How to Spend Christmas in Budapest, Hungary

Length: 2 Days | Budget: $$

From fairy lights to wooden ornaments, from spiced mulled wine to roasted chimney cake, Budapest is a wonderfully festive place to celebrate the Christmas holidays. Yes, the air in Budapest is biting cold during this time of the year (which makes for some frosty sightseeing), but none of that seems to matter once you’ve warmed up over a hearty bowl of goulash or a steaming glass of honey mead. Budapest during the winter time is magical.

Visiting Budapest over Christmas requires some advance planning. Starting from noon on December 24th, many of the shops and grocery stores in the city close-up shop and don’t re-open until after the holidays. Even several bars and restaurants shut their blinds for a few days, and those that stay open require advance booking. Fortunately for you (lucky reader!), I’ve already done the research needed to plan a smooth Christmas holiday in Budapest. For a fun few days of festive celebrations and sightseeing, follow my ‘Christmas in Budapest‘ itinerary below!

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First things first…

I visited Budapest with my family for Christmas. There were 5 of us so we decided to rent an AirBnB so that we could have more space, and have a bit more of a ‘homey’ feel for the holidays. There are lots of affordable AirBnBs in Budapest – I would recommend booking one in the lively Jewish district since there are lot’s of great bars and restaurants in the area, and it’s within easy walking distance of most major attractions.

You can check out our AirBnb here. Although it wasn’t my favorite AirBnB that I’ve stayed at, the apartment was warm and spacious, offered multiple bathrooms (a must!), and was in a great location.

The Jewish district is also home to several ‘ruin pubs’ (the most famous of them is called Szimpla Kert, which by the way, is totally worth checking out) and a fantastic outdoor street food market called Street Food Karavan on Kazinczy street.

Street Food Karavan is the perfect place for a cheap meal and to hang out with the local hipsters. If you do make it there, you have to go to Kolbice by Kobe Sausages. They offer a seedy cone-shaped bread that’s filled with Hungarian sausages, cheese, fried onions, and all sorts of sauces. It’s not a healthy meal by any means, but hey….who cares about that during the holidays anyway?!

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Day 1 (Christmas Eve): ‘Buda’ then ‘Pest’

Budapest is the capital of Hungary, and is actually the product of a merging of two smaller cities ‘Buda’ and ‘Pest’, joined together by the Chain Bridge that crosses the famous Danube River. The two sides of the city could not be more different in personality, but each has something wonderful to offer. ‘Buda’ is built on hilltops, and features grand palaces and majestic panoramic views. ‘Pest’ is as flat-as-can-be, but offers a more lively urban vibe complete with independent coffee shops, shopping streets, and public parks.

Our first day in Budapest started on the ‘Buda’ side, specifically, Castle Hill (also known as the Castle District) which is famous for clean cobblestone lanes, historic palaces, and panoramic viewpoints. While on Castle Hill, we visited the can’t-miss dazzlingly-white Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church, and Buda Castle.

The Fisherman’s Bastion was my favorite stop in ‘Buda’, with it’s white marble stone and gorgeous views of the neighboring Danube and Hungarian Parliament building. The structure now stands in-place of an old rampart that was once guarded by fishermen that lived on the bottom of the hill (hence, the name). 7 towers make up the Fisherman’s Bastion, each one representing a different Hungarian Magnar tribe that founded the nation.

While we didn’t go into the Buda Castle, we did explore the courtyards and savored the views of nearby Gellert Hill.

TIP: The National Gallery is closed on Christmas Eve and Day, but the courtyards are still open.

From there, we made our way down the hill (there are several ways down, you can take the stairs or pay to ride the funicular) to walk along the Chain Bridge towards the ‘Pest’ side of the city.

One of the biggest reasons why we visited Budapest in December was to experience the world-famous Christmas Markets in the city. The oldest Christmas Market in Europe is actually held at Vorosmarty Square, which is a short 10-minute walk from the Chain Bridge. Vorosmarty Square Christmas Market was everything I imagine a classic European Christmas Market to be….with wide eyes and gaping mouths, my family and I wandered the numerous food stalls enjoying the irresistible smells of smoky roasting meat and cinnamon mulled wine in the air. Ah, the wonderful smells of Christmas.

Lunch was a festive spread of ham hock, duck leg with roasted cabbage, spaetzle, and a piping hot bowl of beef goulash. And even though we were freezing our butts off…our bellies were full and hearts were full!

TIP: Opening hours for the Vorosmarty Square market are 10:00am – 2:00pm on Christmas Eve.

After lunch, we visited the Four Seasons Hotel (a.k.a Gresham Palace), an old palace that has now been converted into a five-star hotel and features amazing interior design and architecture. It was a nice place to warm-up and rest our feet.

A short walk away was St. Stephen’s Basilica Christmas Market, one of the newer and most popular Christmas markets in Budapest. This market also features several craft and food stalls, and has a skating rink in the middle!

