Opening Hours, Holidays & Closures (Autumn – Winter)

Retail and Malls:
Generally open until early evening (20:00-21:00) every day of the week.

Groceries:
Large supermarkets close in the evening, but the city center has a high density of 24/7 convenience stores (with higher prices), which are exempt from holiday closures.

Hospitality:
Cafés typically close in the early evening, while restaurant kitchens take their last orders around 22:00-22:30 at the latest.

On the following days, a mandatory retail closure is in effect. Public transport operates on a Sunday/holiday schedule.

October 23, 2026 (Friday) - Long weekend

November 1, 2026 (Sunday)

December 24, 2026 (Thursday) - Shortened day, shutdown from 14:00

December 25-26, 2026 (Friday-Saturday) - Christmas

January 1, 2027 (Friday) - Long weekend

State commemorations, political rallies, and torchlight processions take place. Road closures, surface public transport diversions, and significant crowds can be expected during the day and early evening at major downtown junctions (Kossuth Square, Oktogon, Andrássy Avenue, Corvin Köz).

Locals visit cemeteries en masse to light candles. Road traffic around cemeteries (especially Fiumei Road Graveyard and Farkasréti Cemetery) increases significantly, and the public transport authority operates more frequent services. The rest of the city remains quiet.

After 14:00 on December 24, the city literally "closes": shops pull down their shutters, and public transport switches to a reduced night schedule. On December 25 and 26, there is a complete retail closure; most restaurants, cafés, and museums are also closed. During this time, mostly only thermal baths (with limited hours) and larger hotel restaurants operate.

In the morning, the city is completely deserted, and most services and shops are closed. Thermal baths are open but can become highly crowded by the afternoon with locals and tourists recovering from the previous night.