What happens if the summer season ends? Nothing, in particular – and we can say that after long, long years of experience. The Budapest (night)life doesn’t end at all, actually this is when the club season is about to begin. Instead of hot and steamy nights, you can expect for long queues at the cloakroom and instead of having a few bottles of beer on Erzsébet tér at night you should be prepared to go to house parties instead. We made our way around town to find the best clubs, bars and party places for the autumn months.
1/4
Always dancy, always dressy and popular
A few years ago the best place with the hottest dance floor was Ötkert without a doubt. There are still crazy queues at the entrance at nights but nowadays there are a bunch of other places where you can go if you want to dance all night. Doboz, is such a place for example – at the very beginning they were playing underground beats but in the last couple of months they turned to dance music and to a more mainstream musical line. This club is one of the most exciting places of the Budapest nightlife with its gigantic King Kong installation and with its huge tree on its dance floor. You should totally check this place out, even if you are not so keen on the music they play.
The absolute boom of this season is trafiq, which opened only a couple of months ago. There’s always a crowd of partygoers in this place so they already managed to write a real success story. It’s fresh, it’s slightly bohemian and it has a cool vibe. Not only do they have a great dance floor – they are also in the forefront of cocktail mixing and they offer great snacks and dishes.
Trafiq (closed)
Address: 1051 Budapest, Hercegprímás utca 18.
2/4
fogasház
If you are looking for cool places where you can listen to popular music and where you can let your hair down without having to dress out then the following places are the best options for you. So put your favourite Tee and your old Converse sneakers on and get down. If you are interested in owls, in bunnies and in foreigners then Instant is for you which has a sizzling dance floor and some crazy flipper tables as well. If you had enough of the international crowd then maybe you should move on to Fogas Ház.
3/4
Not always dancy, not dressy, a bit progressive but not that much
In this category you will find places where the music is exciting and cool but the parties are not that wild. Don’t worry, you won’t be bored anyways, just grab a couple of drinks and have some fun at the bar.
The for example is such a place – during the summer season they have an open-air area but in the autumn and winter season only the indoor part of the club is in service. They offer great programmes, cultural exhibitions and all sorts of gatherings. The crazy dance parties are not that common during summertime but in the autumn season you can expect for 3 or 4 dancy nights a week. Music is usually provided by the super eclectic Bridzs, the hardcore Jazz-zaj, Clairvo, Infragandhi or the Puszi band.
The neighbouring , also known as the GMK is very similar. It’s rather hard to fit GMK into one category when it comes to musical genres. You can expect for party people between the age of 25 and 35 and you can also expect for a dance floor of 150 square metres. The parties usually don’t get particularly wild but at least the Funktion Onesound system will definitely make you feel the beat.
Youngsters usually go to the which is about to be revamped – a new design and a much more diverse musical range is about to be introduced so the parties will be even better than before. Alapítvány parties will be organized very soon and you can also expect for Dictator and Hussar and Sticky Beats gigs.
The place ceased in 2017.
4/4
Not always dancy, not dressy at all and progressively cool
These clubs are known for their musical and cultural profiles instead of their professional catering and service. RoHAM is one of these places, it offers wicked beats, rockabilly, rock and roll and lo-fi tunes as well. It’s little brother is Trafik – which has absolutely nothing to do with trafiq, spelled with the letter q. Trafik is known for its rock, hardcore and dark beats.
Szabad az Á is also a very similar place, this club just moved into the . Our big favourite is which is known for its great reputation and its relatively small capacity. The dance floor is only 4 or 5 square metres. also deserves an honourable mention and it would also deserve to be included in the previous category but since it gives home to several art projects we consider it to be progressively cool.
