Buda Castle Beer Festival 2018

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 Christmas market dates 2018

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.

Judo World Championships 2017 in Budapest

Between August 28th and September 3rd the Judo World Championships will be arranged in the Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena in Budapest.

2017 is going to be a great year for sports-enthusiasts in Budapest. Not only will the Hungarian capital arrange the FINA World Championships (swimming), but the city will also arrange the Judo World Championships. Even though the latter event might not bring as many people to town as the first event, arranging a world championships still is a giant thing to do.

Judo World Championships in Budapest
The Hungarian mascot and some Hungarian stars.

For a long time it was unknown which arena would be used for the event (and Wikipedia still doesn’t know it), but it has recently been published that the championship will be arranged in Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena. This is the most popular venue in Budapest for concerts and large indoor sports events. It is located near the city center, so if you find the Elisabeth Bridge (the white bridge), and just follow the main road on the Pest side and walk away from the bridge, you will in the end find yourself to be next to the venue. It is however much easier to just jump on the metro and travel to the metro stop named “Stadionok” on the red metro line.

The mascot for the tournament is the  Judo playing Hungarian retriever (vizsla).

What to do in Budapest besides this?

There are lots of activities worth trying while in Budapest. A river cruise on the Danube can always be recommended, and the same is true about popular programs such as wine tastings and our private guided tours. You can read more about these and lots of other programs in the Hungarian capital here in our Budapest Guide.

Have you got any questions or comments related to the Judo World Championships in Budapest? Use the comment field beneath!

FINA World Championship in Budapest 2017

In the time between July 14th and July 30th Budapest and Hungary will be invaded by the worlds best swimmers and lots of supports.

The FINA World Championships were not actually supposed to be arranged in Budapest, but after the winning bid which was made by Mexico, didn’t want to arrange the event after all, then the sport-loving Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary could fix it instead. Since then a brand new arena has been built, the Danube Arena, just a bit to the north of the Arpad Bridge, and together with the Hajos Alfred arena at the Margaret Island and the Balaton Lake, these will be the venues in use during the event.

Just like during the Summer Olympics, the water events will be divided into two periods. The water polo competitions will be running all the time at the Margaret Island, but in the Danube Arena the World Championship will start with synchronized swimming and diving, and then followed by swimming in the end.

Fina World Championships 2017

Who will the Hungarians cheer for?

The most popular Hungarian swimmer at the moment is Katinka Hosszu. She won three gold medals during the Summer Olympics in Rio, and the chances are great that she wants to win even more as she competes at home in Hungary. There are even more Hungarian swimmers capable of winning medals during the event, for example Laszlo Cseh.

Be aware of this!

You should be aware of the fact that there will be loads of traffic in Budapest during this event, and this summer the Chain Bridge will also be closed down due to maintenance work. We therefore expect there to be a sort of traffic chaos in town, not only during the FINA World Championship, but throughout the entire summer. If you want to buy tickets for the event, then you should hurry up, at least if you want to grab some good seats for your favorite events. For those who want to stream the event online, the following guide can help you out.

What else to do in Budapest?

Have you thought about what you are going to do in Budapest when there is nothing happening in the arenas? Are you looking for some cool activities? Here are some of our suggestions:

  • If you like sports (and the FINA World Championship), you might be an athlete yourself. Go for a run around the Margaret Island and enjoy the nice weather and the beautiful running track.
  • Feel thirsty after cheering for your favorite athlete? Join us on our brewery visit where you can taste Hungarian beers, get lots of local food and taste the Hungarian fruit spirit.
  • If you want to enjoy a good dinner an evening, then visit a wine cellar restaurant where we arrange a five course dinner with six glasses of wine. This is in the center of Budapest, and is available every single day.
  • Discover Budapest on one of our guided tours with a private English speaking guide.

You can read more about these and lots of other Budapest activities here in our Budapest Guide. If you have any comments or questions, use the comment field beneath!

Christmas market by St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest in 2016

The dates for the Christmas market at Vorosmarty square has been avavailable for a long time. Recently the dates for the Christmas market in front of the St. Stephen’s Basilica were published as well. Here they are!

