June in Budapest usually brings lots of nice sun shiny days, great festivals, and so many things to do that it is hard to pick the must dos. The most popular places to visit in Budapest amongst locals are the open air baths & lidos, sitting out on the terraces of restaurants and ruin pubs, enjoying the cool temperatures of century old cafes, planning the festival weekends (music, beer, cultural, food festivals), or just “being” in the streets, taking walks by the river Danube, checking out the temp exhibitions coming and going on squares and bars in Budapest.

Budai Gourmet Festival, Budapest – photo by Mark Somay

The city is pining for staying outdoors, and the pleasant June evenings with the balmy air and live music make Budapest a perfect June travel destination.

Hungarian folk band with ‘hurdy gurdy’ – Chain Bridge Festival Budapest

Things to do in June, Budapest

Every June, year by year, there are some of the outstanding June events, festivals in the Hungarian capital:

June Festivals in Budapest: the many festivals of June are packed with loads of concerts, shows, parties, art exhibitions on top of the main theme, which can be anything, like a Beer Festival, or a Summer Cultural Festival or a Music Festival. Most festivals and fairs have no regular set dates, so check out Budapest Events Guide for the upcoming June festival events.

Budai Gourmet Festival – June Budapest

Budai Gourmet Festival is a must do for food lovers, especially if you like eating local gourmet foods (and who doesn’t?). You can sample the wines of the best Hungarian wine makers, try homemade cheeses, sausages, really fruity jams, pure acacia honey, handcraft chocolates and more. In addition to the food makers, the best restaurants in Hungary are also invited. The venue of the Budai Gourmet fest is the Millenaris Park famous for its contemporary architecture and its stylish garden design.

Foie Gras Festival – June Budapest

Foie Gras Festival Budapest - Hungary is famous for its goose liver. Try the most flavoursome foie gras you will ever eat. The gastro festival is also a cultural event. Sometime in May or June in Millenaris Park, Budapest (below the Buda Castle)

Czech Beer Festival – June Budapest

Czech Beer Festival Budapest: the Czech Beer Festival in Budapest is an annual beer fest when authentic Czech beers pour into the city of Budapest. The venue of the festival is the City Hall Park (Varoshaza park), just near Deak Square, downtown Budapest. Approx 40 different types of draught beers and a good dozen Czech breweries participate in the fun June festival. This merry thing to do in Budapest is usually on a weekend (Sat, Sun) in mid June.

Night of Museums Festival – June  in Budapest

The Night of Museums is a one night museum festival when almost all museums in Budapest, including the more expensive ones like the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts on Heroes’ Square, can be entered at a fraction of the usual costs, and there are crowds of locals “museum crawling” (plus some adventurous tourists who do no mind the long queues waiting for getting in). The Night of the Museums is oftentimes an event with concerts and shows.

Budapest June Things to Do: Foie Gras Festival

Danube Folk Carnival – June Budapest

Danube Carnival Budapest: the carnival is in fact an international dance festival with a crafts market: a spectacular series of Hungarian folk dance shows from more than 20 countries (from India to Bulgaria) with hundreds of folk dancers, plus a really nice handcrafts fair all through the week long festival.

The programme usually includes some less folksy dances like tango, salsa, and contemporary dance shows too. Expect a huge brass band procession around the St Stephen’s Basilica and on Vorosmarty Square, the latter of which is the main venue of the event. Luckily many of the events are free of charge!

Wagner Festival – June in Budapest

Wagner Opera Festival Budapest: every year in June at the Palace of Arts (MUPA for short), which is one of the coolest contemporary cultural complexes in Budapest, you can enjoy an excellent Wagner opera series (Tannhauser, Die Walkure, Das Rheingold, etc.). If you love operas, it is a must thing to do.

June Parties in Budapest

June brings about loads of weekend parties in open air party venues in the city of Budapest. Two special parties stand out from the usual nightlife events, which are unique in Budapest: the pool parties and the river boat parties on the Danube. June Bath Parties in Budapest in 2013 bring amazing laser shows and bath discos in Szechenyi Bath for late night pool parties. June Boat Parties in Budapest in 2013 are regular events in June. You can take an 11 pm boat ride to warm up for the next bar (A38 club) where the boat ride ends.