chainless budapest urban adventures

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Urban adventures by bike and on foot. Book an alternative walk or rideand experience the city by Hungarian design bikes and hear the untold stories of Budapest.

Chainless Budapest offers themed urban bike tours, combining Stringbike, a Hungarian cycling invention with the creative forces of a popular urban walking project.

Hosszúlépés (Long Step) is an urban walking project, run by young locals, representing various scientific fields from urban studies to sociology, sharing a passion for Budapest. We launch our new project this summer, inviting those who like to explore a city on two wheels, from unexpected perspectives, to take part in a unique urban adventure.

Stringbike is the product of contemporary Hungarian design, merging beauty and practicality. The developers replaced the traditional bicycle chain with a string, providing a smoother and oil-free urban biking experience. Stringbike is one of the symbols of Hungarian innovation and it is soon to become part of the cityscape with the aid of the Chainless Budapest programs.

We believe that we can show you the new and lesser-known faces of Budapest in small groups, facilitating conversation and the exchange of opinions and experiences. We approach the city from different themes and historical periods, thus we immerse you in another era or a hidden world. Stories come alive with archive pictures, with the aid of iPads and Prezi as software background, another example of Hungarian talent and creativity.

RECYCLING BUDAPEST

Reinventing the city’s creative spaces

adventures on bike .

Budapest’s crumbling facades often hide the capital’s most intriguing venues. Clubs, workplaces, theatres, galleries and farmers’ markets, sometimes all at once...We show you how ruin pubs recharged the city’s creative energies, where Budapest’s creative minds manage to work and play all at once and how old department stores are transformed into hip community spaces. We also explore spaces where time appears to stand still. In the middle of Budapest, yet somehow still empty, the faded grandeur of the 19th century is coupled with today’s hip ruin revival. Let’s explore these hidden gems, often unheard-of among locals as well!

Did you know that Hotel Gellért inspired Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel?

However, Grand Budapest Hotel is set in the fictional Eastern European country, Zubrowka. Anderson was inspired by several real-life venues, such as Hotel Gellért in Budapest. The hotel embodies the fictional hotel, a gorgeous art nouveau building, dreaming under communist layers.

INFO&BOOKINGchainlessbudapest.com/recycling-budapest

student and online booking discount

27€

adventures on bike . . adventures on bike

Golden Age BudapestThe glittering years of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

The majority of Budapest’s most spectacular buildings were designed during the flourishing period of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The economy was buzzing, Budapest became an important hub of the Monarchy, with the buildings to match. Experience this rich and exciting period through its finest buildings. On top of showing you public buildings, designed for representation, we also take you to venues where the average citizen lived or went for groceries. From the Hungarian State Opera House to the market, immerse yourself in the era.

Highlights: Houses of Parliament, Hungarian State Opera House, Heroes’ Square, Dohány Street Synagogue

Did you know that some of the oldest public toilets are still in the city?

During the millenary celebrations, when the grand boulevard was opened, the city management ordered steel public toilet structures directly from Paris. Many of them were destroyed during the war, some survived as toilets, some gained new functions.

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27€

WanderingJews

adventures on bike .

Stories and families from a disappeared world

Are you interested in Jewish Budapest, but you want more than just to skim the surface? We immerse you in Budapest’s Jewish life, taking you to hidden spots and sharing the stories of this fascinating community. We visit the neighbourhood where the legendary rabbi of Belz was hiding from the nazis, and learn why this place is called Little Warsaw. We venture to an abandoned train station and listen to the stories of those who have been deported from there. After visiting one of the last small Jewish prayer rooms of the city, we discover the story of a magical herbal liquor, Unicum and the family who preserved the recipe until today.

Highlights: Dohány Street Synagogue, Little Warsaw, Military Academy, Zwack Unicum Factory

INFO&BOOKINGchainlessbudapest.com/wandering-jews

Photo: Ildikó Neer


27€/person

RETROFIT

adventures on bike . . adventures on bike

The last breath of Communism in contemporary Budapest

We cycle back to socialism and check out what remained and what has been reinvented. Cafés and restaurants, still shaped by the five-year plans. We get to know how a “dollar shop” operated, whatremained of the gigantic public statues and how young Hungarians relate to Communism, more than 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. You will learn about the dark years of the fifties and the gradual softening of the regime and have the possibility to enjoy a drink in a bar, which has endured since the sixties.

Highlights: Soviet War Memorial, Liberty Statue, Castle Gardens & Bazaar

Did you know how the last Soviet memorial escaped demolition?

