Városligeti műjégpálya

(don’t bother to pronounce it)

Opened in 1870, Central Europe’s oldest and largest ice rink is located in the heart of the city between the magical Vajdahunyad Castle and the famous Heroes’ Square. The open-air City Park Ice Rink is on the top 10 list of Lonely Planet as one of the best places in Europe in winter time. In the building of the ice rink you will find heated rooms where you can get changed and rent skates as well as eat or drink something hot.

The ice rink usually opens around mid-November, but it depends on the current weather every year, so we would suggest to look up the exact opening date beforehand.

Traditional Budapest Christmas markets

Budapest was voted the most affordable Christmas Market destination in Europe, so if you want to buy something unique for your loved ones, definitely visit the Budapest Christmas Fair and Winter Festival on Vörösmarty tér. The main Christmas Market of Budapest is about shopping for small traditional Hungarian handmade items as gifts, drinking mulled wine, eating Hungarian specialties (like hurka and kolbász) and pastries (like lángos and kürtőskalács), meeting with local people and other tourists, and listening to the lovely Christmas concerts on the stage of the market. The Budapest Christmas Fair and Winter Festival is a wonderland every year.

The Hungarian capital has a number of other fabulous markets with wonderful craft products, tasty local food and drinks as well as great programs – one of them not so far from Vörösmarty tér is actually in front of Saint Stephen’s Basilica.