Enjoy Budapest through your phone screen – here is a myriad of fun Instagram accounts documenting everything from doors to balconies to street art. From the strictly functional to ornate and inspiring, our photogenic capital is a natural!
Doors and architectural detail
Budapest is well represented in this theme, with accounts such as doorsofbudapest, _doorsofbudpaest, doors_of_budapest and budapestiandoors – not to mention budapestdoors and bpdoors! There’s not much difference in the content of these accounts, so have a look for yourself and decide which one you like the most.
Of course, we needn’t stop at the entrance, there are many more architectural details to fascinate us when we walk around Budapest. budapestbalconies and bpwindows have an individual take on the diversity of architectural elements in the city, while budapestbuildings takes a broader look at any noteworthy detail: sculptures, decorations, façades and more.
Step inside with budapestianstaircase and enjoy the stairwells and ornamental balustrades which wait just behind a closed door. Take a moment to look down, and budapestianfloors will show you a world of tiles, mosaics, street art and more, elegantly curated and always a delight to scroll through. Then check out gangvegek, which highlights architectural gems, commonly focusing on entranceways and stairwells, but also including sweeping courtyards and the soft glow of interior stained-glass windows.
Street art
Next we move on to street art in the city – and that includes commissioned pieces along with the clandestine. Art abounds in public places here in Budapest, and one of the best collections to be found is with StatuesofBudapest, a treasure trove of local sculpture and statues. All kinds of urban art are documented in StreetArtBudapest and Daradar_StreetArtBudapest, including graffiti, stickers and all other types of metropolitan visual works. Including the Kolodko statues!
In the same vein we have NotesOfBudapest, a more specialised page gathering together the sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, always interesting messages scribbled on walls, fences, doors, message boards and stairwells all across the city! Even quirkier is Csavaros_Kiflik. You know those little spirit bottles left around the city after a busy Saturday night? Csavaros_Kiflik turns this street trash into art, taking a dry-humour approach by artistically photographing the little bottles and posting them online! MySecretBudapest is another fun account, focusing on the little details in the metropolis which might otherwise be overlooked: interesting street art, a cool gate, a slice of pie, or tile patterns photographed from a unique angle.
Past and present
And if you’d like to really delve into all things Budapest, check out accounts like grofjardanhazy, which not only shares photographs of the city, but also includes a bit of history with each snap. One photograph of a gate detail goes on to explain how the cast-iron gate was created in 1897 by the mason and builder Eggenberger, who helped erect many buildings in the city, before the property eventually ended up the scene of a gas poisoning. It’s an interesting tale, to say the least! Another great account is zuglove, which mixes original content with archive photos, showing a real past and present of Budapest.
Urban life
The city would be no fun if we couldn’t explore it, and so transport is our next theme as we look at accounts such as rambopunk_transport, which documents trains, trams, buses and more. And then, “grey is the colour,” says panelgrau, a photographic effort to “capture the fading glory of Hungary’s Socialist housing estates”. If you love concrete, this is the account for you!
Finally, Budapest is just one subject captured by such accounts as buildingstelltales, which photographs the windows, buildings, graffiti, hidden secrets and undiscovered details in big cities all across Europe. femkeritesek_ironfences brings us pictures of iron fences across Hungary, which range from funky and arty to elegant, choppy, functional, ornate and unusual. And closing our journey around Budapest via Instagram is vigyazz_a_kutya_harap, which means “Beware of the dog!” Wherever they’re spotted around Hungary, this account features the best “Beware of the dog” signs they find, but also including some cheerful sentiments, like “A home without a dog is just a house.” Dog lovers will appreciate this one!
