The "Ruin" Bars

One of the many cosy corners
 at Szimpla

After having been here a couple of months now I've been to a few of the bars in the city centre - certainly not all of them, because there are literally hundreds ... from small, 1-room bars crammed in-between shops, cafés where you can sit outside and people watch, open-air bars (which I assume are closed in the Winter), to the posh (and not so posh) multi-floor discos.

Anyway, of all of these bars my favourite are the "ruin bars" as they're known, mainly because of the atmosphere - relaxed, friendly, and there's always a buzz about them. They're called ruin bars because they're set in the courtyards of large, half-derelict buildings in the VI and VII districts. The biggest ones that I've found so far are Szimpla and Instant, with lots of different levels and rooms and styles. Okay, maybe the styles aren't all that different - the furniture is a mix of old chairs, sofas, benches all thrown together around an old table. Szimpla is a more relaxed place, where the music isn't so loud, and you can even rent a water-pipe if you want. If you want to dance then I'd recommend Instant, since there are dance floors playing different styles of music hidden away in the building.

You can get lots of different drinks (soft drinks, beer, cocktails, shots), which are all relatively cheap (about 2 euros for a beer). And even though it's a little expensive, you should try at least one of the many different flavours of pálinka - a traditional fruit flavoured brandy - sour cherry was my favourite, at least, from what I remember it was :-)