Communist Budapest Walking Tour
Description
With the help of a historian, this 3 hour walking tour allows you to grasp the “goulash communism” of Budapest’s decades under totalitarianism, the soft dictatorship in which Hungarians had certain liberties in exchange for obedience on major issues. Learn why, for all the suffering of Budapest’s citizens under the communist regime, Hungary was called “the happiest barrack in the Soviet Bloc.”
Tour Options
Itinerary
Traveling by subway to Kossuth Square in front of Parliament, we explore monuments from the 1956 revolution, before continuing to Liberty Square where we discuss aspects of the Cold War before the US Embassy, the monument to the Soviet Army, the statue of Ronald Reagan and an atomic shelter.
We conclude outside the House of Terror, the imposing museum housed in the former headquarters of the communist secret services with a slab of the Berlin Wall in front. (Although the exhibit within is not included in the tour, this is the perfect endpoint for those interested in delving deeper into Hungary’s Cold War experience)
Dropping by the former People’s Stadium (now Puskas Soccer Stadium), with classic socialist realist statues still standing, we can explore the heavy-handed propaganda favored by the regime.
Discover the Ronald Reagan statue and the Hungarian sense of obligation to this US president for his efforts to bring down the Iron Curtain.
Explore Bem József Square, where the first big demonstration of the 1956 uprising started. On the square is also a coffeehouse that has retained its original interior from the 1960s.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Your tour guides are expert local historians and enthusiastic hosts who love helping travelers from all over discover Budapest.
Reviews(24)
Being good walking shoes, some water and be ready to learn much about communism in Hungary. A great way to learn so much so quickly.
Thank you for taking the time to review. We're proud to work with such terrific guides. Hope to see you again on Insight Cities tours in Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Salzburg.
My husband and I did this tour with Andras, and it was absolutely incredible. Andras is so knowledgeable about Hungary's history with communism, and told us about his own first-hand experiences living under that regime. He was super personable and he added a ton of color to the city. This was our first booked event in Budapest and we were so lucky to get such an amazing view and history of the city from this remarkable guide, I highly recommend it!
Thank you very much for your review. We're so glad you had a fantastic time with Andras. Hope to see you on another Insight Cities tour in any of our cities - Budapest, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, & Salzburg.
We had a brilliant day with Andras- he was a Superb guide- full of insights & knowledge. We had good discussions & conversation over a range of key moment in Hungarian history. He answered our questions with a wonderful depth of knowledge and detail. A really great tour - Thankyou
Thanks so much for your kind review. Hope to see you on another Insight Cities tour in Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Berlin, or Salzburg.
This was the best tour we had during our trip. Our tour guide, Balint Tamas was exceptionally knowledgeable and entertaining. So much of the experience in Budapest revolved around understanding the turbulent recent history and Balint laid out the story in a clear and understandable way. He brought books with illustrations showing the historical events that took place at the sites he took us to. He was well prepared, an expert in the history and made the tour fun. Can't recommend this highly enough.
Hi Lawrence, Thank you for leaving this kind note about Balint's tour! He's such a great guide. Glad you enjoyed your tour with him. Hope to see you on our other tours in Vienna, Salzburg, Berlin & Prague. All the best, Insight Cities
Hey there ;-) We just finished this great tour with the perfect guide Balint ! We are on a fanily vacation (age from 18 to 53) and Balint managed to cater all our needs and was very captivating and entertaining tour. He walked with us through sights of Budapest, we would never have seen without him, showing us a completely new part of Budapest and opening our horizons. After the tour we can say with much confidence that it is a must do and should be added to your To Do immediately!! 12/10 stars!!
Fascinating tour of Budapest! Andras was so informative about the city’s and country’s complex history and tailored the tour to suit our main interests. We learnt and saw so much.
We're so pleased you enjoyed the tour! Hope to see you on Insight Cities tours again in Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Prague and Berlin. Safe travels.
Hugely informative tour which gave us a real flavour of the rich history of Budapest. Andras, our guide, was first-rate and hugely knowledgeable. Highly recommended.
We had a fantastic tour!!! Balin was our guide and he was absolutely incredible. He had a great breadth and depth of knowledge and presented the information thoughtfully. He really helped us gain greater insight into this portion of Hungary’s history. Ask for Balin for a tremendous experience!!
Thanks so much for the great feedback. We're glad you enjoyed it and we hope to see you on Insight Cities tour in our other cities -- Prague, Vienna, Berlin and Salzburg. Safe travels!
The tour was simply awesome! We played a kind of "follow the historic tracks" game while walking through the monuments of the city, which I found really interesting. The guide was also very knowledgeable and replies to any question regarding the topic.
Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and showed us sites we didn't even know existed. She did a great job at helping us feel what living under communism was like