Most people will agree that the Christmas market at Vörösmarty square is the most famous in Budapest, but the Christmas fair by the St. Stephen’s basilica is getting more and more attention. It will be arranged for the sixth time in 2016 and if you go there you can look forward to an nice ice skating rink, beautiful lights, lots of food to eat, tasty drinks, a delightful atmosphere and nice music. Doesn’t that sound nice?

Christmas Market Stephens Basilica
The Christmas market in front of the St Stephens Basilica looks awesome at night!

Dates for the Christmas fair by St. Stephens Basilica in 2016

First day: November 25th
Last day: January 2nd

Opening times:

Monday-Thursday 11:30 – 20:00
Friday: 11:30 – 22:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 22:00
Sunday: 10:00 – 20:00

Do you want to know more about the Christmas markets in Budapest? Check our blog post on the subject! Would you consider visiting another city in addition to Budapest to discover more great Christmas shopping? Why not travel with car for about 3 hours and visit the Christmas markets in Zagreb as well? Visit the Zagreb Guide for more information about what’s going on in the Croatian capital!

Hungarian Grand Prix 2016 coming up

There are only a few days left and the city of Budapest is ready for a new Hungarian Grand Prix. In two days the qualification rounds will start at Budapest and Formula 1 fans from all across the globe have already started to invade the city.

Formula 1 in Budapest

Last years winner Sebastian Vettel is doing good this season, but he has not managed to win a single race so far. Can this turn around when he comes to Budapest? Or will the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2016 become like the rest of the season, a battle between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton?

It will for sure be exciting to follow the broadcasts from the Hungarian Grand Prix, or if you have a ticket for the event itself, that is for sure the very best way to follow the race.

You can read some more about the Hungarian Grand Prix here, or if you want to know more about how you can watch the Hungarian Grand Prix online, simply press the link. One of the channels broadcasting the event is M4 in Hungary, a free TV channel, meaning that you can easily watch the event in your hotel room or on the Internet if you can’t be there at Hungaroring yourself.

Who do you think will win the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2016? Our guess is that Lewis Hamilton will win, but we do have a hope that maybe Kimi Räikkönen or Sebastian Vettel can win the race and get closer to Rosberg and Hamilton in the top.

Spring Fair in Budapest

Since March 25 the Spring Fair can be found at the Vörösmarty Square in Budapest. This is almost like the Christmas market, only the weather is better!

Want to know more about what’s on in Budapest right now? Or when the actual Spring market will be arranged in the present year? Check the Budapest calendar to find out!

Spring Fair in Budapest
Spring Fair in Budapest

The Spring Fair of 2016 will be arranged between March 25th and April 24th. We visited the Spring Fair a few days ago and to be honest, it is simply brilliant. In a way we liked it even more than the Christmas fair, because there are not that many places to shop, making it easier to walk around, there are more free space, but the things for sale are brilliant and feels more Hungarian than the stuff you buy at the Christmas market. In addition you can buy chimney cakes, langos and lots of other goodies, making sure that you will not leave Budapest hungry!

If you have time, do not miss out out on the Spring Fair at the Vörösmarty Square, available until April 24th in 2016!

Muse and David Guetta to Sziget Festival 2016

Sziget Festival 2016 is closing up, and even though it is far away, the biggest artists are already planning their arrival to the festival. Yesterday Sziget announced some of the artists that will come to the festival in 2016.

Sziget Festival 2016

For Hungarian the Euro 2016 might be the highlight of the year since the Hungarian team managed to qualify after beating Norway in the play off matches in November. But, for musicians and artists the Sziget Festival is the highlight and among the artists that were announced yesterday for Sziget Festival 2016 were: Muse, David Guetta, The Lumineers, Years and Years and quite some more.

Are you looking forward to the Sziget festival in 2016? You can read more about it here!

Tradition and street food side by side – Advent Feast at the Basilica

The annual Christmas market arranged in front of the St. Stephens Basilica in Budapest will soon open. This is a beautiful market working very well together with the Christmas market at the Vörösmarty Square. Beneath you can find the official press release for the Christmas market with information about the event and more.

Please note that this year there will not only be a Christmas market, but also a street food festival connected to the Christmas market, making the walk from the St. Stephens Basilica all the way down to the Chain Bridge a mixture of Christmas and delicious food!

The most important information about the market is that it will open on November 27th and stay open until January 1st.

Christmas market St Stephens Basilica

Christmas market press release!

