Most reviewed
Wine, cheese, charcuterie
Taste before you buy
- Length1.5 hours
- GuideEnglish
- TastesWine, cheese, cured meat
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What to buy in Budapest to take home and eat
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Get a seatWondering what to buy in Budapest that is worth the suitcase space? Paprika, salami, Tokaji and honey top the list. Here is how to choose each one, where to shop and what your customs officer will let through.
Editorial team, budapestfoodtour.click · Updated November 8, 2026 · Takes 7 min
Summary view
- PaprikaBuy sweet and hot; Kalocsa ground paprika is a protected product.1,2
- SalamiPick and Herz winter salami are both Hungarikums.3,4
- DrinksTokaji Aszú, pálinka and Unicum travel well.5,6,7
- SweetAcacia honey stays liquid for years.8
- CustomsLeaving Hungary: 1 liter of spirits, 1 liter of wine or 5 liters of beer.9
Paprika: sweet, hot and how to choose
Paprika is what to buy in Budapest if you only buy one thing. Hungarian kitchens use both the mild kind, called sweet, and the hot kind every day, so a pair of tins is the classic gift.1 Look for the town on the label. Kalocsa ground paprika carries a protected designation of origin; it is dark red and velvety, with a sweet, fruity taste, and Kalocsa has milled paprika since 1861.2,10
Szeged is the other great name. The Hungarikum Committee explains that paprika came to the Carpathian Basin with the Turks in the 16th-17th centuries, and that it was hot until the 1940s; sweet paprika was made by cutting out the hot parts by hand.11,12 For cooking, buy sealed tins or bags rather than loose powder sold by the scoop, and check the date. Ground paprika loses its colour and aroma with time and light.
Paprika paste is the easy upgrade. Piros Arany and Erős Pista are made of 100% paprika grown and processed around Kalocsa and Szeged, and they are exported to nearly 20 countries.13,14 The tourism agency suggests paprika pastes with roast meats and pasta, so a tube of each makes a small, light present for anyone who cooks.1
Pack smart
Food souvenirs and how they travel
| Souvenir | Where from | Packing tip |
|---|---|---|
| Ground paprika | Kalocsa or Szeged | Sealed tins |
| Paprika paste | Kalocsa and Szeged | Tubes, cabin-safe size |
| Winter salami | Pick or Herz | Check meat rules |
| Goose liver | Hungary | Buy canned |
| Tokaji Aszú | Tokaj | Checked bag |
| Pálinka | Fruit regions | Checked bag |
| Acacia honey | Hungary | Glass jar, wrapped |
Products as the Hungarikum Committee and the Hungarian Tourism Agency describe them.2,13,3,21,5,24,8
Salami, sausages and goose liver
Winter salami is the other must buy in Budapest. Pick salami from Szeged is made to Márk Pick's secret recipe from the late 19th century: pork and bacon cut rather than minced, cold smoked and dry matured in natural casings.3 Its white noble mould coating makes it recognisable from across a shop.18 Herz is the rival, smoked over beech, with white pepper and allspice in the lead.4
Herz has its own pedigree. Ármin Herz founded his company in 1882 and won an award for his salami in 1896, and the rules still allow only pigs older than a year that weigh 150 kg or more.15,19 Regional sausages are worth a look too: the small paired sausage from Gyula won a Golden Diploma at the Brussels World Expo in 1935.16 Buy whole sticks rather than slices; they keep better and pack flat.
Goose liver is the luxury option. The tourism agency says Hungary is the second-biggest producer after France, and that tinned foie gras pâté is an ideal gift.20,21 Products from fattened geese are on the Hungarikum list, and most of them are made in Hungary.22 Cans are the practical form for travel. Check the meat rules of your own country before you buy any of these, as some countries refuse them.
Paprika export limits
How many packs of paprika you can take, by price
- Up to HUF 50010
- Up to HUF 20005
- Up to HUF 50002
Duty and tax free paprika when leaving Hungary, per sort and by price per piece, as the tourism agency's customs page lists it.23
Tokaji, pálinka and Unicum
Tokaji Aszú is the wine to carry home. It is a base wine to which hand-picked aszú berries are added, so it ferments twice and gains its depth.5 Picking those berries is slow work: one person can harvest between 12 and 18 kg a day.28 That labour is part of the price. Ask to taste before you buy, and choose by how sweet you like your dessert wine; a half bottle is a good size for a first try.
Pálinka is the fruit spirit, and its rules are strict. Only fresh fruit may go into it, never concentrate or dried fruit, and every step from mash to bottle has to happen inside Hungary.6 The tourism agency singles out pálinka distilled from plums grown in Szatmár or Békés, peaches from Kecskemét or apples from Szabolcs.24 Choose by fruit rather than by bottle shape, and buy a small bottle of two kinds if you cannot decide.
