All posts in Opening Hours

Opening hours in Budapest at Xmas: markets, baths, etc.

Budapest Ice Skating Rink Christmas Opening Hours and New Year Opening times: a place not to be missed if you are visiting Budapest and love winter sports (yes, you can rent a pair of skates in the ice rink palace), if you are with children, or a couple who loves open air romantic things to do.

Skating Rink Budapest

Skating Rink Budapest – Csilla Moll Photography

Christmas Opening Hours

  • December 24: open from 10 am to 2 pm, closed in the afternoon
  • December 25: Open as usual
  • December 26: Open as usual

New Year Opening Hours

  • December 31: open from 10 am to 2 pm, closed in the afternoon
  • January 1: open from 4 pm to 8 pm, closed in the morning

In the Christmas holiday otherwise open every day as usual.

See more details about the Ice Rink in Budapest (Varosligeti Mujegpalya) at Budapest Outdoor Ice Rink:

  • opening hours
  • skate rental fees
  • entrance fees
  • slide park
  • etc.

Here is an in action skating video on Budapest Outdoor Ice Rink

Rudas Bath in winter

Is Rudas Bath, one of the most popular Turkish baths in Budapest, open during the Christmas holidays? Can you visit the thermal pools and enjoy the thermal and pool facilities? Yes, similarly to the major Budapest baths, Rudas Baths is open at Christmas and on New Year too, though the opening hours are somewhat shortened on the holidays.

Rudas Bath in winter

Rudas Bath in winter – Guillaume Baviere Photography

Many Budapest travel guides say that Budapest is quiet or dead at Christmas, but this is not true any more. The city is full of life and things to do!

Rudas Baths, just like Szechenyi Baths and Gellert Spa, is open throughout the Christmas holidays in Budapest. Most days Rudas Bath is mixed, but on weekdays outside the Christmas holidays Rudas Bath is either men only or women only! Rudas Bath Christmas holiday  opening hours:

Planned Christmas opening hours 2018

  • Dec 24: opening hours from 6am to 2pm (all the facilities in Rudas Baths are mixed on December 24, both men and women can visit Rudas Bath at Christmas)
  • Dec 25: Rudas Baths is closed
  • Dec 26: opening hours from 6am to 8pm (all pools and the thermal section with saunas, steam rooms, plunge pools, thermal pools in Rudas Baths)
  • Dec 31: open from 6 am to 6 pm. Enjoy some amazing days in Budapest in a stunning historical building (the old Turkish baths have been expanded with more modern pools and facilities of course)
  • Jan 1: Rudas bath is open from 12 pm (noon) to 6 pm. Visiting ‘the Rudas’  is a popular way to get over the New Year’s Eve party symptoms (hangover, stress of the new year, etc.), so the earlier you go there, the better the chance to enjoy a less crowded thermal bath

The opening times above have been basically the same at the Budapest Thermal Baths for the last ten years or so. If you are planning your Budapest Christmas trip for 2018, you can count on the baths staying open on the public holiday dates in December and January in Hungary.

Rudas Bath was one of the party scenes of the awesome Cinetrip parties.

Budapest gets quiet on Dec 24, but on Dec 25 and 26 the party life starts to come back to the usual busy ways.

Budapest Instant

Budapest Instant

In Instant Bar, one of the popular hip Budapest ruin bars, there will be a two day Christmas party called The Night of the Motherless, Part 1 on Dec 25 and Part 2 on Dec 26, 2012. Both parties are free, and will attract those who do not wish to spend all the Christmas holiday with the family, but want to leave some room for friends too.
As Instant bar is quite spacious, there are more venues with various options:

Mole Hall – The Adventures of Captain Chaos (KÁOSZ KAPITÁNY KALANDJAI) – LadieM & Kanada Káosz (from Rock&Roll to Electro)
Plafon Park – HITS BY HITS – Dj Zolee (Pop, Alternative, Rock, Disco, Indie, Brit Pop)
Opening Hours of Instant at Christmas

Dec 24: Closed
Dec 25: Party, opening from 4 pm
Dec 26 Party, opening from 4 pm

Budapest Basilica Christmas Midnight Mass

The biggest cathedral of Budapest, the St Stephen’s Basilica is one of the tenets of Christmas events in Budapest. In general, the masses / church services are held at 8:30am, 10am, 12pm (noon), and at 6pm in the Basilica of Budapest.

Budapest St Istvan Cathedral

Budapest St Istvan Cathedral

As you can expect, the Basilica has differing opening hours for tourists and for church goers. Please respect the church community during your visit.

Opening Hours of St Stephen’s Basilica, Budapest

December 24

  • 3pm-4pm Bethlehem: the story of Bethlehem will be enacted (traditional Hungarian custom to act out the Nativity play, which is called ‘betlehemezes’ in Hungarian)
  • 12am, Christmas midnight mass at St Stephen Basilica. The midnight mass is usually 1 hour, and not aimed at tourists, but of course, you are free to attend if you wish to visit the mass for itself.

December 25, du 1pm – 5pm. Fun fact: This is also a special day in Hungary as St Stephen was crowned the first Hungarian king on either Dec 25 1000, or Jan 1 in the year 1001 (the beginning of the new year in medieval documents may refer to both)

December 26 du 1pm – 5pm

The church is called Szt Istvan Bazilika in Hungarian (named after St Stephen, the first king of Hungary)

Budapest Basilica

Budapest Basilica – Neil Howard Photography

Budapest Opera Christmas - Ben G Hancock Photography

The Opera House in Budapest is not only open through the Christmas holidays, and giving opera and ballet performances. The traditional Nutcracker ballet performance in Budapest is a huge favorite of locals (and lucky tourists who can still get tickets for the shows).

Budapest Opera Christmas - Ben G Hancock Photography

Budapest Opera Christmas – Ben G Hancock Photography

The opening hours of the Budapest Opera during the winter holidays is as follows:
Dec 24  Nutcracker performance in the morning at 11am. No opera visits or tourist tours.
Dec 25 Closed for opera tours, open for the Nutcracker performance in the morning at 11am, and for the opera in the evening from 7pm, Puccini La Bohéme. No opera visits or tourist tours.
Dec 26 Opera tours in the afternoon as usual, open for the Nutcracker performance in the morning at 11am and in the evening from 6pm.
Dec 31 Opera tours in the afternoon as usual, open for the opera. Nutcracker from 11am, and in the evening from 8:30pm, The Bat / Die Fledermaus by Strauss, operetta in 3 acts with English subtitles.
Jan 1 Opera tours in the afternoon as usual, open for the New Year’s Concert performance from 7.30pm.

See the Budapest Opera Tours information in details on Top Budapest travel guide.