Christmas markets 2023: Budapest does winter better than you think

The case for Budapest in December

Budapest in December is not an obvious choice if your mental model of the city is thermal baths and ruin bars in the heat of summer. It turns out to be an excellent choice, for reasons that are structural rather than accidental.

The logic: Budapest has two Christmas markets that are among the best in Central Europe (one of which is routinely ranked among the best in Europe by publications that take these things seriously), a thermal bath culture that is more pleasurable in cold weather than in warm, and a dining scene that takes winter comfort food seriously enough to make you very glad you are not eating a cheese toastie in a draughty market hut in a city that does not have gulyás.

The Budapest Christmas markets guide has the full details on each market, hours, logistics and what to eat. This is the personal account.

Vörösmarty tér: the original

The market on Vörösmarty tér — the main square at the Pest end of Váci utca — is the older and more famous of the two. It runs from mid-November to January 1st, which is a longer season than most European Christmas markets. The square is surrounded by illuminated trees, the Gerbeaud coffee house on one side providing a warm refuge for those who need a brief respite from the cold, and about a hundred stalls selling a combination of food, Hungarian craft goods, and the inevitable ornaments.

We arrived on the first evening of December, a Friday, at around 6 pm. The temperature was -3°C and the market was in full operation, which is one of the things that recommends it: a good market in cold weather is a better experience than the same market in mild weather, because the hot drinks mean more when you actually need them.

Kürtőskalács (chimney cake) are made to order over charcoal, coated in cinnamon sugar and topped with walnut or cocoa or hazelnut. A medium costs around 1,200–1,800 HUF (€3–4.50). Hot mulled wine (forralt bor) is 1,200–1,500 HUF per cup, usually served in branded ceramic mugs that you keep or return for a deposit refund. The quality of the mulled wine varies by stall — there are three or four stalls that are producing something genuinely good with Hungarian red wine, spices and perhaps an orange peel, and about twenty stalls producing something technically also mulled wine.

The craft goods are the area where Vörösmarty tér distinguishes itself. The stalls are curated by the market organisers — you cannot simply pay for a pitch — which means the level of craft is meaningfully higher than at comparable markets in cities where the selection is less controlled. Hungarian folk embroidery, hand-painted pottery, wood toys, paprika products (the lacquered red paprika strings are the best gift from Hungary, by some margin), honey, and pálinka in decorative bottles.

The Basilica market: the atmospheric rival

The market at St Stephen’s Basilica — which runs on roughly the same dates as Vörösmarty tér — has in recent years attracted more attention from the “best Christmas markets in Europe” lists, and with some justification. The setting is extraordinary: the vast neo-classical facade of St Stephen’s Basilica as a backdrop, the square in front illuminated by the market lights and, most recently, by a large video projection mapped onto the basilica’s facade.

The projection show runs at intervals through the evening, and is worth timing your visit around — the imagery (changing seasonally, always built around Hungarian folk art motifs or seasonal themes) on a surface that large is genuinely impressive. In 2023 the projection ran every thirty minutes from dusk until 9 pm.

The stalls at the Basilica market are somewhat smaller in number than Vörösmarty tér but similarly curated. The food options include a good lángos stall (around 1,500–2,000 HUF), roasted chestnuts (800–1,200 HUF per bag), and a Hungarian spirits bar that pours pálinka in a range of flavours — plum, pear, apricot — at around 1,000–1,500 HUF per shot.

The St Stephen’s Basilica guide covers the basilica itself — worth visiting during the Christmas period for the interior and the tower views, which have a specific December quality.

The thermal baths in December

This is the thing that makes Budapest in December specifically rather than generically good. The outdoor baths in winter guide makes the full case. The abbreviated version:

Getting into a 38°C outdoor thermal pool at Széchenyi while the air is -3°C is an experience that has no winter equivalent in most European cities. The steam billows. The cold air on your face while your body is entirely warm is a specific physical pleasure that people describe, consistently, as one of the highlights of their entire Budapest visit. And the December baths are less crowded than the summer baths: the tourist density drops significantly after October, which means you can actually move in the outdoor pools.

