Buda Castle Buda Castle, Budapest
The Festival of Crafts in Buda Castle Budapest is a celebration of Hungarian Crafts every August, around the 20th of August when Hungary’s birthday takes place.
The Festival of Crafts (known as Mestersegek Unnepe in Hungarian) is a pleasantly authentic cultural event for any visitors of the Buda Castle.
Venue: Buda Castle courts
Date: August 20 – 23, 2026
Opening hours: 10 am – 9 pm (concerts and food stalls are until 11pm)
Aug 20: Fireworks Show, Fireworks Cruises
Tickets: approx. HUF 2,500 / adults (discounts for students, senior citizens, families)
or FREE entry with Budapest Card – Book on the right side of the page
The 3-4 day festival is set on the open air courts of the Buda Palace, with breathtaking views and in a beautiful scenery: the historical courtyards of the Castle, like the Hunyadi Court offer a special atmosphere for the Hungarian Crafts Festival: traditional canvas shaded stalls, cobblestoned yards, shadowy trees, delicious old “street foods”, live craft shows (potters, wood carvers, weavers, smiths, glass makers), concerts and Hungarian Folk dance shows make the Festival of Crafts a huge success.
Festival goers may attend the Budapest History Museum free of charge, included in the festival ticket price. It is also a great place to cool down a bit, take a rest in the cafe, or use the lavatory.
During the Festival days, the Buda Castle courts can not be visited free of charge, only with festival tickets. Nevertheless, the entry fee to the Festival of Crafts is almost the same as the entry to the Budapest History Museum itself, so it is a great value deal indeed.
[rev_slider festivalcrafts]Annual Festival in August
The Festival of Crafts is in August, always including the 20th of August: August 20 is a national holiday is Hungary celebrating the birth of the Hungarian Kingdom, the Hungarian Constitution, and the yearly blessing of the bread (after harvest), as well as Istvan day, Istvan (Stephen), the name day of the first king of ‘Hungary’, St Stephen I.
Uzbekistan stalls in 2025 were an absolute disgrace. No price tags, once you ask – the sellers come up with a random amount that is just too high and then start humiliating you for not buying and offering a lower price saying that “it’s ok – they can sell at a loss because it would be too heavy” to bring it back to Uzbekistan. Sellers at all Uzbekistan stalls behaved the same. Made distasteful advances on females. Pricing should be regulated at an organised event. There should also be means to report inappropriate behaviour
Dear Mia,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience at the Festival of Crafts in the Buda Castle District. We are truly sorry to hear about the behaviour you encountered at the Uzbekistan stalls. What you describe is not in line with the spirit of the festival, which aims to provide a welcoming, fair, transparent and respectful environment for all visitors.
Your feedback has been taken very seriously. We are forwarding your comments to the festival organisers, the Association of Hungarian Folk Artists (NESZ) so they can review the situation and take the necessary steps to ensure that price transparency and appropriate conduct are maintained in future.
While we understand that different cultural backgrounds can sometimes lead to contrasting styles of communication and sales practices, no visitor should feel pressured, disrespected, or uncomfortable. Your comments highlight the importance of ensuring that all vendors – regardless of their country of origin – are mindful of international expectations at such a festival.
We hope that you nevertheless enjoyed your visit to the Buda Castle District and the Festival of Crafts which ensured a free admission to all visitors this year.
We greatly appreciate you bringing this to our attention and regret that your visit at one of the craft stalls was affected in this way.