As you might know already, Budapest is a fantastic city. And even though the city is fantastic all year round, it is especially beautiful before Christmas. That is when the Christmas lights are turned on, and the Christmas markets at the Vorosmarty square and the Saint Stephen’s square open.

The two circles show the areas of the two biggest Christmas markets. As you can see, they are located close to one another, meaning that there only is a short walk between both markets. Based on these locations, it is quite easy to find a hotel centrally located close to both Christmas markets.

• Ten pieces of advice if you come to the Christmas markets in Budapest.
• Dates for the Christmas markets in Budapest.

Hotels near the Christmas markets in Budapest

It all depends on how much money you want to spend, but here you will find some recommendations that will make the Christmas markets easy to visit throughout the day without walking very much!

The five-star option – Kempinski

This hotel is located by the green square which you can see on the map above, almost in the middle between the two Christmas markets. It is an amazing five-star hotel with all the exclusive and nice features you might need. A sure winner if you want a central location combined with luxury!

• Check the Kempinski prices and read more about it here.

A four-star option – Mercure City Center

This is a very central hotel located in the Vaci utca (the shopping street). It is very close to the Christmas market at Vorosmarty square (only a few minutes away), and a little bit further away from the other market. But, you can still reach the market at the Szent Istvan ter within less than 10 minutes on foot. The hotel normally has very good prices and considering that it is a four-star hotel, it should be worth taking into consideration.

• Check the prices and read more about the hotel here.

A three-star option – Hotel Central Basilica

If you want to live closer to the Christmas market in front of the Saint Stephen’s Basilica, this is as close as it gets. Hotel Central Basilica is a three-star option that will give you a brilliant location at a low price. It isn’t as luxurious as the other two hotels, but it will do the job for most tourists who plan on spending more time outside the hotel than on the inside.

• Read more about Hotel Central Basilica here.

These are some suggestions to those looking for a hotel near the Christmas markets in Budapest. There are several hundred hotels to pick from, but not all of them have a central location. And it is true, you save a lot of time living at a central location. It might be more expensive than living far outside the city center, but if you first spend money on a flight ticket, an airport transfer, and other services, why not spend a few dollars extra in order to live at a good location as well?

If you have further questions or comments related to hotels located near the main Christmas markets in Budapest, write them in the comment field.

L’article Hotels near the Christmas markets in Budapest est apparu en premier sur Budapest Guide.

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?

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.

L’article Budapest Christmas market dates 2018 est apparu en premier sur Budapest Guide.

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?

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!

L’article Christmas market by St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest in 2016 est apparu en premier sur Budapest Guide.

There are two big and famous Christmas markets in Budapest. One is located at the Vorosmarty square in the center of Budapest, while the other market is located about 400 metres away from there, in front of the St. Stephens Basilica. Both markets are beautiful and you can taste local Hungarian cuisine, drink real Hungarian hot wine and of course taste sweets and other Hungarian desserts. We almost forgot, but this is of course the best place to buy all sorts of souvenirs and presents as well. But, when will the Christmas markets be arranged in Budapest in 2016?

Budapest Christmas markets in 2016

The dates are not 100% official yet, but based on rumors these are the dates you can expect:

Christmas market at Vorosmarty square: November 11th -January 1st
Christmas market by the Stephens Basilica: not announced yet

We hope you will have a fantastic stay in Budapest before Christmas. You can find more information about the Christmas markets here. If you would like to enjoy a guided tour in Budapest while in town just press the link for more information, or if you would rather drink some local wine check our different winetasting and wine-dinner options.

L’article Christmas markets in Budapest 2016 est apparu en premier sur Budapest Guide.

There are several opportunities to choose from, many stores and even Christmas markets where you can get the nicest and most unique presents for Christmas. Read on, and get some ideas for what to bring home after a visit to Budapest before Christmas. If you simply want to know more about shopping in Budapest, then we recommend this article.

Szaloncukor

Hungary has a traditional candy for Christmas called szaloncukor which you can hang on the Christmas tree as decoration. It comes in several flavours such as marzipan, coconut, caramel, different flavoured jelly and so on which is covered in a thin layer of chocolate. You can get this at very low prices (with very low quality), so if you plan to bring this home with you, buy with higher quality, be it Milka, Szamos, Stuhmer or some other a bit more expensive version.

Erős Pista

The other popular gifts from Hungary is Erős Pista (Strong Stephen) which is one of the most popular hot sauce in Hungary. It is an ideal gift for everyone who is into cooking. Erős Pista is made of minced hot paprika and salt and it could not be more Hungarian for sure. Hungarians use it in the different national dishes such as gulyás (goulash), lecsó and paprikás csirke. It can be really useful if you want to give some spiciness to your dish, and it is perfect to give some nice Hungarian taste to food lacking taste or in need of some more spice. This can be bought almost everywhere, in the market hall, in grocery stores and so on!

Erős Pista is the one to the right with the red top! (the other is called sweet Anna).

