Szimpla Kert is noted as one of the best ruin pubs in Budapest, and it’s been named the third best bar in the world, according to a 2012 Lonely Planet survey.

 

Loud voices and the vibrations of music stream throughout a huge industrial room with several more rooms branching out. You’re drawn in.

 

As you continue to explore, the place looks like a hole in the wall. There are plastic sheets of curtains that look as if they are from a butcher’s shop hanging in the doorways and concealing what lies behind them. There are strange decorations, such as paintings and taxidermied animals on the walls.

 

The drinks start to flow as the vibes continue to pulse through your body as you start to chat with friends and acquaintances.

 

The ruin pubs are famous in Budapest, Hungary. The pubs are fairly close to one another located in District VII of Budapest. The history behind these pubs also enriches the already appealing atmosphere. They are located in the old Jewish Ghetto where Jews were detained during the WW II Nazi occupation of Budapest. 

 

The pubs are essentially old, abandoned buildings in Budapest that the pub owners have bought or rented and thrown a bar and some decorations together. There are no fancy walls or re-done architecture. The walls vary from stone to concrete, and the doors are hard steel. 

 

As you explore the ruin pub, it is a maze of rooms with different themes and different music. Live music is in one of the main rooms – rooms with strange, modern looking tables and chairs. Another room has game tables. An outside patio has another bar and more places to chat with friends.

 

Some of the other ruin pubs are Instant, Corvintetö and Dürer Kert. Instant is a newer pub, while Corvintetö has the best rooftop view in the city. Dürer Kert has pretty much everything one could ask for at a bar. Altogether Budapest has as many ruin pubs as a person can explore in a week, and they all have something different to offer.