Autumn Events in Budapest: Music, Art, Film Events and More in 2024

Romantic sunrise scene at Buda district with bench, lamp post, autumn foliage, Szechenyi Chain Bridge and Parliament at background

Given its location in the southern heart of Europe, Budapest experiences a longer summer than many of its neighboring capitals, making fall the perfect season to visit Hungary’s Pearl on the Danube. With a number of different cultural and culinary happenings on offer, including new theatrical premieres, music festivals, wine-tastings and art exhibitions, we highly recommend a trip to Budapest in autumn.

tour guide explaining something to guests

Take a Tour with Insight Cities

Insight Cities’ Downtown Pest Tour can act as a perfect introduction to the complexity of Budapest, with stops outside the magnificent Parliament building, St. Stephen’s Basilica, and Heroes’ Square. Along the way, your local expert guide will help you grasp Pest, the financial and cultural center of Hungary, where construction boomed after the city gained prominence as the second capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Signs of that momentous 19th-century rise are everywhere to be found on this city tour, in sweeping river promenades, art nouveau facades, grand squares, and boulevards. Your historian guide will also make sure to help you explore the impact of Pest’s 20th-century tragedies, from the devastating genocide of its Jewish citizens in the Holocaust to the decades of suppression behind the Iron Curtain. You’ll conclude with a whole new appreciation for this sophisticated modern capital, a city often at odds with the trends of contemporary Hungarian politics.

Fall Art and Culture events in Budapest

A black-and-white photo showing a man accepting an award on stage at a Film Society convention in 1979 — Photo by Alan Light, via Wikimedia Commons

Budapest Classics Film Marathon — September 17th to 22nd, 2024

Run by the National Film Institute of Hungary since 2017, the Budapest Classics Film Marathon offers a selection of domestic and international films on the big screen. Its seventh year is celebrating the 110th year of Hungarian animation, featuring screenings of Hugo the Hippo and films by Hungarian-born animator and science-fiction director George Pal. With English subtitles on many entries (check the program), this wonderful film festival should definitely be on your list of fall things to do in Budapest.

International Book Festival Budapest — September 26th to 29th, 2024

The International Book festival Budapest brings together writers, poets, and readers for the 29th year in 2024. Readings, panel discussions, and book signings celebrate the art of the word in many languages. This year’s guest of honor is Icelandic author Jón Kalman Stefánsson, who will be awarded the Budapest Grand Prize, and French literature will be the focus. Contemporary French authors who will attend this year’s edition include Pierre Assouline, Arnaud Dudek, Didier Eribon, Maylis de Kerangal, Marie-Aude Murail, Pascale Robert-Diard, and Zanzim, whose work have also been translated into Hungarian.

Art Market Budapest — October 17th to 20th, 2024

Established in 2011, the Art Market has quickly come to hold its own as the leading fall art event in Budapest and the region. With exhibitors from over 40 countries showcasing the latest trends and designs in contemporary art, as well as smaller, more intimate local showcases, the Art Market is a must for art lovers. Entry is free and the lines grow longer as the day goes on. So, our advice would be head to the Millenaris Park when the doors open at 11:00 A.M.

For a more artistic view of Budapest, we highly recommend taking Insight Cities’ Budapest’s Art Nouveau Tour. Focused on the influential architectural and design movement, our tour provides commentary on Budapest’s distinctive and elegant Art Nouveau construction and shows you the finest examples of this specific style, among them buildings designed by the founding father of Hungarian Secession, Ödön Lechner, also known as the Gaudi of Hungary. Our expert guide will clue in about the many hidden meanings in the designs and concepts that fueled the movement. besides Lechner’s Postal Savings Bank with its Orientalist roofs, you’ll visit the interorior of the glorious Gresham Palace, today Budapest’s most luxurious hotel.

Music Events

Liszt Fest International Cultural Festival — October 9th to 22nd, 2024

Launched in 2021, Liszt Fest is a newer entry into the Hungarian cultural calendar. In addition to performances of Liszt’s works, Liszt Fest showcases contemporary musicians, artists and performers pushing the boundaries of music and performance today. Highlights of this year’s festival include a rendition of Liszt’s “The Legend of St. Elizabeth” and a concert by legendary DJ Jeff Mills.

