At the height of summer, the Hungarian capital is bustling with locals enjoying the city’s alfresco attractions and tourists exploring sun-splashed urban sites, while in the middle of it all, water-sports fans travel between the FINA World Championships venues in Budapest and Lake Balaton to watch the world’s best aquatic athletes in action. Tickets for many of the contests are selling out fast, but you can still follow the events as they happen at several Budapest hangouts that screen the competitions live, including FINA’s open-air cheer zones, renowned ruin pubs, and high-spirited bars.

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FINA Aquatics Fan Zone – Margaret Island

1138 Budapest, Margitsziget

During the tournament, two official FINA cheer zones welcome fans to join alfresco gatherings where anyone can watch the water-sports contests projected on big screens. An isolated area on Margaret Island is one of the main sites where supporters get together and lounge on bean bags or sit on wooden benches at temporary tables where they can eat and drink while watching swim meets as they happen. Besides the live screenings, concert shows entertain guests between the contests, while several high-tech digital devices, including VR glasses, simulate what it is like to be an aquatic athlete.

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FINA Aquatics Fan Zone – Danube Arena

Besides the Margaret Island location, another cheer zone awaits water-sports fans right near the Danube Arena competition site of FINA, found in Budapest’s District XIII close to the Pest side of Árpád Bridge. Here we can follow the matches on an oversized LED wall, attend sports-related discussions, and watch dance performances or listen to concert shows. The cheer zone is open from the morning through the evening hours.

Address: Budapest 1138, Népfürdő utca 34

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Piazza Budapest (Closed)

1052 Budapest, Március 15. tér 2.

Pest’s scenic hangout near the Elizabeth Bridge usually turns into a vast open-air playground for fans during major sport events, and this centrally located hotspot is now an unofficial cheer zone during the FINA World Championships. Expect zesty BBQ dinners, chilled drinks, frosty ice-cream treats, free-spirited activities, and an incredible riverside panorama.

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Jégkert

Found just steps away from Buda's Széna Square and the Mammut Shopping Center, Jégkert is a popular summertime destination for sports aficionados for their regular live screenings of major tournaments. During FINA, we can watch live broadcasts here every day of the week, and a selection of artisanal suds and fine wines ensure rowdy revelry while cheering. In addition, guests can also order complete meals to absorb the intoxicating drinks.

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Majorka

1026 Budapest, Szilágyi Erzsébet fasor 16.
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Graceful chestnut trees provide relief in the sweltering heat at Majorka, an all-season locale at Buda’s Városmajor Park that is especially enticing during the summer months, when this little oasis inside the tree-shaded parkland fills with urban dwellers. While watching heated competitions screening live, we can always cool down with a refreshing lemonade or a sparkling fröccs made with fine Hungarian wines. However, this place gets crowded in the evening hours, so table reservations are highly recommended.

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InGame e-sport & VR lounge

Those who enter this digital haven on District VII’s Klauzál Street embark on a time-bending ride to the virtual world, where gamers are transported into various venues in cyberspace. However, for those who want to stay in Budapest’s reality and watch broadcasts of the FINA competitions live amid an air-conditioned environment, InGame e-sport & VR lounge screens the swimming matches in real time. Best of all, anyone who enters this place while wearing Hungary’s jersey or with face painting that depicts the Magyar flag will get a 10% discount from the price of any alcoholic drinks served here.

Address: Budapest 1072, Klauzál utca 28

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Fogas Ház

1073 Budapest, Akácfa utca 51.
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After merging with another signature Budapest ruin bar, this surreal hangout became one of the biggest nightclubs for drinking and dancing in downtown Budapest. During the FINA competitions, water-sports fans can follow the events every day at three different locations around the ramshackle hotspot, while enjoying snacks and chilling drinks served from the bar. When the contests are over, on designated days Fogas Ház turns into a boisterous party place where we can shake it until the late-night hours.

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Vasmacska Terasz

Located quite a journey away from downtown Budapest, this peaceful outer-district hangout rewards guests who make the trip with lovely riverfront views. While we cheer for our favorite teams and swimmers, fans can order tasty Hungarian treats including a variety of fish-based meals, and we can wash the fine foods down with chilled wines.

Address: Budapest 1222, Fékező utca 1

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Platós

This downtown dive bar on Budapest’s Dohány Street awaits FINA supporters with a variety of homemade syrups, artisanal beers, and fine meals. However, Platós isn’t screening all of the competitions, but only the water-polo matches where the Hungarian teams play.

Address: Budapest 1074, Dohány utca 30/A

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Anker’t

1061 Budapest, Paulay Ede utca 33.

You don’t have to make a compromise between spending your summer evenings at an iconic downtown ruin pub and following the world’s biggest aquatic attractions. Anker’t on Budapest’s Paulay Ede Street is complete with screens, so here we can cheer for FINA competitors while surrounded by an international crowd. Finally, when the contests are over, the nightlife scene here is a great place to make a splash.

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This article is sponsored by the Bp2017 Nonprofit Kft.