Year: 2018

Welcome to the Budapest Christmas markets in 2018

Welcome to the Budapest Christmas markets in 2018

Posted on by Budapest Guide

One of the most popular events in Budapest every year is the Christmas markets. They attract tens of thousands of visitors every single day, and they are getting more and more popular for every year.

Every year, already in January, we get the question: “When will the Christmas markets be arranged in Budapest this year?” The same question has been asked in 2018, and finally, we are able to give an answer to the question.

Christmas markets in Budapest
The Christmas market at Vörösmarty square – Source

It should be noted that Budapest is making the Christmas season a very long season, and the Christmas market at Vörösmarty square in the center of Budapest is set to open already on November 9th (if everything happens according to plan). That is one week earlier than the opening of the Christmas markets in Vienna, and three weeks earlier than the opening of the Christmas markets in Prague.

Tourists will for sure consider it a great thing that the Christmas market at Vörösmarty square will open this early, as they can enjoy the Christmas atmosphere, the delicious food and the beautiful lights already in the middle of November.

There will also be a big Christmas market in front of the St. Stephen’s Basilica, but we do not have the dates for that market yet. We will update our main article about the Christmas markets in Budapest as soon as we get the dates for that market.

Budapest Christmas market dates in 2018

Opening: November 9th, 2018
Last day: January 1st, 2019

The source of this information and the picture earlier in the article is the official Tourist office of Budapest.

The Sziget Festival is rocking Budapest right now!

The Sziget Festival is rocking Budapest right now!

Posted on by Budapest Guide

One of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe is the Sziget Festival in Budapest. Every year in August, almost 500,000 people come to take part in this festival arranged at the Old Buda Island in the midst of the Danube River.

In 2018, the Sziget Festival is arranged between August 8th and August 15th. We do not know the total amount of visitors to come to the island this year, but if they are lucky, the record of 495,000 visitors from 2016 will be beaten.

Sziget Festival 2018

To entertain this amount of people, there are almost 1000 different artists performing during the festival. Most of the visitors sleep at hotels, hostels and in apartments close to the island, but the most dedicated fans sleep in tents on the actual island. That is very nice if the weather is nice, but if it rains a lot, sleeping in a tent at the festival can be considered heavy pioneer work!

Sziget Festival 2018

Every year there are several really big names coming to the festival. Some are having amazing events, while there are some big disappointments as well every year. This year, Kendrik Lamar has been considered a giant disappointment, but on the same evening, Gorillaz did a fantastic event.

Gorillaz at Sziget 2018

Some of the most famous artists coming to Sziget 2018 are Mumford & Sons, Bastille, Lianne La Havas, Aurora, Sofi Tukker, Popof, Labrassbanda, Zhu, Borgore, Fink, The Living End, and lots of others.

Sziget price

Does it sound cool with the Sziget Festival in Budapest? Would you like to come for one of the last days, or maybe next year? The price for a day ticket to Sziget is 79 Euro (in 2018). If you want to stay for three days, the price is 199 Euro. The price for the full week is 325 Euro.

Watch Sziget Live online

In 2018, you can also follow the Sziget Festival live online. You can find the live streams available from the Sziget Festival right here.

Have a good time at the Sziget Festival and enjoy your stay in Budapest! We look forward to seeing you again in the future!

 

Budapest Wine Festival 2018

Budapest Wine Festival 2018

Posted on by Budapest Guide

There are lots of festivals in Budapest, but the biggest and most famous every year is the wine festival in the castle area. In 2018, Budapest Wine Festival will be arranged between September 6th and September 9th.

At the Budapest Wine Festival, you can taste thousands of different wine sorts. Most of them are local wines from different parts of Hungary, but there are normally one or a few international winemakers present to present wines from their own country to the Hungarians. But, this is first of all about Hungarian wines.

From the Budapest Wine Festival in 2017
Source: Facebook

If you want to visit the festival area you will need to buy a ticket. The price of a daily ticket is 2500 HUF. If you want the specially designed wine glass, the price is 3000 HUF. Are you planning to taste a lot of wines? Maybe you should buy the four-day ticket instead. This will cost you either 4500 HUF or 5000 HUF (depending on whether you want the limited wine-glass or not).

In the festival area, there will be programs for children, meaning that you can come with your kids as well. It probably isn’t the best activity for kids for lots of hours, but if you just want to drop by and walk around for some hours, it can work. Children under 14 years can enter the festival area for free.

You can read more general information about the Budapest Wine Festival right here.

Would you rather join us at a private wine tasting program or maybe a wine dinner in the center of Budapest? Check our listing of wine tasting programs right here.