Bridging Europe Festival — September 16th to 22nd, 2024

Bridging Europe features cultural events meant to connect the various countries and people of Europe together. Classical and contemporary concerts, film screenings featuring artists from the year’s featured country, as well as Hungary, are the bulk of the program. This year, Hungary takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union, which rotates among member countries every year, and this festival places this role front and center with its choice of Brussels as the year’s Bridge Capital.

Theater and Dance

Recirquel: Solus Amor at Müpa Budapest, running September 11th to November 27th, 2024

This production, put on by Hungary’s leading contemporary circus company, Recirquel, takes you on a unique theatrical journey. Solus amour employs its special technique of “cirque danse,” which combines elements of dance and acrobatics to fully utilize the human capacity to express themselves through motion. This production also features a mythical bear puppet, controlled by trained dancers, adding a third theatrical dimension to the story.

The National Dance Theatre in Budapest, Hungary, at night, with lights glowing out the large glass windows

Budapest Ballet Grand Prix — November 18th to 22nd, 2024

Last autumn, the Hungarian Dance University put on a new dance competition to promote the art of ballet and support new dancers looking to break into the professional dance scene. Now in its second year, the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix gives young up-and-coming dancers the chance to show off their skills for scholarship and career opportunities. And the competition is wholly open to the public! For those looking for fabulous things do this fall in Budapest, tickets for the final round are sure to sell out fast.

Exhibitions

Reversed Objects — September 6 to November 24, 2024

Craft is making a comeback in contemporary art, with traditional techniques being incorporated into the finer, so-called “high” arts. This exhibition at the Ludwig Museum displays objects from all across the artistic spectrum, from fine arts to ethnography to craftsmanship. While Reversed Objects is an international exhibition, Hungarian artists and craftspeople take center stage.

Image of the Museum Ludwig building in Budapest, Hungary, at night, with purple lights.

Time Machine — now through January 2025

This exhibition at the Ludwig Museum, soon to close at the start of 2025, explores the idea of art as a time machine, with exemplary works meditating on various views of the past, present, and future. The main focus is on the last century, with most of the featured pieces a product of the turbulent attempts at progress, erasure, displacement and moving on during this period, with some contemporary art as well.

Special Events

A black-and-white photograph from 1956 showing the Hungarian flag with a hole in it waving above some tanks in front of a large building in Budapest, Hungary. — The hole in the Hungarian flag has become a symbol of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Photo from The American Hungarian Federation, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

Commemoration of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 — Oct 23rd, 2024

Each fall in Budapest, on October 23rd, thousands of residents flock to the streets to commemorate the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. The celebrations are spread over two days, and actually start on October 22nd, with various processions and memorial ceremonies organized across the city. On October 23rd, the major commemorations begin outside Parliament on Kossuth Square in the morning, followed by the lighting of candles at the House of Terror Museum in the afternoon. The Hungarian Parliament and the House of Terror Museum will both be open to the public to visit, for free. In addition, a number of concerts are also planned across the city in the evening.

As October 23rd is a public holiday in Hungary, many shops, restaurants, and public institutions are closed this day, so plan accordingly. Of course, most museums are open and thermal baths open according to a weekend schedule.

St. Martin’s Day – November 11th, 2024

St. Martin’s Day may be observed throughout Central Europe, including the Czech Republic and Austria, but it is especially prominent in Hungary, given St. Martin’s alleged local origins. Celebrated with new wine and roast goose, the city decks up for St. Martin’s Day, with every major restaurant and venue showcasing a special menu for the holiday period. Our favorite is the wine festival at the magnificent Art Deco Hotel Gellert, in Buda. While you’re there, don’t forget to take a dip in the wonderfully ornate spas that make up part of the hotel complex.

Food and Drink

Bottles of Tokaji wine for sale in Budapest central market, Budapest, Hungary

Budapest Wine Festival — September 12th to 15th, 2024

Buda Castle makes for a magnificent venue for the Budapest Wine Festival, a celebration of wines both near and far. While Hungarian wineries always take center stage, the Budapest Wine Festival also features a guest country each year. The 2024 edition hosts Georgia, which produces exquisite wines of its own, as well as unique cuisine to pair it with. Be sure to sample some of the award-winning wines from local wineries Royal Tokaj and Teleki.

Want to get even more out of your trip to Budapest? Contact us at Insight Cities and we can organize a tour with an expert local guide on the history of the city, from its growth into an Imperial capital through the turbulent 20thcentury to its status today. We’re happy to help arrange the perfect tour for you.