We are wondering about the opening hours for museums, different attractions, shopping, and restaurants, etc. Is everything closed during Christmas?
Thank you for the question. We have our page dealing with Christmas in Budapest where you can find a fairly good answer to your question. We also try to keep that page up to date with information about open restaurants and so on. The page about Christmas Markets in Budapest can also be interesting in dealing with the subject.
In general, the answer to your question is as follows! All shops are open until 12.00, 13.00, or 14.00 on December 24th, but then they close and reopen on December 27th, meaning there are few shopping opportunities on these days.
If you would like to go to the cinema instead they normally have a break on December 24th, but from December 25th or 26th you can find the cinemas open again and you can enjoy the good films coming for Christmas. Budapest has quite a lot of attractions 100% free, such as Gellert Hill, Heroes Square, and so on. Most museums have opening times similar to the shops, though some of them might close from December 23rd and not open at all on December 24th. The museums, when they are open, are normally open from 9.00 or 10.00 in the morning until 18.00 in the evening, though this also vary from museum to museum.
If you want to grab some food around Christmas in Budapest, you better check out opening times before. In our page about Christmas in Budapest you will find information on some restaurants open on December 24th, 25th and 26th. Except for those dates most restaurants are open all the time, but in general, other restaurants stay closed on those three days. Some restaurants are only closed on December 24th, but then stay open from December 25th. Since there is no general rule it is important to find out what’s up with the restaurant you are interested in. If you want to do a booking of a table for a restaurant on December 24th, you better hurry up, because restaurants get packed up and fully booked very quick for that day, as most restaurants are closed, and therefore everyone try to get a free table in those restaurants who decide to stay open.
The Szechenyi Furdo, the most popular thermal bath in Budapest and Hungary, is open every day throughout Christmas, but it closes earlier on December 24th.