We went to Széchenyi on the morning of day two, booked in advance for a locker slot at 9 am. The outdoor pool courtyard at 9.30 am in December had perhaps thirty people in it. The temperature gauge read 38°C in the water, -2°C in the air. The steam was so dense that the baroque towers above the building were only intermittently visible. We stayed for three and a half hours.

Eating and drinking around the Christmas season

December is a good month for the Budapest restaurant scene. The city’s restaurants are busy with domestic visitors and pre-Christmas events, which means kitchens are fully staffed and the seasonal menu rotations are in full effect. Hungarian winter cooking — game dishes, smoked meats, winter vegetable soups, the deeper spice profiles of Christmas — is well-represented.

A specific recommendation: the roast goose tradition. Hungary has a Martinmas goose tradition (November 11th) that extends into the Christmas season — roast goose with red cabbage and potato dumplings appears on menus throughout December, and it is very good. Several mid-range restaurants in Districts V, VII and VIII do a version worth seeking out.

The seasonal Budapest guide covers December in more detail. The Christmas markets guide has the specific stall recommendations and current hours.

New Year’s Eve in Budapest

For visitors who time their visit to December 31st, Budapest’s New Year’s Eve programme centres on the embankment and the main squares, with fireworks over the Danube at midnight. The Chain Bridge area and the Pest embankment are the best viewing positions; the Parliament building and the castle district are illuminated and visible from the river.

The ruin bars run special events — tickets, higher minimum spend, often a live DJ or band — and sell out well in advance. Booking accommodation for December 30–January 1 in central Budapest requires several months’ lead time; the remaining options by October are usually overpriced or peripheral.

The thermal baths are open on New Year’s Day. This is worth knowing: a morning at Széchenyi on January 1st, when the city is recovering from the previous evening, is very quiet and specifically pleasant.

Other December options beyond the main markets

The Christmas season in Budapest extends beyond the two main markets. District VII has its own informal Christmas atmosphere: the ruin bars decorate their courtyards with lights (Szimpla’s Christmas version is particularly photogenic), and several small food markets appear on weekends through December. The Gozsdu Udvar, a covered passageway linking Kiraly utca to Dob utca, runs a small artisan market on December weekends.

Gellért Hill — the elevated park above the Buda side — has a specific December quality: the lookout point at the Citadella gives a 360-degree view over an illuminated city, and the walk up takes about thirty minutes from the Danube embankment. It is cold at the top, which is the point.

The Budapest in winter guide covers the full December to February programme in detail.

The December logistics

The crowds at Vörösmarty tér on a December Friday or Saturday evening are real — expect shoulder-to-shoulder at peak hours (7–9 pm on weekends). The practical solution is to go early in the day (the market opens at 10 am) or on a weekday evening when the crowd is manageable. Sunday afternoons are a middle option: the Sunday market atmosphere at Vörösmarty tér is slightly quieter than Friday evenings, and the light in early afternoon can be beautiful when the sky is clear.

The Basilica market is somewhat less crowded throughout, partly because it is slightly further from the main tourist corridor and partly because it is a newer addition to the market calendar and has not yet become the default destination for Budapest Christmas tourism.

Both markets are free to enter. All prices are in HUF — Hungary is not in the eurozone, so bring forints or use a card and choose to pay in HUF. The ceramic mulled wine cups at Vörösmarty tér require a 1,500 HUF deposit (returned when you return the cup, or kept as a souvenir — they are attractive enough to keep). At the Basilica market the cup format varies by stall.

The Budapest in winter guide and the best time to visit Budapest guide make the seasonal case more fully. For December specifically: the Christmas markets run until January 1st, the thermal baths are open year-round and are at their winter-experience best in November through February, and the accommodation prices are lower than in July and August for the same hotels.

Budapest in December is not the obvious choice. It turns out to be, for visitors who know what they are doing, one of the best choices in Central Europe. The combination of the markets, the winter baths, the dinner scene, the New Year’s Eve programme, and the lower crowd levels compared to summer is genuinely hard to match.