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Entertainment
Guide to Entertainment, Events and Nightlife in Budapest

Budapest has a tremendous range of world-class cultural entertainment on offer, and a growing number of more modern distractions as well. The city is quite simply endlessly entertaining... and the beauty of the venues alone can often warrant the admission.

Music and Opera

With its rich musical heritage and a passionate music-loving public, Budapest offers an excellent choice of venues and concerts throughout most of the year.

A quite remarkable range of orchestras and music companies are permanently located in the city. Most prominent among these are the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the Hungarian Chamber Orchestra. All offer international standard performances in various theatres and opera houses across the city.

Among the most impressive venues are the Zeneakademia (Franz Liszt Academy of Music) at Liszt Ferenc ter 8, Tel: +36 (06)1-342-0179 and the Magyar Allami Operahaz (Hungarian State Opera House) at Andrassy ut 22, Tel: +36 (06)1-353-0170.

There is a range of smaller venues as well that consistently offer excellent amateur and professional performances from both travelling and domestic companies. The best place to obtain classical concert tickets for all performances is the Publika Ticket Office at Karoly Krt 9, Tel: +36 (06)1-322-2010.

The main venue for rock and pop concerts is Petofi Csarnok at Zichy Mihaly ut 14, Tel: +36 (06)1-363-3730, while Matav Zenehaz at Pava utca 10-12, Tel: +36 (06)1-215-5770 plays host to some excellent jazz concerts. You'll also find jazz at local bars and pubs from time to time.

Theatre

Budapest has long had an appreciation of all the arts, and the theatre scene is almost as extensive as the city's excellent music programme. There are a number of small theatres in both sides of the city, many of them beautiful Art Deco gilded palaces.

You should check local listings for details of performances but they range from musicals to Shakespeare and modern Hungarian plays. In festival time you'll find plenty of folkish performances and even some international groups in the city. Most plays are in Hungarian but you will find some foreign language theatre listed from time to time.

The Merlin Theatre, Gerloczy ut 4 (Tel: +64 (06)1-318-9844), is Budapest's best-established venue for foreign-language performances. Classical and modern dramatic productions, including Shakespeare, are performed here in English and German, but other European languages have been represented in the past. You should check listings for details.
Nightlife

Since the downfall of Communism, Budapest has been partying hard and there is a growing number of clubs to choose from. The turnover is high and the circuit ever-moving but among the best currently are: Kaméleon Club II, Lövoház u 2-6, which plays commercial house in a lavish setting, Moulin Rouge IV, Nagymezo u 17 (Tel: +36 (06)1-202-0413) and the SOTE Klub at Nagyvarad ter 4 (Tel: +36 (06)1-215-2474).

There is also a stupendous amount of international bars - American, Australian and British dominate. These bars all stay open well into the small hours and usually offer music and revels in addition to food and drink. Check out the massive Australian Bar on Mátyás Király to catch up with globe-trotting antipodeans and European tourists.

You should take care while in Budapest. Do not follow anyone who promises to show you a good club or bar, similar to Prague there are plenty of establishments you're better off not going into.

Weekly magazines such as Scene and Pesi Est are a good source for up to date nightlife information.

Cinema

Many of the Western style shopping malls that Budapest is so fond of comprise cinemas within them. European and American offerings may be dubbed into Hungarian, and you should look out for the word feliratos, which means the film is subtitled rather than dubbed.

Westend's "Megaplex" offers multiple screens and modern facilities, and you're likely to find English language international blockbuster movies on offer all the time. Westend City Center, Utca Váci 1-3, Tel: +36 (06)1-336-5555. Muvesz at Terez krt 30, Tel: +36 (06)1-332-6726, often offers foreign (English) language movies.

Special Events

March
Budapest Spring Festival. For two weeks in mid-March, performances of everything from opera to ballet, and from classical music to drama, are held at all the major halls and theatres of Budapest. Simultaneously, temporary exhibitions open in many of Budapest's museums. Tickets are available at the Festival Ticket Service, V 1081 Raksczi zt 65, Tel: +36 (06)1-210-2795, and at individual venues.

June
A rich variety of open-air performances are given throughout Budapest from June to August. Highlights include opera and ballet at the Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre, folklore and dance at the Buda Park Theatre, musicals in Varosmajor Theatre, and classical music recitals in the Dominican Courtyard at the Hilton Hotel.

July-August
Budapest's largest church, St Stephen's Basilica, hosts organ concerts, from July to August of each year. The Matthias Church in the castle district likewise offers classical music performances over the summer months.

Summer Opera and Ballet Festival. This 10-day festival, which falls either in July or August, is the only chance to catch any performances at the wonderful Hungarian State Opera House during the summer season. Check listings for the exact programme.

International Palace Tournament, in Visegrad. Each summer on the second weekend in July, this town on the Danube Bend not too far from the capital hosts an authentic medieval festival, complete with duelling knights on horseback, minstrels music, and dance.

August
Formula One Grand Prix. The lucrative Grand Prix circus comes to town each August and hordes of race fans descend on Budapest as the world's finest drivers and manufacturers contest the Formula One championship at the Hungaroring.

St Stephen's Day. On August 20, Hungary's patron saint is celebrated with folk dancing and cultural events and a dramatic display of fireworks over the Danube.

September
Budapest International Fair, at HungExpo. For ten days in mid-September, the HungExpo grounds are filled with Europe's latest consumer goods.

Budapest's international wine fair is held on the first Tuesday in September. Hungarian wines go head-to-head with foreign stuff as connoisseurs and enthusiastic epicures sample wine and enjoy good food from all over the world.

September-October
Budapest Art Weeks. In celebration of the opening of the season, special classical music and dance performances are held for three weeks in all of the city's major halls. The festival's traditional start is September 25, the day of Bila Bartsk's death.

Contemporary Music Weeks. Held in conjunction with the Budapest Art Weeks, this three-week festival features performances of modern music in all the capital's major theatres and concert halls.

 

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