What to Buy in Hungary (and What to Skip)

Quick answer: The best things to bring home from Hungary are ground paprika with a Kalocsa or Szeged origin, a bottle of Tokaji Aszú, a real pálinka and a bottle of Unicum. For something to keep, buy Herend or Zsolnay porcelain (new from the maker, or vintage at Ecseri) and genuine Matyó embroidery. Skip the painted paprika tins, the “folk” tablecloths that repeat stall to stall, and Pick salami if you fly home to the US or UK.

Start with paprika, but buy the real one

Paprika is the souvenir everyone buys and most people buy badly. The decorative tins look the part; what matters is the label.

Hungary has two protected paprikas. Szegedi fűszerpaprika-őrlemény (Szeged paprika) was registered as an EU protected designation of origin in 2010, and Kalocsai fűszerpaprika-őrlemény (Kalocsa paprika) followed in 2012. Either name on a label means the peppers were grown and ground in that region.

What to look for: édes (sweet) for cooking at home, csípős (hot) if you like heat, and a best-before date as far away as possible. Paprika fades fast once opened, so two small bags beat one big tin. What to skip: gift tins with no origin, and anything sold as “Hungarian-style.”

The Great Market Hall at Fővám tér is the easy place to buy it. Paprika, salami and wine fill the ground floor under a roof of Zsolnay tiles, and the hall trades Monday to Saturday from 6am. For the full market week, including the cheaper Fény utca and Lehel halls, read our guide to Budapest markets like a local.

If you want someone to explain the difference between a dozen paprikas while you taste them, a Great Market Hall food tour is worth the morning. Our Hungarian Food & Market Tour listing has the details.

Salami: great to eat, hard to fly home

Hungarian winter salami has a story worth knowing. Márk Pick, a Jewish master butcher, started making it in Szeged in 1869. The company he founded, Pick Szeged, still makes it, and the salami he popularized gained EU protected status in 2007. It is cold-smoked over beechwood and ripened until a white noble mold covers the casing.

Eat it in Budapest. Bringing it home is another matter (see the customs section below). If you are flying to another EU country, a whole vacuum-packed salami travels well.

Drinks: Tokaji, pálinka and Unicum

Tokaji Aszú is Hungary’s great wine. It comes from the Tokaj region in the northeast, which a 1737 royal decree delimited as one of the world’s earliest wine appellations. UNESCO listed the region’s historic landscape as a World Heritage Site in 2002. Aszú is made with grapes shriveled by noble rot, and since 2013 any wine labeled Aszú must have at least 120 grams of residual sugar per liter. Many bottles still carry a puttonyos number, the traditional measure of how sweet it is.

If you would rather buy it at the cellar door, a Tokaj wine day trip from Budapest gets you to the producers. It is a long day out and most options are private tours, so it works best for people who care about the wine more than the price.

Pálinka is Hungary’s fruit brandy, and the word itself is protected. To be called pálinka in the EU, a spirit must be made only from fruit grown in Hungary, distilled and bottled there, and bottled at 37.5% ABV or more (a few Austrian apricot spirits share the name). Apricot (barack), plum (szilva) and pear (körte) are the classics. Buy a named small distillery over a generic bottle with a red-white-green ribbon.

Unicum is the bitter herbal liqueur in the round black bottle with a red cross. The Zwack family has made it since 1790 to a secret recipe of more than 40 herbs and spices, aged in oak casks at its Budapest factory. The Zwack visitor center and shop is at Dandár utca 1 in District IX, near the river. Try a shot before you buy a bottle.

Porcelain: Herend, Zsolnay and the Ecseri shortcut

Hungary makes two porcelains worth carrying home, and they are very different.

Herend has made porcelain in the village of Herend near Veszprém since 1826. It is hand-painted and gilded, it supplied the Habsburg court, and many of its 19th-century patterns are still in production. The flagship shop is on József nádor tér in central Pest. Expect high prices.

Zsolnay comes from Pécs, where Miklós Zsolnay founded the factory in 1853. Its signature is eosin, an iridescent metallic glaze introduced in the 1890s that became a favorite of Art Nouveau artists. You have already seen Zsolnay if you have looked up at the Great Market Hall roof.

The shortcut is secondhand. The Ecseri Flea Market on the southern edge of the city sells vintage Herend and Zsolnay alongside folk textiles, old cameras and communist-era badges. Saturday morning is the day. Turn pieces over: genuine Herend and Zsolnay carry a maker’s mark on the base. Haggle politely.

