On behalf of the Budapest Pride Team and the Hungarian GLBT community WELCOME to Hungary's Capital City.
Our Budapest - Updated 2010 Alternative Visitor Guide to the Hungarian Capital
One of our missions is to provide LGBT visitors with current information on gay life in Hungary and to offer true Magyar hospitality to everyone coming to our city from abroad. As such, our mission is truly committed to diversity and tolerance, bringing Hungary in line with other European nations in their respect for human rights and minorities.
While images of Neo-Nazis throwing eggs at pride marchers may have dominated news media in previous years, we believe such incidents are not representative of Hungarian society as a whole. In fact, Budapest to us is a beacon of hope and tolerance in Central Europe, with far more repressive attitudes towards gays and lesbians looming in societies further East or down the Balkans. While gay life may not be quite the same as in Western Europe and North America, we may assure you that once you understand life the Magyar way, there is no limit to expressing who you are and can be in a tolerant, open and accepting Hungary.
So what exactly IS the Magyar way? Well...just as in the Hungarian language SZIA is hello and HELO can mean goodbye, things work in slightly different ways semantically in Hungary. So although in recent years new exclusively gay and lesbian venues have opened all over the city, there are places that have traditionally always attracted an alternative following, although they have never openly been advertised as such. Take the Turkish baths, for instance, on “men-only” days. While not officially gay, they have for decades attracted a huge following of admirers of men-only nudist culture, the homo-eroticism of which may be tangible even for casual outside observers. And in the traditional Magyar scheme of things, such places may be far more enjoyable and relaxing than the crude meat market cruising rituals at Western-style gay saunas. The same applies to mixed nightclubs and cafes, almost all of which in Budapest are known to be highly tolerant, accepting and easygoing. Thus Hungary is radically different from the gay circuit party scene of Western Europe and North America, which is precisely its greatest charm and attraction.
So what is there to do for LGBT visitors to Hungary's capital city?
Comprehensive listings of alternative venues can be found on several web sites, including
and the independent travel portal:
http://www.budapest.com/city_guide/gay_budapest.en.html
Whereas Gayguide.net gets updated on a regular basis, the Budapest.com site is not always up-to-date, since it does not predominantly cater to LGBT visitors.
Budapest's official gay and lesbian publication is now called COMPANY and is published monthly in Hungarian only but has a regular welcome article in English dedicated to international visitors. Most listings in the printed edition of COMPANY are current and can also be found on their web page edition at http://companymedia.hu.
Any such lists, however, are only of limited value. As mentioned in the introduction, some of the gayest things to do in Budapest are in places not openly advertised as gay and thus missing in the guides. And places that ARE listed may not be open or busy every night with some catering mostly to tourists and others more to a local scene.
So we would like to present our own take on gay life in Budapest as subjective and incomplete as that may be. As such we thus also cannot be held liable by businesses or potential patrons alike for any information given herein. Nor do we receive benefits or incentives from any of the places we mention. For exact contact information including addresses and phone numbers, please check the COMPANY guide page above.
Summer is one of the nicest times of the year to visit Budapest and enjoy its beauty. Why not start your day with coffee at Cafe Mylord or, if not so sunny and warm, Alter Ego Cafe or Cafe Eklektika? The former has a more touristy crowd daytime but is almost all gay at night and has a nice terrace with views of the Citadel and Gellert Hill. Eklektika, by contrast, is much busier in the evenings catering to a slightly more refined mixed gay-friendly theater-going clientèle. Alter Ego Cafe is a more recent addition to the LGBT coffeehouse scene. Conveniently located in the heart of Pest at Deak Ter, it follows the same design and ambiance principle of its nosier nightclub namesake. And if you happen to be in the main tourist area around Vaci utca, you may want to stop by gay-operated and mixed Amstel River Cafe for a drink and some nice people-watching.
Wellness is high priority in Hungary, and GLBT visitors can indulge in Budapest's spa culture at various venues. Forget the over-publicized Gellert and Szecheny baths and instead focus on the outdoor Palatinus pool on Margaret Island on a warm sunny summer day. Although not publicly "gay", the same-sex sunning terrace and shower facilities could not be gayer or cruisier. The same used to hold true for another outdoor pool in the summer, Csillaghegy, slightly further away and quieter on the Buda side (Metro to Batthyany Ter and HEV to Szentendre, stop Csillaghegy). It used to offer nice same-sex tanning areas on top of “Star Hill“, but last we heard is that it no longer is as popular as authorities had cracked down on “gay“ activities there.
On rainy days, by contrast, the Turkish baths Rudas (TUE women only; MON, WED, THU – half price!-, FRI men only) and Kiraly (TUE THU and SAT men only) beckon. Although neither is publicly "gay", both are hotbeds of homo-eroticism and fine examples of Magyar-style gay culture with Kiraly known to be the more permissive of the two.
Finally, for Western-style gay saunas, there are Szauna69 and Magnum, each catering to a slightly different clientèle. Those are busy on particular nights only (THU, SAT & SUN are relatively popular) and come with the heavy cruising rituals typical of such saunas. Yet they are also among the best gay places in town to just relax at, socialize with friends or enjoy a massage.
After all this wellness some dinner may be in order, and while the above mentioned cafes serve some food items, proper meals are best consumed elsewhere. The only "gay" dining venue would be Club 93 Pizzeria near Blaha, but even there the owners may be gay but the clientèle is at best mixed and gay-friendly. We rather prefer the summer outdoor dining on Raday Utca in the 9th district not far from Kalvin Ter and the Market Hall. Here in this semi-pedestrian street we find a vast array of scrumptious and inexpensive dining options, and although not "gay", most are at least tolerant, diverse eateries with many of them gay-owned, managed or at least served by young, diverse and possibly gay waiters. And the terraces are among the best places for Budapest dining in the summer and are great venues for socializing and people-watching too.
Following dinner and a digestive stroll and nap we are ready to explore Budapest's night life, which is mostly quiet on weekdays and only picks up on weekends. There are about a dozen venues to pick from. We would opt for private parties before heading out to clubs, or a pre-clubbing drink or two at one of the bars like Habroló, Funny Carrot, Capella or at one of the cafes like My Lord, Alter Ego Cafe or closer to the nightclubs, Eklektika or Cafe &. Then around midnight gay nightlife in Budapest centers around Dessewffy utca near Oktogon, where we find both Alter Ego and GLAM. Both are very similar in layout and style, get busy after midnight and feature drag shows as well. Ultimately Alter Ego always seems to pull in more crowds and makes for an entertaining night out with friends old and new.
At the end of the night there is always COXX or the more tourist-oriented Action bar to cater to those who are still in need of new friends - both featuring vast dark cruising areas and dark rooms.
Finally, Budapest also has a string of semi-regular gay-themed parties including Candy, Liberty and the highly popular Brutko party with alternating venues, themes and special events. The latter can thus be really hit-or-miss but provide a nice distraction from the business-as-usual routine of Alter Ego.
Again, we hope our unofficial overview has been of help and on behalf of Budapest's LGBT community wish you a wonderful enriching and entertaining stay in the Land of the Magyars! Welcome!! üdvözöljük!!
- reprinted with kind permission from STEVE INYO, Euroquest Side Tracks: http://steveinyo.blogspot.com/-
