Old-School Specialty Shops in Budapest, From a Brush Maker to a Doll Hospital

Budapest still has shops that do exactly one thing. A man who makes hats, a family that has sold brushes for about a century, a room full of buttons, a pharmacy where the shelves are older than the drugs on them. They are not museums: you walk in, you buy a clothes brush or a felt hat or a single button to replace the one you lost, and you pay what it costs. This guide lists ten that are still trading, what each one makes or sells, and how to get there.

Hours change and many of these shops are run by one or two people, so a phone call before a special trip is a good idea.

The Régi Posta Utca Cluster: Pipes, Buttons and Ties

Three of the shops are on one short street in District V, between Váci utca and the Danube, so you can see them in one walk. The nearest metro is Vörösmarty tér on line M1, about 300 meters away.

1. Gallwitz Pipe and Walking-Stick Shop

• What you find: new, used and antique pipes, pipe accessories, walking sticks, and pipe repair and restoration.
• Why go: the family line goes back to 1880, when Lipót Gallwitz founded what the shop calls Pest’s first turner’s workshop. The firm was nationalized in 1952, and after György Gallwitz died in 2003 the Tobacco Museum wrote that its 123-year history had ended. Today the founder’s great-great-grandchild runs the shop under the old name. The catch: on weekdays it does not open until 13:00.
• The facts: Régi posta utca 7-9, District V. Open Monday to Friday 13:00-18:00 and Saturday 11:00-14:00. Gallwitz also runs a separate tobacconist, Gallwitz Trafik, at Kecskeméti utca 1, which is a different shop.

Sources: Gallwitz, tradition page and hours, Gallwitz services and the Tobacco Museum’s history of the shop, read on 28 October 2026.

2. Gombudvar: the Button Shop

• What you find: buttons in many materials and sizes, belt buckles, cords and ribbons, and the rest of haberdashery: zips, thread, needles, elastic. It also sells eyes and noses for toys. The shop says it stocks several million buttons.
• Why go: if you have lost one button from a coat, this is where you match it. The shop has traded for decades and is run by Péter Vidor. It is closed at weekends.
• The facts: Régi posta utca 7-9, District V, in the same building as Gallwitz. Open Monday to Friday 10:00-18:00.

Source: Gombudvar, read on 28 October 2026.

3. Kaczián: Handmade Ties

• What you find: neckties, scarves, bow ties and silk waistcoats for special occasions, made by hand in small batches.
• Why go: Kaczián has made ties here since 1957. A tie is also an easy present to carry home.
• The facts: Régi posta utca 14, District V. Open Monday to Friday 11:00-18:00 and Saturday 11:00-17:00.

Source: Kaczián Nyakkendő Szaküzlet, read on 28 October 2026.

Near Astoria: Brushes and a Doll Hospital

4. 1001 Kefe: the Brush Shop

• What you find: brushes and paintbrushes made from quality natural materials, for the household, for hair, for painting and for trades, and craft brushes made by hand.
• Why go: the shop grew out of a brush and paintbrush business founded by the current owner’s grandfather around 1920, and Katalin Smulovicsné Winter still sells handmade brushes in what Hungarian press calls her grandfather’s century-old workshop.
• The facts: Dob utca 3, District VII, about 250 meters from Astoria (M2 and trams 47, 48, 49). Call before you go; the phone number is on its contact page.

Sources: 1001 Kefe, its about page and contact page, and Magyar Mezőgazdaság, November 2025, read on 28 October 2026.

5. Babaklinika: the Doll Hospital

• What you find: a small shop that repairs dolls and teddy bears.
• Why go: the family story starts more than 120 years ago, first on Károly körút, and the shop next to the Könyvudvar on Múzeum körút opened in 1957. Owner Judit Barta repairs every kind of toy bear. Bring the one that has lost an eye. It is closed at weekends.
• The facts: Múzeum körút 5, District V, a minute from Astoria (M2 and trams 47, 48, 49). Open on weekdays 10:00-17:30.

Sources: Babaklinika, Index, January 2025 and hvg, December 2023, read on 28 October 2026.

