Shows, concerts and cultural attractions – Budapest is always buzzing. Each week, we gather all of the important happenings taking place in our favourite city so you can plan ahead. Get out and get involved!

Thursday

10am – : Travel Exhibition 2020 at Hungexpo 
Hungary’s number one tourism fair welcomes industry professionals and the public alike from today through Sunday, 1 March at the Hungexpo Centre. Over 250 exhibitors represent 40 countries, with Italy the foreign guest of honour, Eger the Hungarian. Apart from the traditional tourist agencies, there will be bloggers and experienced travellers to provide valuable insight, while the stage will be filled with a variety of shows, performances, music and dance.

6pm-8.30pm: Mephisto at the Bem cinema
The first Hungarian film to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Film, István Szabó’s Mephisto is shown here with English subtitles – all 144 minutes of it. Klaus Maria Brandauer also won a BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer in this interpretation of the Faust legend, set during the Nazi rise to power in the 1930s.

6pm – : Francophone Film Days and Festival at the Uránia National Film Theatre, Art+ Cinema & French Institute.
For the tenth annual Francophone Film Days and Festival running from late February until early April, the French Institute and its partners bring the latest French-language films to Budapest and 14 other cities around Hungary. Opening the event is acclaimed French-Japanese drama La Vérité (The Truth) by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, with French/English dialogue. This also plays at 7pm this Thursday evening. Many other films will have English subtitles. Schedule here.

7.30pm-10.30pm: Starset at the A38 Ship 
Born out of alt-metal band Downplay, whose vocalist Dustin Bates steers this Ohio band with equal savvy, Starset take full advantage of social media to generate impressive sales and crowds. Working in the rock/electronic rock genre, Starset theme their material around Bates’ fascination for space, illustrated by album titles such as Transmissions and Vessels. The latest, Divisions, was released in 2019.

Friday

4pm: – : Bulldozer Party at Retró Lángos
The curtain comes down on one of Budapest’s best-loved street-food spots, Retró Lángos. Victim of the long-term renovation of the M3 metro line and its stations, this outlet at Arany János utca metro station puts on a weekend of live music, fireworks and even a garlic-guzzling contest. All is based around Hungary’s favourite fatty snack, lángos, a disc-shaped delight of deep-fried dough, lathered in sour cream, garlic and shredded cheese.

7.30pm-10pm: The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at Müpa
Highlight of the Early Music Festival at Müpa, this long-established group of British historical musicians perform an evening of Bach favourites. With no music director, this self-run ensemble will be joined by three violinists and an oboe player, and preceded by a presentation by conductor/music professor Dr Salamon Kamp.

7.30pm-11pm: Seafret at Dürer Kert
Bridlington duo Jack Sedman and Harry Draper bring their indie maritime ditties to Budapest for the second time of asking, having played to a full house here a year ago. The boys have just released a second album, Most Of Us Are Strangers, after a string of well-received EPs.

7.30pm-12.15am: F*ck Plastic Waste Carnival at the Barba Negra Music Club
The ever-lively Pannonia All Stars Ska Orchestra, arguably the most danceable act on the planet, headline this eco-friendly event at south Buda rock venue, the Barba Negra Music Club. Frontman Kristóf Tóth, aka KRSA, exudes irrepressible energy as the PASO band effortlessly fuse ska, reggae, jazz and ethnic Hungarian sounds. While focus falls on helping rid the planet of plastic, a hall packed with revellers dance themselves dizzy.

Saturday

7.30pm-10pm: Gábor Takács-Nagy & Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra at the Franz Liszt Music Academy
Eminent violinist Gábor Takács-Nagy was advised by none other than Sir Georg Sölti that he had the capabilities to become a superb conductor, too. Tonight, he takes the stand with the Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra for Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Violin Concerto in E minor, as well as Dvorák’s Eighth Symphony.

7.30pm-10.30pm: Acid Arab at the Akvárium Klub
As their name suggests, French duo Acid Arab blend electronic dance music with the exotic melodies of the East, a spellbinding and eminently danceable combination. As the pair say, “It’s not a fusion or a mix, it’s an encounter”. To this aim, Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho have earned plaudits way beyond Paris, not least for their 2016 debut, Musique de France.

8pm-10pm: Sárik Péter Trio feat Júlia Karosi at the Budapest Jazz Club
Pianist Péter Sárik welcomes singer Júlia Karosi to his long-established trio of Tibor Fonay on bass and Attila Gálfi on drums for a night of relaxed, wide-ranging jazz. The BJC is a particularly convivial space to enjoy a show, set in an old cinema close to the Pest foot of the Margaret Bridge.

10pm-4am: Opening Weekend at Edith
Budapest’s legendary Piaf Bar is reopening as Edith and to celebrate, DJs will be spinning all weekend. In a spiffed-up space that was once one of most notorious yet revered nightspots in town, Hungarian DJs Mesterházy and Infragandhi take to the decks for this curtain-raising event. All takes place on Budapest’s Broadway, Nagymező utca, in the city’s theatre quarter.

Sunday

10am-5.45pm: Museum Shop Clearance Sale at the Hungarian National Gallery
Enjoy discounts of up to 80% on quality gifts and souvenirs at this month-long sale at the Hungarian National Gallery, starting today. Find tastefully designed mugs, notebooks and art catalogues for previous exhibitions here.

11am-9pm: Mozart Day at the Franz Liszt Music Academy
Inspired by the thoughts of Franz Schubert 200 years ago – “Immortal Mozart, how many comforting perceptions of a brighter, better life hast thou brought to our souls?” – the Franz Liszt Music Academy stages its third annual Mozart Day. The music of Amadeus will fill the Grand and Solti Halls from the morning onwards, interpreted by numerous illustrious musicians.

5pm-7pm: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at the Bem cinema
Enjoy Spielberg’s Oscar-winning E.T. one more time in English with Hungarian subtitles as the schoolboy Elliott befriends an alien to win moviegoers’ hearts forever immemorial. The film also helped the director deal with the consequences of his own boyhood traumas – but that’s another story.