Coming to Budapest in March can be risky, because the weather can be great, but it can also be terrible. Coming to Budapest in April is much safer, because by then spring has arrived and you should be able to count on nicer temperatures and sunshine.
In April the life comes back to the streets of Budapest and one can easily see and feel that the tourists start to invade the city. More people walk along Vaci utca and restaurants get fully booked during weekends. The question is still what to do in Budapest in April?
This article is outdated. You can find a fresh and updated article about Budapest in April here.
Cool festivals
There are different events and festivals taking place in Budapest every year. One of the big festivities that often happens to be in April is Easter. In the weeks before Easter and until some days after Easter visitors can enjoy the Budapest Spring Festival. This is a festival packed with professional dancers, musicians and performances in some of the nicest venues in Budapest. During the entire Spring Festival a Spring Fair is set up on the Vorosmarty square (that is where the annual Christmas market can be found as well). The Spring Fair is very similar to the Christmas fair, except from the fact that the weather is better. The Spring Fair normally last for some more days after the Spring festival is finished, so make sure to check it out if you are in town in this period.
Spring Festival dates in 2013: March 22nd – April 7th
International Book Festival
If you like a good book, then you better check out the International Book Festival in Budapest. This is normally arranged in Budapest in April and the venue is the Millenaris Park on the Buda side. At the festival you can meet up with famous and not so famous authors, buy lots of books, During the festival you can in addition to reading and buying books also enjoy programs at stages, eat some good food and visit one of the nicest park areas in Budapest together with more than 50,000 other people.
Book festival dates in 2013: April 18th – 21st
Buda Soup Festival
The soup festival in Budapest will be arranged for the first time in 2013. The venue is the open air parking lot next to the Mammut Shopping Center and during the festival visitors will be able to taste soups, learn how to prepare soups and watch soup making competitions and other cool stuff!
Soup festival dates in 2013: April 26th-28th
Visit Margaret Island and Szentendre
If you are lucky and visit Budapest on a period with nice weather and sunshine in April, you should absolutely go visit the Margaret Island. Travel with tram number two along the Danube all the way to the Margaret Bridge (Jaszai Mari ter) and walk from there unto the bridge and down to the Margaret Island. On the island the most important thing is to relax, walk, borrow a bike and eat an ice cream. If the wind is blowing or if it is bad weather, skip this activity!
Another great activity in April if the weather is nice is to visit Szentendre, the idyllic city 30km north of Budapest. This little town is completely different from Budapest and you should consider spending some hours there. Ladies can easily spend even more, while men get bored after an hour. That is why many people combine a trip to Szentendre with a wine tasting which immediately makes the trip more interesting for the male members of the travel company as well.
Cultural programs
With more tourists arriving the traditional tourist programs are arranged on a more regular basis. This again means that you can watch traditional Hungarian folklore programs on quite a lot of evenings in April, listen to organ concerts in the St. Stephens Basilica and symphonic concerts in the Danube Palace.
If you want some more action you could also consider enjoying a traditional puszta program with horse show and authentic Hungarian cuisine. The latter horse and puszta program normally last for 5 hours in total, so a perfect half day program if you want to see something else than shopping windows in central Budapest.
Budapest basics in all months
There are some activities you should not miss out on when you come to Budapest, no matter what month you arrive. Such activities are:
- Danube River cruise with stunning view (especially in the evening)
- Take a swim in the hot springs of the Szechenyi furdo
- Drink and taste lots of Hungarian wine
- Eat the legendary Hungarian Goulash soup
- Visit Szimpla kert or some other ruin pub in Budapest
These were some simple advises for everyone who come to Budapest in April. If Easter happens to be in April in the year you visit Budapest you can read more about Easter in Budapest in the linked article.
Weather in Budapest in April
Just in the end it is worth mentioning that the average temperature in Budapest in April is somewhere between 7 and 17 Celsius. This again means that during daytime we often enjoy temperatures far above 17 Celsius, so you should be prepared with a nice t-shirt when packing your suitcase. However, do not forget your jacket, because if you get the 7 Celsius weather with some wind, it isn’t to cozy to walk along the Danube.
If you have further thoughts about Budapest in April, make sure to write a comment with your experiences, comments or advises.
