Budapest is already known for being bohemian. It has a unique atmosphere. People go about their daily lives, rather sombre in public, but privately, they are vibrant. They enjoy their eclectic nightlife and have a laidback cafe culture attitude. But Budapest has also developed a fantastic street art scene in keeping with its bohemian image.
You only need to walk through Budapest’s inner districts (VII and VIII) to find street art and murals adorning empty firewalls or on crumbling walls of old apartment blocks and office buildings. Graffiti is something you’ll find in any urban city or space across the world. But it is when these scribbles are turned into an artwork that it becomes a piece in its own right. Street art creates a living art gallery in any city.
A stroll through the old Jewish Quarter has a number of bright, artistic walls concentrated within a reasonably small area, easily walked and navigated. Once populated with decaying and crumbling houses, a gentrification of sorts has some of these dilapidated buildings converted into the famous ruin bars. However, many of the buildings were torn down leaving behind empty lots. These were turned into parking spaces and trendy outdoor spaces like the food truck village, exposing empty firewalls.
Apart from the usual street art format, you can’t escape stickers and you will find some street art gems among them.
These are of course another form of temporary street art, which is all too easily missed. From colourful murals to tiny details that are easily missed, street art in Budapest is everywhere.
