What's on: Budapest & Hungary
Every date below is checked against the event's own official site, not a years-old listicle. Updated daily; "expected" means the annual event is a safe bet but this edition's dates aren't announced yet.
Running now
- The Treasures of King Louis I (the Great) of Hungaryuntil 31 Dec · Exhibitions
- Black Mirror. The Long Shadow of the Futureuntil 11 Oct · Exhibitions
- Budapest Park Open-Air Seasonuntil 3 Oct · Music
- DOME_021 Platon Karataev: Napkötöző (Sound Dome 360)until 27 Sept · Culture
- Sparty at Széchenyi Bathsuntil 26 Sept · Music
- Akvárium Klub Autumn Programuntil 20 Nov · Music
- Recirquel: Walk My Worlduntil 31 Oct · Theatre
- 26. ARC közérzeti kiállítás (ARC Open-Air Exhibition)until 18 Oct · Culture
Heads-ups for your dates
This week
Budapest Classics Film Marathon (Budapesti Klasszikus Film Maraton)
Six days and around a hundred restored classics across five venues, at 1,500 Ft a ticket. The Hungarian films carry English subtitles, so this is one of the rare Budapest festivals a visitor can actually follow; the opening night is the 4K restoration of Queen's 1986 Budapest concert at the Uránia, at 4,900 Ft.
Official site ↗Kulturális Örökség Napjai (Cultural Heritage Days)
One weekend a year the doors nobody gets through open, and it costs nothing. The Hungarian arm of European Heritage Days runs on September 19 and 20, and the Budapest list already includes the Sándor-palota on Szent György tér, the Országház, the Pesti Vigadó, the national archives on Bécsi kapu tér, the Fővárosi Törvényszék on Markó utca and the Underground Railway Museum in the Deák tér subway. Around 150 buildings are registered nationwide so far and organizers are still signing up, so the list grows through early September. The programme filter marks which buildings are open only during this weekend and which run guided tours in English, which is the filter worth using: fourteen sites carry English guiding at the moment, four of them in Budapest. Everything is free, but the popular buildings run on timed entry, so pick the two or three you actually want and plan around them.
Official site ↗Budapest Coffee Week
Budapest Coffee Week takes over the city's specialty cafés and roasteries from September 21 to 27, with workshops, tastings and roastery tours running alongside the normal menus. The organisers hand out a free coffee passport you collect stamps in as you work through the participating places. Some programme items are behind-the-scenes roastery visits you would not get on an ordinary week. The passport is the free part; check each venue's listing for what a workshop or tasting costs.
Official site ↗Recirquel: Paradisum
Recirquel's contemporary circus company stages Paradisum for four nights at Müpa's Festival Theatre, pairing acrobatics with a live orchestral score. Book ahead if you're building a trip around it, this company's Budapest runs tend to sell out.
Official site ↗Hungary vs Ukraine (UEFA Nations League)
The national team hosts Ukraine in a UEFA Nations League fixture at Puskás Aréna, one of the bigger dates on the autumn football calendar. Plan transport around it if you're staying nearby that night.
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Next week
Deep Purple
The band that helped invent hard rock brings its current European tour to the Budapest Aréna, with British rockers Jayler opening.
Official site ↗Hungary vs Georgia (UEFA Nations League)
A second UEFA Nations League home fixture in ten days, this time against Georgia at Puskás Aréna. Expect the same matchday crowds and transport crunch around the stadium as the Ukraine game.
Official site ↗Tokaj Harvest Days (Tokaj-hegyaljai Szüreti Napok)
The Tokaj wine region's harvest celebration has run since 1932 with a grape harvest parade, open cellars and concerts, and in 2026 it takes over the town's renovated main square, with the big stage on the Upper Main Square and the wine courtyard on the square itself. The organisers have fixed the dates as 2 to 4 October; the detailed programme follows later.
Official site ↗Budapest Contemporary Art & Design Fair
Galleries and designers show contemporary work at Bálna Budapest for a three-day fair on the Danube.
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October 2026
DJ BoBo
The Swiss dance-pop act, still filling arenas three decades on, headlines MVM Dome.
