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Not TripAdvisor

Hungary:
starts in Budapest,
doesn't end there.

The city first, then the two hours past it. Thermal towns, wine country, the Balaton, the Great Plain. Written by people who live here, not by people passing through.

First time here? Start with the basicsAlready know the city? Go past it
●Szabadság tér fills with beer from Tuesday, and the free entry has a 4,999 Ft catch●The Danube Bend boats are off to September 13 now, thirteen days more than the last notice●The Balaton storm signal came down at lunchtime, and the water is open again●The Jewish Cultural Festival turns four Budapest synagogues into concert halls from Sunday●Pesterzsébet closes the strand season on Saturday with a diving contest and fire jugglers●One Budapest bath stays open to 22:00 every night, and which one depends on the day●A free open-air exhibition takes the Buda end of Petőfi híd from September 18●The Festival Orchestra plays Hősök tere for free on September 12●The Palatinus wave pool got another week, and Margitsziget keeps an outdoor swim to September 27●Rudas takes the thermal-wing shower out for twelve days in September●Trams 4 and 6 turn back at Jászai Mari tér this weekend, and the Margaret Island stop goes with them●Sunday is the last day of the open-air strand season, and two Budapest strands shut for good●Gordon Ramsay's first Central European restaurant is running in District V, and the dress code is real●Neapolitan pizza until midnight, two minutes from the Basilica●Japanese fluffy pancakes landed two streets from the Basilica●A 6,700 square metre light park is running on Óbuda Island, and daylight is the wrong time to go●A race owns the Lánchíd and the Castle streets from Saturday morning to past midnight●A free cholent festival takes the Városháza park on Sunday, four pots at once●The M4 stops short of Kelenföld on Sunday morning●The Szentendre HÉV stops at Békásmegyer from Thursday to Sunday●The bath saunas are back on after the August energy cuts●Two Széchenyi pools are shut through Saturday, both in the steam block●Széchenyi closes its three outdoor pools in turn, starting September 7●Lukács has lost its step-free changing, and Rudas is shut to disabled visitors too●A free festival takes the riverside at Szent Gellért tér for a day and a night●Rudas splits back into men's and women's days on Monday●One trolleybus change on August 31 puts the Zoo a single ride from the M2●Andrássy út turns 150, and its old names go back up on the street●The wine festival's new cheap ticket costs 4,450 Ft and has two catches●The waterworks is asking everyone to go easy on the tap●Tram 2 runs more often on Friday and Saturday evenings from August 14●HungaroMet put the western, middle and eastern Balaton basins on a second-degree storm warning at 06:36 Saturday. At that degree swimming is prohibited.●The 28th Jewish Cultural Festival runs August 30 to September 10 in the Dohány, Rumbach, Hegedűs Gyula and Frankel Leó synagogues, plus the Goldmark terem and the Bálint Ház.●Pesterzsébeti fürdő sends off the strand season on Saturday: aqua fitness from 11:00, kids' games to 17:00, a band at 18:00, fire jugglers at 20:00.●Every night one Budapest bath runs to 22:00. Mon Rudas, Tue Lukács, Wed Csillaghegy, Thu Dandár, Fri Széchenyi, Sat Pesterzsébet, Sun Paskál.●The 26th ARC exhibition goes up at the Buda bridgehead of Petőfi híd on September 18 and runs to October 18. Outdoors, free, no ticket.●Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra play Hősök tere free on Saturday September 12, 18:30. Schubert, Pärt and Prokofiev, about 90 minutes.●Palatinus now closes its wave pool on September 6, the leisure and outdoor children's pools on September 13, and the Margaréta pool on September 27.●The shower in the Rudas thermal section is out of service from September 2 to 13 for renovation. The pools, Ottoman octagon included, are not part of the notice.●Trams 4 and 6 run only to Jászai Mari tér on August 29 and 30, so Margit híd and the island stop are out. A 4-6 bus covers Széll Kálmán tér to Nyugati.●Római and Pünkösdfürdő close for the year on August 30, Csillaghegy loses its outdoor kids pool, and Palatinus drops five pools.●Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill opened 31 July at the Dorothea Hotel (Dorottya utca 2): breakfast from 06:00, dinner 18:00-23:00, bar to 01:00, elegant attire required.●Forni di Napoli's Bazilika branch (Október 6. utca 19) serves championship-title Neapolitan pizza daily 12:00-24:00, kitchen until 23:00.●Hachi Deza, the Hachi family's dessert bar, is open at Zrínyi utca 12: Japanese fluffy pancakes, cup desserts and fruit sandos.