Choosing to visit the fair of a city instead of that of another one could be difficult, and indeed it is not easy to decide what city has the merit of hosting the most beautiful, picturesque or the biggest fair. However, if you want to visit a fair that is really well-known and appreciated, both by foreign visitors and by people who live there, you should go to Budapest, a city that hosts one of the ten most loved Christmas fairs in Europe.

This year the Budapest Christmas fair, which always takes place in the beautiful V'r'smarty Square, will be open starting from the 21st November throughout Christmas time, until the 29th December, attracting a great number of visitors (around 600,000 people each year, coming from all over the world), and demonstrating to be one of the most important features of Hungarian Christmas tradition. Hungarians, like all the other peoples, love to celebrate Christmas exchanging gifts, singing and listening to Christmas carols, cooking typical dishes and drinking good wine. Some of the typical dishes of Hungarian tradition are the fish soup, the stuffed cabbage, pastry rolls stuffed with poppy seeds or walnuts.

The most important day of Christmas time is the 24th December: in this day, indeed, people decorate the Christmas tree using paper ornaments and typical Hungarian sweets, they exchange gifts (which are brought by Child Jesus, not by Santa Claus) listening to Christmas carols and everybody, even if they are not believer, go to the church at midnight.

All these features can be found also among the stalls of the Christmas fair, which is characterised by a variety of events that make this event appealing for everybody. First of all, it creates a unique Christmas atmosphere, which is conveyed by the 100 wooden stalls similar to mountain houses, where visitors can find peculiar objects that they can give as presents to friends and kin. The quality of these hand-made objects is guaranteed by the Hungarian Society of Folk Arts. However, in the fair you will not find only objects, but also some delicatessen, such as fried sausages, marzipan, Hungarian strudel and gingerbreads, as well as a good glass of Tokaji wine. You might also want to drink a mug of mulled wine, flavoured with honey, clove, cinnamon and brown sugar, and after drinking it you can keep the mug, which has a different design every year.

All these things are accompanied by a typical Christmas soundtrack: in the square, indeed, there is also a stage that hosts concerts of both classical and folkloristic music, but also dance performances and puppets shows for children. There will be around 150 events, and they will all be free. This year, in particular, Budapest hosts the 10th edition of the fair, and to celebrate this anniversary the organisers have planned a series of special events that will certainly surprise all visitors!

Do not miss the chance to visit one of the most fascinating cities in Europe and to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere thanks to one of the most appreciated fairs in Europe. Since this event attracts a great number of visitors, we suggest that you book a cheap hostel in Budapest in advance.

Tickets: free event

Date: 21st November- 29th December 2008

Location: V'r'smarty Square, Budapest, Hungary