It’s been an insanely long time since I updated this blog (although I have been posting my doings and whereabouts on Instagram), but I have been busy with personal issues, and furthermore as of just under three months ago I now am among the great employed for the first time in a long while, which is great for my finances and overall self confidence, but not too great on my ability to go out and explore European metal bars and festivals whenever I please. If you happened to be following my FB and/or Insta at the time you will know I was in Budapest to explore their scene back in November, and had a great time of it. Well in 48 hours from now as of the time I am writing this I will be in Vilnius having a pre-festival sesh before heading off to Kilkim Žaibu, which this year has a fantastic line-up in store. With that imminent I have finally made an effort to post about my last European trip till now, so without further ado, I give you a metalhead’s guide to Budapest…
The city itself
I stepped out of Budapest Keleti station after getting off the sleeper and found Budapest was well worth the hype in terms of sights, architecture and food, and even though I had a generous six days there I still barely scratched the surface. Particular highlights included the Trash Art Museum, which consisted of exhibits made out from scrap metal which looked fantastic and indeed very metal (literally!) and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone visiting. In addition another quirky museum well worth the visit is the Light Art Museum, which doesn’t lend itself well to photography but is a fascinating place. Budapest also lends itself well as a place to go stroll around, with the Danube passing through it and several large parks to walk about in. There also no absence of places to buy food either, with me finding a great and affordable Lebanese restaurant on Váci Utca (the (in)famous tourist trap street) of all places, as well as somewhere to savour some goulash later on. It also has a rebellious streak about it, having seen some prank notices purporting to be from the local authorities which seem to the the work of the Magyar Kétfarkú Kutya Párt – the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party, Hungary’s much cooler version of the UK’s Monster Raving Loony Party.
Just a few examples of the amazing exhibits in the Trash Art Museum.
Out and about in Budapest.
A selection of food eaten whilst here: Lebanese mezze (top left), goulash (top right), Ukrainian pancakes, and local sausage.
The Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party at work.
Now for what you have been waiting for, the top places to go for rock and metal in Budapest:
Liquid Rock
This is the most mainstream and touristy of the pubs I went to, one of the songs that was being played was Status Quo’s “Rocking All Over The World”, with a bit of Iron Maiden later on, so you better appreciate your cheese when you are here. It also stocks a lot of nice craft beers too, and is in a central location, in fact, it’s between the other two rock bars I visited, so worth stopping by for one if you are in that area.
The outside of Liquid Rock – lifted from their website since I forgot to take any of my own pictures.
ParaNoir Pub
This is the first of the truly amazing metal bars in Budapest, featuring great tunes from the outset and with a horror film theme which features the starring characters from several iconic horror films. As is the norm in this city, there are great beers all round and I briefly made friends with a group of locals and plays some table football with them. A really welcoming and friendly place to have a drink some decent beer at affordable prices, and listen to great tunes in a great atmosphere, which featured folk metal, industrial, grindcore, and much more.
BlastBeat Bar
The second fantastic rock bar there with plenty of great music to make any metalhead feel at home, featuring on the inside many great posters promoting past gigs of classic bands alongside past European rock festivals. The staff are very friendly, and they accepted my request to play Feuerschwanz and you can’t get any fairer than that. Also a great place to meet and talk to locals.
In conclusion…
Budapest is one fantastic city, which I would recommend to anyone, and it has an amazing set of museums and sights which got cannot hope to visit in their entirety no matter how long your visit is. It also has a great nightlife and that goes beyond the bars I mentioned, it also has a great number of places to go for craft beer, including its iconic ‘ruin bars’ and there are plenty of restaurants for all the foodies reading this. I had a great time here and hope that it is not at all long until I return here.
INFORMATION
- Liquid Rock: Budapest, Rákóczi út 10, 1072 Hungary. Open Mon-Thurs 16-02, Fri & Sat 16-04, closed Sun. Tel: +36 70 777 8777. Google Maps Website Facebook Instagram
- ParaNoir Pub: Budapest, Hársfa utca 41, 1074 Hungary. Open daily 16-00. Tel: +36 17821225. Google Maps Website e-mail Facebook
- BlastBeat Bar: Budapest, Czuczor u. 1, 1093 Hungary. Open Tues-Thurs 17-00, Fri & Sat 17-02, Sun 17-00, closed Mon. Google Maps Facebook