Spring might not come with an early heatwave this year, but worry not, it is still bringing blooming flowers and spectacular, pink cherry blossoms to Budapest. See when you can join the famous Sakura celebrations at the ELTE Botanical Gardens.
Sakura celebrations are an annual tradition at the ELTE Botanical Gardens (Füvészkert in Hungarian). It is rooted in Japan's traditional festivity, the Ohanami. It starts with the very first cherry blossom and gives way to a communal activity: on selected dates, you can visit the garden and enjoy your day chilling on a picnic blanket, just like in Japan. If eating and drinking al fresco, chatting with friends, and marvelling at pretty blossoms sound like your kind of weekend, read on to see the dates.
This year the Sakura celebrations will be on 15-16 April and 22-23 April. On these days, you can also learn about Japanese culture, join language classes and workshops, listen to music, or try martial arts. The students of MOME (a Budapest-based university for artists, designers, and creators) will exhibit ceramics inspired by the Eastern country. Haikus will be presented too.
Details
- Opening time: 15-16 April and 22-23 April
- Opening hours: 9 am – 5 pm, with the cashier closing at 4 pm
- Address: 1083 Budapest, Illés utca 25.
- Entrance fee: You can get your tickets online (HUF 2,500, HUF 1,500 for concession tickets) or on-site (HUF 2,700, HUF 1,700 for concession tickets).
- Tickets: here
