10 Things to Do in Budapest in February

Budapest is a magical destination to visit at any time of year, but those who handle the cold weather well can take advantage of the off-peak season to enjoy the city free of crowds and tourists.

While there's plenty to see and do all year round in the pearl of the Danube, February is a month packed with food festivals and winter activities you won't want to miss. Take the following itinerary of activities as your guide for the perfect holiday.

If Valentine's Day surprises you in the wonderful Budapest, or you are travelling with the intention of celebrating with someone special, you should know that this city joins the traditional celebrations and offers all kinds of activities; most of them can be combined with each other so that you can have a totally magical Valentine's Day trip.

Keep in mind that Valentine's Day is one of the busiest nights of the year so I recommend booking any of the paid plans in advance.

Csokoládé Museum organises dinner on board a train

Budapest's Chocolate Museum is offering a Romanesque dinner for two on board the Gyertyafény Expressz, a beautifully crafted train carriage that travels between Nyugati and Gödöllő. The romantic evening is accompanied by candlelight and live music.

Attend a spectacular opera evening

The Budapest Opera House offers its traditional Valentine's Day concert every year. In addition to admiring the talent of the fabulous performers, you will be able to see the interior of one of the most beautiful neoclassical buildings in Budapest. Reservations and plans can be viewed on the official website.

Valentine's Day dinner at a restaurant in the city

Another good Valentine's Day plan in Budapest is to book at one of the many restaurants in the city that traditionally offer special plans on Valentine's Day. Remember to book in advance as tables sell out quickly.

• KonyvBar & Restaurant
• Babel Budapest
• Spoon

Save money with the Budapest Card

If you want to save while you enjoy Valentine's Day in Budapest or any other day, with the Budapest Card tourist pass you can hop on transport, take guided tours and buy tickets to the main sights of the city at much more affordable prices.

One of the best things to see and do in Budapest is to hop on board a cruise ship to enjoy panoramic views of Budapest. In the winter months this activity becomes much more interesting as the boats are heated inside, so you will have the opportunity to see the most important monuments without suffering the cold of the streets in winter.

• Duration of the tour: 1.5 to 2 hours. If lunch or lunch on board the cruise ship is included, it may take a little longer.
• Price: from €20 per participant.

Danube Cruise Route

The classic Danube cruise includes a tour to see the most important monuments and buildings of the city, including:

• The National Theatre
• The Parliament building
• Buda Castle
• The Palace of Arts and all the Danube bridges.

Types of Danube Cruises

• Night cruise with drinks: from 21€ you will enjoy an excellent 1 hour tour on the Danube while having a drink of your choice.
• Night cruise with dinner: from €58 you can sample Hungarian cuisine while admiring the city's illuminated monuments.
• Daytime cruise: lasts a total of 70 minutes and costs around €16. This is the cheapest option and you will also enjoy a refreshing drink.
• Pizza cruise with open bar: from €32 you'll enjoy a tasty pizza on board and all the drinks you want on a 70-minute cruise.

If you travel to Hungary you will realise that the spa culture is something serious, considered not only as a leisure activity, but also as a therapeutic way to treat certain physical ailments and conditions.

Going to a spa is one of the best things you can do in the city to escape the cold winter weather.

The best spas in Budapest

Gellert Spa This is possibly the best known of all the spas in the world.

• Location: the Geller Hotel.
• Opening hours: from 06h to 20h.
• Price: approximately 13,50€ entrance fee.

Rudas Spa Until the beginning of the 20th century women were not allowed to enter, today they are allowed at specific times.

• Location: near the Elizabeth Bridge.
• Opening hours: from 6am to 8pm; Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays exclusively for men; Tuesdays exclusively for women and mixed on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Price: approximately €13.50 entrance fee.

Széchenyi Spa Considered one of the best spas in Europe.

• Location: in the Municipal Park.
• Opening hours: from 6am to 10pm.
• Price: On the Hellotickets website you can get a full day ticket to the Széchenyi Spa with entrance to the Palinka Museum for about 37€.

Until mid-February in Budapest it is possible to enjoy occasional snowfalls that stain the city's beautiful buildings with a spectacular white blanket.

If you enjoy photography, snowy landscapes and historic architecture, take a snowy February afternoon to enjoy the spectacle and take beautiful photographs. On the way, stop at one of the beautiful Hungarian cafés to enjoy the famous Somlói sponge cake.

Another option is to take a tour of Budapest so that a guide can show you the best spots and you can photograph them with the certainty that you won't miss a single one.