Buda Castle Beer Festival 2018

Buda Castle Beer Festival 2018

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Between August 23rd and August 26th, the annual Buda Castle Beer Festival will be arranged again. Are you in town? Check it out!

Buda Castle Beer Festival 2018
Source: Pixabay

The Buda Castle Beer Festival is supposed to be an annual event and it has been so for many years, with an exception in 2017. This is the place to go for beer lovers who want to taste different beers and drink it while enjoying a stunning panorama.

But, the beer festival isn’t only about drinking beer, it is also about food. Hungary is well known for its tasty (and sometimes fat) food, and at the beer festival, you can taste all sorts of food.  Some people like to eat a traditional Hungarian sausage with their beer, while others just eat a sweet chimney cake. The possibilities are many. If you haven’t been to such a festival before things are even better, as all tastes are new, meaning that you have a lot of tasting to do!

There will also be live concerts taking place in the festival area, but no information has been given so far about which artists will perform.

The entrance fee is 2500 HUF if you buy the ticket upon arrival at the festival area. To get to the castle area we suggest using bus 16 or 16A from Deak Ferenc Tér and travel with it to Disz tér.

Cannot come to the beer festival? Why don’t you taste some great beer as you join us at a brewery visit instead?

Budapest by night from a drone

Budapest by night from a drone

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Would you like to see a beautiful Budapest by night picture? This has got to be one of the most stunning of them all!

A few days ago, we shared an article from Steemit on our Facebook page. It contained a beautiful Budapest by night picture, taken from a drone. The post turned so popular, and since the picture actually is a freebie, we decide to share it here in our own blog as well.

Budapest by night from a drone
Photo by Andras Kovacs on Unsplash

Isn’t this simply a stunning picture? We have seen lots of pictures from Budapest throughout the years, but this has got to be one of the nicest of them all. Kudos to Andras Kovacs for making this fantastic picture.

On the picture, you can see the Chain Bridge, the Elisabeth Bridge, the Liberty Bridge, the Petofi Bridge, the Rakoczi Bridge, and quite a lot of beautiful buildings, including the National Theater and the Palace of Arts in by the “last” bridge.

If you like the picture, share it with friends and family. It will for sure inspire people to pay Budapest a visit in the near future.

 

Budapest Christmas market dates 2018

Budapest Christmas market dates 2018

Posted on by Budapest Guide

When will the Christmas markets open in Budapest in 2018? When will they close? Where are the most popular Christmas markets located?

We get questions such as these all the time, and especially from people looking to buy plane tickets, but they just want the dates confirmed before they press confirm on the booking page. So, what are the dates for the Christmas markets in Budapest in 2018?

Christmas market dates 2018

You will find lots of dates on other websites, but the truth is, no official dates have been given yet. So, it is impossible to know the dates for the Christmas market at Vörösmarty square, and for the Christmas market by the St. Stephen’s Basilica.

But, if you want to know something, then December is a safe month to visit Budapest. Both markets will for sure be open throughout December. The real question is when they will open in November. Based on the earlier years it could be that the market at Vörösmarty square will open already on the November 9-10-11 weekend, but if not then, almost for sure at the following weekend. The market by the St. Stephen’s Basilica is most likely to open on the November 23-24-25 weekend.

But, these are guesses made on the activities in the last years. We will update the article once we have the final dates. You can read more information in general about the Christmas markets in Budapest right here.

How to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Budapest?

How to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Budapest?

Posted on by Budapest Guide

I would love to watch the FIFA World Cup in Budapest, and wonder how and where it can be done?

It is very easy to watch the FIFA World Cup in Budapest. There are lots of sports-pubs all around town that will show the matches, and during such large events, restaurants also install large TV-screens on which visitors can watch the matches. But, if you want to be sure, check out with your restaurants, or plan to visit a sports-pub instead.

How to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Budapest

You can also watch the different matches on a TV in your hotel room. The TV channel M4 in Hungary will broadcast all the matches live (for free), so turn on your TV and look for M4!

Some recommended sports-pubs in Budapest

  • Champs: Dohany Utca 20
  • John Bull Pub: Apáczai Csere János u. 17
  • Becketts: Liszt Ferenc tér 11.

Public screening of the FIFA World Cup in Budapest

Would you like to watch the FIFA World Cup together with hundreds, and maybe thousands of others?  The best place to watch the FIFA World Cup in Budapest is at the Szabadsag square (Liberty Square), located between the Hungarian Parliament and the St. Stephen’s Basilica. Here you will find two large screens, and it is an amazing place to watch the matches. Besides that, you will normally find a large screen next to the Allee mall, but we haven’t got it confirmed yet if it will be so in 2018 as well.