It is also a tomb, where Soviet soldiers were buried. According to the intergovernmental agreement with Russia, the memorial cannot be demolished or moved, in return for the maintenance of Hungarian war-time graves and monuments in Russia.The irony of its location is the neighbouring American Embassy.

INFO&BOOKINGchainlessbudapest.com/retrofit


27€

privateprograms

Not a big fan of group sightseeing? You simply cannot choose between our programs? You only have an hour or want to spend an entire day discovering the hidden gems of Budapest? Book our tours just for you, your family & friends! You can choose one of the signature Chainless adventures, but we are more than happy to prepare tailor-made walks & rides to fulfil your urban wishes. A glimpse at Hungarian Jewish history and a coffee at one of Budapest’s illustrious coffee houses, then a nighttime walk at the Buda Castle? We cannot wait to meet you!

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Did you know that there are hidden menorahs at the Buda Castle?

Buda Castle is best known for its impressive palace and the breathtaking view of the city, however traces of Jewish tradition are still visible in the area. They are memories from early medieval times, when the area was home to one of Europe’s largest Jewish community.

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Meeting Point15 sas street, 1051, Budapest, hungary

HQ and Meeting Point at

15 sas street, 1051, Budapestmore info about

hotel nomuri on page 14

Nazis and Comrades

Young Pioneers on Wheels

adventures on foot .

Újlipótváros is one of the most popular areas among locals. It is dominated by a mixture of art deco and Bauhaus style architecture, pleasant cafés and bookstores. However, if we take a closer look, we see the marks of the turbulent 20th century. Our walk rediscovers the area’s history from the Holocaust to the change of regime. We visit a safe house where thousands of Jews were crammed during the Holocaust. After the genocide, the respectable neighbourhood, which was mainly populated by Jews was almost empty. Nobody was watching, thus it was a perfect area for the Intelligence Service’s operations. We pass by buildings, where secret agents operated, and where the Communist party stored its famed car collection. We finish the walk by visiting the Communist party’s former headquarters, where we see the most infamous and biggest secco of the country, titled the Workers’ State. Come and join us, if you want to explore the hidden secrets of a picturesque neighbourhood!

One of the most charming secrets of the Buda Hills is the Children’s Railway, actually operated by children. One of the very few socialist initiations which survived the change of regime is still happily roaming the hills. When World War II barely even ended and Hungarians were still cleaning up the ruins, the Pioneer Railway was already under construction, replacing a bourgeois golf course in the hills. The regime’s gift to the most diligent young pioneers meant to symbolize the power of the socialist man and the talent of socialist children, who were able to operate a train (almost) by themselves. Come and join the children on the train, explore the beauty of the Buda Hills, see the original socialist stations and learn about growing up in the Eastern Bloc!

A microhistory of totalitarian dictatorships

Children’s Railway in the Buda Hills

75€ /4 people Supplementary passes can be bought for 18€ / person

Jewelry Box

Hollywood in Budapest

adventures on foot . . adventures on foot

Art Nouveau in Budapest has always been more than just a style. In the golden age of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, art nouveau architecture satisfied the bourgeois Jews’ needs of self-stylization and group identification. Even though Hungary was tied to Austria, she longed to express her very own history and culture. The art nouveau movement provided a shared platform for both Christians and Jews to express their Hungarian identity. Explore the hidden art nouveau gems of Budapest, experience how history and dreams were carved on to the facades of the city. Our program takes you to a magical art nouveau bath, a hidden synagogue whose architect managed to combine orthodox ideas with modern architecture, a tiny art nouveau museum and many more jewels.Highlights: Hungarian Art Nouveau House, Gutenberg House, Liszt Academy, Kazinczy Synagogue, Postal Savings Bank

Budapest doubled as Berlin, Baltimore, Buenos Aires and many more, so you probably saw its enchanting streets and didn’t even notice it! Now you can make up for it on our walk, where we discover the most spectacular sceneries recorded in downtown Budapest and listen to the stories about movie stars wandering around this charming Central European city. By the end of the trip, you will know more not only about Brad Pitt and Madonna but also about Budapest: we lead you to the secret spots, and reveal the truth behind the magic that attracts directors to this corner of the world.

Art Nouveau and Jewish identity in Budapest

Is this your first time in Budapest? You’ve probably already seen it on screen!

Did you know that Robert Pattinson’s “Bel-Ami” was shot in Budapest?

The 19th century architecture of the city was influenced by the regeneration of Paris, that’s why the Opera House in Budapest is so similar to the Parisian one. When you think you’re watching a movie set in Paris, it is very likely that you’re actually looking at Budapest!


