Hungarians are great at partying and the last day of the year is a good opportunity to wind out in the capital. Many cafes, pubs offer buffet dinner and live music or disco.

New Year’s Eve Party on the Vénhajó (Kossuth Museum Ship).

No doubt the most romantic way of New Years celebration is on a ship on the Danube.

A 3 course dinner offering mouthwatering selection of Hungarian culinary delights by candlelight, unlimited consumption of drinks (beer, wines, soft drinks, tea and coffee) and a spectacular music and dance show guarantee a memorable New Year’s Eve party in Budapest.

Though the places in the main room (restaurant) have already been sold out there are a limited number of places left in the pub and the saloon, where after watching the performaces in the restaurant you can have just as wonderful time as you would have in the main room (by the way if you prefer less crowd then these two rooms are perfect for you to celebrate New Year’s Eve).

Click to read more about New Year’s Eve Party on the Vénhajó (Kossuth Museum Ship).

Program: starts at 19.00 at the Kossuth Museum Ship on Belgrád rakpart.

Welcome drinks warm up the guests.

Then at 20.00 starts the New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner.

At midnight champagne is served and you can enjoy more delicious food from the buffet.

Live Music Show, folklore program, and belly dancing provide for entertainment.

Price: 26 500 HUF/person

Book your New Year’s Eve Party on the Vénhajó here.

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Plaza-craze seems to continue in Budapest and in other Hungarian cities. Yesterday the capital’s largest shopping mall, Arena Plaza (Near Keleti Train Station, M2 metro line) opened at last though with 3-hour delay.

The delay was because the cleaning of the mall wasn’t finished in time.
Despite the expectations only a couple of hundreds people attended the long-awaited opening ceremony. And they were certainly disappointed beacuse most of the shops didn’t open or were busy filling up the shelves with their products.

The rain-soaked and cold mass couldn’t warm up inside the huge building because the heating system didn’t work properly not to mention the closed toilettes.

Hopefully the giant plaza will operate more smoothly than it did on its first day.

Many famous brands have shop in the Arena:

• Tommy Hillfiger,
• Ralph Lauren,
• Boss, Lacoste,
• H&M etc.

Some other trendy brands include: Zara, Pull and Bear, the Okaidi Children’s Clothes.

A handful of cafes and restaurants cater for the hungray shoppers.

Haagen Dazs known for its spremium ice creams has its first shop in Hungary here.

Also Tchibo opened its first specilaity coffee and retail shop offering new product range every 2 weeks.

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Looks like we tend to adapt and copy everythig that comes from the US, from giant fast-food chains to holidays. Here’s an interesting shop dressed in Halloween decoration on Andrássy út.

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More than 70 performances in different categories of contemporary art welcome culture lovers in Budapest and in other Hungarian towns. The Budapest Autumn Festival focuses on modern art introducing new artists and productions from around the world.

The festival has a very varied programme so that everyone will be able to find an interesting and exciting performance.

The aim of the festival is to bring art closer to people and the many different venues include the streets and squares of Budapest.

An intriguing programe for architecture and history lovers will be two guided city walks, both taking visitors to two hidden and lesser known spots within the capital:

1. the Kőbánya Brewery (13th Oct, 11.00, and 13.00)
2. Control room of the Kelenföld Power Plant (20th Oct, 11.00, and 13.00)

The two places cannot be visited by average tourists so this is a good opportunity to learn about these two industrial monuments’ history and the role they play in the life of the capital.

Other programs I selected include a whole day devoted to the legendary musician, Frank Zappa (100% Zappa, Millenáris Theatre 13th Oct), Russian Film Days (in Toldi and the Cirko-gejzír cinemas).

Various dance performances, music concerts, and exhibitions make Budapest Autumn Festival one of the cultural highlights of Europe during the 10 days.

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This May another gastronomic-beverage festival the Pálinka Festival enriched Budapest’s festival scene .

On the first weekend of October not only the aromatic fruity Hungarian spirits will be in the limelight but another Hungaricum, the sausage.

Famous salami and sausage brands such as Pick, Csabai sausage will offer a taste of their products in Buda Castle.

You can wash down the delicious snacks with a shot of fiery pálinka, a strong Hungarian spirit that contains all the aromas and essence of juicy fruits, apricot, plum, pear produced in the fertile Hungarian countryside.
Address: Castle District, Royal Palace, Savoya Terrace

Opening Hours: Fri: 12.00-02.00, Sat-Sun: 12.00-24.00

Admission: 1500 HUF, in which a tasting coupon of 500 HUF and a tasting glass are included

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