During the Advent fair on Saint Stephen’s Square, the area of the Basilica is turning into a magical festive quarter. From the last weekend of November visitors may enter this joyful world decorated with Christmas lights. Here the festive ambience of the 5-week long Christmas preparation is ensured by almost 200 programmes, the handicrafts of 80 vendors and the international food and drink selection of the street food section in Zrínyi Street. Every night visitors might admire the 3D light paintings on the monumental façade of the Basilica, while children can enjoy the huge ice rink around the 9-meter tall Christmas tree or they can bake honey-cake hearts, and everybody can dance together at the folk dance evenings. Following the traditions, on 1st of January Lentil Day is going to be held, when the fortune-making New Year’s dish – prepared by different recipes – will be available at the gastronomic exhibitors and street food vendors.

The square in front of Saint Stephen’s Basilica – which is one of Hungary’s most important churches and tourist attractions – is going to be the most spectacular and eventful meeting point in Budapest from 27 November to 2 January. Last year Saint Stephen’s Basilica got into the CNN’s Top 10 list of the most photographed places in the world, and hopefully the visitors’ stunning photos will flood again the social media.

This year the Advent Feast at the Basilica is welcoming its visitors with the largest and the most spectacular visual attraction of the country. Colourful short movies will come to life in 3D on the 1000  m2 façade of the Basilica, while the festive lights of the square and the Inner City will provide a magical setting for a winter walk. During the 35 days of the Advent fair families and groups of friends will find a great variety of programmes, exclusive events and charity functions.
The 200 m2 ice rink around the magically decorated Christmas tree will remain the centre of the fair for the greatest joy of the children who can use it free of charge or even participate in the skating courses at the weekends. In the “Hunger for Love” bakery, set up by the Hungarian Inter-Church Aid, volunteers and visitors will prepare honey-cake hearts together with special surprise guests supporting the charity to thank its donors for their generosity.

At the fabulous wooden houses in front of the Basilica the fair’s visitors may choose between countless carefully pre-selected, great quality handcrafted gifts and the design items of talented young artists. This year the craftsmenʼs stalls will occupy a larger area including the way connecting Bajcsy-Zsilinszky and Hercegprímás Streets next to the Basilica, to offer even more products than in the previous years. Amazed by the abundance of gifts visitors may taste the holiday season’s most popular dishes along with this year’s novelties. While having fun outdoors in the cold winter weather, they can pair the steaming hot dishes with selected hot cocktails.

The Advent Feast at the Basilica is getting an exciting new addition this year. Street food, which was a successful debut last year, will take over the whole Zrinyi Street this year, and fill it with exotic food, Advent delicacies and the flavours of international cuisine. From Sas Street to Széchenyi Street the coolest Hungarian food trucks and street food vendors will be present such as Zing Burger, KolBice, BudDog, Paneer, MexKitchen, Balkán Grill, Befaló Bill, DiVino and Korhely. More than 30 exhibitors will provide food meant to be eaten on the street such as pancake, grilled sandwich, soup, “new wave” flat bread, lángos, pljeskavica, Italian sweets and salty titbits – to seduce the workers of the surrounding office buildings from the boring daily menus and to treat those who will come here to check out the greatest street food extravaganza of the holiday season. Following the New Year’s traditions Lentil Day will close the series of the fair’s gastronomic events on 1st of January.

Christmas market Budapest

For more information about the different Christmas markets in Budapest click the link. If you are in the Christmas mood and want to watch Christmas films on Netflix, then you can see a video presenting different Christmas movies on Netflix on Youtube by clicking the link.

Merry Christmas and have fun in Budapest!

Christmas Market 2015-16 in Budapest

Christmas fair in Budapest
Christmas fair in Budapest

The annual Christmas Market is coming up within shortly and in 2015-16 it will last longer than ever before. It will start two weeks earlier than in 2014-15 and it will last one week longer. So get prepared for a long lasting Christmas market at Vörösmarty square this season.

The opening date for the Christmas market at the Vörösmarty square is November 13th and the last day of the market will be January 7th. If you want to grab hold of some nice Christmas presents, some taste gluhwein and just eat some traditional Hungarian sausage then this is the market to visit.

For more information about the Christmas markets in Budapest, just click the link and you will be able to read more about the markets, the different locations and other useful information.