23 Festivals in Hungary: Where to Go to Embrace Local Culture and Boost Happiness Levels
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Our guest author, Maria Zantsevich, compiled a list of annual festivals that showcase Hungary’s love for good wine, music (as the UNESCO City of Music, it’s the perfect spot), outdoor relaxation, and those that delve into the country’s history. From major European and global music festivals to stories about Jewish heritage and Swabian Turkey, with plenty of food, wine, and sometimes sports (occasionally paired with wine) – it’s all here. Most of these festivals can be experienced this year or early next year, so plan your travel calendar!
How to feel happiness? Sometimes you can just take a trip to Hungary. Swallowing the local air just after leaving the airport, you immediately understand that everything here is easy and simple, and therefore, beautiful. Even Chinese expats who may not be familiar with the word ‘vacation’ cherish weekends. From personal observations, even consistently open Chinese shops have started closing on Sundays and local holidays.
The central cafes in Budapest don’t prioritize revenue and close after 18:00 (and even earlier on weekends, sometimes after 16:00). Hungarian wine may not be extensively studied by international sommeliers, but it is excellent and reasonably priced. The food here is hearty and homely, and describing the national love for music of various genres in just a few words is hardly possible. Want to be near the water? You can find a hot beach without leaving Hungary. By the way, it’s not just any beach; it’s the Swabian one.
It’s precisely along this beach that marathons are run, and people recharge with wine at pit stops. All of this and a bit more is in the extensive list of festivals below. There are many words, but there is even more useful information. Everything for your inspiration to pack your bags right after reading.
I want to experience music!
Here’s a list of the main music events:
**SZIGET FESTIVAL**
– August, every year
– Location: Budapest
– [Sziget Festival Website](https://szigetfestival.com/en/)
“One of the largest multi-genre festivals in the world is held on Margaret Island between Buda and Pest. Sziget Festival, meaning ‘Island’ in Hungarian, has been attracting music enthusiasts since 1993. The festival roars for a week with multiple stages across the island, hosting performances by dozens of artists simultaneously. From rock and jazz to electronic and dance music, choosing which stage to visit can be challenging. I remember in 2006 (my first live concert), I was torn between Nine Inch Nails and The Hives, but since the ticket was a gift for Trent Reznor and NIN, the choice was obvious (though I heard diabolic scheeeeeeeme in the distance). This year, artists like Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, Foals, Stockholm post-jazz punks Viagra Boys, and the Nottingham lads delivering an excellent mix of post-punk and hip-hop, Sleaford Mods, will be performing.
Three festivals in the vicinity of Lake Balaton
- BALATON SOUND FESTIVAL
- Usually in July each year
- Location: Zamárdi, Lake Balaton (90 minutes from Budapest)
- Balaton Sound Festival Website
- VESZPRÉM FEST
- Usually in July each year
- Location: Veszprém
- Veszprém Fest Website
- STRAND
- Summer, every year
- Location: Zamárdi Beach, Zamárdi
- Strand Festival Website
Balaton is a mecca for music lovers. In the 70s and 80s, my mom told me how people used to exchange vinyl records with the latest music. Someone brought the fresh stuff, and homemade copies circulated among the masses. It cost 3 Soviet rubles, equivalent to approximately 3000 modern rubles by our calculations. An ideal combination of beach relaxation and carefree dancing in the open air. The festival is dedicated to various branches of electronic music, hosting numerous artists on multiple stages (this year there were 9, featuring Tiesto, Carl Cox, Dubfire, Claptone, Charlotte De Witte, Artbat, Adam Beyer, and more). Light music, warm lake water, excellent beach-focused street food, and a well-thought-out infrastructure along the coast with loungers, pools, cafes, and restaurants.
Besides the above, you can visit Balaton anytime. It stays warm until mid-September, and 16 km from the lake is the town of Veszprém. In 2019, it became a UNESCO City of Music, and in 2023, it will be the European Capital of Culture, an annual title. Veszprém Fest, held for 15 consecutive years, gathers rock bands and opera divas alike.
While in Veszprém, be sure to visit the Wine & Vinyl Bar & Store. This bar-store is famous for its various Hungarian tapas, vinyl treasures (you can find truly rare records), and regional wines. Balaton and Veszprém are part of the Balaton-Felvidék wine geocluster. Local wines are known worldwide, and, hooray, there are no wine festivals. But I’ll tell you about that a bit later.