Watch the World Cup online

If you want to watch the FIFA World Cup online on your tablet, telephone or computer, visit mediaklikk.hu, click ELO in the right corner (upper) and press M4. You can then see the free live stream of all the matches.

But, if you miss the English speaking commentators, you can also watch the FIFA World Cup on BBC/ITV online, or maybe on German TV, Swiss TV, or Dutch TV online. It might be a bit more complicated, but you can read more on how to stream the FIFA World Cup online here.

Enjoy watching the FIFA World Cup in Budapest!

Downtown beerfestival 2018

Downtown beerfestival 2018

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Come to Budapest and enjoy the Downtown Beer festival at the Szabadság square (Liberty square) between June 6th and June 10th in 2018.

The Beerfestival was earlier known as the Buda Castle beer festival, but they probably realized that larger crowds will come if the arrange the festival downtown, and it is also cheaper to rent space downtown compared to the castle area. And, the Liberty square is simply awesome, so you better check it out just for the sake of being a tourist. But, if you first visit the Liberty square, why not taste some cold Hungarian beer in the heat?

downtown beerfestival

If you come to Budapest some other time and want to taste delicious Hungarian beer, why not join us at a brewery visit. There you can taste quite a lot of beer, taste some Hungarian fruit-spirit (Palinka), and you even get a lot of food? You can read more about the brewery visit in Budapest right here.

Election in Hungary on April 8th

Election in Hungary on April 8th

Posted on by Budapest Guide

On this upcoming Sunday, on April 8th, it is time for elections in Hungary. Do you need to know anything about the election if you come to Hungary?

If you come to Hungary as a tourist, you will most likely not even notice that it is election day. You will for sure see political posters and commercials here and there (Vote for me etc…), but nothing else besides that. But, as the results are made public, you might start to see some reactions on the faces of the people.

Election in Hungary

Fidesz, the party led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, are the favorites to win the election over again, and thus continue their reign in Hungary. They have led the nation in the last eight years, and due to changes they made to the voting laws, it is very hard to get rid of them. Lots of changes have been made, but on Sunday the most important change might be that the opposing political parties cannot create coalitions after the vote, only before. In other words, if Fidesz ends up getting 40% of the votes, Jobbik gets 15% (the right extreme party) and all left side parties get a total of 45% of the votes, then Fidesz has won in the given area. In that way the force the opposition parties to cooperate before the voting, but that is very hard, and thus this is strengthening the position of Fidesz in Hungarian politics.

The most important subject in the political campaign (of Fidesz) leading up to the election has been migration policy. They are very condemning the political statements given from the EU headquarter in Brussels, and they are clear that Hungary will not be invaded by dangerous migrants destroying the Hungarian culture and religion. But, a lot of people consider these political statements as more of a way to scare the Hungarian citizens (which will result in them voting for Fidesz), than how much it has to do with reality and what’s going on.

What to expect after the election?

It can turn out in any way. Some people believe people will go to the streets if Fidesz loses the election. Other people believe the opposition will go to the streets if Fidesz wins again. It is hard to predict, but pay attention to the news wherever you might be to get a final update on the election results! Some people also predict that Hungary might be forced to leave the EU if Fidesz continues their reign, but it is truly hard to understand what is going on. Media in Hungary is in large part controlled by friends of the government, and for that reason, the news we are served are heavily filtered (except for a few places). We have an old article here called “An introduction to Hungarian Politics.” It is a bit out of date, but the basics are still the same. Read it if you have the time and want to understand more about what’s going on in the country.

If you have comments or questions, use the comment field beneath.

Can a Hungarian movie win an Oscar again?

Can a Hungarian movie win an Oscar again?

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Two years ago the movie Son of Saul won an Oscar as the Best Foreign Movie. This year another Hungarian movie is nominated for the same price, On Body and Soul.

on body and soul oscar

 

In order to win an Oscar for Best Foreign movie, it needs to be in some other language than English. So, if you miss the Hungarian language, watch the movie On Body and Soul, and you will combine listening to our beautiful (and complicated language) with watching a movie that is fantastic.

On Body and Soul isn’t an easy Hollywood movie, but it is the story of two people who share the same dream. But, a beautiful dream (and one they both have), doesn’t mean that everything works out perfectly in real life as they meet.

Take a look at the trailer beneath and see if the movie might be something for you.

If you want to watch the Academy Awards live on the Internet, find instructions on how it can be done here.