Hat Makers

6. Kalpag: Master Hatter Attila Marácz

• What you find: hats for men and women, caps, theater and costume hats, hats for folk dance groups, and custom orders, with the felt shaped by hand.
• Why go: Attila Marácz passed his master’s exam in 1983 and later opened this shop on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út; his father, György Marácz, opened his own hat shop in 1939. A hat made to your head size is the point here. The shop is small and closes at 17:00.
• The facts: Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 56, District V, about 100 meters from Arany János utca (M3). Open Monday to Friday 11:00-17:00. From 1 November to 31 March the shop does not take hats for cleaning.

Sources: Kalpag and its contact page, read on 28 October 2026.

7. Veres Kalapszalon

• What you find: women’s and men’s hats of the shop’s own design, made in small batches and in custom sizes, plus cleaning, reshaping and restyling of hats you already own.
• Why go: hatter Tamás Veres and his wife founded the business in 1975, and the shop says its premises have been a hat shop since the 1920s.
• The facts: Baross utca 89, District VIII, at the outer end of the street. The nearest tram stop is Teleki László tér (trams 28, 37 and 62), about 550 meters away. Open Monday to Friday 10:00-17:00 and Saturday 10:00-13:00.

Sources: Veres Kalapszalon and its contact page, read on 28 October 2026.

Workshops and Heritage Interiors

8. Grünberger: Chandelier Makers Since 1901

• What you find: chandeliers made and restored by hand.
• Why go: the Grünberger family founded its wood carving, joinery, furniture and chandelier workshop in Budapest in 1901, and Gábor Tamás Grünberger runs it as the fourth generation. It is a workshop more than a walk-in shop, so call ahead.
• The facts: Nagymező utca 21, District VI, about 200 meters from Opera (M1). Open Monday to Friday 10:00-17:00, or by appointment over the phone.

Sources: Grünberger, its history and contact page, read on 28 October 2026.

9. Fortuna Gyógyszertár: a 1902 Pharmacy Interior

• What you find: a working pharmacy, so this is a place to buy plasters or cough drops and look up.
• Why go: the pharmacy was fitted out more than 120 years ago and still works in its 1902 interior, which is under heritage protection. The protected pieces are the shelving, the dispensing counter (a later addition), the desk and the ceiling decoration, and the woodwork is poplar root from 1902.
• The facts: Dob utca 80, District VII, about 250 meters from the Király utca / Erzsébet körút stop of trams 4 and 6. Open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00.

Sources: Fortuna Gyógyszertár and the Hungarian pharmacy history society’s list of pharmacy interiors, read on 28 October 2026.

Another protected pharmacy interior is the Kígyó Gyógyszertár at Kossuth Lajos utca 2, District V, next to Ferenciek tere (M3). The same society lists its shelving, counter, room divider, carved gallery and old pharmacy jars as protected. Look through the door when you pass on the way to Ferenciek tere.

10. Gorondy Tollklinika: the Feather Clinic

• What you find: a workshop that cleans feather duvets, pillows and the heavy Hungarian dunna, reworks old ones, makes new ones to standard or custom sizes, and does sewing repairs.
• Why go: the workshop calls itself the longest-running traditional feather cleaning and bedding workshop in Budapest. It is practical rather than a sight, so it suits people staying a while.
• The facts: Erőd utca 14, District II, on the Buda side, about 100 meters from the Mechwart liget stop of trams 4, 6 and 17. Open Tuesday to Thursday 10:00-18:00 and Friday 10:00-16:00.

Source: Gorondy Tollklinika, read on 28 October 2026.

Recently Closed

Old shops close every year, often when the owner retires. These have gone, so do not go looking for them:

• Cartographia map shop, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út: closed on 13 June 2024.
• Brauch butcher shop, Mester utca 29: the 1903 shop closed on 31 December 2020.
• Soós Fotó, Wesselényi utca 10: the owner, 54 years in the trade, was to clear the shop by the end of July 2026.

Sources: Cartographia, PestBuda and hvg, read on 28 October 2026.

Planning the Walk

The shops in District V and VII make one easy loop on foot: start at the Régi posta utca three near Vörösmarty tér, walk to Astoria for the Babaklinika and 1001 Kefe, then go up Dob utca to Fortuna. Kalpag and Grünberger fit into a second loop north of Deák Ferenc tér. Go on a Tuesday to Friday afternoon, when most of them are open: Gallwitz does not open until 13:00, and Gorondy is closed on Mondays.

For more shopping, see our guides to shopping in Budapest, what to buy in Budapest and Budapest’s flea markets.