Summer 2025 Events in Budapest – Festivals, Food, Wine, and Much More Summer Fun
Top Things to Do in Budapest Summer 2025
Summer brings some of the biggest events of the year to Budapest – major festivals and outdoor concerts pepper the summer calendar, and outdoor hangouts are open for business. Locals laze about on Margaret Island and enjoy some wine or beer on the shores of the Danube, with the Budapest skyline for a picturesque backdrop. Our picks for the top things to do in Budapest this summer cover the gamut of music festivals, special events and the best ways to enjoy the urban outdoors.
Take a Tour with Insight Cities
Summertime may be one of the best times to visit Budapest, and if it’s your first time, why not get an overview of this magnificent city on the Danube with a local guide? Our Downtown Pest tour takes you to all the main sites on the Pest side of the river, including the iconic Parliament and grand Liberty Square, with your guide giving context to each landmark’s historic and cultural significance. Besides their depth of knowledge, our guides are fantastic storytellers who bring Hungary’s history to life, helping you grasp Budapest’s multicultural past as well as the complex politics of the present day. Summer is peak season, so contact us today to book your guide before they’re gone!
Festivals
Margaret Island Summer Festival – various dates, June through August 2025
Based on Margaret Island, a popular summer hangout for locals and visitors alike, this festival brings classical music and theater into the open air at Margaret Island’s open-air stage. Acting as the primary cultural venue when most theatres in the city are closed, the open-air stage has hosted renowned performers from all over Europe. The program this summer includes jazz singer-songwriter Greg Porter on May 7, a performance from the Hungarian Philharmonic on June 3, and a ballet interpreting the life and work of fashion designer icon Coco Chanel on July 11.
Kolorado Festival – July 2 to 5, 2025
Now in its tenth year, Kolorado has quickly become Hungary’s (and possibly Central Europe’s) leading alternative urban festival. Staged in the magical Buda Hills, outside the city walls, the festival is the brainchild of some of the leading local artists and musicians. The festival showcases some big international names from across Europe, ably supported by local acts, and the entertainment on offer goes across genres and styles. The festival supports ideas of community, culture, and an opposition to the commercialization of the arts.
Bánkitó Festival – July 9 to 12, 2025
Held in a small town an hour outside Budapest, this music, theater and arts festival focuses on local communities and up-and-coming contemporary musicians, artists, playwrights and performers. In keeping with their mission of promoting community-focused values, the Bánkitó Festival primarily spotlights Hungarian artists, so this festival serves as a peek into the future of contemporary Hungarian culture. Headlining musicians include 30Y, Carson Coma, Analog Balaton, Elefánt, Co Lee among others.
Katlan Festival – July 11 to 14, 2025
This fast-growing electronic music festival is held at a spectacular one-of-a-kind location: a cave in the Quarry of Tárnok, just 30 minutes outside Budapest. Electronic music fans of all stripes will find musicians and DJ sets to dance the night away to. This year, headliners include Berlin-based techno DJ Kobosil, Afem Syko, and French DJ Cassie Raptor.
Sziget Festival – August 6th to 11th, 2025
Sziget (or Island) Festival is Budapest’s big-ticket entry to the festival hall of fame. In the same league as Exit, Glastonbury and Roskilde, with hundreds of thousands of visitors, Sziget is different because it takes place right in the heart of the city. With headliners including pop upstarts Chappell Roan and Charli xcx, as well as mainstays Nelly Furtado and Papa Roach, it doesn’t get bigger than this. Accommodation in the city during Sziget fills up fast, so book well in advance.
Music
Hey, June! at MUPA Budapest – June 7 to 13, 2025
Müpa Budapest welcomes the onset of summer with an eclectic series of concerts, with a contemporary focus. This year’s program opens with Hungarian hip-hop pioneer Co Lee, with a folk musician duo playing Hungarian classics, and closing with up-and-coming act Mehringer. Some concerts are already sold out, so get your tickets fast!
Budapest Wagner Days – June 6 to 30, 2025
This concert series celebrates the influential composer Richard Wagner, with a different selection of works spotlighted every year. This year the opera Tannhäuser, about a minstrel who gets entangled in romances both heavenly and profane, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, his sole comic opera, will be performed, along with a selection of Wagner’s most notable arias.
Food and Drink
Wine Lovers River Night – July 25, 2025
Cruise on the Danube with a sampling of up to 50 wines from 14 Hungarian wineries, drinking in the magnificent river views as the sun sets on the city. Tickets are limited so make sure to book your spot early!
‘Jazz & Wine Picnic’ At Paloznak Near Balaton, July 31 – August 2, 2025
Make a day trip to Lake Balaton, Hungary’s largest, most stunning lake, for some good music and excellent food and wine. The program features top contemporary acts from Hungary and around Europe, with Saz and Lukas Graham headlining. Sample Hungarian specialties and international favorites from the dozens of vendors gathering for this special summer event. For help arranging a private transfer, get in touch with us at info@insightcities.com.
Street Food Karavan Budapest – Open Daily
The latest addition to Kazinczy utca’s collection of Budapest’s hottest places to be seen at, Karavan is part food court and part hipster hangout. The alley is reminiscent of Prague’s excellent Manifesto Market, and ticks all the right boxes. The food, as in most of Budapest, is pretty special (the warm spring and summer really result in great-tasting vegetables), and you can’t go wrong at any of the stalls. Make a visit to Karavan, part of the perfect night on the town, and once you’re done, roam the street and simply pick from the ample choice on offer.
