The Cat Cafés of Budapest

Some people visit Budapest for the history, the ruin bars, or the architecture. While those are all extremely impressive, Budapest’s two cat cafés provide hours of entertainment for the feline-obsessed traveller on a cold winter day.

According to my pre-departure research, Budapest is not exactly known for being a particularly rainy city. Of course, as luck would have it, it positively poured during the three days that I was there. What better way to spend a day than with cake, Nutella lattes, and friendly kitties?

Catcafé (Damjanich utca 38) is situated close to Heroes’ Square, in a cosy location that feels just like home. For 1590 HUF (Hungarian Forint), enjoy unlimited coffee, tea, and cake while playing with the cats in what could very well be someone’s living room.

It’s pretty quiet with warm mood lighting, cushions and couches – a perfect spot for a cat-loving digital nomad to curl up and work while enjoying the company of some Scottish folds. There are also board games, if you’re feeling social!

I definitely took a full-on nap on the couch here, and nobody hassled me about it, so this is a winner in my books.

In contrast, Cat Café Budapest (Révay utca 3) is two floors of cat paradise with airy, white walls and bright lights. It’s definitely not as cosy or snuggly, but there are more cats and cat toys to entertain both humans and felines.

This one is much busier – it’s near major attractions such as St. Stephen’s Basilica and the bohemian District VII, making it a perfect afternoon stop for a cup of tea, a snack, and a cat cuddle.

In contrast to the cat cafés that I’ve visited in London and here at home in Vancouver, I especially enjoyed that no reservations were required, and we weren’t charged a fee to visit. Despite — or perhaps because of — the lack of pretension, business seemed to be booming at both locations. As we only had two days in Budapest, it was a good reminder to slow down, not to try to see it all, and just relax with some furry friends.

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