Unicum is the bitter one. Doctor János Zwack devised it in 1790 for the court of Joseph II, and his family, now in its sixth generation, still keeps the recipe.7,29 A small bottle is the better souvenir for most people, since the taste is strong. Whatever you choose, pack bottles in clothes in your checked bag, not your cabin bag.
Pick your souvenir
What should you bring home?
Match the gift to the person and to your customs rules.
If For someone who cooks
Paprika and paprika paste
Both sweet and hot paprika are everyday ingredients.1
If For a wine lover
Tokaji Aszú
A wine fermented twice with hand-picked aszú berries.5
If For a spirits fan
Pálinka
Made and bottled in Hungary from fruit only.6
If I fly home to the US
Honey and spices, not salami
If I want something light
Szaloncukor or chocolates
Confectionery travels well and is unrestricted in Britain.27
Taste first
Tastings that help you choose
For wine lovers
Wine and tapas
Hungarian wines
- Length2 hours
- Wines8
- AccessWheelchair accessible
For beer fans
Beer tasting
Hungarian and craft
- Length1.5 hours
- Beers9-tier
- GroupUp to 10
Honey, sweets and pantry jars
Acacia honey is a lovely thing to bring home. The Hungarikum Committee describes it as light and soft, with an acacia scent, and notes that its high sugar content keeps it liquid for years without crystallising.8 It also has little flavour of its own, so it suits people who do not usually like honey. Buy it in a sealed glass jar and wrap it well.
Sweets make light gifts. Gerbeaud sells cognac sour cherries, cat's tongue biscuits, pralines and chocolates to take home.32 At Christmas, szaloncukor fills the shops: fondants dipped in chocolate and wrapped in foil to hang on the tree, a Christmas product of the Hungarian confectionery trade since the 19th century.33,34 They travel well and look festive in any kitchen.
Pantry jars round out the bag. Producers offer jams and cordials such as poppy seed jam, lemongrass cordial and quince compote.35 Tokaj's wine vinegars spend at least four to six months in oak.30 These are cheap things to buy in Budapest that still feel special, and they sit happily in a suitcase between clothes. Choose small jars: liquids add weight fast.
Price a tasting
What a tasting costs for your group
Set your group size and compare tastings that make shopping easier.
Side-by-side: 3 options
What a tasting costs for your group
Set your group size and compare tastings that make shopping easier.
- Wine, cheese, charcuterie1.5 hours · price per person from €40
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View - Wine and tapas2 hours · price per person from €55
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View - Beer tasting1.5 hours · price per person from €46
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View
All amounts are from-prices on GetYourGuide, converted at the ECB reference rate. Exact prices are shown at booking.
Classics with a past
How Hungary's pantry favourites began
Where to shop for food souvenirs
The Great Market Hall is the one-stop shop. Downstairs the stalls sell salami, paprika, pálinka, wine and honey side by side, and the gallery adds gift stalls.36,37 In the basement, Hungarikum street shows peppers from Kalocsa and Szeged, Gyula and Csaba sausages, Herz and Pick salami, acacia honey, Tokaji aszú and goose liver, with the story of each.38 Read the display cases first, then buy.
Mind the timing. Weekdays run from 06.00 to 18.00, Saturdays close at 16.00 and Sundays are shortest, 10.00 to 16.00; holidays mean locked doors.39,40 The tourism agency notes that its stalls cater especially for foreign visitors on Hungarikum street.41 Compare a few stalls before buying, and ask for vacuum packing on cured meats and cheese.
Other places suit particular items. Gerbeaud's shop is the place for chocolates and cherries in cognac.32 Szimpla's Sunday producers' market, open 9 a.m. till 2 p.m., is good for small-batch jars and honey.42 Kosher products are sold at the kosher market on Dohány utca, closed on Saturdays.43 Buy heavier items last, on the way back to your hotel.
Video
A local's pick of souvenirs from Budapest
Stuffed Cabbage Adventures on YouTube · The video waits until you tap play to load.
Due to its high sugar content, it maintains its liquid state for years without any crystallisation
Taste before you buy
It is easier to choose a salami or a Tokaji once you have tasted a few side by side. This page's tasting pairs Hungarian wine with cheese and charcuterie in a 1.5-hour session with an English-speaking guide. It is listed from €45. Treat it as a buying guide: note which wines and meats you like, then shop for those.
Wine lovers have more choice. You can try 8 Hungarian wines with tapas over 2 hours from €62, or an 8-tier flight in a downtown wine bar, also 2 hours, from €51. Beer drinkers can try a 9-tier Hungarian and craft beer tasting with snacks, 1.5 hours from €51. Any of these will teach you more about Hungarian labels than an hour of reading them in a shop.
