Friday
10am - Leonardo & The Budapest Horse Rider at the Museum of Fine Arts
After three years, finally Budapest’s Museum of Fine Arts has just reopened after a comprehensive overhaul of the building and the stellar collection it contains. New exhibition halls have been created, the historic Roman Hall closed for seven decades has been restored and the Egyptian collection now displays hundreds of pieces of art in more spacious, interactive surroundings. To mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, visitors can now admire ten original drawings and a bronze statuette made by the great master.
11am - : Budapest Christmas Fair Opening at Vörösmarty tér
The city’s biggest Christmas market will be welcoming festive crowds from Friday with spicy mulled wine, sweet chimney cake and traditional trinkets. Dotted with ornate wooden stalls selling local handicrafts and Hungarian gastronomy, focal Vörösmarty tér turns into a festive fair with activities taking place here daily through 1 January.
2pm - : Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Festival at various venuesSelective documentaries highlight war crimes, political oppression, press freedom, racism, sexual diversity and environmental issues at this thought-provoking annual film festival. Verzió films screen at the Művész, Toldi, Kino Café and at Trafó. Tickets for each film cost 1,200 forints, passes sell at 6,000 forints and are valid for ten screenings. Verzió is a bilingual event with English and Hungarian translations.
6pm - : St. Martin's Day Wine Festival at the Gellért Hotel
On 11 November, Hungarians commemorate St. Martin of Tours, one of the country’s patron saints. This occasion is marked by gastronomic gatherings nationwide. During the weeks around St. Martin’s Day, many restaurants offer a special menu focused on goose delicacies. Budapest's biggest celebration is the grand indoor wine festival at Gellért between Thursday and Saturday, where a single wristband allows for unlimited sampling of tipples.
10pm – 5am: Bonita Fridays at Yellow Budapest
Every Friday, bar/club Yellow echoes with hot Latin reggaeton tunes, while afterwards everything from R&B to hip hop and new core entices partygoers to the dance floor.
Saturday
8am – 2pm: Czakó Farmer's Market at Czakó Kert
Czakó Piac is a farmer’s market full of friendly vendors, awaiting visitors in the lovely garden of an old Hungarian peasant house on the Buda side. Stalls offer organic products, vegetables, eggs, mouthwatering meat, handcrafted cheeses, wild mushrooms and countless unique specialities that are not available elsewhere in the capital. The chef at Czakó Kert prepares the best breakfasts and lunchesfrom the delicacies available here while the market is open. This time, fresh pork products feature.
10am - 5pm: Flea Market at Szimpla Kert
Budapest's most popular ruin pub holds a flea market on Saturday. Browse old photos, paintings, jewellery, ceramics, décor items, lamps, old toys, teddy bears, board games, retro treasure and all kinds of unexpected knickknacks.
1pm - 5pm: How To Be Funnier workshop at Brody Studios
Whether you want to perform stand-up comedy, or give engaging presentations, making people laugh will boost your success. Find the “place of power” in a room, and be confident with a crowd. Explore body language, persona and rhythm, so your audience wants to know what happens next. Learn about joke structure, and how to reveal jokes that already exist at this fun workshop on Saturday.
3:15pm - and 6pm - : Sunset with English subtitles at the Művész Cinema
Sunset is the second feature-length film of Oscar-winning Hungarian director of Son of Saul fame, László Nemes Jeles. The story is set in 1913 in Budapest and follows a girl getting caught up in the turmoil of a society fated to fail.
4pm - : Second-hand shoe fair at Telep Café
On Saturday, vintage shop Judas holds a second-hand shoe market in the gallery of the Telep café. Make sure to stop by if you’d like to refresh your shoe collection on the cheap.
Sunday
10am – 6pm: Vegan Sunday Market at Anker’t
A small vegan market warmly welcomes the followers of a vegan or healthy lifestyle with countless healthy treats. Pamper your taste buds with wonderful vegan products and meet new people at this cool community centre. The event is child- and dog-friendly, and also comes with cooking workshops.
8pm - : Ihsan at A38
Prominent representatives of Norwegian black metal, Ihsahn will play the A38 Ship on Sunday with guests Ne Obliviscaris and Astrosaur.
8pm - : Suzanne Vega at MOM Sport
Cult singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega makes a welcome return to Budapest on Sunday. Having recently undertaken a worldwide double anniversary tour to perform two of her most revered albums, Solitude Standing and 99.9 Degrees Fahrenheit, Vega has singled out Budapest for a special show of her favourite tunes. Read our recent interview with Suzanne to get you in the mood.
