Great Market Hall

The Great Market Hall, the Nagycsarnok or Central Market Hall, is the largest and most beautiful indoor market in Budapest, and a food lover's introduction to Hungary. Completed in 1897 to plans by the architect Samu Pecz, it stands at the Pest end of the Liberty Bridge on Fővám tér, a vast neo-Gothic hall of brick and iron, with a roof of colourful glazed tiles from the Zsolnay porcelain factory, a Hungarian treasure in its own right. It was declared a monument in 1976 and restored in the 1990s. Inside, three levels serve different purposes. The ground floor is the working market, with stalls selling fruit and vegetables, meat, bread and the traditional products that define Hungarian cooking: paprika in every grade from sweet to hot, garlands of dried peppers, salami and sausages, goose liver, honey, wine, and pálinka, the fruit brandy. The upper gallery is where most visitors linger, with souvenir stalls selling embroidery, painted eggs and dolls, and food counters serving lángos, the deep-fried flatbread topped with sour cream and cheese, Hortobágy pancakes, stuffed cabbage and goulash, eaten standing at counters overlooking the hall. The basement holds fish and game shops, pickles and a supermarket. The market is free to enter, and it is one of the best places in the city to buy edible souvenirs, from paprika and salami to Tokaji wine. It is open from Monday to Saturday, with shorter hours on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays.

Working the market: come in the morning on a weekday, when the locals are shopping, the stalls are fully stocked and the upper gallery is not yet crowded. Walk the ground floor first, looking at the paprika and salami stalls and the displays of peppers; buy paprika in tins or sealed bags for travel, and ask for a taste of salami before you buy. Then climb to the gallery for a lángos or a bowl of goulash with a view of the hall. The food upstairs is simple and filling, though prices are higher than at local markets, and the quality varies from counter to counter. For a better sit-down meal, walk ten minutes into the side streets. If you are curious about Hungarian produce, look out for mangalica, the curly-haired pig whose rich, marbled meat goes into some of the best salamis and hams, and for the pickled vegetables in the basement, sold from barrels in every combination of cabbage, peppers and cucumbers. Seasonal produce tells you the time of year: cherries and apricots in early summer, peppers and tomatoes in late summer, and chestnuts and walnuts in autumn.

Shopping tips: prices are generally fixed and marked, but compare a few stalls before buying souvenirs, and avoid paying in euros, as the rate will be poor; pay in forints or by card. Many stalls accept cards, but carry a little cash for small purchases. Paprika is the classic gift; choose sweet, noble sweet or hot, and check that it is Hungarian, from Szeged or Kalocsa. Salami from Szeged and Pick is a famous Hungarian product. Tokaji Aszú, the sweet dessert wine, and pálinka make excellent presents, and travel well if wrapped carefully in luggage.

Around the market: the market sits at the southern end of Váci utca, the Inner City's pedestrian shopping street, so you can walk north along it toward Vörösmarty tér and the Danube promenade. Across the green Liberty Bridge, the paths of Gellért Hill climb to the reopened Citadella. Corvinus University occupies the former customs house next door. Note that the hall is closed on Sundays and on public holidays, and Saturdays are busier and close early, so plan a weekday visit if you can.