A food walk does the same for the pantry. On the Market to Tavern tour the first 30 minutes are spent tasting in the Central Market Hall, so you meet the stalls with someone who knows them before you buy. Buy your souvenirs at the end of the trip, not the start, so cured meats and cheese spend less time out of the fridge. Keep receipts for the bigger purchases in case customs ask.
Customs: what to bring from Budapest
Before deciding what to bring from Budapest, check the rules at both ends. Within the European Union, the tourism agency says there is no limit on what a private person buys for personal use in another EU country.44 For travellers leaving Hungary, its customs page lists 1 liter of spirits, 1 liter of wine or 5 liters of beer, and 1 kg of coffee, tea, cocoa or herbs.9 The agency's page does not say whether these limits apply to flights within the EU, so rely on the EU rule above for EU destinations. It also sets paprika limits by value: 10 pieces per sort up to HUF 500 a piece, 5 up to HUF 2000 and 2 up to HUF 5000.23
Your home country decides the rest. US Customs and Border Protection says almost anything containing meat products cannot enter, and that fresh, dried or canned meats from most foreign countries are not allowed.25 Packaged spices, honey, condiments, oils, vinegars, coffee and tea are generally allowed, and bakery items and certain cheeses may be brought in.26,45 The amount of alcohol is governed by the laws of the state where you first arrive.46
For Great Britain, the UK government lists bread, cakes without fresh cream, biscuits, and chocolate and confectionery among the foods you can bring from any country without restriction.27 Meat, dairy, fish and animal products are restricted.31 In practice, paprika, honey and sweets are the easy choices for most travellers, and salami and goose liver need a check first. The tourism agency's own advice is simply to check the rules before you travel.47
FAQ
Brief questions, brief answers.
Which food souvenir should I buy first?
Can I take Hungarian salami to the United States?
Generally, no.
US CBP says fresh, dried or canned meats from most foreign countries may not be imported.25
Can I bring paprika and honey into the US?
Generally, yes.
CBP lists packaged spices and honey among items that are generally admissible.26
How much alcohol can I take out of Hungary?
1 liter of spirits or 1 liter of wine.
Its customs page allows 1 liter of alcohol or 1 liter of wine, or else 5 liters of beer.9
Is there a limit on paprika when leaving Hungary?
Yes, by value.
Up to HUF 500 a piece: 10 per sort; up to HUF 2000: 5; up to HUF 5000: 2.23
Where can I buy food souvenirs in Budapest?
Sources
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · A taste of Hungary: gifts for culinary enthusiasts ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Ground paprika from Kalocsa ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · PICK wintersalami ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · HERZ classic wintersalami ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Tokaji Aszú at the pinnacle ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Pálinka ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Six Hungarikums to place in your shopping basket ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Hungarian acacia honey ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Customs ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Ground paprika from Kalocsa ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Ground paprika from Szeged ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Ground paprika from Szeged ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Piros Arany (Red Gold) and Erős Pista ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Piros Arany (Red Gold) and Erős Pista ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Six Hungarikums to place in your shopping basket ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Sausage or double sausage from Gyula ↩
- Budapest Market Halls Ltd. (Municipality of Budapest) · Hungarikum street ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Six Hungarikums to place in your shopping basket ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Six Hungarikums to place in your shopping basket ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · The Classics of Hungarian Cuisine ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · The Classics of Hungarian Cuisine ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Food products from fattened goose ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Customs ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · A taste of Hungary: gifts for culinary enthusiasts ↩
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection · Prohibited and Restricted Items ↩
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection · Prohibited and Restricted Items ↩
- GOV.UK · Bringing food into Great Britain ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Tokaji Aszú at the pinnacle ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Six Hungarikums to place in your shopping basket ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · A taste of Hungary: gifts for culinary enthusiasts ↩
- GOV.UK · Bringing food into Great Britain ↩
- Gerbeaud Confectionery · Budapest café & desserts ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Hungarian Gastro Glossary ↩
- Hungarikum Committee (Collection of Hungarikums) · Parlour Candy ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · A taste of Hungary: gifts for culinary enthusiasts ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · The hubbub of a market in the heart of Budapest: Great Market Hall ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · The hubbub of a market in the heart of Budapest: Great Market Hall ↩
- Budapest Market Halls Ltd. (Municipality of Budapest) · Hungarikum street ↩
- Budapest Market Halls Ltd. (Municipality of Budapest) · Central Market Hall ↩
- Budapest Market Halls Ltd. (Municipality of Budapest) · Central Market Hall ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Markets in Budapest, a centuries-old tradition ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Markets showcasing Budapest's essential flavors ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · The Jewish Quarter of Budapest: kosher restaurants, cafés and shops ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Customs ↩
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection · Prohibited and Restricted Items ↩
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection · Prohibited and Restricted Items ↩
- Hungarian Tourism Agency (VisitHungary) · Customs ↩