In the meantime, another music festival at Lake Balaton, the celebration of the end of summer. You can still make it there in August. Strand translates to ‘beach,’ and the festival’s atmosphere matches the name. It’s still hot, everyone sunbathes on loungers and directly on the sand, and diverse live music plays on nearby stages. It’s a perfect way to extend summer.”
O.Z.O.R.A Festival
- Usually in July-August each year
- Location: Dádpuszta
- O.Z.O.R.A Festival Website
One of the two largest festivals in Hungary (the other being Solar United Natives) and one of the most extensive festivals of psychedelic music in the world. In 2022, it attracted over 60,000 people.
I want both music and wine!
Gastroblues Festival
- Early July each year
- Location: Paks
- Gastroblues Festival Website
The oldest festival in Hungary and one of Central Europe’s foremost jazz festivals. Over the years, it has featured performances by artists such as Glenn Hughes, Spencer Davis, Manfred Mann, The Yardbirds, and Chris Farlowe. The festival covers various genres, including blues, rock, and their intersections. Aside from music, the event attracts food and drink enthusiasts. Paks is situated in the Tolna wine region, making it an excellent place to try local wines.
But that’s not all Paks has to offer. Known as the nuclear center of Hungary, Paks hosts a nuclear power plant that generates half of the country’s electricity. In your free time, explore the house-museum of the legendary Hungarian politician Deák Ferenc, whose name graces streets across Hungary, much like Lenin’s in the Soviet Union.
For something even more intriguing, hidden in the heart of Paks is a treasure in the form of the family-owned pastry shop, Stella Cukrászda. Founded in the last century by Stella, who had a passion for sweets, the delectable desserts are now crafted by her grandson Balázs Sitkei. Balázs is truly dedicated to the art of pastry-making, even using his vacations as an opportunity to bring back something new from Italy, France, or any corner of the world. The young pastry chef studied in Budapest and Paris, traveled extensively, but chooses to develop only the family pastry shop in Paks. The café is intimate and charming, decorated in shabby-chic style. The walls are adorned with the history of Stella and the family, vintage tools from 19th-20th-century confectioners, and other delightful artifacts. Having tried macarons in France, Sachertorte in Vienna’s historic Museum café, and Hungary’s iconic Esterházy torte at Budapest’s legendary Gerbeaud café, I prefer the showcase at Stella.
I want wine and food!
We combine two things for the sake of which we usually buy tickets to the end of the world:
National Siller Festival
End of every summer, Paks
The famous variety of Paks wine (as well as the entire Tolna region) is siller. This ancient semi-rosé, semi-red wine. The festival dedicated to tasting young siller usually takes place at the end of August or September – the locals have not yet decided on the dates in 2023. Everything happens in Sárgödör Square. You can try siller in every house with a wine cellar – they all belong to winemakers.
It’s worth talking separately about the cellars. They were inherited by winemakers from the time of the Ottoman Empire: they used to hide from Turkish invaders in them, and the length of the premises reaches 10-30 meters. Basement premises are in the “yellow soil.” The local soil is of a characteristic yellow color due to the large amount of loess in its composition, which is conducive to wine storage. Therefore, with the flourishing of winemaking, cellars became wine storage. And the press, on which grapes are pressed, was located right above the cellar. During the Second World War, presses and buildings above the cellars were destroyed, as was the square itself. But in 1999, the state took the historical monument under protection, and now they make and drink wine here, walk around, and enjoy life.
How much energy will you have during a wine mini-tour? Count on it yourself, but don’t forget to drink plenty of water. By the way, Hungarians have loved mixing wine with soda for centuries, calling it fröccs.
Important: you can organize a personal tour at any time. Come and call Dr. János Hanol at +36 (75) 830-626. Also, in Paks, many companies offer 1.5-hour guided tours. With tasting, of course.
A little more history – Paks belongs to Swabian Turkey. Once, Russians (now Serbs) fled here from the Turks and brought with them the Kadarka grape variety. And after the 18th century, German Swabians arrived here. Therefore, the area is called Swabian Turkey. You can explore its wine treasures endlessly – in addition to Tolna, go to the wine regions of Szekszárd, Pécs, and Villány. By the way, in the city of Szekszárd – the center of the mentioned region with the same name – they often organize wine marathons, where, in addition to water, they pour wine at pit stops. This year the event was not announced, but it’s a reason to keep an eye on the happenings in the 24th.