Christmas in Budapest
Budapest is a winter city at its best in December: two big markets in the centre, a light show on St Stephen’s Basilica every evening, trams strung with lights and thermal baths steaming in the cold. Here is how the season works, when everything opens and what closes on Christmas Eve. For the highlights in one list, see the 19 best things to do in Budapest at Christmas.
The best Christmas markets in Budapest
Nine markets compared, with this season’s dates, the hours over Christmas and New Year, and which one to pick.
See the markets
The 19 best things to do
Christmas in Budapest, ranked
What’s open over Christmas
Day by day, 24 December to 1 January
Advent Bazilika
The market with the light show
Vörösmarty tér
The original Christmas fair
Lights and the Christmas tram
Where to see them, and a lights walk
New Year’s Eve
Cruises, midnight and getting home
Christmas concerts
Every Nutcracker date, the halls and the churches
Traditions and food
Mikulás, fish soup and bejgli
Ice skating in Budapest
The six best rinks, ranked
Lumina Park
A light trail on Margaret Island
Thermal baths in winter
Hot water in the cold air
What’s on in December
Concerts and events by date
The season, date by date
Christmas in Budapest runs from mid-November into the new year, not just through December.
- 13 NovemberAdvent Bazilika and the Vörösmarty tér fair open
- 20 NovemberThe Nutcracker opens at the Opera, until 10 January
- 27 NovemberAdvent in Óbuda opens, with its ice rink
- 6 DecemberMikulás, St Nicholas Day, when children get small presents
- 24 DecemberChristmas Eve, the main day of Christmas in Hungary. Shops close by 2pm
- 25 and 26 DecemberPublic holidays. The two big markets open with shorter hours
- 28 DecemberThe last day for the craft stalls on Vörösmarty tér
- 31 DecemberNew Year’s Eve. The central markets stay open until 3am
- 1 JanuaryPublic holiday, and the last day of Advent Bazilika
Book for the season
The markets are free. What people book for a Christmas trip is a warm hour on the river and a guided evening round the markets.
The Christmas markets
Two markets carry the season. Advent Bazilika fills the square in front of St Stephen’s Basilica, and from 5.30pm every afternoon the front of the church becomes the screen for a light show. Vörösmarty tér, at the top of Váci utca, has the older fair, with more craft stalls and a free children’s train. Both are free to enter and open on 13 November 2026.
For a quieter evening, Advent in Óbuda is the one locals go to, from 27 November. Food and drink on the two central squares are pricey, so eat a proper meal a street away.
Compare all nine markets
Christmas lights and the Christmas tram
Every December the city’s transport company sends out trams covered in lights. Last season there were six, with a lit cogwheel train, a light boat and a Santa bus, and the trams ran until 6 January. They run in the evening on ordinary lines, though not on 24 or 31 December in recent years, and an ordinary ticket is valid. Each one changes line from day to day, so find them in the BudapestGO app rather than waiting at a stop.
Our guide to the Christmas lights has where to see them and a walk timed to finish at the Basilica. The other lights moment people remember is the light show on St Stephen’s Basilica, every afternoon from 5.30pm while the market is on.
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and what is open
In Hungary the main celebration is Christmas Eve, and the city stops that afternoon. Plan around four things, and see what’s open over Christmas and New Year for every day from the 24th to the 1st:
- Shops: on 24 December shops close by 2pm at the latest and the big supermarkets usually at noon, and a law going through parliament may close them all day. Do your food shopping by the 23rd.
- Transport: last year daytime buses and trams made their last runs between 3pm and 4pm on Christmas Eve, the metro ran until 6pm, and night buses took over.
- Markets and baths: on 25 and 26 December, both public holidays, Advent Bazilika opens from 11am to 8pm and Vörösmarty tér from noon to 6pm. Széchenyi opens from 7am to 1pm on Christmas Eve and from 10am to 8pm on Christmas Day; last year Rudas and Lukács kept similar hours, and the smaller baths shut on both days.
- Dinner: the restaurants that open over Christmas fill up. Book Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner before you travel.
New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve is a night out across the centre. Both central markets stay open until 3am, and last year the metro and the main tram and bus lines ran all night. For midnight on the water, the New Year’s Eve cruises run on that one night only, from a drinks cruise to a gala dinner.
Do not plan around an official fireworks display: the city has not announced one. Since December 2025 private fireworks have been banned within 50 metres of any home on 31 December and 1 January, and in parks all year, which covers most of the city. Our New Year’s Eve guide compares the cruises and has where to be at midnight and how to get home.
Hungarian Christmas traditions and food
Christmas in Hungary starts early. Mikulás, St Nicholas, comes on 6 December with small presents for children, and families bake gingerbread through Advent. The tree and the presents arrive on the evening of the 24th.
The Christmas table means fish soup, stuffed cabbage and bejgli, the rolled walnut or poppy-seed cake. Szaloncukor, the wrapped fondant sweets hung on the tree, is on Hungary’s official list of national treasures, the hungarikums, and so is fish soup from Baja and from the Tisza.
Hungarian Christmas traditions and food, and where to taste them
Christmas concerts and The Nutcracker
The Hungarian State Opera puts on The Nutcracker every winter. This season it runs from 20 November 2026 to 10 January 2027, often with a morning and an evening performance, including on the mornings of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Tickets are sold on the Opera’s own website.
