We have just welcomed 2017, but tourists from around the world are already preparing their Christmas travels for 2017. An important information when planning such a trip are the dates for the Christmas markets in Budapest.
You might have heard about the splendid Christmas markets in Budapest? They have delicious food, they have beautiful lights and lots of souvenirs, and they are Christmas markets you do not want to miss out on for the world. So, what would be worse than coming to Budapest only to discover that the Christmas market just closed yesterday, or that they will open the day after you depart from Budapest.
So, what are the dates for the Christmas markets in Budapest in 2017?
When will the Christmas markets in Budapest open in 2017?
Christmas market in Budapest 2017
Unfortunately the dates are not yet released. As soon as they will be made public we will publish a dedicated article on the subject, and we will also update our main page about the Christmas markets in Budapest. So, check out the page just linked to, check our blog or check out what’s on in Budapest to see if we have any updated information on the topic.
We do however have a guess when it comes to dates for the Christmas market at Vorosmarty square, but that is only a guess, so you should not book your flight tickets based on these. What we can promise is that December is a safe month to come to Budapest. The Christmas markets will be open both at Vorosmarty square and in front of the St. Stephens Basilica. The more interesting questions are:
When will the Christmas markets open in November?
When will the Christmas markets close in January?
Our guess is that the Christmas markets will open on November 10th or 11th at the Vorosmarty square and that they will be open till either January 1st or till January 7th.
The actual Christmas market 2017 dates!
Our guess was for the Christmas market to open on November 10th or 11th, and the correct date is November 10th! The final date of the Christmas market is December 31st.
November 10 – December 31, 2017
But, these are only guesses, so again – December is a safe month, but that is all we can promise!
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?
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
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!
Autumn is here and the Christmas market is approaching. But, when will the Christmas markets in Budapest open? Here are the dates for the Christmas markets in Budapest in 2016.
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?
Christmas fair in Budapest
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.
What is the ideal present to buy your loved ones in Budapest for Christmas? In this article we will give you some nice tips on buying the best souvenirs and gifts for Christmas.
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.
Szaloncukor as a Christmas present
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.
Sweet white wine from Tokaj
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.
Here you can see an Ischler, a Sport Szelet and a Túró Rúdi
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.
Nowadays there are all kinds of, various types of beers available everywhere which might make the decision on a beer more difficult. So in this article you can read about the best Hungarian beers.
The most typical and well known Hungarian beer is Arany Ászok which was first produced in 1924. It is one of the cheapest beers you can get in the stores and in the pubs as well. Arany Ászok is a pilsener style lager, the colour of the beer is really clear and golden brown. The taste of the beer is a little bitter and it has a weak flavour and the alcohol content of the beer is 4.3%. The other famous Hungarian beer is Soproni which has different flavours (lemon, cherry so on). It is also a pilsener style beer and just like Arany Ászok it also has a golden brown colour but its alcohol content is 4.5%. Borsodi Világos is the third most popular Hungarian beer in Hungary. Borsodi was first produced in 1973 in the Northern part of the country. It is also a pilsner style light beer with 4.6% alcohol content like most of the beers produced in Hungary. Borsodi also comes in different flavours nowadays, the most popular flavour is lemon after the original taste. All of these beverages are typical Hungarian beers which you can easily buy any of the the stores or pubs in Hungary usually for really cheap.
Besides these three beer types Dreher is also a very famous and popular beer brand in Hungary. If you have tasted all these four types, you have tasted the four most popular and famous beers in Hungary!
If you want to taste beer directly in a brewery, why not join us on a brewery visit?
I am coming to Budapest to celebrate Christmas, but would like to eat my Christmas dinner somewhere else than in my hotel. Can you please give me the name on some restaurants in Budapest that will be open on Christmas eve?
Thank you for the question. We have a special article related to this subject which is called Christmas in Budapest, which you can find here. The truth is that most restaurants stay closed on December 24th and they take a well deserved break on this day. But, for those few restaurants that decide to stay open, they have a nice evening ahead, because people are looking hard to find restaurants open on December 24th, meaning that these get fully booked quite fast.
So, if you want a nice Christmas dinner in Budapest on December 24th we would at the moment recommend one of the following two restaurants. Do not forget that you need to book a table as soon as possible, so just use the table reservation link and fill in the forms, and we will take care of the table reservation for you and send you a confirmation of the reservation in an email (for free of course).
1. Rezkakas
This is a very traditional, but quite expensive, Hungarian restaurant. They do have live gipsy music and a main course from their menu normally cost between 4000 and 8000 Hungarian Forint. That is quite steep, but based on customer reviews and feedback we have received, people do praise this place and really do enjoy their visits. If you want to have a nice Christmas dinner with lots of Hungarian food on the menu, this is probably the place. The restaurant is located in the heart of Budapest, not far from the St. Stephens Basilica.
This restaurant is located on the other side of the street from Rezkakas. If were were to eat our Christmas dinner in Budapest we would probably pick this one, but that is just because we really like the food in Aszu. The restaurant has received lots of great critics from food critics and magazines, and the food served is really in the upper class. The price level is probably a bit cheaper than in Rezkakas with main courses costing between 10 and 20 Euro, in general.
We wish you a merry Christmas, and enjoy your Christmas dinner in Budapest! If you have questions or comments, just write using the comments field beneath this text!
We have already received this question quite a lot of times, so here is the time to write an article concerning the date for the Christmas market in Budapest in 2014.
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.
It is a great question, and there are probably many answers to this question. If you click the link you will find a similar article posted by Budablogger a while back, and our answer will probably reflect his answer as well.
In general it can be said that the hotel in Budapest said to be the most luxurious hotel is the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal. However, due to its location we are a bit reluctant to giving it the highest score. But, if luxury is the thing, that is your hotel.
