One of the best things about life in Budapest is the neighborhood food markets. Beyond the main market halls found in most districts, there are more and more groups starting farmer’s markets, and shopping at weekly farmer’s markets like the one at Szimpla Kert is how I wish I could spend every lazy Sunday morning. But even though the Central Market is Budapest’s largest market and one of the city’s top tourist attractions, every time I head across the Danube from my apartment in Buda to shop there, I am still thrilled by the experience and delighted by the bountiful selection spread out over the market’s three levels.
Though the market hall is one of Budapest’s top monuments, the market is not just for tourists. It’s a place where locals shop daily, and nurture relationships with their favorite vendors over many years. Architecturally it is a protected city monument, and is one of Europe’s finest market halls. It is an airy orange and yellow brick building, full of steel beams and light flooding in through enormous windows. With its cavernous interior, the vast three-level market hall should be a spot of pilgrimage for any food-lover coming to Budapest-a place where you can spend hours browsing, shopping, snacking, and meal-planning.