West End City Center, Budapest

Shopping in Hungary
(a budapestinfo.hu filmje)

It's Neither in the West End, Nor the City Center

westendI recall the fanfare surrounding it when it opened in the fall of 1999. Budapest would get its own megamall! (Umm, Duna Pláza anyone?). And it would be named the WestEnd City Center, never mind that Budapest does not have a West End, (which would be in Buda somewhere if it did), nor that the city center is actually further south around Váci utca, and hypertechnically, it's at the big 0 at Clark Ádám tér. But let's get beyond that.

Budapest would now have the largest—or so advertised—shopping center in Central Europe. Because really, what better things do our neighbors have to do when they come to Budapest, but shop at stores they can find in their own countries?

Around Christmas of that year when I was dragged inside, we walked through the luxurious Nyugati Underpass to the bottom of the waterfall. After walking around, somewhat unimpressed, admittedly because my fellow visitor and I grew up with western malls around us, we noticed a peculiar thing: there were people everywhere, except inside the stores.

In fact, the only place where it looked like anyone was spending money was the food court. And they were smoking in the designated areas every other thirty feet. The WestEnd had indeed become a tourist attraction, but it was more a tourist attraction such as walking inside the Castle District: you see things, but don't go anywhere you have to pay.

Now, I know today people actually shop in the stores located inside. I'm not sure if this is a result of prices dropping or Hungarians having more purchasing power; probably a meeting of the two. And the cigarette smoke doesn't hit you constantly. Nowadays the Plázák are as common as the Burger Kings, (not quite McDonald's level saturation yet), but much to my delight, the stores on the Körút have so far at least been largely able to compete and not go under like in other parts of the world.

Of course, the best things about these mammoth-like buildings (pun intended), is that they provide a wonderful refuge from the outside elements, such as when it gets friggin' cold in Winter, or hot as Hell as it well be this summer. You could almost think of them as large public works that way. Okay, not really.
(http://www.pestcentric.com/archives/2007/02-21-its-neither-in-the-west-end-nor-­the-city-center.html)

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Budapest
• Hungary
• Ungarn
• Magyarorszag
• sight
• West
• End
• Shopping
• Center
• mall
• plaza
• Westend
• Nyugati
• Geschäftshaus
• destination
• cityscape

[raquelritz]

The biggest shopping center in East Europe, isn't it?

[GyrlDory]

Yes and it's very very good!!!!

[jsteelman1000]

Hello great vid when I was in Budapest I bought some clothes there also use to eat there many times check out some vids I made in Budapest europeantourvideos com also have vid on my channel filmed on Vaci Utca

[danni7474]

szeretem a westendet ahogy az összes ilyen shopping centert.

[TheCaramell3]

I love westend.

[chrissblack22]

mindig rosszul vagyok,ha ott járok,csak megveszem,ami kell,és rohanok ,kifelé

[PoliceHUN]

Ma jó nagy verekedés volt itt a West Endbe...

[biabinyocsaj]

itt van apukám üzlete :D:D:D

[bibus0]

I ♥ West End:)))

[opelske]

Looks like a typical boring mall in the US. Though I agree with your description of malls - they're a good hangout in the cold winter and hot summer. But having the same thing in every Country is still boring. Shopping, shopping and more shopping. Give me a Main Street anyday and I'll suffer the elements, including the smoking.

[Dorina91]

jajjj én a westend mellett lakom mióta élek és kb 5ször voltam...el kell ismerni gyönyörű de mire végigjárom:)

[angyal23]

nagyon szeretem ezt a helyet!!baro