Street art conquers in more and more versions. Just think about the ad hoc organized flash mobs, the graffiti which is popular for decades, and I’m sure that everyone has already seen the metal-colored human statues that come to life for some coin. Here in Budapest, there is another defining street art: the painted firewalls of the city.

In the past few years downtown of Budapest was filled with these huge paintings, but ordinary people - including us - only know a small percent of them. The idea is simple: there are those huge and ugly firewalls in the city, why not make something good with it? Neopaint and Színes Város Projekt collaborated with local artist and painters and solved this problem for us.

The artists do their work legally, in cooperation with local governments and residents alike. The Színes Város Csoport (“Colorful City Group”) intends to follow in Victor Vasarely’s footsteps and take art to the streets, so that it becomes available to everyone. They not only create art themselves, but also launch competitions for young groups who are just starting out, allowing for more and more surfaces to be beautified via this transformation. The members of Neopaint prefer simple images for decorating deteriorated walls; some of it presents Budapest’s former face, or sometimes they paint a landscape to provide a backdrop for a playground.

But where are these beauties exactly? The city’s seventh district is one of the best places to see street art in Budapest, but if you want to make sure to find all painted murals, check out the comprehensive map of budapestflow.com here. It contains all painted murals of the city with location and a photo, so it’s a perfect starting point.