Best spots for winter photography in Budapest

Some of the places and monuments in Budapest that are worth photographing in the snow are the following:

• The Royal Palace or Budapest Castle
• Freedom Bridge
• Mount Gellert
• The Parliament Building
• Elizabeth Bridge over the Danube
• Thermal pool of the Gellért Spa.

Budapest's best cafes

The capital of Hungary is one of the most architecturally beautiful in the world. When the weather outside gets too cold, it's worth taking a tour of its cafés not only to sample some delicious dessert, but also to marvel at the stunning interior décor of these spaces.

Among the Hungarian cafés with the most sumptuous and elegant interiors, the following are worth mentioning:

• Lotz Hall Terem
• Gerbeaud Café
• Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest
• Szamos Gourmet Palace

February is a great month to enjoy museums and escape the cold winter weather in Budapest. In addition, you can take the opportunity to visit the most important museums of the city on their free admission days, but in most of them you will only be able to see the permanent exhibitions.

But without a doubt, the best museum to warm up is the Palinka Museum, as the visit includes a tasting of different varieties of this typical alcoholic beverage of the country.

Free museum calendar

• Third Saturday of the month: The National Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Applied Arts, the Hungarian National Museum and the Nagytétény Palace.
• Last Saturday of the month: Petőfi Museum
• First Sunday of the month: Museum of Ethnography and Hungarian Natural Museum.
• Third Sunday of the month: Skanzen Museum
• Last Sunday of the month: Military History Museum, Ludwing Museum.

The Mangalica Festival is a traditional food fair dedicated to the famous Hungarian curly-haired pig known as the Mangalica breed. The meat of this domestic pig is used as the basis for numerous dishes and sausages.

For 3 days in February (usually between the 5th and 11th) mangalica ham, chorizo, sausage, salami and other meat products can be tasted and bought in the centre of Budapest. The festival is set up with an animal exhibition area, a craft fair, cooking competitions and concerts of folk and modern pop music.

• Location: Szabadság Square, located in the Parliament Quarter, District V of Budapest.
• How to get there: 5 minutes walk from the following stations or stops: Arany János utca and Kossuth L. tér.
• Price: this is a free event.

If there's a meat festival, there must be a fish festival too, right? Hungarians say of course. The Fish Festival is held between 10 and 12 February, where visitors can discover the large number of fish that live in the country's most important lakes and rivers.

But, obviously, the best thing is that you can try typical dishes made with fish, not only from Hungarian cuisine, but also from other parts of the world, from sushi and fish and chips to French fish soup.

Cooking competitions, fishing, programmes... This festival is very complete and you will have a lot of fun.

• Location: Vajdahunyad castle.
• Price: free of charge.

Ending the Carnival celebrations all over Hungary is Gluttonous Thursday or Torkos Csütörtök; a food feast just before the start of the Lenten celebrations which includes preparation for the traditional 40 days of fasting.

The official day of celebration is the Thursday following Ash Wednesday, which usually falls between 15 February and 5 March.

However, restaurants all over the city start the celebration a week before by offering special menus and discounts of up to 50% on their dishes.

Where it takes place

Literally all over the city. Some recommendations of restaurants offering delicious special menus during the celebrations are:

• Concerto Café: located at Dob utca 33, District VII.
• La Doggeria: located at Egyetem tér 5.
• Ristorante Krizia: located at Ristorante Krizia, District VI.
• Trattoria Mamma: located at Hercegprímás utca 3, District V.

One of the must-do activities during the winter in Hungary is to go out and enjoy the ice rinks. Budapest has the most traditional and beautiful ice rink in the country. This rink opened its doors in 1870, so if you visit the Hungarian capital in February, you can't miss it.

I'm talking about the Városliget ice rink, surrounded by iconic buildings that make for a picturesque experience.

• Location: in the city's Municipal Park, Városliget, between Vajdahunyad Castle and Heroes' Square.
• Price: from about €6 for adults and free for children under 6 years. The entrance ticket can be purchased directly at the ticket office.

Városliget ice rink opening hours

• Monday to Friday from 09h to 13h and in the afternoon from 17h to 21h.
• Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm; in the afternoon from 4 pm and 9 pm.
• Sunday from 10am to 2pm and in the afternoon from 4pm and 8pm.

At the end of February, to mark the end of winter, a town in southern Hungary, Mohács, hosts the Carnival of the Busós, a festival where people dress up in wooden masks and woollen cloaks to look a little spooky and parade through the streets of the town.

In addition, coffins are burnt in a bonfire in the main square and concerts are organised all over the town. It's a two-hour drive from Budapest to the city, but this Intangible World Heritage Site is well worth seeing.

Originally one of the traditional festivals of the country's Croatian minority, the carnival is now an emblem of the city.