Only in Budapest: A Guide to Unique Locations, Hidden Corners and Unusual Objects

by Duncan J.D. Smith

A comprehensive illustrated guide to more than 80 fascinating and unusual historical sights in one of Europe‘s great capital cities:
• Hidden caves, Turkish baths, eccentric museums and forgotten cemeteries
• From the Romans and the Magyars to the Habsburgs and the Soviets
• The Children's Railway, Rabbit Island, Ruin Pubs and the Hospital in the Rock
• Gül Baba, the Saviour of Mothers, Harry Houdini, a much-loved empress and the mystery of Raoul Wallenberg
• Recommended for visitors to Budapest wishing to discover something a little different, as well as for those inhabitants who perhaps thought they already knew the city

Genres: Travel, Hungary, Nonfiction

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Duncan JD Smith is The Urban Explorer, an independent travel writer, guidebook author, historian, photographer, and publisher. Having worked for many years selling other travel writers’ books, in 2003 he decided to start writing and publishing his own. He has subsequently embarked on a lifetime‘s adventure, travelling off the beaten track in search of the world’s hidden corners and curious locations, from the wartime bunkers of Berlin and the Baroque gardens of Prague to the souks of Damascus and the rock-cut churches of Ethiopia.
Duncan’s findings are being published in a ground breaking series of guidebooks, the Only In Guides, designed specifically for the purpose and published under his own The Urban Explorer imprint. Volumes on Berlin, Boston, Budapest, Cologne, Dubrovnik, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Krakow, London, Marseille, Munich, Paris, Prague, Seville, Tangier, Trieste, Vienna, and Zurich have all been published, with a new title, Athens, in preparation. Aimed at independent cultural travellers, these city tales from new perspectives provide unforgettable memories. The series has garnered considerable press and public acclaim, global distribution, and sales in excess of 200,000 copies.
As a result of his extensive travels, not only through the storied cities of Old Europe but also in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and America, Duncan regularly generates original illustrated material for print and digital media. He has been commissioned to write articles in magazines such as Hidden Europe and Timeless Travels. Duncan has great affection for the places about which he has written, as well as an extensive photo library available for commercial usage.
Duncan has appeared on radio and television to promote his work, including the American shows Raw Travel and Mysteries at the Museum. He has also given illustrated lectures in bookshops and universities, to societies and even at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. He released an audio tour in 2010.
Born in Sheffield, England in 1960, Duncan got the history bug when his grandfather, the East Anglian historian Philip G. M. Dickinson, showed him an ancient turf maze and the grave of a Roman soldier in his back garden! Aged just eleven Duncan opened his own private museum before going on to read Ancient History and Archaeology at Birmingham University. Together with his late father, Trevor, he wrote and illustrated four highly successful books on the curiosities of Sheffield and Yorkshire, their home town and county respectively. He also penned the best-selling topographical book Yorkshire: A Portrait in Colour. Still a passionate collector, his interests include vintage Penguin travel books and with them a fascination in forgotten British travellers of the 1920s and 30s. In his spare time he enjoys gardening, house restoration and natural history, and has an eclectic taste in music and film.
Duncan divides his time between England and Central Europe, and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Reviews

[Ferio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi intención era terminarlo antes de llegar a Budapest, pero me fue imposible porque soy un vago y un tío muy ocupado a la vez, así que he tenido que llegar aquí para hacerlo y descubrir la gracia que me hace que se venda como una guía de lugares ocultos cuando la única posibilidad de ocultar algunos de ellos de la vista pública sería volarlos por los aires.

Sin embargo, la otra mitad de los artículos listados en el libro es bastante rebuscadita y curiosa, y he de decir que me ha producido mucha alegría intelectual toparme con algunos de ellos por las calles de la ciudad y poder hablar de su historia y significado abiertamente como el pedante asqueroso que soy la mayor parte del tiempo (aquella en la que no estoy comportándome como un peluche, nena). Particularmente de mi agrado han resultado las explicaciones sobre estatuas y edificios relacionados directamente con hechos sociopolíticos, dado que Hungría ha pasado en el último siglo por una serie de convulsiones en este aspecto que ríase Vd. de España (yo ya lo hago).

Ahora bien, esto no es una guía de viaje al uso como pueda serlo una Lonely Planet: aunque te diga dónde están las cosas y cómo llegar a ellas, y aunque muchas sean demasiado evidentes para lo que promete, la profundidad con la que aborda cada uno de los artículos es abrumadora, convirtiendo esta obra en algo más serio y no destinado al turista casual sino a la persona con más tiempo y/o interés que desea profundizar con la seriedad debida (porque no hay otra manera correcta de hacerlo) en la historia y vericuetos de la ciudad.

[Babak Fakhamzadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listing less common sights in Budapest, very well suited to the seasoned visitor to Budapest.