Christmas shopping weekends
Six writers reveal where to go and what to buy - from Estonian amber and Turkish silk to a cheap pair of Clarks
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Six writers reveal where to go for a great shopping break and what to buy - from Estonian amber and Turkish silk to a cheap pair of Clarks
guardian.co.uk, Sunday November 9 2008 00.02 GMT
The Observer,
Sunday November 9 2008
An idyllic place to Christmas shop ... Bab Bou Jeloud Gate, Fes El-Bali in Fes, Morroco. Photograph: Jon Arnold Images Ltd/Alamy
BudapestWhy go?A two-hour budget flight, authentic gifts and a local currency in crisis mean that Hungary's elegant capital provides the perfect shopping getaway as Christmas approaches. This will be the tenth year that the tourist board has laid on folksy entertainment in the stall-lined main square, Vörösmarty tér. Alongside, landmark gooey cake temple the Gerbeaud coffeehouse offers an advent calendar façade as each window is lit day by day, and the panoramic Danube riverfront is close by. Set in Budapest's main shopping hub, Vörösmarty tér is directly linked via the city's vintage metro to Városliget, the city park, complete with skating rink and steaming Széchenyi Baths, both open-air. Ringing the city, the twinkling lights of the Buda hills are usually set against snow - here winter really does mean winter.What to buyChristmas markets set up across town but only stallholders on Vörösmarty tér carry the certificate of the Hungarian Society of Folk Arts & Crafts - the goods here are authentic and hand-made. With a pound buying 10 per cent more Hungarian forints than it did in July, this is the time to pick up woollen gloves and jumpers, bright wooden figures and tree decorations, beeswax candles, chimes and leather belts. Mulled wine (forralt bor) and the peculiar local cylindrical sugar pastry, kürtöskalács, can be sampled as you shop.Nearby, embroidered shirts, rugs and paprika in pretty tins are sold at the Folkart Centrum (V. Váci utca 58, folkartcentrum.hu) - again, all authentically Magyar (Hungarian). Holló Folk Art (V. Vitkovics Mihály utca 12) displays the delicately painted wooden boxes, mirrors and assorted furniture of craftsman László Holló, just round the corner. Also downtown, Rózsavölgyi Zenemübolt (V. Szervita tér 5, rozsavolgyi.hu) stocks Hungarian classical and folk music. Away from the traditional, for more unusual but equally individual gifts, Magma (V.Petöfi Sándor utca 11) is the main outlet for younger artists and their funky jewellery and imaginative ceramics. Back on Váci utca, the cabin-like Magyar Focisták Boltja in the courtyard of number 23 carries Hungarian football shirts and rare vintage badges from behind the Iron Curtain. For local plonk, the Budapest Wine Society has a branch at V. Szent István tér 3, although you'll find cheaper labels and local spirits (clear pálinka brandies in sundry fruit flavours) at the Hold utca market behind Parliament, open until 2pm on Saturdays. Nearby, Pick (V.Kossuth Lajos utca 9) produces Hungary's finest salami in suitably red, white and green garb.
How to do itEasyjet (0905 821 0905; easyjet.com) flies from from Luton and Gatwick from £51 return, while Jet2 (0871 226 1737; jet2.com) flies from Manchester from £30 return. The best deals for Hungarian national carrier Malév can be found on expedia.co.uk.For complete luxury overlooking the Chain Bridge, the Four Seasons Gresham Palace (fourseasons.com) has special winter package deals from €220. Across the river, the design-heavy boutique Lánchíd 19 (lanchid19hotel.hu) is dropping its winter rates by 30 per cent - its cheapest rooms are just over €100. Its panoramic suite and terrace can be nabbed for €215. The city-centre Leo Panzio (leo