What's Open in Budapest From 24 December to 2 January

Checked 7 November 2026. We could not confirm that the 24 December law has been signed or published in the official gazette, Magyar Közlöny. Every line below says what it rests on, because 2025 notices and 2026 facts are easy to mix up. "Precedent" means last season's notice, not a promise for this one.

Shops and pharmacies

24 December. Parliament voted to make the day a public holiday, but we could not confirm it is in force. If it is, shops close all day, except catering, hotels, flower and sweet shops and fuel stations.

25 and 26 December, precedent. In 2025 Aldi, Auchan, Penny, Tesco and CBA were closed on both days. Only 24-hour, holiday-open or duty pharmacies served customers on 25 and 26 December and 1 January, according to a December 2025 report. Look them up in the NNGYK pharmacy finder.

31 December, precedent. In 2025 Spar and Penny closed at 14:00, Aldi at 16:00 and Tesco at 18:00.

1 January, precedent. On 1 January 2026 Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Auchan, Penny, CBA and Spar were closed.

Getting around

24 December, precedent. In 2025 the last daytime surface routes left between 15:00 and 16:00 and the metros ran until 18:00. Airport buses 100E and 200E and tram 6 ran day and night.

25 and 26 December, precedent. A holiday timetable, with the 100E running less often on the 25th.

29 to 31 December, precedent. A year-end weekday timetable.

1 January, precedent. A holiday timetable on 1 January 2026.

2026. BKK has not published its timetable. Its year-end page still shows the notice from 17 December 2025.

Attractions

Budapest Zoo gives 9:00 to 13:00 on 24 and 31 December, last entry 12:00, on its current page.

Hospital in the Rock lists 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January as closed. The 26th and 2 January are not on its closed list, and its everyday hours are 10:00 to 19:00.

Castle Hill Funicular. BKK stops it for maintenance on odd-week Mondays, which is 28 December if weeks are counted the ISO way. By our calculation only: BKK lists no dates.

Market halls

The Great Market Hall's operator says it is closed on official holidays and rest days and names no dates. We could not confirm the 24th, which depends on the law above. Its usual hours are Monday to Friday 6:00 to 18:00, Saturday 6:00 to 16:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 16:00. Check its own page before you go.

Seven things you might not expect

The zoo never closes. "We are open every day around the year, even on national and religious holidays," says Budapest Zoo, including short days on 24 and 31 December.

A museum that shuts on New Year's Eve but not on the 26th. Hospital in the Rock lists 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January as closed. The 26th is not on the list.

Parliament's vote was unanimous. The result on 3 November was 193 for, none against and no abstentions. Under the old rule, most shops could open on the 24th until 14:00.

A working Saturday disappears. Saturday 12 December was due to be worked to make up for the 24th. The vote cancels it.

Last year, one chain stayed shut on Christmas Eve. Lidl said its stores would be closed nationwide on 24 December 2025, while Aldi, Spar and others opened until noon. Petrol-station shops such as OMV-Spar express and ORLEN-Despar were often open around the clock, Telex reported then.

The funicular runs "all year, every day". BKK gives 08:00 to 22:00, apart from maintenance. If an odd-week Monday falls on a holiday, the work moves to the next working day.

Part of Parliament's museum is shut all winter. The In Memoriam 1956 exhibition and the Lapidarium are closed from 5 November 2026 until about mid-March 2027.

What nobody has published yet

As of the date above we could not read 2026 holiday hours for the National Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum, the Parliament visitor centre or the Opera House. The Gallery and the National Museum list regular hours of Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and keep holiday hours on a separate page. The last House of Terror notice we could read is from 2024: closed 23 to 26 December, open 10:00 to 15:00 on the 31st, closed on 1 January. Treat all of these as unknown until their own sites say otherwise.

Two more things have their own pages: market hours on the holiday dates and which baths publish holiday hours. For the night of the 31st, see midnight and last year's all-night metro. BKK's general public transport network also changed its night routes on 1 to 2 July 2026, so last year's night numbers may not apply. Our guide to getting around after dark has the current routes.

What this means for our own nights

Our crawl is closed on 24 and 25 December and runs again on 26 December. That matters because of how people use it. Of 2,153 direct website bookings from January 2024 to June 2026, 60% were made on the day of the tour, and 98.8% came from abroad. A visitor who decides that afternoon has no crawl on those two nights, and we would rather you knew now. On other nights you can still have a guided night out on the nights we are open.

On 31 December the time changes. The 31 December crawl that starts at 19:00 in Oktogon meets two hours ahead of the usual 21:00, in front of Burger King, with welcome champagne. It ends at Instant-Fogas as the last stop, with the party ticket included, worth €50.

Questions people ask

What is open in Budapest on Christmas Day?

Budapest Zoo says it opens every day of the year, 9:00 to 16:00 in December. In 2025 public transport ran a holiday timetable and only 24-hour, holiday-open or duty pharmacies supplied medicine. BKK's 2026 notice was not published when we checked on 7 November 2026.

Is everything closed in Budapest on Christmas Day?

No, but much is. Big supermarket chains were closed on 25 December 2025, and Hospital in the Rock and the Great Market Hall's operator both list holiday closures. The zoo stays open, and last year some petrol-station shops were often open around the clock.

Are shops open on Christmas Eve in Budapest in 2026?

Mostly not, if the law voted on 3 November 2026 takes effect as reported. Shops would close all day, except catering, hotels, flower and sweet shops and fuel stations. We could not confirm its publication in the official gazette as of 7 November 2026.

What is open in Budapest on New Year's Day?

Budapest Zoo, by its own every-day rule. Big supermarket chains were closed on 1 January 2026, and BKK ran a holiday timetable that day. Hospital in the Rock lists 1 January as closed. No 2027 notices were published when we checked on 7 November 2026.