Street of Hungarian Flavors – August 18 – 20, 2025
Held around the same time as Hungary’s biggest national holiday, this food festival celebrates traditional Hungarian cuisine of all types. Among dozens of other dishes, you’ll find local favorites such as goulash, stuffed cabbage, chimney cakes, and pretzels. The time of year is also when bread is made from the first harvested grains of wheat from the season, with a bread-baking contest added to the festivities. The top event is the chance to taste Hungary’s “birthday cake,” which is selected from a cake-making competition and served to long lines of festivalgoers. Last year’s winner was a gluten-free poppy-blackcurrant confection, but it’s anyone’s guess what this year’s winning flavor will be.
Sport
The Hungarian Grand Prix – August 1–3, 2025
We don’t usually recommend sporting spectacles, but when the spectacle is the Hungarian Grand Prix – the first Formula 1 race to be held behind the Iron Curtain – we can’t help but marvel at its continuing significance to the Hungarian nation. Held at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, just outside Budapest, the Grand Prix is the only race in the region and tickets are surprisingly affordable. So, if fast cars are your thing, you know where to be on the first weekend of August.
Art and Culture
Night of the Museums – June 21, 2025
Budapest’s version of the Night of (not just) the Museums goes on until 2:30 AM and during the Midsummer weekend. With over 50 different choices, ranging from the classicist National Gallery to the quirky Electrotechnical Museum, making a choice is often tricky. But the city will help you get from one place to another, with specially commissioned bus and tram lines, allowing you to make full use of your night.
Festival of Folk Arts – around August 20, 2025
The Buda Royal Palace celebrates the art and work of skilled artisans and folk artists, including calligraphers, woodcarvers, musicians, and jewelers. Each year features a special guest — in 2024, that guest was Turkey, and we eagerly await for the announcement of this year’s guest. Coinciding with St. Stephen’s Day, the festival puts a special emphasis on traditional Hungarian folk arts.
Special Events
International Palace Games of Visegrad – July 11 – 13, 2025
This international medieval festival, in commemoration of the famous royal meeting in Visegrad in 1335, celebrates international cooperation among the Visegrad 4 countries and beyond. The weekend kicks off with a royal parade and features knights’ tournaments with competitors hailing from throughout Central Europe. Falconry demonstrations, music, and other medieval entertainment give something for anyone interested in historical recreations, reenactments and revitalization something to enjoy.
St. Stephen’s Day – August 20, 2025
The biggest national holiday of Hungary, which celebrates the country’s patron saint, offers many – mostly free – programs ranging from an Air Show over the Danube, a foodie festival called Street Of Hungarian Flavours, free concerts at various locations. The day includes an annual Blessing of the Bread under the St. Stephen statue at Buda Castle, which symbolizes the hope for a good harvest, and ends with an amazing Fireworks Show starting at 9:00 PM.
Exhibitions
Frequently Asked Questions at Ludwig Museum – until June 29, 2025
This educational exhibition takes contemporary art and answers the questions that accompany such art, as well as the questions artists themselves raise through their work. Various methodologies, media and exercises are presented alongside each work, encouraging audiences to think like artists as they move through the exhibition. About 40 international artists are participating.
Listen: A Musical Journey Around the World at the Budapest House of Music – until July 15, 2025
Featuring films shot in over 30 countries showcasing more than 100 performers, LISTEN celebrates the musical diversity of humanity, capturing milestone moments universal across cultures but taking on different sounds and character. In addition to film, the exhibition makes use of installations, physical objects, and other tools to immerse visitors into the stories these performances tell, and help them listen.
Master MS and His Times at the Museum of Fine Arts – until July 20, 2025
Active during the 16th century, Hungarian artist Master MS remains a mysterious figure in the art world – he may have even been a pseudonym for multiple artists. This exhibition delves deeper into his works, examining the styles that may have influenced him, and the environment in which he worked, with new evidence since the last major exhibition on him 25 years ago. His seven panel paintings that adorned the high altar (1506) in the Church of Saint Catherine in Selmecbánya, which exemplify Gothic art, are on display, along with other notable works.
Summer Hangouts
Margaret Island
Located on the Danube, right between the most bustling parts of Buda and Pest, Margaret Island is a lush oasis that serves as the perfect summertime escape for locals and visitors. The single-hectare island features sprawling green spaces, a musical fountain, an open-air thermal bath, and a medieval monastery. Jogging tracks, bike rentals, and scenic picnic spots allow for many ways to get some R&R.
Thermal Baths – Open Daily
The lore of Budapest’s thermal baths have spread far and wide, and millions of tourists seek out their healing waters, each year. In the summer, the baths take on a new look and feel, as the focus shifts outside. As always, our recommendation is the Gellert Spa at the Hotel Gellert in Old Buda. Our pick would be to hit the wave pools in the outdoor baths and finish a visit to the complex, with a meal at one of the hotel’s fine restaurants. Perfect for some family fun!
Gellért Hill
Gellért Hill offers breathtaking panoramic views of Budapest, making it a must-visit spot, especially at sunset. Home to the Citadel and Liberty Statue, the hill is ideal for scenic hikes. Natural caves, including the Cave Church, add intrigue to the scenery. It’s a great place to unwind while taking in the city’s beauty.
A visit to the intricate Art Nouveau Gellert Complex is the perfect segue into Insight Budapest’s Art Nouveau tour, which showcases Budapest’s distinctive signature “Hungarian Secession” style, and provides an introduction to the works of the Hungarian masters. With your expert guide, you’ll learn how to recognize the Hungarian Secession style, the symbols and motifs architects often used, and some of the most notable landmarks of the unique style: from Gresham Palace to the Royal Postal Savings Bank.
Want to learn more about the people and events that made Budapest the city it is today? Contact us today to arrange the perfect tour for you, before our guides get booked up this summer season!