10 Things to Do in Budapest in October

October is known as the month when autumn is at its peak. It’s a season packed with activities, such as deer-watching tours and international-style tours of the Central Market.

It’s also a month in which we commemorate the people’s revolution against the conservative regime of the Soviet Union, an event remembered every 23 October. Let’s see what this month has in store for us.

At the beginning of October, Oktoberfest takes place, an exciting festival full of fun. The event features contemporary music performances, theatre and dance, exhibitions, city tours, literary events, workshops and markets. In other words, it is a massive event. Highlights include an exhibition of vintage photos depicting the city’s past and present.

Over 100 national and international breweries take part in the festival, alongside various Budapest restaurants, leaving visitors with plenty of options to choose from. Admission is free; however, food and drink purchases and participation in some activities require a ticket. For more information, visit the event website.

And if you want to experience Oktoberfest in style, I recommend booking a ruin pub party tour, as many venues celebrate this international event in their own unique way.

23 October is a Hungarian national holiday commemorating the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and is marked by a series of national events. These range from free exhibitions to an open day at some of the city’s most important buildings. For this day, I recommend booking a guided tour of the Hungarian Parliament. It’s the perfect occasion!

This holiday commemorates the date on which the Hungarians began to rise up against Soviet occupation, a bloody struggle for freedom lasting several weeks in which thousands of people died. In the end, in early November, the revolution was crushed and Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest.

Despite this, the 1956 revolution is a significant event in Hungarian history and a major milestone for Budapest; hence, however sad the cause may seem, the celebration is a joyful affair.

The Contemporary Art Festival is an event that takes place at various venues across the city (theatres, cinemas and galleries) and is held in early October.

From contemporary music to theatre premieres, from folk music and jazz to dance and visual art. For two weeks, you can enjoy a series of events organised in cooperation with Müpa Budapest, the Budapest Tourist Centre and the Hungarian Tourism Agency.

The places that take centre stage at this time of year are:

• The Jewish Quarter, so a tour of the area would be highly recommended at this time of year.
• Sissi’s Palace, so this is the perfect time to book a guided tour of Gödöllő Palace.

This Sausage and Pálinka Festival takes place in early October at Buda Castle itself. It’s the perfect outing for fans of good food and drink and authentic folklore. In fact, the combination of pálinka and sausages is a staple of Hungarian culture.

Over the three days of the festival, more than twenty pálinka distilleries join in with their finest products. In Budapest, it’s sometimes hard to separate music from food – so your ears get a treat too!

A tip: if the festival has lived up to your expectations and you’re keen to delve deeper into this traditional spirit, don’t hesitate to book a guided tour of the Pálinka Museum, where you can learn all the details first-hand, as well as enjoy a tasting.

Music concerts, premieres, legendary ensembles and young talents. All this makes up what is known as the Liszt Fest International Cultural Festival! It lasts for two weeks, from the second to the fourth week of October, and, in addition to classical music concerts, the programme also features opera and dance performances, industry conferences, organ recitals and evenings of contemporary music, alongside jazz, international and regional music performances.

The venue varies considerably, so it’s best to visit the Festival’s website for further details. That said, the main venues include the grand Esztergom Basilica and the Svábhegy Observatory area.

To round off this itinerary, which is perfect for both music lovers and those who simply enjoy a good time, I recommend booking tickets for the organ concert at St Stephen’s Basilica.

In mid-October, the Chimney Cake Festival takes place, a fun and creative event. Here you can learn all about chimney cake, a very popular traditional Hungarian pastry. The festival offers a wide variety of chimney cakes, cooked over charcoal or fried in oil, plain or rolled with various fillings. If you’re looking for a food tour of Budapest, you could start with this one.

You can sample dozens of varieties of this cake and enjoy a stroll through City Park, the venue for the celebrations, with activities for everyone. There will also be drawing competitions for children, magic shows, baking competitions and plenty of live music. For more information on times and prices, visit the event website.

During the second week of October, you can enjoy the best of Budapest’s cuisine at very reasonable prices, not to mention special offers. During this period, you can enjoy a set-price meal at the city’s best restaurants.

There will generally be an exclusive three-course menu. Half of the participating restaurants offer their menus for just 3,900 HUF (approx. €13), whilst the other half offer premium menus for 4,900 HUF (approx. €16) and exclusive menus for 5,900 HUF (approx. €19).

The service charge is always included in the menu price. Restaurants serving premium or exclusive set menus are marked with a red ‘DiningCity Star’ icon (you can find this icon in the list of restaurants on the Restaurant Week website). Bookings for Restaurant Week can only be made via the event page.

The Central Market Hall is an event held at the Central Market, Budapest’s largest indoor market, with the aim of showcasing products from different countries; we could call it a major cultural exchange event. This seven-day event takes place in mid-October.

Generally, the Central Market focuses on typical Hungarian products:

• The ground floor is the food hall, with stalls selling everything from fresh vegetables, Hungarian sausages and Hungarian paprika to Hungarian wines.
• The second floor is filled with stalls selling souvenirs and traditional Hungarian embroidery.

The only difference is that, with this event, there will be space for every country that wishes to take part. Each stall will have a flag to help identify the origin of each product.

With the arrival of October (sometimes even as early as late September), the authorities at Pilis Park Forest organise tours at five separate locations, including Budakeszi Wildlife Park, Szentendre and Gödöllő, so that visitors can hear the bellowing and witness the beauty of the deer, as autumn is the season when these creatures are most visible.

If you’re a fan of these animals and want to see them up close in their natural habitat, you can’t miss this event. The tours usually start at 5.30 pm. For more information, prices…

Art Market Budapest, held in the second week of October, is an art exhibition and fair aimed at raising awareness of contemporary art and artists from Central and Eastern Europe. Art Market and its programmes are designed to help bring the public and artists closer together. In addition to the exhibition, special programmes and art presentations help highlight the uniqueness of art in Central and Eastern Europe.

Art Market Budapest will take place at Millenáris, an ‘Europa Nostra’ award-winning complex and one of the best-equipped cultural centres in Central and Eastern Europe. Art Market Budapest coincides with Budapest Art Week, during which there will be a series of events, programmes and workshops related to art and culture. For more information, visit the event website.

Autumn in Budapest brings cool weather and cloudy days, with occasional showers. Sunrise is around 6.30 am and sunset around 5.30 pm. It gets colder as the month progresses, and even more so as November approaches.

The average temperature is around 16°C, with afternoon highs of 19°C. You can expect cooler weather at night, with an average low of just 7°C. So if you’re looking to go skiing, it’s best to visit the city in December or January. On the other hand, there is slightly less sunshine compared to previous months. However, you will still have at least ten hours of daylight to explore the city. Rainfall has decreased compared to September, dropping to 60 millimetres over 12 days of the month.

As autumn is in full swing, the days get progressively shorter throughout the month. 1 October is the longest day with 11 hours and 40 minutes of daylight, whilst 31 October is the shortest with 10 hours of daylight.

Budapest in autumn is similar to most European cities; the temperature fluctuates from cool and pleasant during the day to cold at night. It is advisable to pack warm clothing, including light jumpers, leather jackets, waterproof jackets, scarves and gloves (especially if you are sensitive to the cold). Ankle-high walking boots will also come in handy.

Yes, it is a month with fewer visitors than you would see if you were to visit the city in summer. Whilst it is true that there are fewer festive events, you will still be able to enjoy a wide range of local and artistic events.

The high temperatures of the summer months drop somewhat in October, but early October is still a perfect time to take a trip to Budapest and go on day trips from Budapest. Both average daytime and night-time temperatures fall over the course of the month.