Benjamin heard about the most unforgettable birthday parties in Budapest: playhouses, cooking classes, bob-sledding… Look here and tell your parents what you would like to do! For birthdays at home we collected some addresses to make it a very special event! And if you want the best birthday cake in town…scroll to the bottom of this page!
Original or not, the most popular birthday party is in a playhouse. Most playhouses in Budapest provide for facilities and services to make a birthday fun and convenient:
About 3 hours
Separate room for drinks and food
Birthday cake
Pizza slices (a.o.)
Someone to help and supervise
Optional programmes such as face painting, games, visit Zoo
Here is a short list of the most popular playhouses for birthday parties:
District III., Tombolda in the Új udvar (Benjamin Guide page 163)
District II., Kölyökpark in the Mammut (Benjamin Guide page 163)
District XIV., Zoo Playhouse - City park (Benjamin Guide page 163)
District XXII., Peter Pan Playhouse in the Campona Shopping Centre (Benjamin Guide page 164)
For young children – age 1 to 3 – the smaller playhouses mentioned in the Benjamin Guide may be a better choice.
A cheaper alternative for a playhouse is to have a birthday party at McDonalds. Many locations have a playground and one or two have an indoor playhouse. There are also restaurants with a McDonalds play-bus, where children (and parents) can go in and have a 2 hours long entertainment programme with games, colouring etc. The programme is supervised, the birthday cake is provided (extra fee).
The following restaurants (that we know of) have:
Play-bus
Adress:
District III., Ipartelep u. 1.
Phone:
06 1 / 250-3573
Adress:
District XIV., Hungária krt. 175.
Phone:
06 1 / 222-6535
Indoor playhouse
Adress:
Budaörs (M1) Garibaldi út 2.
Phone:
06 23 / 500-086
Good outdoor playground
Adress:
District III., Vörösvári út 52-54 (car shaped tables too)
Bringóhintó on Margaret Island can organise birthday parties according to your wishes. They have both family bringós (pedal cars) and children's bringós (age 4 and up) which can be rented to take tours of the island. Birthday cake and drinks are served at low tables for the children at their location. You can either take the tour on your own or have a supervisor from Bringóhintó who can organise games, picnics etc. during the tour. At return, lunch (pancakes, pizza, ..) can be served. Very nice but you need to have good weather!
Near the water tower on Margaret Island (Buda side) you can rent all sorts of funny children's cars to pedal around. Cheaper than Bringóhintó, but birthdays you have to do yourself. Open every day from 10 AM till sunset.
Petneházy Riding Centre in the Buda hills provides for (covered) horse wagon tours for groups (max. 10 people in 1 wagon). The Centre can provide for birthday cakes, drinks etc. A combination with some pony riding is also possible. See the riding locations in the Benjamin Guide (section Sports and Action).
Children of age 5 and up can be Chefs for a day (kid-sized aprons provided!) as they celebrate a birthday - or any special occasion – at the Chefparade cooking school. The 3-hour cooking party includes crafts, games, goodie bags and the real thing: cooking a full course meal at Chefparade Cooking School for all child party guests. For dessert, you can bake and decorate a birthday cake or make your favourite happy ending!
A cool place to celebrate your birthday. Generally, you pay a fixed price per child for 2 hours of bowling, soft drinks, pizza slices and a birthday cake. Mammut is recommended but most bowling lanes in shopping centres are familiar with organising birthdays. For younger children, ask for the barriers to make the lane smaller so that the young ones hit the pins aswell! See the bowling lanes mentioned in the Benjamin Guide (section Sports & Action).
Bobpálya Budapest has a nice bob-sledding track, a mini-golf and a (soccer) sports field in one location. They have a nice restaurant too, with a large table to facilitate birthday parties. Alltogether, a great location to celebrate your birthday! Open in summer and in winter on weekends (in case of dry weather). See section Sports & Action in the Benjamin Guide.
The interactive elements and guided activities in the Railway History Park (driving a train, a train simulator etc.) are great for celebrating a birthday, especially since you enter the Museum on a steam train from Nyugati Station. The Museum applies a fixed fee per child (HUF 2000 in 2006) for 2-3 hours. Includes entrance, a guide, sandwiches and drinks. The Museum can provide for a birthday cake, costing a little extra. Note: only hungarian speaking guides, so foreign children need someone to translate the guided activities. See section Big Buildings & Museums in the Benjamin Guide.
If you happen to have your birthday in winter, it may be a great idea to go skating. The City Park Ice Rink is probably the nicest to go to. If you have quite a few people, 15 or more, it may also be nice to have your parents rent the whole place! In that case you have to go to the smaller hockey rinks at Széna tér or at the Pólus Shopping Centre. Renting costs are HUF 12-15.000 per hour. Skates and helmets are also rented on the spot. Széna tér has an attached restaurant where you can eat your (brought along) birthday cake and have drinks etc. See section Snow & Ice in the Benjamin Guide.
Serious birtdays for older children: the Paintball Park at the Csillebérc Szabadidöközpont can organize birthdays. You need to invite 8 (or more) guests as the game is played with 8 participants. In summer, it is outside in the Buda Hills, in winter they have an inside location. Birthday or not, you have to call in advance. See contact details in the Benjamin Guides (section Sports & Action).
For a birthday at home, it is possible to rent all sorts of entertainment. This is the address for: Balloon sculpture, Face painting, Clown shows, Puppet Theatre, Costumes, Air jumping castle, Live Music, etc. They also do Santa Claus parties. See their web-site for prices.
The best birthday cakes are freshly made. Several cukrászdas offer a birthday cake service from a large selection of cakes. You have to go to the shop and choose from a catalogue. Here are a few recommended adresses:
Daubner
Marzipan birthday cakes and excellent ice-cream cakes. Order 3 days in advance. open: Tues-Sun 9AM - 7PM. adress: District II., Szépvölgyi út 50. phone: 06 1 / 335-2253
Great marzipan birthday cakes. you can choose from a catalogue or bring your own picture, they will make it! Order 4 days in advance. Several adresses, check www.augusztcukraszda.hu (hungarian only)
