Budapest Entertainment

  1. 1000 Tea

    In a small courtyard off lower Váci utca, this is the place to go if you want to sip a soothing blend made by tea-serious staff and lounge on pillows in a Japanese-style tearoom. You can also sit and sip on the tea chests in the courtyard. There's a shop here too.

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  2. A38 Hajó

    Moored on the Buda side just south of Petőfi Bridge, the 'A38 Ship' is a decommissioned Ukrainian stone hauler from 1968 that has been reinvented as a party venue. It's so cool, it's hot in summer; and the hold, well, rocks throughout the year.

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  3. Action Bar

    The name says it all. Take the usual precautions and have a ball. Strippers and dancers make appearances every night from about midnight.

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  4. Almássy tér Recreation Centre

    This venue west of Keleti train station has just about anything that's in and/or interesting, from rock and blues to jazz, but especially folk music. There's a Hungarian dance house every second Saturday at .

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  5. Angel

    Angel, which is also known by its Hungarian name, Angyal, is Budapest's flagship gay club and fills up with party people every weekend. Everyone's welcome Friday and Sunday, but Saturday is strictly for the boys.

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  6. Angelika

    Angelika is a charming café attached to an 18th-century church, with a lovely terrace overlooking the Danube. The food is just so-so; come here for the cakes and the views.

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  7. Aranytíz Cultural Centre

    With programmes from on Saturday, frequently running to well after , this gleaming new cultural centre in the Northern Inner Town hosts the incomparable Kalamajka Táncház, one of Budapest's most popular táncház nights.

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  8. Ballet Cipő

    The pretty little 'Ballet Slipper' in the theatre district and just behind the opera house is a delightful place to stop for a rest and refreshment or to have a light meal.

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  9. Bank Dance Hall

    In the southern wing of Nyugati train station next to McDonald's, this enormous disco has rhythm and blues on the 1st floor, house and trance on the 2nd, dance on the 3rd and funk-house (a Hungarian thing) on the 4th. Lots of young suburban types reeking of cologne and on the prowl.

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  10. Becketts

    Of the capital's ubiquitous 'Irish' pubs, this is the best (and largest) of the lot, with all-day breakfast as well as sandwiches and salads. The new cocktail bar in the rear is an additional plus.

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  11. Birdland

    This new venue at the southern end of Liszt Ferenc tér is surprisingly bereft of jazz despite its name. It is, however, the ideal spot to catch strains from musicians practising music at the academy just opposite. The food gets good reports.

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  12. Buda Concert Hall

    The 30 dancers of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble (Magyar Állami Népi Együttes) perform at the Buda Concert Hall in Buda on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from May to mid-October and on Saturday and/or Sunday only the rest of the year.

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  13. Budapest Congress Centre

    This modern conference centre in Buda moonlights as a concert hall, and has recently undergone a major renovation - supposedly to improve its poor acoustics. Big-ticket galas and opening nights are frequently held here.

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  14. Budapest Operetta

    This theatre presents operettas, which are always a riot, especially campy ones like the Queen of the Csárdás by Imre Kálmán, with their OTT staging and costumes.

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  15. Café Csiga

    This very popular, eclectically decorated café-cum-bar just opposite the Rákóczi tér market attracts a mixed, arty crowd.

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  16. Café Del Rio

    On the northern side of Petőfi Bridge on the Buda side, Rio is stylish but not up itself, with a pseudo tropical/carnival theme.

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  17. Café Eklektika

    While there are no specifically lesbian bars in Budapest, Café Eklektika comes the closest, and attracts a very mixed crowd. Lots of canned jazz and the like.

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  18. Café Miró

    A personal favourite in the touristy Castle District; Miró has Med-coloured walls and furniture, snacks, cakes and main courses and local artwork and photography on the walls. It's open on two sides. There's also a Pest branch called Miró Grande on VI Liszt Ferenc tér 9.

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  19. Café Ponyvaragény

    'Pulp Fiction' is a great place that's supposed to be a local secret but - alas - is no longer. The old books and fringed lampshades are a nice touch, and the coffee is some of the best in town.

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  20. Café Vian

    This comfortable café - done up in warm peach tones and serving breakfast all day - remains the anchor tenant on the sunny side of 'the tér', courted by Pest's arty aristocracy.

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  21. Candy

    Lesbian parties are held on the last Saturday of the month at a bar called Candy.

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  22. Castro Bisztró

    This eclectic place has a mixed clientele, Serbian dishes and chilli on its menu and a few terminals for logging on to the Internet. It's one of the few places on the strip that is crowded all year.

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  23. Central Europe Dance Theatre

    This pan-European theatre has some fine contemporary dance performances; enter from VII István út.

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  24. Centrál Kávéház

    This grande dame, which reopened a few years ago after extensive renovations, is still jostling to reclaim her title as the place to sit and look intellectual in Pest.

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  25. Central Ticket Office

    Central Ticket Office is the busiest theatrical ticket agency, with tickets to plays and other events at theatres around Budapest.

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