Official site ↗A$AP Rocky
The American rapper plays songs from his new album at the Budapest Aréna, his first Hungarian arena date.
Official site ↗Synthony: A Generation of Dance Music
A live band, DJs and singers rework the biggest electronic dance anthems, from Avicii to Calvin Harris, with a full stage light show.
Official site ↗Liszt Fest International Cultural Festival
Müpa's flagship autumn festival brings international orchestras, contemporary dance and world music to the riverside concert hall over more than two weeks. Programming spans well beyond Liszt himself, so check the full lineup.
Official site ↗Walk This Way. The Art of Walking
An international group show examines walking itself as art, from a narrative device to a form of quiet protest, filling the museum through January.
Official site ↗SPAR Budapest Marathon Weekend
The 41st marathon weekend runs shorter distances and relays on Saturday, then the full 42.2 km on Sunday past Buda Castle and Parliament with multiple bridge crossings. Central traffic gets heavily rerouted both days.
Official site ↗Meladze
Veteran pop singer Valerij Meladze brings his 2026 European tour to the arena, mixing greatest hits with new songs.
Official site ↗Molière. L'Opéra Urbain
A French touring production stages the playwright's life as a modern arena spectacle, blending 17th-century story with contemporary staging and music. Performed in French, but built as a visual spectacle first.
Official site ↗Art Market Budapest
Central and Eastern Europe's largest contemporary art fair moves to a new home at MTK Sportpark in 2026, with galleries from more than 40 countries and a preview evening on October 14. Dates come from the fair's own exhibitor materials; confirm on the official site closer to the event.
Official site ↗Tosca
Puccini's Tosca stays in the Hungarian State Opera's repertoire this season, with performances running from October into November. A reliable pick if you want an opera night without committing to a single one-off premiere.
Official site ↗André Rieu 2026
The Dutch violinist and his Johann Strauss Orchestra play two nights at MVM Dome, waltzes and crowd singalongs in an arena built for spectacle.
Official site ↗Háry János Centennial at the Hungarian State Opera
Kodály's folk opera returns to the Opera House a hundred years after its 1926 premiere, staged as the centerpiece of the 2026/2027 season. Sung in Hungarian, but the music and the restored Ybl-designed house carry the evening on their own.
Official site ↗The Next 30
A short-run exhibition at the Ludwig Museum marking a milestone in the museum's collection, up for six days only.
Official site ↗Liszt: Christus
Müpa stages Liszt's oratorio Christus for one evening at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, the night after Liszt Fest's own closing concert. A pick for a serious classical evening rather than a festival atmosphere.
Official site ↗Csabai Kolbászfesztivál (Csaba Sausage Festival)
Hungary's best-known sausage festival, built around the protected csabai kolbász, with sausage-making contests, pig-slaughter demonstrations and concerts filling CsabaPark for four days. Plan it as an overnight trip, Békéscsaba is over two hours southeast of Budapest by train.
Official site ↗The World of Hans Zimmer
A live orchestral tribute to the film composer's biggest scores, from Inception to The Lion King, fills MVM Dome for one night.
Official site ↗Alphaville
The German new wave band behind Forever Young and Big in Japan plays MVM Dome.
Official site ↗Boris Brejcha
The German techno DJ known for his masked stage persona headlines a Halloween-dated show at MVM Dome.
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November 2026
Vörösmarty Classic Xmas (Budapest Christmas Fair, Vörösmarty tér)
Budapest's flagship Christmas market fills the square in front of the Gerbeaud house with juried craft stalls, mulled wine and a giant Advent calendar projected on the facade. 2026 dates are not announced yet; recent seasons ran mid-November through New Year's Day, dates shown are a placeholder.
Official site ↗Advent Bazilika (Christmas Market at St. Stephen's Basilica)
A few minutes' walk from Vörösmarty tér, this market pairs around 150 craft vendors with nightly light projections on the Basilica facade, and has repeatedly won Europe's best Christmas market vote. 2026 dates are not announced yet; recent seasons ran mid-November to January 1, dates shown are a placeholder.
