it’s quite good, especially in the inner city and around most visit-worthy sights. Walking is also an option but make a plan before as some sights are too far away from each other. Traffic can be busy so I wouldn’t necessarily advise using taxis (we don’t have Uber), maybe only during the night. E-rollers are an option, download the Lime app to see which areas it’s available in. You can also rent a bike.
Eat & Drink
Ecocafe is an organic specialty coffee shop that uses organic and fair-trade ingredients for the drinks and small bites. Empathy Café & Bistro is a specialty coffee shop and community space operated by the Hungarian Red Cross, so you directly fund their work if you have a coffee there. There are also a lot of awesome independent specialty coffee shops in the city (often offering organic and vegan pastries), so it’s worth supporting them over the large chains. My favorite coffee places are: My Little Melbourne, fekete, Madal, Blue Bird Roastery, Budapest Coffee Stand, Fabrik, Espresso Embassy, Dorado, and Double Shot. If you prefer tea, the best place is Zhaou Zhou , a specialty tea shop that regularly organizes tea tasting events and workshops as well.
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Photo by Dorado Cafe -
Szimply serves beautiful breakfast dishes (all day long) with superfood and local ingredients. Portobello Coffee & Wine is another great brunch or light lunch spot, but they also serve organic special wines in the evening. For healthy, vegetarian/vegan food and desserts on the Buda side, try Home of Franziska.
For vegan, vegetarian, or mainly plant-based lunch and dinner, you can check out Flow, Dobrumba, ONO Poké Bowl Bar, Madal Food, Tökmag Vegan Street Food, and Napfényes Restaurant. There are also two street food courtyards with lots of plant-based options in the city center: Vegan Garden and Karavan.
If you’re looking for a vegan/vegetarian fine dining experience, one of the best restaurants in the city, Stand has a vegetarian tasting menu. Salt Budapest fuses Scandinavian minimal approach and modern Hungarian cuisine and focuses a lot on seasonality and sustainability. The chef often goes foraging in nature himself to find unique wild ingredients. You can ask for a vegetarian or vegan menu, just let them know beforehand.
Without doubt, the best ice cream spot in the city is Kőfagyi? a Bartókon – they make their ice cream from local, natural ingredients. That whole area is worth checking out by the way as it’s full of cool cafes, galleries, and bars. Anjuna offers vegan ice pops made with real fruits.
Also, the water is drinkable everywhere in the city, so you can take your reusable water bottle with you.
Shop
Budapest has many farmers markets. Tourist guides usually list Central Market Hall as the place to go, mostly because it’s housed in a beautiful, historic building, but there are other, smaller markets frequented by locals where you can buy organic, local produce and food products in an ambient setting as well. The Szimpla Farmers’ Market is organized every Sunday in the famous ruin pub – there’s also live music and brunch offers. The Czakó Market is open every weekend in a pretty courtyard close to Gellért Hill so you can take a walk and see Budapest from above before grabbing a bite at the market. Pancs Gasztroplacc is held in another ruin pub every Sunday – you can buy fresh organic produce and participate at community cooking and eating events. Once a month, there’s a Vegan Sunday Market in the city as well with vegan food and beauty/household products. For packaging-free shopping, try Ligeti Bolt in several locations.
If you love visiting bookstores in foreign cities, Atlantisz Könyvsziget and Írók Boltja are two cool independent book shops that have a great selection of English-language art books.
For vintage fashion, visit Retrock, Szputnyik, LoveBug Vintage, Ludovika, Typo Showroom. For vintage homeware and design, I can recommend Studio Fabrika, Artibus365, or the Sunday Antique & Design Market. For modern, contemporary Hungarian fashion, go to the Nanushka showroom, which includes a tiny, stylish coffee bar as well. Printa sells clothing, accessories, and design goods made from sustainable materials. Mono Art & Design is a beautiful lifestyle concept store for Hungarian designers and PALOMA Artist Courtyard is a shared showroom space in a 19th-century building, where you can find galleries and pop-up stores by upcoming Hungarian designers.
Do
If you’ve had enough of the sightseeing and crave some nature, go to the newly redesigned City Park or Margaret Island and take a walk or have a picnic. There are a few inner-city gardens as well for a few minutes of rest; my favorite is Károlyi Kert and Füvészkert. For independent art galleries, stroll down Bartók Béla Avenue and if you’d like to attend a contemporary art event, check out Trafó. If you prefer antiquing, there are a few galleries and auction houses on Balaton street and neighboring Falk Miksa street. To see a new side of Budapest, choose a thematic walk by Imagine Budapest or hosszúlépés. járunk?. And for a relaxing wellness experience, visit one of the many thermal baths of the city or try an outdoor yoga class.
If you spend a little more time in Budapest, it’s worth exploring outside the city as well – visit Fellini Bistro on Római Part or the retro spots in Népsziget, the many picturesque cities of the Danube-bend, or the hidden forest beach in Kisoroszi Szigetcsúcs.
For general sustainable tourism tips, you can check out this post.
Hope you’ll have a great time in the city and you can always send me a mail if you need more recommendations.
