Nightlife

Introduction : New clubs and discos are constantly sprouting up all over Budapest and there is no district especially renowned for its nightlife. The bars offer something for everybody (from sleazy sex bars to calm cafés) and there is plenty of space to experiment. Many bars are open until dawn, although most close at around 0400. Borozos are cheap wine cellars, where it is rare to see women, especially unaccompanied. Sorozos are beer houses that will also serve good and moderately priced food. The minimum drinking age is 18 years.

Probably the best sources of nightlife listings are Budapest Week (website: www.budapestweek.com) or The Budapest Sun (website: www.budapestsun.com). Where Budapest is a monthly guide in English, available free at most hotels.

Bars: The Crazy Café, VI Jókai útca 30, stocks over 20 draught and 100 bottled beers and is popular with the young set. Café Mediterran, VI Liszt Ferenc tér, is open until 0200 and has a friendly atmosphere and attractive terrace that is packed in summer. Portside, VII Dohány útca 7, is popular with a young crowd at the weekend, with an excellent menu, pool tables and dancing, while Negro, II Szent Istvar tér, is the place for cocktails. Szimpla Kert, Kazinczy 14 (website: www.szimpla.hu), is a fun and funky squat-style venue with a great beer garden in the warmer months.

Casinos: Budapest has over a dozen casinos, mostly located in the luxury hotels along the Dunakorzó. These include the Las Vegas Casino, Hyatt Regency Hotel, V Roosevelt tér 2 (website: www.lasvegascasino.hu), Casino Budapest Hilton, I Hess András tér 1-3, Casino Budapest Gresham, Gresham Palace, V Roosevelt tér 5, and the grand Várkert Casino, 1 Ybl Miklós tér 9 (website: www.varkert.com). In all casinos, photo ID must be presented for registration on the first visit and the minimum age is 18.

Clubs: Franklin Trocadero Café, V Szent István körút 15, plays good Latin music, while retro is provided in the cellar-club Nincs Pardon, VIII Almássy tér 2. Fat Mo's, V Nyáry Pál útca 11, is always busy and the dancefloor is usually filled, during and after the live jazz concerts. Piaf, VI Nagymezo útca 25, has a piano bar upstairs and a lively bar with a dancefloor in the basement. The Old Man's Music Pub, VII Akácfa útca 13, although crowded, is one of the city's most fun night-time hotspots, with live music from 2100 to 2300. Angyal Bar, VII Szövetség útca 33, is the gay club in Budapest, specialising in good old-fashioned high-NRG dance remixes. Barge A38 is a trendy floating club venue currently a favourite of the local cognoscenti.

Live Music: Mexican music is played at Latin Kocsma, V Havas útca 2. Mellow jazz is featured at Club Seven, VII Afácfa útca 7, a classy café, bar and music club, and at Incognito, VI Liszt Ferenc tér 3. Dance houses (táncház) feature Magyar folk music from isolated areas such as the Transylvanian region of Romania. Kalamajka DH (Belvárosi Ifjusági Muvelodesi Haz), V Molnár útca 9, was started by Béla Habmos (the founder of the dance house movement in the 1970s) and is open Saturday 2000-0100. International stars perform at Népstadion, the main sport stadium, XIV Istvánmezei útca 1-3. 

    

      

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