Hanukkah in Budapest 2026: Eight Nights of Candles, Synagogue Hours and Where the Lights Go Up
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Hanukkah in Budapest runs from 4 to 12 December 2026, and it is one of the best cities in Europe to see it: the largest synagogue on the continent stands in the old Jewish Quarter, and a giant hanukkiah goes up on a public square in front of one of the city’s railway stations. Below are the candle nights, what the synagogues do that week, where the public lightings usually happen, and an evening plan that puts it all together.
What Hanukkah is
Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of lights. It recalls the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean revolt in the second century BCE, and the story of a single day’s oil that kept the Temple lamp burning for eight. Every evening for eight nights one more candle is lit on the hanukkiah, the nine-branched candelabrum, using the ninth candle, the shamash, to light the others.
Why Budapest is a good place to see it
Two reasons, and both are things you can walk to.
The Dohány Street Synagogue. It is the largest synagogue in Europe. The ticket covers the synagogue, the Hungarian Jewish Museum, the Raoul Wallenberg Memorial Park and the graveyard, and the guided tour is free. Our Dohány Street Synagogue guide has the prices and the rules at the gate.
A public lighting with a history. EMIH, the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation, lights a giant hanukkiah on Nyugati tér, in front of Nyugati railway station. The organizers say it was there, in 1998, that Hanukkah candles were first lit on a public square in Hungary. Watching the candles go on in the middle of a busy city square, a short walk from the Christmas lights on the boulevard, is a very Budapest scene.
The 2026 dates and candle nights
Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday 4 December and ends at nightfall on Saturday 12 December.
| Evening | Candle | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 4 Dec | 1st | Lit before sundown, because Shabbat begins |
| Sat 5 Dec | 2nd | Lit after dark, once Shabbat ends |
| Sun 6 Dec | 3rd | |
| Mon 7 Dec | 4th | |
| Tue 8 Dec | 5th | |
| Wed 9 Dec | 6th | |
| Thu 10 Dec | 7th | |
| Fri 11 Dec | 8th | Lit before sundown, because Shabbat begins |
Two Fridays fall inside the festival in 2026, the first night and the last. In 2025 there was no Friday evening lighting at Nyugati tér, so do not build a trip around a public lighting on 4 or 11 December until the organizers publish the 2026 program. Sunday 6 to Thursday 10 December is the safest stretch for a visit.
Where the public lightings usually happen
The 2026 lighting schedule had not been announced on 25 October 2026. What follows is how it went in 2025, when Hanukkah ran from 14 to 22 December, and it is a fair guide to where to look.
- Nyugati tér (EMIH). In 2025 the big hanukkiah was lit every evening at 18:00 except Friday, with EMIH rabbis and invited guests, and a Hanukkah gift stand was part of the Nyugati tér program.
- Gozsdu udvar. In 2025 there was a lighting at 18:00 every evening, with live music, in the passage between Király utca and Dob utca.
- Szent István park, Újlipótváros. One of EMIH’s 2025 lighting spots.
- HanukaFeszt (Mazsihisz and BZSH). In 2025 the festival ran at the Goldmark Hall and the Rumbach synagogue, alongside community lightings on squares such as Ferenc tér and Jászai Mari tér.
Public lightings on a square are open to everyone. Come a few minutes early, stand back during the blessings, and dress for a December evening outdoors.
The Dohány and the Rumbach during Hanukkah week
The operator, Jewish Tour Hungary, keeps its normal winter hours through Hanukkah and lists no extra closure for that week.
| Dohány Street Synagogue | Rumbach Street synagogue | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 10:00 to 16:00, last entry 15:00 | 10:00 to 16:00, last entry 15:00 |
| Monday to Thursday | 10:00 to 16:00, last entry 15:00 | Closed |
| Friday | 10:00 to 14:00, last entry 13:00 | Closed |
| Saturday | Closed | Closed |
What that means for the festival:
- Fridays 4 and 11 December: the Dohány closes at 14:00, and nobody new goes in after 13:00. Go in the morning.
- Saturdays 5 and 12 December: the Dohány is closed all day.
- Sunday 6 December is the only day in Hanukkah week when the Rumbach opens, and the day both synagogues are open together. Sunday 13 December, the day after the festival, is the next one.
- The next closure after Hanukkah is 24 and 25 December.
What to eat
Hanukkah food is fried food, because the oil is the point of the story. Look for sufganiyot, round doughnuts filled with jam and dusted with sugar, and latkes, crisp potato pancakes, often eaten with apple sauce or sour cream.