JEWISH ROOTS AND REVIVAL

Sleeping Beauty

adventures on foot .

Before World War 2, Budapest was home to one of the World’s largest and most diverse Jewish community. The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy brought a golden age for its Jewish citizens, for the very first time in history they enjoyed the same civil liberties as Christians. However, the years of prosperity and inclusion soon ended and were replaced with decline and exclusion, resulting in the Holocaust. After WW2 and the fall of communism, a vivid and unique Jewish community has been rejuvenating in Budapest’s downtown. Our walk takes you through hidden synagogues, cultural hubs and the traces of kosher life in the city!

Budapest is full of beautiful buildings from various styles and historical eras. Many of them have been renovated in the last decades and shine as precious stones in the city. But some had been left decaying and abandoned, preserving the past of Budapest, conserving memories of historical times long past. The empty buildings gained new functions as hospitality venues, giving rise to the world-famous ruin bars of Budapest. Squats, art galleries and places for secret gatherings: discover a lesser known side of the city among the most romantic settings, following in the footsteps of the previous citizens on marble corridors!

Hungarian Jewish history in a nutshell

A walk around ruin pubs, squats and abandoned buildings of Budapest

Did you know that the Jewish Quarter’s largest green space is the secret garden of Massolit Books and Café?

Massolit Books and Café is a tiny coffee shop in the Jewish District, offering English books, fair trade coffee and freshly baked cakes. If you fancy some greenery, ask about their secret garden. You will be rewarded with rural charm in the middle of the city.

Did you know that one of the entrances of the Communist bomb shelter is in the middle of downtown Budapest?

The communist bomb shelter’s secret entrance is in the middle of a busy square. The huge shelter, hiding beneath the streets of downtown Budapest was built by workers who were transported to the city each night in curtained buses, convinced that they were working on the subway.


Grand Café Budapest

Castle in the Night Sky

adventures on foot . . adventures on foot

Cafés are essential for the Budapest spirit. The city has been full of coffee houses from the 18th century, and they meant much more than a place to drink coffee. Cafés were real institutions for social encounter and discussion, where great and average minds discussed politics, culture and everyday life. These conversations influenced the course of history: revolutions as well as artistic movements started at coffeetables, also, sometimes, even marriages. Come with us, and discover how cafés influenced the life of Budapest from the times of the grand cafés of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy to the shady joints of socialism. We show you what is left of the former grandeur, and tell the stories and legends of this intriguing scenery.Highlights: Central Café, Csendes, Massolit, Japan, Szimpla

Delve into the charming summer night on the winding streets of the Buda Castle! Experience the magic of the district, where kings and noblemen lived. The walk guides you through the most exciting buildings in the Castle Hill and brings back memories from the oldest periods of Budapest, all in the serene evening setting. You will learn about the legend of the Chain Bridge lions, see the most spectacular cable car in the continent, and touch the lucky parts of the famous horse sculpture. The Buda Castle is full of war memories as well: we show you the cannons which protected the city walls in the early wars, and take you to streets where traces of the Second World War are still visible. At the end of the walk, we smell the flowers in the Castle Garden, and descend back down to the sparkling riverside.Highlights: Chain Bridge, Cable Car, Statue of Maria Magdalena, Royal Palace, Castle Garden

The Hungarian metropolis born in the coffee house

Castle district by night


Such an outstanding combination of features that HOTEL NOMURI represents and embodies is unique not only in Hungary, but also in the world: URIMURI Party Series, Café NOMURI, a boutique speciality coffee bar and a Japanese upscale buffet style restaurant, OMU are also located in the building. Incubation services have already been added to the office building features, where creative startup companies are connected to each other and also connected to potential investors. Chainless Budapest Urban Adventures also found its home here. To sum up, the building offers a wide and unusual range of services that cover a far-reaching variety of needs at one place. The goal is to create a creative, vivid scene that carries on the reputation of Budapest and serves as a starting point for many innovative projects, beyond the creation of entertainment options.

What does HOTEL mean in this context?The French word hotel is referred to a building seeing frequent visitors, and providing care, rather than a place offering accommodation. In Sas street Baldaszti Group is working on a real estate development project that provides a second home for their guests.

Address/info 15 Sas street, 1051, Budapest / nomuri.co

Stringbike is a genuine innovation in the world of cycling, a product of contemporary Hungarian design, merging beauty and practicality. The traditional bicycle chain is replaced with a string, providing smoother and oil-free urban biking experience and making hill rides a blast. Soon to revolutionize urban cycling, Stringbike is not just a technological breakthrough – it’s a kinetic work of art. Stringbike®

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