Vorosmarty Square Christmas Market is the most popular of the Xmas markets in the city of Budapest, with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

See some of the photos of the 2012 Budapest Christmas Market here. It is downtown, beautiful, merry and special, a sensation indeed with its many concerts (on 2 stages), and about a hundred gift and food stalls. In 2012, the Christmas market will open on Nov 16. This is an early opening, before the Advent period, so the Xmas market will only reach its full beauty on the evening of November 30, 2012. This is the day when the Christmas city lights will be switched on by the mayor of Budapest, Istvan Tarlos (on Nov 30, 2012). The Budapest Christmas Market on Vorosmarty ter will be open until Dec 31, 2012. The market is open every day from 8 am to 8 pm, except for the Christmas holidays:

Opening hours of the 2012 Budapest Christmas Market, on Vorosmarty Square

• November 16 – December 23: 8am – 8pm
• December 24: 8am – 2pm
• December 25: Closed
• December 26: Closed
• December 27 – 31: 8am -8pm (NOTE: only the food and drink stalls are open after the Christmas holiday)
  
• Opening hours of the heated playhouse for kids: 2pm-6pm from Monday to Friday, 10am-1pm and 4pm-7pm on Saturday and Sunday from Nov 16 to Dec 23

True, if you are a shopping mall fan, Vorosmarty Christmas Fair may not be your style, but if you like traditional lovely things, and authentic places, come and enjoy the Christmas market with us. Just bring a warm coat and some warm boots. What will you see in 2012 at the Christmas fair on Vorosmarty ter? Let us guide you through.
The Christmas festival in Budapest is one of the best things to do in the capital of Hungary in December, even if you are not much of a Christmas gift shopper. We promise.

Foods and Drinks at the Vorosmarty Square Christmas Market

If you like trying local foods and drinks, you will get some decently priced nice dishes and traditional Hungarian pastries from the vendors at the Christmas market. You can see how the pastries are made, smell the wonderful spices of mulled wine or krampampuli (festive flaming drink, sweet and spicy), as well as Hungarian fruit brandies, which will surely keep you warm in the cold December of Budapest.

What should you try?

Drinks: mulled wine, krampampuli flaming drink, Hungarian spirits (Palinka), and Hungarian herbal bitters (Unicum)

Street Foods: langos (round flat snack with toppings), roasted chestnut, d0dolle (potato dumplings), sausages

Desserts & Sweets: kurtoskalacs (Chimney cake, a cinnamon pastry ideal for walking and nimbling), beigli (a rolled pastry with nuts or poppy seed cream), szaloncukor (traditional Hungarian Christmas candy, often covered with chocolate and put on the Christmas tree to entice)

Drinking mulled wine, local spirits to keep you warm while sitting by the wooden benches, and listening to the live music (folk music and Christmas songs), or walking about the hundred wooden stalls and little Xmas houses is part of a pleasant Christmas trip in a city, which lives and breathes, even in cold winter time, Budapest.

Map of Vorosmarty Square Christmas Market 2012

The square is small and cosy, but to give you an idea about the Christmas market on Vorosmarty tér, we are sharing the map of the fair with you. You can click on the map to zoom in.

Concerts at the Vorosmarty Square Christmas Market 2012

There are several concerts during Advent and Christmas in Budapest. Usually traditional music (classical and folk music), but you will definitely find more modern music in the city around Christmas time too: world music, hiphop, house, punk, metal, rock are always present in this cosmopolitan city with hundreds of clubs, bars, discos, etc. The other day we heard Edith Piaf sang by a Hungarian singer in a very nice rendition.

On Vorosmarty Square you will only hear folk music, world music or traditional Christmas songs from the dozens of Hungarian bands playing for free on the Christmas stage.

The bands playing at the fair will be enlisted in the annual Christmas programme put out on a board at the Christmas Market.

Kids love dancing to the lively folk music, which is really fun if you are visiting the Budapest Christmas Market with your children. (Of course some adults also join the dance troupe).

Gifts at the Vorosmarty Square Christmas Market 2012

Quality hand made crafts are abundant, whether you are looking for small gifts or unique high quality Christmas presents: jewellery, shoes, bags, mugs, plates, clothes, toys, etc. are all on the stalls. But how do we know that they are of good quality? Only vendors well rated by the Hungarian Folk Association can sell their goods and gifts on the Christmas market on Vorosmarty ter. No kitchy plastic souvenirs, no led lit cheap gifts, no lame wise cracks on T-shirts.

There is also a guest town selling its traditional and authentic goods at the Budapest Christmas market on Vorosmarty ter. The guest town in 2012 is Kalocsa, which is famous for its colorful and rich Hungarian embroidery, so you can buy gifts like traditional Hungarian tablecloths, kitchen towels, garments, etc. decorated with the folk motifs of Kalocsa. Kalocsa is also famous for its Hungarian paprika (the best Hungarian paprika comes from Szeged and Kalocsa).

Christmas Light Painting at the Vorosmarty Square Christmas Market 2012

The 14th Christmas Market on Vorosmarty Square will feature light painting: from November 30 till December 23, the facade of the Cafe Gerbeaud, a 19th century cafe and pastry shop on Vorosmarty Square, will be painted in the evenings with light rays.

When will be the light painting show on Vorosmarty Square at the Budapest Christmas Market?

In a given period within the Christmas market, every day, after sunset, at the following hours:

• 5pm on November 30 to December 23, 2012
• 6pm on November 30 to December 23, 2012
• 7pm on November 30 to December 23, 2012
• 8pm on November 30 to December 23, 2012

Wifi at Budapest Christmas Market on Vorosmarty ter 2012

The Christmas fair on Vörösmarty tér is not only free, but there is free wifi too.

Prices at the Budapest Christmas Market 2012

Mulled wines go by mostly HUF 250 per dl, which is really cheap and nice. You can buy mulled wine in a plastic cup or in the official annual mug of the Budapest Christmas market (there is a small fee for the mug, in 2012 the price of the Budapest Christmas mug is HUF 600). The Christmas mug is a nice souvenir, you can choose from 2 colors and 3 designs in 2012. Mulled wine  is also sold in plastic cups, but it is so much better to take a mug around, isn’t it?

Szamos also sells mulled wine, which we liked a lot (their Szamos marzipan and mulled wine stall is at the corner of Vaci street, right of the Xmas stage).

The Christmas fair on Vorosmarty ter is organised by the official Budapest Tourism office, its website is budapestinfo.hu: