We have seen a lot of pictures and videos of foreign rooftop parties and we wanted to go to such parties for such a long time. After almost ten years we finally have the chance to go to gigs like that – the first rooftop party series, called Budapest Sky Bar, is hosted by Paris Department Store on a regular basis, on Thursday and Friday nights.
The venue has a kind of upper middle class feel. The Párizsi Nagy Áruház (Paris Department Store) was reopened in 2009 and if you visit them you’ll probably feel that you’re out of Budapest. In short: it’s very western-like, fashionably rustic venue and it is shining right above the city. The bar can host about 300 guests at the same time – there is a limited access and you should be prepared for face-control as well.
The entrance fee is 4000 forints, but it includes free drinks as well. By the way, once you go up to the club, you’ll most likely stay for a while. The prices are quite reasonable actually – a pint of lager costs of 550 forints, a cider is 690 forints and long drinks are around 1250 forints. It might not be such a good idea to make a random visit, you have to register first. The parties start at 17:00 but the place closes at midnight, so you won’t see the summer sunrise – you can of course still enjoy the sunsets.
The resident DJ is GrgFr, who organises the parties by the way, and who is usually accompanied by other well-known disc jockeys. They say that they play is Ibiza beach music which creates a rather sentimental atmosphere. After what we have seen at the first party it is very likely that the guests will include glamorous girls in a bikini and well-to-do young party animals.
There’s no official dress code, but you would feel slightly out of place in an urban-styles vagabond outfit. The party series won’t end this year – a long-term contract has been made so you better be prepared!
The organizers should be praised for bringing the rooftop parties to the city. We hope that others will feel inspired as well, and more and more such parties will take place in the future. There should be rooftop parties for hipsters, gangsters, kids and rockers as well.
