The Quest for Christmas

As we shifted our plans for the winter and Christmas holiday from the warm beaches of Spain, Portugal and France to the colder temperatures of Prague and Budapest; the number one plan was to hit the Christmas markets. Everyone says they are the best thing. Turn on any YouTube video about Christmas markets and you will see all of the perfectly timed, glorious images of lights, trees, food, and smiling people. In fact, some people love the Christmas markets so much that they hop from market to market as fast as they can in the season.

If you read our Prague Christmas Markets article, you’d have seen that we attended three Christmas markets there. How many would we see in Budapest? The quantity of Budapest markets can change just a little across the years to about 6-8 different ones. For example, in 2022, there was a market in the Corvin square outside our apartment, but this year, there are only two booths vs. an entire market. One booth serves the iconic Langos and the other serves the mulled wine. So, for us to embrace the karácsolyi vásárok (Christmas fairs), we have to jump on a bus, tram, or train.

First market Vörösmarty Square: This market is described as the heartbeat of the Christmas season in Budapest. Located throughout the biggest shopping zone in the city, this Christmas market was beautifully decorated, but difficult for us to navigate. Not knowing the city and neighborhood, we wandered to the left, then to the right each time seeing some booths, but not finding that heartbeat. What we did find was an amazing spread of booths across one square which offered foods we had never quite seen before. Our eyes nearly popped at the bread bowls of goulash with choices of beef or venison, the giant pans of cabbage rolls, and the oversized sausages. Our eyes also popped at the prices as we used our app to convert the local HUFF to USD prices.

3900Ft for a famous chimney cake = $11.78

5700Ft for a large beef stew = $17.22

6700Ft for a pulled pork sandwich = $20.24

We wandered the streets best we could as a gentle mist began to drizzle on us. We enjoyed seeing a few booths that seemed authentic like the knitted items with a loom project in process and the man selling gingerbread. Other booths sold souvenirs and gifts which seemed aimed at tourists instead of the locals. Even the iron forgers called their booth a “show” and you let you buy some of their wares. Ready to try the amazing food, we chose to wipe away the increasing raindrops from the benches and share a fried potato pancake topped with beef stew, cheese and sour cream (5900Ft). It was, of course, delicious! But we were now cold and soggy, so we sought shelter in a coffee shop to warm up. Overall, the way this market was spread out helped with crowds, but it was also hard to define the Christmas magic.

Second Market St Stephen’s Basilica: The Christmas Market at St Stephen’s Basilica is touted as the prettiest market in town and it didn’t disappoint on looks. This market is best known for the light show displayed on the Basilica walls built between 1851 and 1906. By comparison, it was more compact than Vörösmarty, but that allowed us to feel the festivities more. Unfortunately, we also bumped into more wanna-be fashion models taking dozens of selfies to prove they were at a Christmas market. It was recommended that we attend this market at dusk to avoid larger crowds, but that limits the full grandeur of the nighttime light show too. That still proved to be great advice for the aesthetic value. We saw less food and more gift/souvenir booths in this smaller square, but it was beginning to feel like Christmas to us now.

Third market Advent in Városliget: We wandered over to this part of town with the intension of going to Heroes’ Square, a UNESCO world heritage site. Then we planned to visit a traditional Hungarian restaurant nearby. After strolling Heroes’ Square, we looked past it into the gigantic park behind. We saw a Ferris wheel and very old castle-looking building. We had to investigate!

Walking to the edge of the next block we discovered the largest ice-skating rink we had ever seen. It was so large that THREE Zambonis were smoothing the delicate ice that afternoon. Tour groups and tourists were mesmerized by the shallow man-made lake used for boats in summer and ice in winter. On the sidewalk a vendor was selling street foods including pretzels the size of our head and corn on the cobb. But that old building in the back was calling to us, so onward we walked.

With the magic of a Christmas Castle in our minds, we needed Hungarian food in our stomachs. Christmas market food was not on today’s agenda. A few blocks off the Heroes’ Square in a neighborhood of apartments and majestic villas, we ate at an authentic Hungarian Restaurant. Our freshly made dinner of Goulash with noodles, Stuffed Cabbage, and Hortobágyi Palacsinta (meat-stuffed pancakes) warmed us from head to toe. This family-run business was delightful, and we learned the owner had 2 more in town. But when the waitress asked if we wanted coffee or dessert, we politely declined because visions of chimney cake were dancing in our heads.

One more block and we were delighted to find a large open park space dotted with trees and the cute wooden sheds of vendors selling the usual Christmas treats. There were plenty of people at this Saturday Christmas market, but it didn’t feel crowded like the other markets. The walkway meandered through the trees and people slowed at the more crowded sheds, but with an ounce of patience, we walked onward.

Standing tall against the grey skies was the medieval looking tower beckoning us to photograph it. The Vajdahunyad Castle finished construction in 1896 in time for the celebrations of the Jubilee of 1000 years of the Hungarian State and the conquest. The facade of the castle was modeled after the Hunyadis’ medieval Vajdahunyad Castle in Transylvania which is how it got it’s name here in Budapest. Crossing the drawbridge without a tariff, we discovered the Castle complex is an odd mix of many conjoined buildings with architectural differences from the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

Night had fallen while we ate and Heroes’ Square was glowing gold as we walked back to the Christmas Market. The atmosphere had changed while we were eating dinner. The corner vendor went home. Gone were the tour groups too. The empty ice-skating rink had at least 300 skaters of various ages dancing and twirling to piped music. Lively sounds were emitting from the carnival rides and Ferris Wheel which glowed in the background. The vendor stalls of the market were radiating light and heat as food smells wafted across the walkway. And there was that beautiful Transylvanian castle blushing in the background.

Greg queued for the drinks (hot chocolate with whiskey and mulled wine) while I queued for the famous chimney cake. Then, the magic surged. Enjoying our delightful dessert, we watched. We surveyed the people around us. This market was different. This market was LOCAL! We weren’t seeing the wanna-be fashion models posing with the backdrop. We weren’t seeing the wide-eyed tourists snapping a million photos of the decorations. Instead, we saw children enjoying the dual spirit of holidays and carnivals. We saw whole families move together, unhurriedly. We saw couples sharing food. We saw young teens strolling along holding hands. We saw grandparents sharing experiences with toddlers alone (perhaps the parents were having a date night).

The magic of the Christmas Markets is not about the mass-produced souvenirs that are identically placed at each stall. It’s not about the iconic photos proving attendance at a specific market. It’s not even about the lights and decorations. A true Christmas Market, in our view, is about the people celebrating their community and their family. The Advent in Városliget is not advertised as a popular Christmas market to tourists, however it lit the Christmas glow for us as we travel without our own family this season.

According to Hungarytoday.hu our favorite Christmas market… “highlighted that City Park is now one of the most modern, vibrant, and family-friendly venues in the capital, where the festive program preserves traditions and showcases the park’s 21st-century image. They highlighted that thanks to the park’s renovation, this year’s festive program is rare even by international standards: visitors to the park can enjoy the century-old traditions of the City Park Ice Rink, the Széchenyi Thermal Bath, and the magical atmosphere of Vajdahunyad Castle in one place.”