Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tony Curtis
Although Bernard Schwartz was
born in New York in 1925, his par-
ents were well known Hungarian
actors who performed at many of
Budapest's theatres before
emigrating to America in 1923.
Bernard, of course, found fame
under his screen name, Tony
Curtis but he never forgot his
roots. He has long been a leading
face in the city's international
marketing campaigns.
A Day in Downtown
Budapest
Morning
A leisurely cup of coffee
on the terrace of the
Modernist Budapest
Marriott Hotel (see p112)
on Vigadó Square will set
the tone for the day per-
fectly. Then walk a short
distance east to Váci utca
(see pp14-15) , with its
superb retail stores on the
northern side, including
souvenir stalls, high-end
fashion brands and ine
Hungarian porcelain and
crystal at Goda (see
p107) . Next, visit Pest's
oldest church, the Inner
City Parish Church (see
p83) just off Szabad Sajtó
út, before eating a light
lunch at Gambrinus in the
Taverna hotel (see p113).
( Jewish Quarter
The Jewish Quarter is
bordered by Károly körút, Dohány
utca, Kazinczy utca and Király
utca. Jews irst settled in
Hungary in the 13th century, in
the area around Óbuda. In the
19th century, a second wave of
Jews arrived and settled in this
area, which was outside Pest's
city walls at the time. The com-
munity thrived until 1941, when
the irst anti-Semetic laws were
passed by Admiral Horthy's pro-
Nazi dictatorship. In 1944, the
area around the Great Synagogue
became a ghetto from where tens
of thousands of Jews were taken
to death camps. Today, it is home
to a small Jewish community with
synagogues, shops and Kosher
restaurants. d Map M3 • Zsidó Negyed
) Mihály Pollack Square
Afternoon
After lunch, either take the
metro from Ferenciek tere
up to Astoria or walk ten
minutes along the busy
Kossuth Lajos utca to the
Great Synagogue on
Dohány utca. You can visit
the splendid Byzantine-
inspired synagogue and its
excellent Jewish Museum
(see p38) before paying
your respects to the Jews
killed in the Holocaust at
the sobering Holocaust
Memorial in the syna-
gogue's rear courtyard.
Then set about exploring
the rest of the fascinating
Jewish Quarter , which is
known for its little gift
shops and quaint book
stores, as well as the far
less ostentatious syna-
gogues on Rumbach S
utca and Kazinczy utca.
End your day with a deli-
cious Middle-Eastern
dinner at the superb
Carmel Pince restaurant
(Kazinczy utca 31).
Named after the architect of
several Neo-Classical buildings
including the National Museum,
this square is famous for its three
palaces, built for Hungary's
wealthiest aristocrats - Count
Károlyi at No. 6, Prince Eszterházy
at No. 8 and Prince Festetics at
No. 10. The superb façades of
the palaces (of which only the
Festetics Palace is open to the
public), make the square one of
the most picturesque in the city.
d Map D5 • V, Pollack Mihály tér
85
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