A handy traffic and program guide for the August 20 long-weekend in Budapest

As the annual State Founding (August 20, Monday) celebrations commence, Index warns that the Hungarian capital city’s public transportation will undergo considerable changes: several roads and bridges will be closed. In this handy guide, we will present some of the major programs happening in Budapest and some tips on how to avoid a chaotic journey over the city.

Programs and the firework

Several concerts, fairs and other programs will be organised over the weekend in Budapest.

Between August 17^th-20^th

• The Street of Hungarian Flavours at the Castle Garden Bazaar (18^th-19^th: 10:00-00:00, 20^th: 10:00-22:00), where you can try this year’s Cake of Hungary, the Little Girl from Komárom.
• The Festival of Folk Arts will take place at the Buda Castle at 10:00-23:00 on August 17^th-19^th, while on August 20 from 10:00 until 21:00.

Sunday

• On Sunday evening, famous Hungarian bands (including Anna and the Barbies, the singer of which was attacked recently) will give concerts at the Castle Garden Bazaar and at the Buda end of Elizabeth bridge, near the Szent Gellért statue.

Monday

• The annual passing-out parade will take place at the Kossuth Lajos square on Monday morning between 8:30 and 9:30.
• The Holy Crown will be on display at the Parliament between 12:00 and 19:00.
• A Holy Mass will be held at the Saint Stephen Basilica from 17:00, which will be followed by the Procession of the Holy Right Hand of Saint Stephen at 18:00
• The fireworks start at 21:00, lasting for about 30 minutes. It can be best enjoyed from Buda, from between the Chain Bridge and Margaret Bridge.
• You can donate blood on Alkotmány street between 11:30 and 17:30.

Transportation and traffic

It is advised to use trams and especially the metro lines over the weekend and on Monday. Metro line M3 will operate between the Lehel tér and Kőbánya-Kispest stops from Friday until Sunday. Another change in the metro schedule is that the lines M2, M3 and M4 will all follow an extended schedule: the last metro leaves at 1:30 on lines M2 and M4 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, line M3 will take up this change only on Sunday.