Official site ↗Kuplung
The Hungarian rock band plays two consecutive arena nights, its first headline run at this scale.
Official site ↗The Witcher in Concert
An orchestra and choir perform the game series' score live at MVM Dome, with scenes projected behind them.
Official site ↗The Klezmatics: We Were Made For These Times
The Grammy-winning klezmer band brings its 2026 tour to the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall for one night, mixing traditional Yiddish repertoire with their own political songwriting.
Official site ↗Branford Marsalis & Dianne Reeves: Celebrate John Coltrane
Two major American jazz names share the stage at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall for a John Coltrane centenary tribute, part of Müpa's wider jazz season built around the anniversary.
Official site ↗Placebo
The British alt-rock band returns to Budapest after ten years, marking 30 years since their debut album with a career-spanning set.
Official site ↗AWS 20 X Madách
AWS marks two decades together with what the band bills as its biggest arena show yet, a one-night 20th-anniversary concert at Papp László Budapest Sportaréna. Sung in Hungarian, but arena-scale, and the anniversary framing makes it likely to sell out.
Official site ↗Thomas Anders
The Modern Talking co-founder brings his 80s hits to MVM Dome for one night.
Official site ↗Sarah Brightman: A Winter Symphony
The soprano's new holiday show brings orchestra and choir to the MVM Dome for one night, mixing Christmas classics with her greatest hits.
Official site ↗Pitbull: I'm Back!
Pitbull returns to Budapest for a fall show at the MVM Dome, a second Budapest date after his summer Puskás Aréna concert sold out.
Official site ↗Smokie
The British soft-rock band behind "Living Next Door to Alice" plays the arena on its Legacy Tour.
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December 2026
Bryan Adams: Roll with the Punches
Bryan Adams brings his Roll with the Punches tour to the MVM Dome for one night. A reliable arena show if you want a big international name without the Budapest Park summer-festival crowds.
Official site ↗José Carreras
The Spanish tenor, one of the original Three Tenors, gives a Christmas-season concert at MVM Dome.
Official site ↗Kincsem Park New Year's Eve Trotting Festival (Ügetőszilveszter)
Budapest's biggest open-air New Year's Eve gathering has run at the Kincsem Park racetrack for over two decades, mixing trotting races with live entertainment and a midnight countdown. The 2026 edition is not yet posted on the venue site, so program details are pending.
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January 2027
Manowar
The American heavy metal band returns to Budapest after 25 years, playing the Fighting the World album in full plus additional anthems.
Official site ↗MICHAEL: The Show Is Mine (Michael Jackson tribute production)
A licensed touring tribute production recreates Michael Jackson's stage show at the MVM Dome, with input from some of his former collaborators. Not the artist himself, but a large-scale, well-reviewed tribute worth knowing about if the real thing is what you're picturing.
Official site ↗WWE Road to Royal Rumble
WWE brings a live Road to Royal Rumble show to MVM Dome, part of the promotion's European tour ahead of the January pay-per-view.
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February 2027
Mangalica Festival
A winter weekend devoted to Hungary's curly-haired mangalica pig, with producers selling cured sausage, hams and cracklings alongside folk music in central Budapest. The 2027 edition is not yet announced; it usually lands on a February weekend, dates shown are a placeholder.
Official site ↗Busójárás (Busó Carnival of Mohács)
UNESCO-listed winter-chasing carnival where horned, sheepskin-clad busós parade through Mohács with bonfires and a coffin burned on the Danube bank. The 2027 dates are not yet announced; the six-day festival tracks carnival week, expected early to mid February 2027, dates shown are a placeholder.
Official site ↗Superenduro GP of Hungary 2027
The FIM Superenduro World Championship stops at MVM Dome for an indoor round of the off-road motorcycle series.
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March 2027
Cirque du Soleil - OVO
Cirque du Soleil's insect-themed acrobatic show OVO plays four nights at MVM Dome.
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May 2027
Sabaton
The Swedish power metal band known for its history-themed anthems headlines MVM Dome.
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October 2027
Nothing matches that filter. Budapest disagrees with your plans; loosen one.
Calendar checked daily; last full pass: 2026-09-17.