Afterwards, we made our way back towards the Danube River and walked along the waterfront promenade to visit the Shoes on the Danube Bank. This moving memorial represents the tragedies of the Holocaust, and features 60 pairs of rusted iron shoes in various sizes and styles to demonstrate the scale of the brutality during that time. Standing at the memorial was definitely a heavy and chilling moment, and I couldn’t help but reflect on how fortunate I’ve been in life. It’s hard to imagine that the terrible atrocities of the Holocaust were committed not too long ago….

We continued along the waterfront to admire the extravagance of the Hungarian Parliament building. The Hungarian Parliament building is massive and is truly an architectural gem – it features 691 rooms and 365 Gothic turrets, and apparently took over 20 years to complete. We didn’t tour the building, however, they do offer 45-minute guided tours at the Visitor Center. Tours are quite popular so it’s highly recommended that you book in advance if you’re interested in visiting!

After a long day of touring, we headed back to our AirBnB to relax and nap (a pretty traditional Christmas past time for most, including myself). We ended the night with a luxurious Christmas Eve celebration dinner at the New York Cafe, one of the grandest places to have a meal in the city. The New York Cafe is known to be the ‘most beautiful coffeehouse in the world’. It’s a bold statement but I might just have to agree!

Even though our dinner was quite pricey (around $70 USD per person including wine), it was definitely worth going to New York Cafe for the experience! The festive place settings, gold trimmings, attentive service, and a traditional Hungarian cuisine set menu, made for an unforgettable Christmas Eve celebration in Budapest.

TIP: Several restaurants are closed for Christmas Eve in Budapest. Double-check hours and make sure to book dinner reservations in advance! Note, the restaurants that do happen to be open on Christmas Eve will likely have a set menu, and will require a deposit during booking.

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Day 2 (Christmas): Christmas Bath

Christmas day in Budapest was spent the way all Christmas holidays should be spent….full of relaxing and feasting! We started our morning at the famous Szchenyi Bath, the largest thermal bath in Budapest (nothing says relaxation better than a hot bath). Apparently, we weren’t the only people who had this idea in mind….when we got there at opening time, we were surprised to find a giant queue of people waiting to get in. Thank goodness we had bought our tickets for the bath online, in advance!

TIP: There are 2 types of tickets available for the Szchenyi bath – one is for a locker and one is for a private cabin. I highly recommend opting for the more expensive private cabin ticket, as it gives you much more space and privacy for changing into your swim wear and storing your belongings!

The Szchenyi Bath is beautiful – on a sunny day, the contrast between the yellow painted buildings and the turquoise blue waters is truly stunning! The bath features a mix of indoor and outdoor pools including 12 thermal pools, and a large swimming pool for those interested in doing laps (swim cap required for this pool). The mineral waters in the thermal pools is meant to be good for the ‘body and soul’ – it’s rich in calcium and magnesium which supposedly soothes sore muscles and joint pain.

To be honest, I thought the water temperature would be a lot hotter than it actually was. The water was pleasantly…lukewarm. Additionally, the hoards of people made for a crowded bathing experience (and a gross locker room experience….bring flip flops!).  Despite all of this, I still think the bath a ‘must-do’ experience in Budapest, just set your expectations properly!

TIP: If you want to swim in the main pool, you must bring a swimming cap. Did I mention that you should bring flip flops? The floors are ICKY.

After Szchenyi, we headed back to our AirBnB to freshen up before making our way to Peppers! Mediterranean Grill Restaurant for an extravagant Christmas buffet. It was a good thing we were STARVING after a few hours of bath time because the buffet spread was absolutely enormous and scrumptious.

At first, I was skeptical about the quality of the food and the name (something about the name including Mediterranean Grill turned me off…since we were nowhere near the Mediterranean!). I’m so glad to say I was wrong – seriously, the Peppers Christmas buffet was by far my FAVORITE meal in Budapest. There were so many food and dessert offerings, and my entire family couldn’t help but gawk and gape at the food as we were taken to our seats. Best part of the buffet? Unlimited champagne and mulled wine. UNLIMITED MULLED WINE YOU GUYS.

The restaurant was conveniently located next to the waterfront, so a scenic walk along the Danube Promenade made for a perfect ending to our Christmas day. What an unforgettable holiday.

TIP: Tram No. 2 runs along the Danube Promenade. I would highly recommend taking a ride on this tram as it offers a great tour of the city and views of the Hungarian Parliament building (it’s ranked #7 on National Geographic’s Top 10 Trolley Rides!). During the holiday season, one of the No. 2 trams gets decked out in Christmas string lights which makes for a fun, festive ride along the waterfront.

Have questions or need help planning a trip to Budapest? Leave me a comment below!

Related post: A Mini Guide to Visiting Vienna, Austria in December

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