Budapest Christmas

Inside the Christmas Markets

St. Stephen’s Basilica

The Christmas markets are spread throughout Budapest. The main one is traditionally in Vörösmarty tér, the square near the central transportation hub of Deák Ferenc tér, where Metro lines 1, 2, and 3 intersect.

We also liked the Christmas market in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica, where this premium video was taped.

We recommend visitors stroll amongst the squares in the City Center. You’ll run into a Christmas market soon enough. And spontaneity is more fun!

Food merchants at the markets usually take cash, although some do accept credit cards, mostly Visa or MasterCard.

While it’s always a good idea to have Hungarian Forint on hand, we noticed that the merchants who sold physical items (gifts, trinkets, services, etc) were more likely to accept credit cards than those who solely sold food.

And if you’re asked whether to pay by credit card in the local currency or in your home currency (e.g. Dollars or the Euro), always choose the local currency. Otherwise, you’ll be paying sometimes outrageous conversion fees by the merchant.

Also, be sure to use a credit card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee. We address this rip-off in this post.

When buying an item at the Christmas markets, feel free to haggle or negotiate with the merchant if you feel it’s too expensive. You never know until you ask!

For more in-depth travel advice when visiting Paris and France, I recommend LONELY PLANET’S HUNGARY guide, which you can purchase through our referral (“affiliate”) link on Amazon.com.