The Hungarian capital’s Christmas market in front of the downtown Basilica has won this year’s vote for Best Christmas Market in Europe.
European Best Destinations, a Brussels-based European organization meant to promote culture and tourism in Europe, ran a vote for Europe’s best Christmas market and all four Visegrád countries were represented: the Czech Republic with Prague, Hungary with Budapest, Poland with Gdańsk, and Slovakia with Bratislava.
The voting closed on Dec. 10 and of the 280,000 votes, Budapest received more than 40,000, beating Vienna and Gdańsk for the top title.
“In addition to being the most beautiful Christmas market in Europe, the Advent Feast at the Basilica deserves the title of Best Christmas market with the spirit of Christmas but also the title of best eco-friendly Christmas market,” the site wrote. “Advent Feast at the Basilica is held with a community spirit in mind: Guests can enjoy charity-boosting concerts, and preserve the environment by using eco-friendly cups and cutlery while leftovers are being recycled.”
The contest is at its eighth edition and the previous winners were Strasbourg with three wins, Zagreb with three wins and Tallinn.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also congratulated Budapest for the result in a Facebook post.
Title image: Christmas market in front of the Budapest Basilica (Magyar Hírlap/Péter Papajcsik)
