Central Europe's great junk market: Habsburg silver, communist medals, farm tools and a great deal of nonsense.
Ecseri is a long way out and worth the journey if you like this sort of thing. It has been running in some form since the 1920s, moved to its current site in the 1960s, and is the largest market of its kind in this part of Europe.
What is there
Two registers, side by side. At the serious end, dealers in enclosed shops sell genuine antiques: Habsburg-era silver and porcelain, Zsolnay ceramics, Herend, furniture, icons, Judaica, old scientific instruments, folk textiles and embroidered costume from the villages. Prices are real and so, usually, are the objects, though attribution is optimistic.
At the other end, tables in the open sell whatever turned up: Soviet and Hungarian military badges and caps, Young Pioneer memorabilia, watches, cameras, vinyl, farm implements, doorknobs, spectacles, and boxes of unsorted metal. Communist-era material is plentiful and much of it is authentic; some of it is made for the trade.
Buying
Bargaining is expected and should be good-humoured. Start by asking the price, look unconvinced, name something lower, and settle in the middle. Cash only in most stalls, in forints, in small denominations — nobody wants to break a large note first thing.
If you are buying anything that might count as a cultural object of significance — genuinely old icons, certain artworks — be aware that Hungary has export rules, and a dealer should be able to tell you where the line is.
When
Saturday is the main day and mornings are best, starting early. Friday is quieter and still worth it. Sunday is reduced. Weekdays are thin.
Getting there
Metro M3 south to Határ út, then bus 54 or 55 towards Ecseri út; it is about fifteen minutes and the stop is signed. Allow forty-five minutes each way from the centre. It is not a place to arrive at with an hour to spare.