Budapest - is after Christmas a good time?

[redskydarknight]

Trying to organise a family break (myself, DH, 2 young adult children).

Budapest has come up as a destination that none of us have been to and everyone is interested in.

However, based on everyone's commitments it looks like the best time for us to go would be just after Christmas (say, leaving on 26th December).

Is this a good time to go? Will the Christmas markets/lights etc still be running? Will things be open? And how many days would we need?

I was looking for February half term and it seemed like it might be freezing- can only imagine how cold it might be in December! Not necessarily a problem but something to think about!

Dd went in mid January a couple of years ago and loved it. Yes it was cold but she was fine in a big coat, boots, hat etc. She said the weather was fabulous sunny and frosty so all the old buildings looked like something out of a fairy tale.
Obviously Christmas things weren’t on then but there is so much to see in Budapest that you won’t get around it in a few days.

We went between Christmas and New Year in 2019, our last trip before COVID halted travel for quite a long time for us. It was cold, probably day time high around 0, but it was sunny every day. We have beanies on in all the pictures, there was no snow on the ground during our visit. We flew out early morning of Dec 27th and home around 6pm on Dec 31st, but actually pretty much everything had been shut all day, could have flown home the day before and not missed anything. I think parliament was open in the morning, but we'd visited earlier in our trip, however all the museums were shut as it's a public holiday. There is easily enough to fill 3 days in the city, longer if you want to lounge in the thermal baths endlessly. Also chose your hotel wisely, we stayed in a central hotel with good reviews online, but there was a bar underneath and you could hear noise until like 3am.

My strongest recommendation would be to get some really good thermal underwear. The fold in Central Europe can be quite something we do not tend to experience here on the edge of the Gulf Stream.

Everyone living there will be wearing thermals and be must more comfortable outdoors because of it. And keep ears covered, too.

Enjoy.

Ooh I bet the hot spring spas will be amazing at that time of year! It’s a great place to visit OP.

26 Dec is a holiday there as far as I know. I would check opening hours for everything you might visit. We didn’t find Budapest as nice as Vienna (for example) and the museums were underwhelming. It’s cheap though and that’s a big attraction. Some areas still feel uncared for. I think most European Christmas markets end before Christmas. However I believe Budapest has some lasting longer but you need to check where they are. These two should be open but some food stalls are expensive. There’s some good blogs about them.

I have just booked for 3 days before Christmas and looking at my DD and I exploring the Christmas markets on a day; lounging in the thermal spa for a day, perhaps a boat trip on the Danube at night to see the buildings and lights.

Would love any hotel recommendations - or which part is good to stay in the city -

Has anyone booked to go to the Hungarian State Opera?

I went in early January and it was snowing but lovely. Had a great time, everything was open but I can't tell you if things shut in late December