●Aura Bay, a 6,700 m² light park on Óbuda Island, runs daily 16:00-22:00 through 31 December; the installations only come alive after dusk.●The Generali Night Run takes the Lánchíd, the Alagút and both lower embankments on Saturday August 29, from 08:00 until past midnight.●The tenth Sóletfesztivál opens at 11:00 on Sunday August 30 in the Városháza park off Károly körút, with four cholent pots and entry at 0 Ft.●The M4 runs only between Keleti pályaudvar and Szent Gellért tér until noon on Sunday August 30. Trams cover Kelenföld.●The H5 runs only between Batthyány tér and Békásmegyer from August 27 to 30. Replacement buses finish the trip to Szentendre.●The electric saunas the bath operator switched off in the August energy cuts are listed as running again at Palatinus and Széchenyi.●Széchenyi has shut the 40 degree hot plunge and the 35 degree brick pool for maintenance through Saturday. The other seventeen pools run.●Széchenyi takes its three outdoor pools down one at a time: the leisure pool September 7, the thermal September 21, the lap pool October 5.●MAHART pushed its low water notice to August 31: no boat to Szentendre, Visegrád or Esztergom, and the hydrofoil is out with them.●Two big thermal baths are out for wheelchair users at once: Lukács pulled accessible changing, and Rudas is closed to them outright.●Bartók Feszt runs August 29 from 09:00 to 01:00 around Szent Gellért tér and the Budafoki út, and every programme on it is free.●The coed run at Rudas ends on August 23, and from Monday the Turkish bath is women only on Tuesday and men only on Wednesday.●From August 31 the 81 trolleybus runs on to Dózsa György út M, so the Zoo, the circus and Széchenyi come off the M2 without a change.●From August 24 to September 6 Andrássy út marks its 150th with free events, and the avenue's old names go back up on period street signs.●The wine festival has added a 4,450 Ft Explorer ticket, half the gate price, but you must be inside by 17:00 and cannot re-enter.●The Danube is set to fall further and Budapest's water utility has asked every customer to ease off non-essential tap water use.●From August 14 tram 2, the scenic line along the Pest bank, runs every 7 to 8 minutes on Friday and Saturday evenings between 19:00 and 22:00.●Rain on the radar (31°C, 10% chance). A thermal bath day if there ever was one.●August: the last full month of outdoor pool season, and beds get scarce. Book both ahead.●Szabadság tér fills with beer from Tuesday, and the free entry has a 4,999 Ft catch●The Danube Bend boats are off to September 13 now, thirteen days more than the last notice●The Balaton storm signal came down at lunchtime, and the water is open again●The Jewish Cultural Festival turns four Budapest synagogues into concert halls from Sunday●Pesterzsébet closes the strand season on Saturday with a diving contest and fire jugglers●One Budapest bath stays open to 22:00 every night, and which one depends on the day●A free open-air exhibition takes the Buda end of Petőfi híd from September 18●The Festival Orchestra plays Hősök tere for free on September 12●The Palatinus wave pool got another week, and Margitsziget keeps an outdoor swim to September 27●Rudas takes the thermal-wing shower out for twelve days in September●Trams 4 and 6 turn back at Jászai Mari tér this weekend, and the Margaret Island stop goes with them●Sunday is the last day of the open-air strand season, and two Budapest strands shut for good●Gordon Ramsay's first Central European restaurant is running in District V, and the dress code is real●Neapolitan pizza until midnight, two minutes from the Basilica●Japanese fluffy pancakes landed two streets from the Basilica●A 6,700 square metre light park is running on Óbuda Island, and daylight is the wrong time to go●A race owns the Lánchíd and the Castle streets from Saturday morning to past midnight●A free cholent festival takes the Városháza park on Sunday, four pots at once●The M4 stops short of Kelenföld on Sunday morning●The Szentendre HÉV stops at Békásmegyer from Thursday to Sunday●The bath saunas are back on after the August energy cuts●Two Széchenyi pools are shut through Saturday, both in the steam block●Széchenyi closes its three outdoor pools in turn, starting September 7●Lukács has lost its step-free changing, and Rudas is shut to disabled visitors too●A free festival takes the riverside at Szent Gellért tér for a day and a night●Rudas splits back into men's and women's days on Monday●One trolleybus change on August 31 puts the Zoo a single ride from the M2●Andrássy út turns 150, and its old names go back up on the street●The wine festival's new cheap ticket costs 4,450 Ft and has two catches●The waterworks is asking everyone to go easy on the tap●Tram 2 runs more often on Friday and Saturday evenings from August 14●HungaroMet put the western, middle and eastern Balaton basins on a second-degree storm warning at 06:36 Saturday. At that degree swimming is prohibited.