2006 - march

A Walk on Budapest’s Cultural Boulevard: Andrássy Avenue

Surrounded by the Arts, Elegant Palaces, Exclusive Shops and Atmospheric Cafes

The Cultural Boulevard is an imaginary promenade stretching between the Castle District in Buda and the City Park in Pest.

Some of the most interesting cultural and historic sights of the Hungarian capital are along this route. No wonder, it is a World Heritage sight. Let’s spend some time on the Pest side for now: there are plenty of spectacular buildings within a few kilometres, so it is easy to spend a couple of hours walking around here.
Some of Budapest’s most famous buildings, museums, cafes, confectionaries and theatres are included between the two ends of the Cultural Boulevard, so this walk is a good way to discover the city.
Many cultural institutions have become famous sights. A small but interesting collection makes the Postal Museum a recommended place for visiting and only a few steps down the road, you’ll find one of the most magnificent buildings that Budapest can boast with.
The Hungarian State Opera: The Renaissance building represents harmonic unity inside out, with rich decorations emphasizing the building’s representative function. The marble hall and stairway, walls covered with marble, impressive parquetry in the salons, silk wall-covers, frescoes and the golden spectacle in the auditorium add up to an imposing effect. Only the Paris opera building can compare to this.
Opposite the road from the Opera, a similarly impressive building which used to house the ballet school until recently will soon be turned into a five-star luxury hotel.
This part of the boulevard also includes some beautiful shops selling luxury goods, such as Czech crystals, Herend porcelain and French jewellery. It is a joy even to look at Caprice jewellery, but you can also buy them here, along with designer watches, shoes, clothes and even special balloons.

Progressing further in the direction of the City Park, you will reach the Franz Liszt Memorial Museum. Liszt’s last home in Budapest was in a side street, and he lived here between 1881 and 1886. Located on the first floor of the Old Music Academy building, the museum presents the composer’s original instruments, furniture, books, scores and personal objects.
The Ferenc Hopp East-Asian Museum includes large collections of Chinese and Japanese objects representing Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Islam culture.

Further down the road to Heroes’s Square, contemporary arts are represented in the recently refurbished KOGArt House. This impressive palace is home to regularly changing exhibitions and cultural events, and it includes a cafeteria and restaurant.
This part of Andrássy Avenue is lined with palaces and the former villas of the upper middle classes and it runs into Heroes Square and the City Park. Two sanctuaries of art face each other on this spectacular square: the Museum of Fine Arts and the Arts Hall. The former displays Egyptian art, old Spanish masters and among others, Gauguin, while the latter focuses on modern and contemporary art.
It is worth going underground here, as well. If you hop on the yellow line, you will travel on the first underground on the Continent and you can see an exhibition of the underground’s history at the Deák Square Stations, as well as exciting displays at each of the stops.

The World’s a Stage – Exhibition of Theatre History at the Stops of the Yellow Underground
Passengers on the yellow line, also referred to as the Millennium Underground, can learn about the rich theatrical history of the period at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Posters, show bills, stage and costume designs and photos present the world of theatre in those “years of peace”.
The Deak Square station focuses on the history of Pest’s German-language theatres and the National Theatre.
The Bajcsy-Zsilinszky stop continues the same there and takes a peek into performances by the Folk Theatre.
The Opera stop is obviously dedicated to the history of opera, while Octogon deals with operetta.
Körönd provides information on famous European performers, such as Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonore Duse and Alexander Moissi and shows reports on a guest performance by a company headed by one of the most influential directors and theatrical innovators of the first half of the 20th century: Max Reinhardt. 
Bajza Street commemorates the experiments carried out by Hungarian innovators.
Heroes Square (Hõsök Tere) introduces visitors to famous past Hungarian actor geniuses
City Park (Városliget) presents the theatrical workshops operating at the time.
Mexikói út brings back the successes of the old popular People’ Opera (currently Erkel Theatre).

A few places around the City Park are also highly recommended to all visitors, such as the Vajdahunyad Castle, the Zoo, the Ice-skating Rink and the Gundel Restaurants.