Things to do in Budapest today
Tuesday 22 September
Concerts, free sessions and one-offs happening in Budapest today.
Photo: Müpa Budapest 1. Bonga at Müpa
Tuesday 22 September, 20:00 to 21:45
Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, Müpa Budapest, District IX
The Angolan singer who made Sodade famous, years before Cesária Évora recorded her own version. He is in his eighties and plays live less and less.
Photo: Uránia Nemzeti Filmszínház 2. NT Live’s The Importance of Being Earnest at the Uránia
Tuesday 22 September, 19:00
Uránia National Film Theatre, District VIII
The National Theatre’s recorded production of Oscar Wilde’s comedy, with Ncuti Gatwa, Hugh Skinner and Sharon D. Clarke, shown in English in the Uránia’s grand hall. It runs 165 minutes.
3. Car-free day: one ticket for the whole country
Tuesday 22 September, all day
Trains and coaches between towns across Hungary
For car-free day, a special day ticket gives unlimited travel on trains and coaches between towns anywhere in Hungary. A good excuse for a day out of the city.
Photo: A38 Hajó 4. Two nights on the A38 roof
22 to 23 September, Tuesday 19:30, Wednesday 18:30
A38, by Petőfi Bridge, District XI
Two gigs on the roof terrace of the A38, a converted ship moored on the Danube: Mexican art-punk on Tuesday and a prog metal triple bill on Wednesday.
Photo: Trafó House of Contemporary Arts 5. Country and city: a ten-day focus at Trafó
18 to 27 September, times vary; installations open from 16:00 on most days
Trafó, Liliom utca, District IX
Ten days of performances, installations, concerts and exhibitions about how the countryside and the city depend on each other. Tickets are pay what you can, and Trafó marks the programme as English friendly.
Photo: Műcsarnok 6. Last week of the national photography salon at the Műcsarnok
5 June to 27 September, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday 12:00 to 20:00 (closes at 17:00 on 24 September)
Műcsarnok, Heroes’ Square, District XIV
Paths and Crossroads, the national photography salon held every five years, shows work by more than 150 Hungarian photographers. It closes on Sunday 27 September.
7. Free folk sessions at the Fonó
22 to 29 September, Tuesdays: strings from 17:00, then Gyimes music at 18:00 and zither at 19:30 (22 Sept), or Moldavian music at 19:00 (29 Sept)
Fonó Budai Zeneház, District XI
Open sessions you can simply walk into. Sit at the back, or bring an instrument and join in.
Photo: Toldi Mozi 8. English-language films at the Toldi
22 to 30 September, daily, times vary by film
Toldi Mozi, District V
The Toldi, an art-house cinema in central Budapest, shows a steady run of films you can follow in English. Over the next week that means eight films, from The Birthday Party to Resident Evil.
Photo: Capa Központ 9. Two closing photography shows at the Capa Center
2 to 30 September, Tuesday to Friday 13:00 to 18:00, weekends 10:00 to 18:00
Capa Center, Nagymező utca, District VI
Two photography shows in their last days: the MOME Photography MA degree show on the idea of home, which closes on 27 September, and Capazine: Let's Code!, on AI-generated images, which runs until 30 September.
Photo: Hungarian National Museum 10. Souls/Alive: drawings by children with cancer
3 September to 4 October, 10:00 to 18:00 every day except Monday
Hungarian National Museum, District VIII
Drawings by 195 children from Hungary and Hungarian communities across the Carpathian Basin, all of them living with cancer. They were not asked to draw the illness. They were asked to draw whatever mattered to them.
Photo: Hungarian National Museum 11. Treasure of the month: a thaler hoard from Somló Hill
31 August to 18 October, 10:00 to 18:00 every day except Monday
Hungarian National Museum, District VIII
Twenty-seven silver thalers, turned up by a plough at the foot of Somló Hill in June and in a case in Budapest by the end of the summer. They went into the ground during the Fifteen Years' War and nobody ever came back for them.
Photo: Budapest Gallery 12. My heart is crying inside: grief works
4 September to 22 November, 10:00 to 18:00 every day except Monday
Budapest Gallery, Lajos utca, District III
A group show about mourning, and about how completely late capitalist society has pushed death out of ordinary life. Flóra Gadó has gathered a dozen artists on private loss, on care for the dying, and on the rituals communities have lost or rebuilt.