HIDDEN GEM:GUSTAVE EIFFEL might spin in his grave at the news that one of his buildings has ended up hosting a fast-food restaurant. But this way, at least, thousands of people get to appreciate the French engineer's genius while quenching their thirst for a strawberry milkshake.
Connected to Nyugati Pályaudvar railway station, a transport hub in Budapest, the two-storey McDonald’s has been fully restored to reflect the architectural beauty of the Hungarian capital in the early 20th century, with wrought-iron railings, antique lamps and red brickwork.
Built by the Eiffel Company and opened in 1877, when it was the world’s fifth-largest railway station, the building has baroque features that are hard to miss, with high wood-panelled windows, stone staircases, polished chandeliers and gilt plasterwork.
As well as being perhaps the world’s most beautiful fast-food outlet, this McDonald’s is among the most popular: the 250-seat restaurant is said to be one of the busiest of the more than 30,000 branches.
Other attractive McDonald’s include the branch at the foot of the Spanish Steps, in Rome; the art-deco offerings in Melbourne, in Australia, and Taradale, in New Zealand; and the restaurant at 160 Broadway, in New York, which features a doorman, marble tables, private dining room, grand piano, fresh flowers and live music. Also, crass as it may seem, in Pompeii, not too far from the site of the devastating volcanic eruption, sits a McDonald’s with murals depicting company characters in togas in a Tuscan landscape.
- McDonald's, Teréz Körút 55, Budapest, Hungary, 00-36-30-6805002, mcdonalds.hu
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