From a craft beer and wine festival to visiting a dinosaur park, the Gallery Weekend Budapest, or the World Press Photo Exhibition, Budapest will keep you entertained if you are visiting in September. Here are some of the top things to enjoy in the city during this month.
1/15
Stroll on the car-free quay on weekends
A chunk of downtown Pest quay is car-free until 24 September, with events popping up on the road between Margaret Bridge and Elizabeth Bridge. Expect a random grill terrace, a pop-up bar, live music, dancing, and even yoga classes. You can follow the events on the Hungarian site or go for a walk and explore what is happening yourself! It will be worth it.
2/15
Sample craft beer at the KRAFT Beer Festival
From September 7th to 10th, over 30 local and international brewers and the most prominent beer shops will showcase their finest brews at the open-air Dürer Kert. The festival, featuring pints, tastings, concerts, DJs, and street food, is a must for all craft beer enthusiasts.
More details and tickets here.
3/15
Indulge in Korean heritage during the Korean Cultural Festival
Exploring a southeastern culture might not be the primary reason you travelled to Budapest. But the upcoming Korean Cultural Festival (8-30 September) can be a colourful addition to any holiday. You can not only listen to traditional Korean music and witness an incredible dance performance but also peek inside the gorgeous buildings hosting the events: the House of Music Hungary and the Erkel Theatre.
More details on the full programme here (Hungarian/Korean only).
4/15
Sip wine at the Buda Castle at the Budapest Wine Festival
Hungary’s grandest wine gala takes place in the cobblestoned terraces surrounding the Royal Palace in the Castle District between 7-10 September. Expect four days of imbibing, folk music and dancing, backdropped by unbeatable views over the city. Hungary’s top winemakers and some of their global counterparts gather to sample their year’s work. Meet the most famous names in the business while the warming rays of September sunshine envelop these historic surroundings.
Get tickets here.
5/15
Dive into the Tour of the Lights
If you are up for a pretty awesome adventure, pack your mosquito repellent spray and sign up for this boat tour. On the evening of 16 September, you can paddle into the Indian summer with a handful of other people sitting in boats brighter than the stars. They will be decorated with lights, which will result in breathtaking sights. The tour starts at dusk in Szentendre (an hour's drive from Budapest) and ends at Római-part.
More details here.
6/15
See contemporary art at the Gallery Weekend Budapest
If you are a contemporary art enthusiast, Gallery Weekend Budapest has to go on your bucket list. On 15-16 September, more than ten galleries offer exciting programmes all over the city. In addition to their trademark gallery tours, you can join other exciting and free programmes.
Follow the events here.
7/15
Have dinner in a hidden garden
From a bookshop to a café in the party district and a high-end restaurant in the Buda Castle, we are showing you lush locations hiding beyond fences where you can spend the afternoon or evening beneath canopies and twinkling lights. See our recent article here.
8/15
Travel back time at the DinoPark
Channel your inner Ross Geller and take him to this palaeontologist playground! DinoPark is a newly opened open-air exhibition showcasing massive - you guessed it - dinosaur replicas. You can travel time and wander among these long-extinct giants (some of which come to life and make movements). DinoPark might not compete with London's Natural History Museum, but it offers a fun afternoon for the whole family on the rooftop of the shopping mall KÖKI.
9/15
Wander through the World Press Photo Exhibition
Here is another exhibition, but this time for those appreciating the world of photography and journalism. The annual World Press Photo travelling exhibition revisits the biggest news of the past year by portraying the many milestones through striking photojournalism. The collection will be on view between 20 September and 5 October at the Hungarian National Museum.
More details here.
10/15
Admire Renoir masterpieces
On view from 22 September (until 7 January 2024) at the Museum of Fine Arts, you can pay respect to the iconic French figurative painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. With his oeuvre in focus, you can be among the first to marvel at this upcoming exhibition called Renoir – The Painter and his Models. You can explore Renoir’s relationship with the models who inspired his art through paintings, graphic works, and sculptures. Pay attention to the details: how the master delicately rendered the nuances of faces, the radiance of his models’ gazes, and the splendour of clothes.
More details here.
11/15
Go ballooning at the City Park
Up to 30 people at a time can be taken up above the City Park by balloon to gaze over Budapest from a height of 150 metres. The point of departure and return is Mimóza Hill, a small hillock designed to be a lookout point when the historic Baloon Captif was tethered here during the Hungarian Millennial celebrations of 1896. With breathtaking views of the Széchenyi Baths, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Heroes' Square, time will fly by (floating time is 15 minutes). Always check the weather conditions on their site!
More details here.
12/15
Go to a concert
September has loads of amazing international concerts in store. Most of them come with must-see locations, too. So we say add some to your holiday plans. For a unique Hungarian musical experience, book tickets for Jazzbois x Kaláka, where hip-hop and jazz will merge with folk music at the riverside Kopaszi-gát on 9 September. On 20 September, Turkish band She Past Away is filling the concert hall of A38 Ship with signature guitar sounds of the post-punk era combined with minimalist poetry. Two days later, the Danish Svaneborg Kardyb is coming to the same venue. Then, closing the month is the British Elvis Costello, who will take the stage at Müpa on 30 September.
13/15
Hop on the Children's Railway
Timeless and charming whatever the season, connecting some of the loveliest spots in the Buda hills, the Children’s Railway (Gyermekvasút) is one of Budapest’s most unique attractions. The line runs from Széchenyi Hill to Hűvösvölgy, crossing with the Cogwheel Railway and serving Normafa and János Hill. The lookout points, forest playgrounds, places of pilgrimage and other hilly attractions lie close to stations, making the Children’s Railway the ideal jumping-off point for a day’s outing. And, of course, it’s staffed by schoolchildren, who check tickets and act as guards. Grown-ups do the driving.
14/15
Explore iconic buildings
When exploring a city, you might stop in front of fascinating buildings, wondering what's inside. The good news is that in Budapest, you don't have to spend a fortune to find that out. From St Stephen's Basilica to the Museum of Ethnography, we have rounded up 7 iconic buildings that are equally splendid inside and out and are easier to visit than you'd think.
15/15
Go active in Buda for less than HUF 10,000
If you like exploring a city like a local (and on a budget), we have the perfect list for you! In a previous article, we invited you to wander around the western side of the river, Buda, costing less than HUF 10,000/person. You can pick one from three itineraries, which will take you to impressive sights off the beaten track. Expect villa-hopping on Gellért Hill, an excursion to Apáthy rock, and one of the most charming places in Óbuda: the narrow and cobblestoned Gül Baba Street.
