Wine tasting
Easily the largest wine festival in Hungary, the Budapest International Wine Festival (BIWF) is visited by more than 50,000 visitors annually. For more than 20 years, BIWF has been growing and expanding the scope of its entertainments and opportunities to imbibe, socialize, and learn about and contribute to the health of Hungarian wine culture.
Situated on the terraces of the Buda Castle Palace, the festival takes place in mid-September. Admission is affordable and passes (for either one day or five) include admission to the National Gallery and the live music concerts held on two stages in association with the festival.
Read more: Wine Tasting In and Around Budapest
There really aren’t any significant vineyards in Budapest, but along with BIWF, there are plenty of opportunities to sample foreign and domestic wines in the area. Situated in the labyrinthine cave system beneath Castle Hill, the Faust Wine Cellar offers a wide selection of Hungarian wines from the country’s best wine growing regions.
La Boutique des Vins is a good bet for aficionados in search of some of the very finest varietals produced in the Villány wine region. Billing itself as “Hungary’s first wine store,” Vino Castillo serves more than a thousand Hungarian, Spanish, Italian, and French wines. The tasting room/museum known as Első Pesti Borház is home to more than 10,000 vintage Hungarian wines. Reservations are required, but the opportunity to choose from more than 200 different labels at any given time is worth the extra effort.
The Budapest International Wine Festival from Budapest Things to Do