Vörösmarty tér

About this place

Vörösmarty Square is the commercial heart of Pest and the meeting point everyone knows: a broad pedestrian square at the end of Váci utca, ringed by cafés and shops, with a marble statue at its centre of the poet Mihály Vörösmarty, author of the "Szózat", regarded as Hungary's second national anthem. At its northern end is Vörösmarty tér station, the terminus of the yellow M1 — the first underground line in continental Europe. Going down into it is an experience in itself: a shallow station in restored wood and original tiling. The square also holds Gerbeaud, one of Budapest's most famous historic cafés, opened in the 19th century with an interior of marble and carved wood. Its prices are frankly touristic, but sitting there once is worth it for anyone interested in the great cafés of central Europe. For most of the year the square is a thoroughfare with cafés rather than a destination. But in December it becomes Hungary's best-known Christmas market: wooden stalls, food, crafts and lighting filling the whole square — and then it is among the loveliest things in Budapest.