|
Vaci utca has been famous for its shops and korzo (promenade) since the eighteenth century. During the 1980s, its vivid streetlife became a symbol of the "consumer socialism" that distinguished Hungary from other Eastern Bloc states, but Budapesters today are rather less enamoured of Vaci: dressed-to-kill babes and their sugar daddies would rather pose in malls, and teenagers can find McDonald's anywhere, leaving Vaci utterly dependent on tourists for its livelihood and bustle. The downside of this is apparent along the stretch between Vorosmarty ter and Ferenciek tere, where overpriced souvenir shops and cafes compete with hustlers, buskers and bureaux de change for a share of the trade. Though people-watching is still a major diversion, shopping is less rewarding than it was when there were all kinds of small shops in the yards off the street, now driven out by soaring rents - and besides, Budapesters always did their serious shopping on the Nagykorut, anyway. A few landmarks along the way might catch your eye, such as the scantily-clad fisher-girl statue on Kristof ter , a small plaza running across to Szervita ter and Petofi Sandor utca, or the Pest Theatre (no. 9) on the site of the Inn of the Seven Electors , where the 12-year-old Liszt performed in 1823. Vaci's looks improve beyond Ferenciek tere: since the southern stretch was also pedestrianized in 1997, it has leapfrogged over its northern sibling to become more stylish and korzo -friendly, with some funky boutiques and specialist shops, and lots of restaurants and cafes. The old buildings and cobbled sidestreets have been tastefully facelifted, even ones down towards the Great Market Hall that are quite humble compared to edifices like the prewar Officers' Casino on the corner of Ferenciek tere (now a bank's headquarters) or the nineteenth-century hulk of the Old Budapest City Hall at nos. 62-64, where the city council still meets. Look out for the sculptural plaque on the wall of no. 47, commemorating the fact that the Swedish King Carl XII stayed here during his lightning fourteen-day horse-ride from Turkey to Sweden, in 1714.
Your Tip for Vaci utca
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Vaci utca - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Vaci utca - visit the main Vaci utca forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Vaci utca webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