●The 28th Jewish Cultural Festival runs August 30 to September 10 in the Dohány, Rumbach, Hegedűs Gyula and Frankel Leó synagogues, plus the Goldmark terem and the Bálint Ház.●Pesterzsébeti fürdő sends off the strand season on Saturday: aqua fitness from 11:00, kids' games to 17:00, a band at 18:00, fire jugglers at 20:00.●Every night one Budapest bath runs to 22:00. Mon Rudas, Tue Lukács, Wed Csillaghegy, Thu Dandár, Fri Széchenyi, Sat Pesterzsébet, Sun Paskál.●The 26th ARC exhibition goes up at the Buda bridgehead of Petőfi híd on September 18 and runs to October 18. Outdoors, free, no ticket.●Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra play Hősök tere free on Saturday September 12, 18:30. Schubert, Pärt and Prokofiev, about 90 minutes.●Palatinus now closes its wave pool on September 6, the leisure and outdoor children's pools on September 13, and the Margaréta pool on September 27.●The shower in the Rudas thermal section is out of service from September 2 to 13 for renovation. The pools, Ottoman octagon included, are not part of the notice.●Trams 4 and 6 run only to Jászai Mari tér on August 29 and 30, so Margit híd and the island stop are out. A 4-6 bus covers Széll Kálmán tér to Nyugati.●Római and Pünkösdfürdő close for the year on August 30, Csillaghegy loses its outdoor kids pool, and Palatinus drops five pools.●Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill opened 31 July at the Dorothea Hotel (Dorottya utca 2): breakfast from 06:00, dinner 18:00-23:00, bar to 01:00, elegant attire required.●Forni di Napoli's Bazilika branch (Október 6. utca 19) serves championship-title Neapolitan pizza daily 12:00-24:00, kitchen until 23:00.●Hachi Deza, the Hachi family's dessert bar, is open at Zrínyi utca 12: Japanese fluffy pancakes, cup desserts and fruit sandos.●Aura Bay, a 6,700 m² light park on Óbuda Island, runs daily 16:00-22:00 through 31 December; the installations only come alive after dusk.●The Generali Night Run takes the Lánchíd, the Alagút and both lower embankments on Saturday August 29, from 08:00 until past midnight.●The tenth Sóletfesztivál opens at 11:00 on Sunday August 30 in the Városháza park off Károly körút, with four cholent pots and entry at 0 Ft.●The M4 runs only between Keleti pályaudvar and Szent Gellért tér until noon on Sunday August 30. Trams cover Kelenföld.●The H5 runs only between Batthyány tér and Békásmegyer from August 27 to 30. Replacement buses finish the trip to Szentendre.●The electric saunas the bath operator switched off in the August energy cuts are listed as running again at Palatinus and Széchenyi.●Széchenyi has shut the 40 degree hot plunge and the 35 degree brick pool for maintenance through Saturday. The other seventeen pools run.●Széchenyi takes its three outdoor pools down one at a time: the leisure pool September 7, the thermal September 21, the lap pool October 5.●MAHART pushed its low water notice to August 31: no boat to Szentendre, Visegrád or Esztergom, and the hydrofoil is out with them.●Two big thermal baths are out for wheelchair users at once: Lukács pulled accessible changing, and Rudas is closed to them outright.●Bartók Feszt runs August 29 from 09:00 to 01:00 around Szent Gellért tér and the Budafoki út, and every programme on it is free.●The coed run at Rudas ends on August 23, and from Monday the Turkish bath is women only on Tuesday and men only on Wednesday.●From August 31 the 81 trolleybus runs on to Dózsa György út M, so the Zoo, the circus and Széchenyi come off the M2 without a change.●From August 24 to September 6 Andrássy út marks its 150th with free events, and the avenue's old names go back up on period street signs.●The wine festival has added a 4,450 Ft Explorer ticket, half the gate price, but you must be inside by 17:00 and cannot re-enter.●The Danube is set to fall further and Budapest's water utility has asked every customer to ease off non-essential tap water use.●From August 14 tram 2, the scenic line along the Pest bank, runs every 7 to 8 minutes on Friday and Saturday evenings between 19:00 and 22:00.●Rain on the radar (31°C, 10% chance). A thermal bath day if there ever was one.●August: the last full month of outdoor pool season, and beds get scarce. Book both ahead.

