Cultural festivals

Budapest Spring and Budapest Autumn FestivalsIt can be very amusing to visit the theme events and performances of the theatres, the Opera House, the Palace of Arts, the Millenáris as well as to participate in Budapest Spring and Budapest Autumn Festivals. During the summer break of theatres, you can watch plays, operas, rock-operas and dramas in the Margitsziget and in Városmajor.

It is important to book tickets well in advance for the best shows of the city.

Liszt Év 2011While strolling about the streets you might notice the huge posters of Liszt Év 2011, which advertise the 200th anniversary of the birth of the world famous piano virtuoso, Ferenc Liszt. Ferenc Liszt can be titled as the citizen of the world, the celebrated world star, the Christian thinker and the music pedagogue, and we did not exaggerate at all. A series of programs is organized in honor of the founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Music at Budapest. In this occasion, you can see and listen to his well known and forgotten pieces of compositions in the concert halls of Budapest and other cities of Europe.

Jewish Summer FestivalWe recommend the Jewish Summer Festival being organized in late August, for all klezmer fans and everybody who would like to get acquainted with an old culture. The central place of the event is the Synagogue in Dohány Street as the symbol of Hungarian Jews. The Synagogue itself is a fascinating sight of the city, but it becomes a huge concert hall for the festival. There are plenty of cultural events, exhibitions, performances, youth programs in the squares, synagogues and party places of the 7th district. The kosher restaurants of the district draw your attention on the values and tastes of Jewish cuisine. Gozsdu udvar is loud from Sephardic music and cinemas show the prize-winner films of Israel. This is one of the most significant and the most colorful Jewish event of Budapest and Hungary, so it is worthy to look through the program guide and visit the places.

Festival of TraditionsIt can be a great choice to visit the Festival of Traditions in Buda Castle on 20 August.

Participants can get acquainted with the tricks of the old, traditional crafts such as basketry, pottery, musical instrument making and many more. It is not only a festival, but also a live folklore forum. The Castle district becomes a crowded market place with comedians, con artists, street performances and puppet theatres. Hungarian and foreigner folk dancers, singers and music groups appear on stage, since protecting traditions is the most important issue here. As in all other Hungarian festivals, restaurants play an important part in the programs showing the components of traditional and folk cuisine of the country.

Szeged Open Air Festival In the Southern part of Hungary, in the Mediterranean city of the countryside, the Szeged Open Air Festival celebrates its 80th birthday this year. The stage in Dóm Square is awaiting all theatre-fans in every July and August. The biggest theatrical companies, actors and actresses of Budapest fascinate the local and the international audience for the two summer months. There are operas, musicals, dramas and other plays on the bill. Do not be surprised if you meet famous actors giving their autographs to everybody everywhere.

International Opera FestivalLovers of opera are awaited by the International Opera Festival in Miskolc, which is organized in honor of Béla Bartók the greatest Hungarian composer of the 20th century. This festival is the most remarkable of the Eastern and Central European opera life. His most famous theatrical compositions (Bluebeard’s Castle, The Miracolous Mandarin and The Wooden Prince) are shown in the Barók+ event with the appearance of world famous actors and traditional and contemporary ideas of directing. The ‘+’ character in the title of the event symbolizes the initiating of another composer in each theme. In the past few years, major compositions of Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and some other important musical creations of French and Slavic musical life appeared in the programs.

Budai Gourmet FestivalWe are able to find many occasions to represent and taste the traditional dishes of Hungary. From February until late autumn, there are several wine-, pálinka-, or sausage-feasts in Budapest and in all over the countryside showing all traditional and new improvements in gastronomy. There is also a marketplace, where you can buy cheese, jam, honey, syrup and oil from local producers. In the Budai Gourmet Festival the main role is for wine, cheese and ham. In Christmas season, you sould not miss a glass of mulled wine in the intimate holiday ambience of the Vörösmarty Square.

There are countless offers in the cultural world of Hungary. Feel free to choose.