As the popular Great Market Hall is one of the busiest tourist attractions in Budapest, you may wish to know how you can avoid the most crowded hours of the market. Here are some tips.
Best Time to Visit the Great Market Hall
You may wonder when it is the best time to visit the Great Market Hall. We often get this question, and the answer is, it depends.
Definitely not on a Sunday, as, in contrast to shopping malls in Budapest, the modern markets of consumerism, Budapest market halls are not open on Sundays. The market is open from Monday to Saturday, so schedule your market tour by taking into consideration the current opening hours.
If you want to avoid the crowds, do not get up early to get to the market. Housewives, and market goer locals in general do their early morning shopping until about 8-9am from Monday to Friday. It is especially true of Saturday mornings when many buyers have a bit more time to browse the markets on their free days. Moreover, Budapest weekend getaways are quite popular among tourists (local and foreign tourists alike), so Saturdays in general are busier.
Unless you want to take photos of the busy market, you had better come late morning or early afternoon during the weekdays. Lunch time is the midday peak hours as many locals and tourists pop in for a quick, cheap lunch between 12 pm and 2 pm.
We advise tourists to visit the Budapest Market Hall between 10 am and 12 pm or 2 pm and 4 pm as the best time to get the most out of your visit.
Hello :)
Please advise on opening hours during EASTER 2017 April 14-18
Thank You
Can you pls tell me if they are open Sundays during December (Chrstmas holidays)?
If you read the above paragraph, you would clearly see that the Great Market Hall is closed on Sundays. A simple Google search would also answer this question.
can i pay by card or it should be only cash?
Hello Sima,
Thank you for contacting us.
Most sellers are fine with credit cards, however we recommend taking cash in Hungarian Forints as some of the small vendors do not accept cards.
Have a lovely time at the Market Hall!
Hello
What are the hours over the Christmas Period for 2024.
Hello Amanda,
Budapest Great Market Hall Opening times (regular opening hours of the Budapest Main Market Hall on Vamhaz krt)
Mo – Fr 6 am – 6 pm (weekdays – most of the vendors close earlier though, so schedule the visit until 2-4 pm possibly)
Sat 6 am – 4 pm
Su 10 am – 4 pm
At the end of December, during the Christmas period these opening times will be modified but at this point we only know the following (as it will be probably finalised by Dec or Nov)
The market hall is closed during public holidays, Dec 24, 25, 26 and Dec 31 and Jan 1. The rest of the days the regular hours apply (very likely)
More about the winter holidays in Budapest on https://budapestchristmas.com/