The market’s success can be credited to its status as a multi-use destination for visitors. On the ground floor, airy stalls sell a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, famous Hungarian paprika, and other fresh and dried foods. Handicrafts, clothing, and souvenir vendors can be found on the upper level, where visitors can also meet for a drink or sample traditional Hungarian snacks from food stands and cafés. Other necessities (not excepting pickles!) can be purchased from the drugstore, Asian supermarket, and various fishmongers on the basement level.

Tourists can schedule a guided tour of Great Market Hall to better navigate its stalls, food, and history. To further entice the local community and keep the visitor experience fresh, the market has instituted the “Tourism Days” program, which invites guests to learn about a different country’s culture and sample its cuisine each week of the year. Open year-round and easily accessible by tram, bus, or metro, the market is an equally reliable venue for tourists to get a taste for the city’s culture as it is for locals to spend time with friends or pick up a forgotten ingredient on their way home from work.

Budapest’s Great Market Hall, also referred to as Central Market Hall or “Nagycsarnok" in Hungarian, is located on the Pest side of the Liberty Bridge in Fővám Square. With its three stories, distinctive Zsolnay tiled roof, and steel beam construction, the market was considered one of the most modern of its time when it first opened in 1897. After suffering damage during WWII, several small repairs were made to the hall, and a full restoration took place in the 1990s.

Image credits: Markus Kolletzky via Flickr, Jordan and Marisa Magnuson via Flickr, Brandon Morisson via Flickr

Website: http://www.piaconline.hu/

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