Bálna

At first I believed that this was a shopping centre of some sort. It is not. It is the history of Budapest, specifically in the war period. Some of the venues had interactive experiences whilst others were very small and broad. They have lockers to put your stuff in and you sign up at the information centre. It was underwhelming but I still liked the idea.

Beautiful structure on the river Bank. There are also some nice Cafe & Restaurants around there with the river view.

Bálna in Budapest is a very modern cultural and commercial building by the Danube River. It has a unique design that looks like a whale and includes shops, cafes, and art galleries. It’s a popular spot for locals and tourists to relax and enjoy the city.

Its very beautiful at night when the lights come on! We only had Cocktails at the Boho bar. Nice environment 👏. Great service 👍.

Nice viewpoint of Budapest, especially by night. The building itself is a great design mixed by traditional and post-modern.

Nice shopping centre though mainly cafes and restaurants looking over the Danube, not that I'm complaining. We stopped for a non-alcoholic cocktail at Rombusz Terasz overlooking the very high Danube in Sept 2024. it's the one with colourful seats. The staff were friendly and the refreshing drink was very welcome. The main gallery has a lot of special exhibitions, in 2023 it was one celebrating 175 years of Hungarian army. All the captions were in Hungarian so I didn't understand too much. Lots of interactive exhibits that people were enjoying. I did try but Hungarian instructions foiled me again.

Bálna Budapest has a great location by the Danube and an interesting modern design, but the experience is somewhat underwhelming. A large part of the complex is dedicated to a military exhibition, which might not appeal to everyone. Additionally, visiting the entire building requires prior registration, which can be inconvenient for walk-in visitors. While there are some shops and cafés, the space feels underutilized, and there’s not much to explore beyond the exhibition. It’s worth a quick visit for the architecture and river views, but don’t expect a lively cultural or shopping hub.

Bálna, Whale in English, is a building that is remarkable by its silhouette and great location on the river Danube. Housed in what used to be a warehouse or 2, the complex features restaurants, art galleries and a couple of stores. The interior of the complex is still underutilized, years after the completion of the building in 2014. The waterfront section is the most popular. It contains a number of restaurants and cafes with terraces right on the Danube. People gather after work for drinks and dinner.