For a kosher meal, our kosher food guide covers the certified places and their hours. The Chabad (EMIH) kosher list includes Carmel, Hanna, Tel Aviv Cafe and Shuk HaCarmel on Kazinczy utca, Hummusbar Kosher, Falafel Bar and Marrakesh on Wesselényi utca, MeatUp on Nagy Diófa utca and Brooklyn Bagel on Újpesti rakpart. Shabbat changes kosher kitchens’ hours, and both Hanukkah weekends include one, so look up the hours before you plan a Friday night or Saturday dinner.
A Hanukkah evening in Budapest
Pick an evening between Sunday 6 and Thursday 10 December and build it like this.
- Midday: the Dohány. Arrive by early afternoon so you are well inside the 15:00 last entry, and join the free guided tour. On Sunday 6 December add the Rumbach, five minutes away.
- Late afternoon: the Jewish Quarter streets. Walk Kazinczy utca, the Carl Lutz memorial on Dob utca and Gozsdu udvar, following our Jewish Quarter walk.
- Early evening: a lighting. If the 2026 schedule keeps last year’s pattern, Gozsdu udvar and Nyugati tér both light around 18:00. Nyugati tér is about 2 km north of the quarter, roughly 25 minutes on foot along the Grand Boulevard.
- Dinner in District VII. Back to Kazinczy and Wesselényi utca for a kosher dinner, or anywhere in the quarter you like.
If you want to sleep close to all of it, our District VII accommodation guide explains which streets are quiet at night.
Hanukkah and the Christmas markets
Hanukkah week sits right in the middle of Budapest’s Christmas season. The Vörösmarty tér and Basilica markets both open on Friday 13 November 2026 and are in full swing by early December, and in past seasons the Advent street lights have been switched on by then too. The Basilica is a 15-minute walk from Nyugati tér, so a candle lighting and a mulled wine fit into the same evening. Our Christmas in Budapest guide has the market dates and hours, and the December guide covers the weather, the dark afternoons and the rest of the month.
When we update this page
We add the 2026 lighting schedule as soon as EMIH, Mazsihisz and BZSH publish it. In 2025 their programs were announced in early December. Until then, treat the 2025 pattern above as a guide to where to look, not as a timetable.
Sources, all read 25 October 2026: Hanukkah 2026 dates and the Friday and Saturday candle rules from hebcal.com; the Nyugati tér lighting, its 1998 history as stated by the organizers and the 2025 EMIH program from EMIH at zsido.com, with the 2026 program not yet listed at zsidoprogramok.hu; the 2025 Gozsdu udvar lightings and HanukaFeszt from BZSH at bzsh.hu; the 2025 community lightings from mazsihisz.hu; Dohány and Rumbach hours and closures for November and December 2026 from the operator’s opening hours page; what the Dohány ticket covers, the free guided tour and its standing as Europe’s largest synagogue from the operator’s visitor information; the kosher list from chabadhungary.com; Christmas market opening dates from adventbazilika.hu and vorosmartyclassicxmas.hu. Walking times are our estimate from map distances.
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Good to know
When is Hanukkah in 2026?
Hanukkah 2026 starts at sundown on Friday 4 December and ends at nightfall on Saturday 12 December. Candles are lit on eight evenings, from 4 December to 11 December, one more each night.
Where can I see a Hanukkah candle lighting in Budapest?
The best known public lighting is the giant hanukkiah at Nyugati tér, run by EMIH. In 2025 it was lit every evening at 18:00 except Friday, and there were also lightings at Gozsdu udvar, at Szent István park in Újlipótváros and at community events around the city. The 2026 dates and times had not been announced on 25 October 2026; the 2025 programs were announced in early December, and we add the 2026 schedule here as soon as it is published.
Is the Dohány Street Synagogue open during Hanukkah?
Yes, on its normal winter hours. Sunday to Thursday it opens 10:00 to 16:00 with last entry at 15:00, on Friday 10:00 to 14:00 with last entry at 13:00, and it is closed every Saturday. The operator lists no extra closure for Hanukkah week in 2026.
Can tourists go to a public Hanukkah lighting in Budapest?
Public lightings on a square are open events, and anyone can stand and watch. Dress warmly and keep a respectful distance during the blessings.
What food is eaten at Hanukkah?
Food fried in oil, to recall the oil of the Temple: sufganiyot, which are round jam-filled doughnuts, and latkes, which are crisp potato pancakes. Our kosher food guide covers the certified kosher restaurants and bakeries in District VII.
Does Hanukkah overlap with the Christmas markets in Budapest?
Yes. The Vörösmarty tér and Basilica Christmas markets both open on 13 November 2026 and run through December, so in Hanukkah week you can see a candle lighting and walk a Christmas market on the same evening.
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