The Opera, Müpa and the Liszt Academy all put on Christmas programmes in December. Our December guide lists them by date, and the Opera House guide covers the building and its tours.
Christmas concerts and every Nutcracker date
Ice skating
The City Park Ice Rink, on the lake in front of Vajdahunyad Castle, is by its operator’s count the largest outdoor artificial ice surface in Europe. It opens in November when the weather allows, last season on 30 November, and runs to about the start of March, with skates for hire.
Smaller rinks come with the markets: Advent in Óbuda has a free one every day from 27 November. Our City Park Ice Rink guide has the sessions and tickets.
Compare the six best ice rinksThe thermal baths in winter
Hot water in freezing air is one of the best things to do in Budapest in December. Széchenyi’s outdoor pools are the classic picture, Rudas has a rooftop pool above the Danube, and Lukács is the quieter locals’ bath. Gellért has been closed since October 2025. Our guide to the best thermal baths compares them all.
Lumina Park
From 20 October 2026 to 7 March 2027, Lumina Park lights up the grounds of the Palatinus bath on Margaret Island, this season as an Alice in Wonderland trail of more than 200 light installations along 1.5 km. Allow an hour and a half to two hours. It is closed on Christmas Eve and open from 4.30pm to 10pm from 25 December to 10 January.
Christmas with children
- The children’s train on Vörösmarty tér is free and runs until 28 December.
- Mikulás comes on 6 December.
- The Opera recommends The Nutcracker from age 6.
- At the City Park rink, under-12s skate with an adult, and there are push-along seals for the smallest.
- At Lumina Park under-2s go free, and there are family tickets.
Weather in December
Expect cold. The average high is about 3°C, nights are below freezing and there are about seven days of rain or snow in the month. It is dark by about 4pm, which suits the lights. Our December guide has the weather in full.
Christmas events in Budapest
29NovSecret Market Advent fair
Sunday 29 November, 10:00 to 18:00
1DecThe Nutcracker at the Opera House
1 to 31 December, 19:00 on 1, 3, 8, 10, 14 and 15 December, 11:00 and 18:00 on 5, 6, 12, 21, 22, 26 and 29 December, 11:00 on 19, 20, 24, 25 and 27 December, 18:00 on 17 and 28 December, and 13:00 and 21:00 on 31 December
4DecHungarian Christmas at the Opera House
4 to 28 December, 4 December from 11:00, the other six dates from 15:00
6DecAdvent with Bach at the Liszt Academy
Sunday 6 December, from 19:00
12DecHandel's Messiah by the RIAS Kammerchor
Saturday 12 December, 19:30 to 22:25
17DecThe Hungarian National Philharmonic's Christmas concert
Thursday 17 December, from 19:30
Insider tips
- Be on Szent István tér before 5.30pm for the light show on the Basilica.
- See the market stalls in daylight, then come back after dark for the lights, and go on a weekday if you can.
- Find the light trams in the BudapestGO app rather than waiting at a stop.
- Book Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner before you travel, and do your shopping by the 23rd.
Frequently asked questions
When do the Christmas markets in Budapest open?
The two big markets, Advent Bazilika and the Vörösmarty tér fair, open on 13 November 2026. Advent Bazilika runs to 1 January 2027 and Vörösmarty tér to New Year’s Eve. Advent in Óbuda follows on 27 November.
Is Budapest worth visiting at Christmas?
Yes, if you come for the city in winter rather than for the markets alone. The lights, the light show on St Stephen’s Basilica, the Danube at night and the thermal baths in the cold are what make December. The markets are a good evening of it, not a reason to fly in on their own.
What is open in Budapest on Christmas Day?
Christmas Day is a public holiday, but the city does not shut. Advent Bazilika opens from 11am to 8pm and Vörösmarty tér from noon to 6pm, The Nutcracker has a morning show at the Opera, and Lumina Park opens in the evening. Széchenyi opens from 10am to 8pm. Restaurants that open need booking.
Does public transport run on Christmas Eve?
Yes, but it winds down in the afternoon. Last year daytime buses and trams made their last runs between 3pm and 4pm, the metro ran until 6pm, and night buses took over after that. BKK publishes this year’s arrangements in mid-December.
Is there a Christmas tram in Budapest?
Yes. Every December the transport company sends out trams covered in lights, six of them last season, running in the evening on ordinary lines until 6 January. An ordinary ticket is valid. They change line from day to day, so check the BudapestGO app.
Are there fireworks in Budapest on New Year’s Eve?
Do not plan around an official display: the city has not announced one. Since December 2025 private fireworks have been banned within 50 metres of any home on 31 December and 1 January, and in parks all year. Elsewhere they are allowed only from 8pm on 31 December to 2am on 1 January.
What do Hungarians eat at Christmas?
Fish soup, stuffed cabbage and bejgli, a rolled cake filled with walnut or poppy seed, eaten on Christmas Eve and over the holidays. Szaloncukor, wrapped fondant sweets, hang on the tree.
What is the weather like in Budapest at Christmas?
Cold. The average December high is about 3°C and nights are below freezing. It gets dark by about 4pm.