Retro Design Center

The basics

The Retro Design Center is small and only takes about an hour to walk through. There’s a fully-stocked vintage kitchen and pantry, an array of antique motorbikes, over 20 Eastern European cars in an outdoor garage area, and a TV set showing 1970s-era advertisements, among many other items. You’ll find decent signage in Hungarian, English, German, and Russian, but don’t expect a traditional museum experience—this is more like wandering through somebody’s overstuffed house.

Things to know before you go

• Get ready for plenty of photo opportunities. Visitors are encouraged to get behind the wheels of six automobiles, including a candy-pink convertible.

• While the information displayed is enough to keep you from getting lost, it’s helpful to visit the Retro Design Center with a Hungarian guide—someone with lived experience of the everyday items in the collection and who can explain their cultural significance.

• Sadly, there is no on-site souvenir shop, so you won’t be able to grab any goodies to take home. But getting yourself photographed behind the wheel of one of the Eastern Bloc cars is a pretty good memento of your time here.

• Children and students receive discounted admission; babies under 2 years old can enter for free.

How to get there

The Retro Design Center is a pleasant 10-minute walk from Szentendre's Old Town; head north along the Danube riverfront. Most travelers visit Szentendre as a half- or full-day trip from the capital. About 40 minutes from Budapest, it’s an easy drive along Route 11 if you have your own transportation, although tour operators typically offer round-trip transfers (some with hotel pickup). There’s also a river ferry linking Budapest and Szentendre in the summer.

When to get there

The Retro Design Center keeps limited opening hours. Generally, the museum is only open from Thursday to Sunday, so check the schedule ahead of your visit for the most up-to-date times. There’s no real wrong time to come to Szentendre, although the quaint and gallery-filled town can be busy with tourists in the summer. At Christmastime, holiday markets and mulled wine vendors liven up the cobbled streets. For a quieter experience, aim for spring or fall.

Understanding Hungary’s Iron Curtain

If you’re interested in seeing more of Hungary’s Communist-era material culture, head to Memento Park. Located on the outskirts of Budapest (reachable by taxi or buses 101B and 101E), this open-air museum displays patriotic statues dating back to Hungary’s Communist dictatorship. For a sobering yet educational experience, a visit to the House of Terror Museum will leave you horrified at the torture and assassinations that took place under the Hungarian People’s Republic.