See Budapest like a local

From paddleboarding to shabby-chic bars, a Reuters journalist shares her favorite ways to spend downtime in Hungary’s capital.

REUTERS/Illustration Alex Green

Krisztina Than, deputy bureau chief for Central and Eastern Europe, writes our first City Memo, a new feature that gives you the inside view on what to do in the most interesting places around the world.
My journalism career began almost by accident: I grew up in a small town in western Hungary and moved to Budapest, the capital, for university in 1987, just a few years before the fall of the communist regime. After returning from studying abroad in the U.S. and Scotland, I dropped copies of my CV in the mailboxes of 10 companies along an office block in downtown Budapest. One of them was Reuters.
The then-bureau chief hired me as a translator. I later moved to reporting. Recently, as deputy bureau chief for Central and Eastern Europe, I have covered Hungary’s plans to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid, the resignation of our former president over a sex-abuse case pardon, and Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s increasing isolation.

When people ask me how locals spend their downtime in Budapest, here’s what I tell them:
Paddling the Danube: For me, the defining feature of Budapest is the Danube, which cuts between hilly Buda and the flatter Pest side. In the summer, it’s possible to tour the river by kayak or even on a stand-up paddleboard, which has become increasingly popular in the last three or four years.

Don’t try this alone near the city center; the currents are strong, and there is boat traffic. The best spots are north of downtown, near Visegrad and Esztergom, both beautiful historic cities, where the river is calmer and you can swim near its banks.The Szechenyi Bath is famous for its beautiful architecture and summer night mass pool parties, but I enjoy it most on dark winter evenings, sitting in the heated pools with snowflakes falling on my head.

Taking a bath: With its restored Bauhaus-style buildings on Margaret Island in the middle of the Danube, the Palatinus Bath is popular with locals, especially in the summer. There are also many Turkish baths and thermal spas in the Hungarian capital. The Szechenyi Bath is famous for its beautiful architecture and summer night mass pool parties, but I enjoy it most on dark winter evenings, sitting in the heated pools with snowflakes falling on my head.

The Szechenyi Bath is famous for its architecture. REUTERS/Marton Monus
A pool party at the Szechenyi Bath. REUTERS/Marton Monus
Reading: I grew up under the last two decades of communism, almost a generation behind the Hungarian-born journalist Kati Marton, who was born in 1949. Her 2010 memoir “Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America,” exposes the workings of the terror state during a darker time than the one I knew. She digs out secret police files on her parents and conducts dozens of interviews to reveal how her family was spied on and betrayed by friends, colleagues, and even the children’s babysitter.
Viewing: Istvan Szabo’s 1999 epic film “Sunshine” had a deep impact on me. Starring Ralph Fiennes, it follows several generations of a Hungarian Jewish family whose last name was originally Sonnenschein (“sunshine” in German) and later changed to Sors (“fate” in Hungarian). It traces their lives from the Austro-Hungarian Empire through to the period after the 1956 revolution against Soviet rule.

Do not miss Budapest’s famous Sziget Festival, which has been held annually in August since 1993 and has evolved into one of Europe’s largest music festivals.

Concert-going: The young singer, songwriter and YouTuber Azahriah (original name: Attila Bauko) has become a superstar of the Hungarian music scene. He experiments with genres including rap and reggaeton, blending them together to create something totally new. Also, do not miss Budapest’s famous Sziget Festival, which has been held annually in August since 1993 and has evolved into one of Europe’s largest music festivals.
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