Hungarian wine

If you have some friends who like a good wine, and especially sweet white wine, then you should buy them a sweet Tokaj wine and bring it home to them for Christmas. This is a magnificent present that will make them happy, and especially women often enjoy this wine. Some sommeliers in Hungary call the sweet Tokaj wine Viagra for women. That might be a small exaggeration, but it for sure tastes good! If you are more into full bodied red wines, then the more expensive wines from the region of Villany is to be recommended. If you want some really Hungarian taste on the wine, and not follow the typical trends from abroad, then the red wines from the Szekszard region can be recommended, these are often light bodied and has a very nice spicy taste to them.

Souvenirs from the Christmas markets

If you would like to buy other type of presents such as bags, different Christmas decorations and similar products you can find them on the Christmas markets in Budapest. At the markets there are plenty of handmade gifts such as the most beautiful lamps, different bags, scarfs, hats, gloves and all kind of accessories, toys for children, mugs and kitchen accessories as well such as wooden cheese boards and serving platters.

Túró Rúdi, Sport szelet, ischler and more

If you want to bring some of the basics of Hungarian chocolate and sweets with you home, then the number one favorite to bring home is the Túró Rúdi. This is a piece of cottage cheese (sweet) covered with dark chocolate in the standard version. This is served cold, so if you plan on bringing it home with you, then make sure to put it in the fridge as soon as you get back home again. Another famous chocolate is the Sport szelet. The paper almost looks like a chewing gum, but beyond the paper you will find a piece of dark chocolate with rum among its ingredients. For those in love with cakes the Ischler is ideal, because you can bring it with you home, at least if you get it packed in a piece of paper. This is a kind of biscuit cake with jam on the inside and covered with chocolate on the outside.

These are some ideas and thoughts for what to bring home from Budapest with the goal of giving them away as Christmas presents. But, do not forget to buy double portions of everything, because you will for sure want to keep a bottle of Hungarian wine and some Erős Pista yourself.

L’article Christmas presents to buy in Budapest est apparu en premier sur Budapest Guide.

The truth is that the dates for the Budapest Christmas market in 2014 at Vörösmarty square have not been released yet. So, there is no good answer to the question yet, and normally these dates are only released late in September, or sometime in October. However, in general the Christmas market at Vörösmarty square opens somewhere around November 20th. But, in 2013 they delayed it a week, meaning that the Christmas market only opened on November 27th, so what will happen in 2014 is still not sure.

What you can know for sure is that if you arrive to Budapest in December the Christmas market at Vörösmarty square will for sure be open, but if you arrive in November you might have to live with a small risk of not being able to enjoy the market. If you arrive in the very end of November it should be there, but if you come somewhere near November 20th it might be that you can enjoy it (if they follow the tradition active until 2013), but if they follow the 2013 “tradition”, it might be that you will miss out on it.

L’article What is the Budapest Christmas market dates in 2014? est apparu en premier sur Budapest Guide.

We do not have a full list of museums open in this period, but here you can find some general information which will hopefully help you. What we can tell is this general information:

General museum information
Most museums are open on December 22nd and 23rd.
Most museums are closed on December 24th and 25th.
Most museums reopen on December 26th, though some with only temporary exhibitions available.

Some museums who follow this pattern:
Museum of Fine Arts
Hungarian National Museum
National Gallery

Just for your information:
Most museums are closed on December 31st, but most of them are open on January 1st again.

L’article What museums are open in Budapest during Christmas? est apparu en premier sur Budapest Guide.

Thank you for the question. We have our page dealing with Christmas in Budapest where you can find a fairly good answer to your question. We also try to keep that page up to date with information about open restaurants and so on. The page about Christmas Markets in Budapest can also be interesting in dealing with the subject.

In general, the answer to your question is as follows! All shops are open until 12.00, 13.00, or 14.00 on December 24th, but then they close and reopen on December 27th, meaning there are few shopping opportunities on these days.

If you would like to go to the cinema instead they normally have a break on December 24th, but from December 25th or 26th you can find the cinemas open again and you can enjoy the good films coming for Christmas. Budapest has quite a lot of attractions 100% free, such as Gellert Hill, Heroes Square, and so on. Most museums have opening times similar to the shops, though some of them might close from December 23rd and not open at all on December 24th. The museums, when they are open, are normally open from 9.00 or 10.00 in the morning until 18.00 in the evening, though this also vary from museum to museum.

If you want to grab some food around Christmas in Budapest, you better check out opening times before. In our page about Christmas in Budapest you will find information on some restaurants open on December 24th, 25th and 26th. Except for those dates most restaurants are open all the time, but in general, other restaurants stay closed on those three days. Some restaurants are only closed on December 24th, but then stay open from December 25th. Since there is no general rule it is important to find out what’s up with the restaurant you are interested in. If you want to do a booking of a table for a restaurant on December 24th, you better hurry up, because restaurants get packed up and fully booked very quick for that day, as most restaurants are closed, and therefore everyone try to get a free table in those restaurants who decide to stay open.

The Szechenyi Furdo, the most popular thermal bath in Budapest and Hungary, is open every day throughout Christmas, but it closes earlier on December 24th.

L’article Is everything closed during Christmas in Budapest? est apparu en premier sur Budapest Guide.