Meet the author András Török in Budapest

András Török

Budapest-born author András Török is a proud promoter of his city - a kind of Mr Budapest if you like. His celebrated book Budapest: A Critical Guide was included in the list of the 'Ten Best Guidebooks Ever Written' by Taras Grescoe. Many of his books focus on the history of Budapest. He is also a lecturer, a blogger, a photographer and a non-profit businessman. He has lived in Pest since many years, and he used to think that nothing ever happens in Buda - compiling The 500 Hidden Secrets of Budapest opened his eyes.

What András loves most about Budapest

“I love that culture is so abundant in the city, thanks to the permanent presence of over a dozen repertory theatres, two operas, seven symphony orchestras (two of them are absolute world class), over seventy museums and so on. Also, Budapest is the only big city in the world that can call itself a spa city. And it is a flâneurs’ mecca: if you cross the city in the right direction (follow your Hidden Secrets guide book), you'll come across incredibly varied neighbourhoods.”

“BUDAPEST PERFECTLY COMBINES ITS RICH HISTORY WITH A NEW, SPARKLING ENERGY.”

András’ perfect day in the city might look like this

“On a spring work day I like to wake up at 4.57 am and do some reading on my balcony, overlooking (a small stretch of) Margaret Island. After writing a blog post, I would hop on a BuBi (public bike) and go to my gym. By 9.30 I would be in my office in the historic Bedő House, an art nouveau gem. After talking to my colleagues at the foundation, I would retreat to a nearby café, possibly Hordószék.

House of Hungarian Art Noveau
Bedő House

I usually have a business lunch at Liberté, a perfect cross between a typical Budapestian or Parisian bistro and a San Francisco restaurant. After lunch I like to take a short nap in the gallery we operate, before heading back to the office to get some work done, and perhaps choose the book of the month for our Vademecum Book Club. To end the afternoon I would go to the nearby Cirko-gejzir Cinema, to see some recent European movie I heard being praised recently.

In the evening I like to go to a concert in the Main Hall of the privately-owned Budapest Music Center (BMC) - it’s in the covered courtyard of the Spice Marchant’s House, which was built in the 1880s. I also tend to try to squeeze in a light dinner in the restaurant of Opus Jazz Club, in the same building. A late evening walk through some of Budapest’s rapidly gentrifying areas would then take me back home.”