We would probably stay in Marriott if we came to Budapest looking for a five star hotel!
If you want more modern, big and beautiful five star hotel with view towards the Danube, just between the Chain Bridge and the Elisabeth bridge, then Marriott is the number one option. The Marriott hotel also has a very good restaurant inside named Peppers!, so combining the luxury, the location and the restaurant on the inside, it might be that we would actually book a room in Marriott if we came to Budapest ourselves and we were looking for a beautiful five star hotel!
Easter is a great time of the year. It is not only a celebration of the death and the ressurection of Jesus Christ, but it is also a time to celebrate that the winter is history and summer is coming.
Budapest is a great city to visit during Easter, and here you can find some of the reasons as to why you should consider coming to the Hungarian capital to celebrate Easter here. For information about special programs taking place in Budapest during Easter, check our events calendar.
Why you should celebrate Easter in Budapest
All shops are open on every single day, except from Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
Restaurants stay open on every day during Easter
Museums can be visited every day, except from Easter Monday (this is not a 100% rule, but most museums follow this schedule)
There are lots of nice churches where you can enjoy Easter services. The most popular Easter service can be enjoyed in the St. Stephens basilica, the most beautiful church of Budapest.
Easter in Budapest also means Budapest Spring Festival. During this period you can listen to amazing concerts and shows in different venues around Budapest and you can also shop at the Spring Fair at the Vorosmarty square which is open during the entire Spring festival.
The chocolates brought by the Easter bunny is cheaper in the grocery stores in Budapest than most other cities in Europe, and much cheaper than if you buy them at Budapest Airport or any other so called „tax-free” at other airports around in Europe.
Hotels in Budapest are cheaper than in other big cities in Europe, so here you can stay in hotels with 3, 4 or 5 stars paying less than you would elsewhere.
What do Hungarians eat for Easter?
If you want to eat as a traditional Hungarian you need to get hold of a sugarbread (Kalacs), butter, ham and horseradish. If you eat those together with some freshly painted eggs you will be able to enjoy a real Hungarian Easter meal, typical for either breakfast or supper. Some families eat lamb in addition to what I have just described.
What do Hungarians do during Easter?
For Hungarian Easter does not mean any special holiday, since it only means a total of one more day off (Easter Monday). Therefore most people either stay at home or travel away to visit family, friends or relax in some wellness hotel. Those in Budapest who decide to stay at home might go for a little excursion on the Sunday or Monday, and then they normally visit either Normafa, Szentendre, Dobogoko or maybe do a day trip to Bratislava or Vienna.
[stextbox id=”warning”]On Easter Monday there is a strange tradition in Hungary to “surprise” ladies you know. You need to stand in front of them, tell them a certain poem and later pour bad perfume unto their hair. Beautiful![/stextbox]
If you feel like watching some films in the beautiful English language, instead of the dubbed stuff you normally meet in Budapest cinemas and on all Hungarian TV channels, then Netflix might be the solution you are looking for. But, if you try to visit the Netflix website from Hungary you will get an error message telling you that it is not possible.
There are quite a lot of articles out there on the Internet about Netflix and how to watch it from abroad, so this article will not give you any information so special and secret that you can not find it elsewhere on the Internet. But, for those who are readers of the Budapest blog this information might be very useful and new to them, and if so I am glad that I could be at help!
What is Netflix?
Netflix is a big online library packed with films of all kinds (children films, romantic films, horror films, comedies, thrillers, action films and much more). Netflix also has tv series in their register, in addition to quite some documentaries and for example popular talks from the annual TED conferences. Unfortunately Netflix is only available in some specific nations in the world, and if you are located outside one of these nations, you will not be able to enjoy any of the blessings Netflix has to share. At the moment Netflix is not available in Hungary and Budapest (and it will probably not come in the near future either), so how can you can watch Netflix?
Watch UK Netflix or US Netflix from Hungary
The best solutions for those who want to watch Netflix from Hungary is probably to watch the UK Netflix or the US Netflix. To be able to visit any of the sites at all you will need an IP address in the nation you are interested in. This can best be fixed using a VPN service. If you want the best possible speeds, then the UK Netflix might be a better solution (which require a British IP address), but if you for some reason would rather watch the US Netflix, then you need an American IP address.
If you want such an IP address there are several VPN providers on the market waiting to help you get one. Almost all VPN providers have IP addresses available in both the United Kingdom and in the United States, so that should be no problem. When I tried this myself I used a VPN provider named PureVPN (read PureVPN review here). They have servers in 20 other nations in addition to the UK and in the USA, for example in Hungary, meaning that it can be an ideal solution if you use an open WiFi in for example a Starbucks in Budapest and want to secure your data so none steal them as you use open/insecure wifis, and then a connection to a VPN server in Hungary can help you (as it will not slow down your Internet, but encrypt and secure your connection). They also have an application for Android and iOS, meaning that it can easily be used on portable devices, and not only home computers.
How to watch Netflix then from Hungary and Europe?
To watch Netflix you can visit the website of PureVPN and sign up for a subscription with them. Their prices are very good, especially if you sign up for one year. Once signed in and signed up you can download the application to the device with which you want to use the VPN connection. Connect to a server in the UK if you want to use the UK Netflix, or connect to the server in the USA if you want to use the USA Netflix. The website is now working and you can sign up for the 1 month free period, which will automatically renew itself if you do not cancel it. This is a short process which only takes a few minutes, so in not long you can enjoy watching Netflix from Hungary and Budapest.
Worth knowing: If you live somewhere else in Europe the principles are the same, but since this is a Budapest blog we have focused on how people residing in Hungary can watch Netflix from abroad.
