Budapest City Guide

When to visit Budapest

Budapest averages 2000 hours of sunshine a year, among the highest in Europe, providing many opportunities to visit Budapest in reasonably fine weather and avoid the madness and expense of Europe's high season. Both spring and autumn are glorious in Budapest, with plenty to see and do, and the winter cold doesn't really hit until mid-December when many museums and tourist sights close. Often, even in winter there are spectacular blue skies.

During Budapest's (usually) very long and very hot summer, what are called kertek, literally 'gardens' but in Budapest any outdoor spot that has been converted into an entertainment zone, have been emptying out even the most popular indoor bars and clubs since 1999. Venues and locations change frequently; for a definitive list the best single source of information is the Pestiside website (www.pestiside.hu).

Weather

Weather in Budapest

Budapest has a temperate, transitional climate - somewhere between the mild, rainy weather of Transdanubia, protected by the Alps to the west, and the harsh, variable climate of the flat and open Great Plain to the east. The Budapest spring arrives in early April and usually ends in showers. Summer can be very hot and humid. It rains for most of November and doesn't usually get cold until mid-December. Winter is relatively short, often cloudy and damp but sometimes brilliantly sunny. What little snow the city gets usually disappears after a few days. January is the coldest month (with the temperature averaging -2°C/28°F) and August the hottest (21°C/70°F - although summers can get much hotter than this average). The number of hours of sunshine a year averages just over 2000, among the highest in Europe; from April to the end of September, you can expect the sun to shine for about 10 hours a day.

Events in Budapest

Budapest is a cultural mecca and has a long tradition of celebrating its chequered history; each of the four seasons has its own festivals. Budapesti Búcsú (June) is a fervent rock and pop festival held at several open-air venues around Budapest and celebrates the last Russian soldiers' departure from Hungary in 1991. September's International Wine and Champagne Festival is held in the Castle District. By far the capital's largest (200 events at 60 venues) and most important cultural festival is the Budapest Spring Festival, occurring in March at venues throughout the city.

If the classics are not your thing, join the frenzied throng the 'Sziget' Music Festival. Held on the site of an old disused shipyard on Óbuda Island, this is where you'll find central Europe's highest concentration of moshing and doofing. Hungary's premier sporting event is the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix, held in mid-August each year.