Embroidery: Matyó, not the tablecloth pile

Hungarian embroidery is a real craft, and much of what is sold to visitors is not it. The best known is Matyó embroidery from Mezőkövesd in the northeast. Its dense, bright floral motifs were inscribed on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2012, and local makers still teach the stitches.

What to look for: a named maker or village. What to skip: the identical machine-stitched tablecloths stacked in every stall upstairs at the market hall and along Váci utca. Váci utca is a handsome street to walk, but its souvenir shops are mostly wholesale stock.

Coffee that employs people

Not a souvenir, but worth building into a shopping day in District VIII. Nem Adom Fel (“I Don’t Give Up”) was Budapest’s first cafe founded by and for people with disabilities. Employees with disabilities prepare and serve the food and drink, and help run its film clubs and concerts. It is on Magdolna utca in Józsefváros.

What you can take home (and what you can’t)

Liquids: carry-on liquids are generally limited to 100 ml containers, so wine, pálinka and Unicum go in your checked bag. Flying to or through the US, the TSA allows up to 5 liters per person of alcohol between 24% and 70% ABV in checked bags, unopened and in retail packaging. Anything over 70% is banned.

Salami and cheese to the UK: since April 2025, travelers cannot bring pork, beef, lamb or goat meat products, or dairy, from the EU into Great Britain for personal use. That includes vacuum-packed salami and anything bought in duty free.

Salami to the US: Hungary has reported African swine fever since 2018, and the USDA does not let travelers bring back most pork products from countries affected by it. Leave the Pick at home. You must declare all food at US customs; declared items that are refused are simply taken, with no penalty.

Paprika is the low-stress buy. Most packaged dried spices are admissible into the US, though you still need to declare them.

Four questions that sort real from tourist

Would a Hungarian buy this? Kalocsa paprika, Tokaji, pálinka from a small distillery: yes. A paprika tin painted with folk hearts: no.

Does the label name a place? Kalocsa, Szeged, Tokaj, Herend, Pécs, Mezőkövesd. “Hungarian-style” is not a provenance.

Is it sold in a market residents use? The Great Market Hall ground floor and basement pass. The upstairs gallery mostly does not.

Does the same item appear in every stall? Then you are buying from a distributor, not a maker.

A local tip

Do your food shopping on your last weekday morning, not your first. The Great Market Hall is closed on Sundays. If shopping is a big part of the trip, stay within walking distance of Fővám tér; you can be at the stalls by 7am and back before breakfast ends. Compare hotels near the Great Market Hall, or read where to stay in Budapest for the trade-offs between districts. Not sure you have time for a market morning at all? How many days you need in Budapest will help.

Frequently asked questions

What should I buy in Hungary?

The best Hungarian souvenirs are ground paprika labeled Kalocsa or Szeged, a bottle of Tokaji Aszú, pálinka from a small distillery and a bottle of Unicum. For something lasting, buy Herend or Zsolnay porcelain, new or vintage from the Ecseri flea market, or genuine Matyó embroidery.

How do I know if Hungarian paprika is real?

Look for Szegedi or Kalocsai fűszerpaprika-őrlemény on the label. Both are EU protected designations of origin, which means the peppers were grown and ground in those regions. Choose édes for sweet or csípős for hot, and check the best-before date.

Can I bring Hungarian salami home to the US or UK?

Usually not. Great Britain has banned personal imports of pork, beef, lamb and goat products and dairy from the EU since April 2025. The USDA does not allow travelers to bring back most pork products from countries with African swine fever, which Hungary has reported since 2018. Declare all food at customs.

Is the Great Market Hall a good place to buy souvenirs?

Yes for food, less so for crafts. The ground floor sells paprika, salami and Tokaji to locals as well as visitors, and the hall opens at 6am Monday to Saturday. The upstairs gallery is mostly wholesale embroidery and souvenirs. It is closed on Sundays.

Where can I buy Herend and Zsolnay porcelain in Budapest?

Herend’s flagship shop is on József nádor tér in central Pest. For vintage Herend and Zsolnay at lower prices, go to the Ecseri flea market on a Saturday morning, check the maker’s mark on the base and haggle politely.

More Budapest: Budapest markets like a local · Budapest ruin bars like a local · Where to stay in Budapest · How many days in Budapest · What to buy in Poland. Or browse the full Budapest guide.

Featured image: Bags of Hungarian ground paprika, by Christine Zenino, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.