Budapest right now

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This week in Budapest

From our daily editorial sweep. Primary sources only, not sponsored.

Events

Budapest Park Open-Air Season

Europe's biggest open-air club runs concerts almost nightly through early October, with Azahriah over two nights, Parov Stelar and a two-night Dzsúdló finale closing the 2026 season.

Events

Sparty at Széchenyi Baths

Saturday-night pool parties in the outdoor pools of the Széchenyi thermal bath, with DJs, lasers and a strictly over-18 crowd.

Events

Andrássy150

Andrássy út marks 150 years with a fortnight of free programs run by Terézváros and its partners, and this is the year the Terézváros street festival is folded into it rather than standing alone.

Which Budapest are you here for?

Party? District VIIruin bars, kocsmasSights? District VParliament, BasilicaSoak? District II & XIVthermal bathsFood? District IXRáday street, market hallViews? District ICastle, Fisherman’s BastionDay trip? BeyondSzentendre, Eger, Balaton

What things actually cost

Local reality vs. tourist-zone pricing. Verified July 2026.

Local realityTourist price
Beer in a kocsma800 Ft2,400 Ft on Váci utca
Lángosaround 2,000 Ft at a market stall4,700 Ft a block off Váci utca
Széchenyi bath ticket10,500 Ft early-bird (before 9am)13,200 Ft at the door, resellers charge more
Airport to center2,500 Ft on the 100E bus14,000 Ft unmetered taxi scam
Espresso700 Ft1,800 Ft on the riverfront

See the full Budapest Price Index →

Plan it properly

🛁 Which bath is for you?

Four questions, one bath, zero queue-regret.

💰 Trip cost calculator

Days times style equals a real number in Ft.

🔍 Search the guides

Every bath, bar and scam warning, one box.

Right now

Budapest in August

August 20 fireworks

St Stephen’s Day over the Danube, and where to stand that is not the bridge

Sparty nights

Saturday pool parties at Széchenyi, book a week out

Escape the heat

Cave bath day trip to Miskolctapolca, 12°C cooler than the street

Straight answers

Is Budapest safe?

Yes, safer than most Western European capitals. Watch for pickpockets on tram 4/6 at night and never take an unmetered taxi.

Cash or card?

Card works almost everywhere, including markets. Keep 5,000 Ft in cash for small kocsmas and public toilets. Never exchange money on the street.

How many days do I need?

Three full days covers the big sights plus a bath day. Add a fourth for a day trip to Szentendre or the wine country.

Do people speak English?

In central Budapest, yes. Learn “köszönöm” (thanks) anyway. Outside the center, translation apps carry you.

Which thermal bath should I pick?

Széchenyi for the classic photo, Rudas for the rooftop pool, Dagály if you hate crowds and love a 4,500 Ft ticket. Gellért is closed for renovation until 2028 at the earliest, so cross it off.

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