City break hotspot could get it’s own ‘mini-Dubai’ with Europe’s tallest skyscraper
City break hotspot could get it’s own ‘mini-Dubai’ with Europe’s tallest skyscraper
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Budapest might be known for its quirky ruin bars and art nouveau architecture, but its set to get a Middle East makeover. The UAE has made an agreement with the Hungarian government, which will see them invest a staggering €5 billion (£4,187,900) into creating a glitzy new neighbourhood.
![[European city to get it's own 'mini-Dubai' with continent's tallest skyscraper Grand Budapest hotel Picture: grandbudapest.com https://grandbudapest.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/header-image-01-1024x683.jpg https://grandbudapest.com/]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237779726-3f93.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Nicknamed ‘mini-Dubai’, but officially going by the project name ‘Grand Budapest’, the project will ‘breathe new life’ into what is now 100 hectares of derelict land near Rákosrendező train station, in the north east of the city. If proposals by property developers Eagle Hills go ahead, the neighbourhood will get brand new infrastructure, including a railway track, extended metro line, cycle line and pedestrian zone.
![[European city to get it's own 'mini-Dubai' with continent's tallest skyscraper Grand Budapest hotel Picture: grandbudapest.com https://grandbudapest.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/header-image-01-1024x683.jpg https://grandbudapest.com/]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237779655-424d.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
There will also be 35-40 hectares of parks and ‘vibrant public spaces’, schools and community facilities. The area is set to be a ‘new modern district’, which is sure to stand out against Budapest’s fairy-tale like castles and buildings. Eagle Hills proposals also allow for buildings up to 500m tall in some parts of the area — which would make them taller than The Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the tallest skyscraper in Europe at 462m.
By comparison, The Shard, in London, stands at 390.6m tall. However, under current legislation, buildings cannot be taller than 90m high in Budapest, and some government departments have opposed these plans. The Ministry of Construction and Transport in Hungary said: ‘We do not support the construction of 500-metre-high buildings or skyscrapers.’.
