Szekszárd lines up 2026 with a full year of classical and pop concerts, open-air music programs, festivals, and gastro events. The city’s cultural calendar stays colorful all year, welcoming visitors with guaranteed and optional leisure programs, plus a deep bench of wineries, venues, and local hospitality to keep nights long and lively.
New Year’s crescendo
Ring in the year on the final beat of 2025: Bikini hits the stage in Szekszárd on December 31, setting the tone with a rock-powered countdown. The very next day brings a jubilant switch to brass and syncopation with the New Year’s Concert featuring the Budapest Ragtime Band, joined by vocalist Éva Bolba. It’s a bright, vintage-sparkle start to 2026, all in Szekszárd.
Classics in January
January doesn’t slow down. On January 18, Agóra Classical Music Afternoons (Agóra Klasszikus Zenei Délutánok) hosts a concert by “B” section students from the Liszt Ferenc Primary School of Arts in Szekszárd—a showcase for young talent with serious chops. The same day, violin virtuoso Zoltán Mága brings the Szekszárd New Year’s Concert to 7100 Szekszárd, Szent István tér 10. Tickets are a flat $27.70. Four days later, on January 22, pianist and organist Miklós Teleki—recipient of the Artisjus and Imre Varga awards—performs a piano concert themed Hazám, hazám with a program of Hungarian works. Tickets are $8.30 flat.
Spring rhythm and tributes
Come March 8, the We Love in Hungarian! Band (Magyarul Szeretjük! Zenekar) marks International Women’s Day with a dedicated concert in Szekszárd—expect big, warm, singalong energy. Then May 21 brings a heartfelt homage: What Am I Worth Without Music… (Zene nélkül mit érek én…) the memorial concert for Zsuzsa Cserháti and Péter Máté, two icons of Hungarian pop. Tickets are $24.60 across the board.
Stay close to the music
If you’re making a weekend of it, Szekszárd’s hotels cover the spectrum. Hotel Merops**** is a wine hotel right in the city center, neighboring the Mészáros wine house and just minutes on foot from the main square. Think calm small-town mood, vineyard radiance, and tailored service. Eight rooms and two apartments suit couples, friends, or small groups. Their Main Street Bistro in the Nádasdi House dazzles with a broad menu, while guided wine tastings lean into Szekszárd’s character. Down in the cellar, you can book atmospheric events—from birthdays and business dinners to friendly feasts—for a memory you won’t forget.
Gateways and smart stays
On 2.5 hectares by Route 6 at the northern gateway to Szekszárd, between the Szekszárd and Tolna wine regions and near the Gemenc forest and the Sárköz area, Sió Motel offers easy-in, easy-out access with nature on the doorstep. For a sleek city base, Hotel Zodiaco*** is the area’s only three-star hotel, modern and elegant, improving year by year to keep business trips smooth and weekends relaxed.
Where wine leads the way
Wine runs deep here. Attila Estate (Attila Birtok) in the Baranya Valley works 14 hectares with Blaufränkisch (Kékfrankos), Kadarka, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zweigelt. At Bodri Winery (Bodri Pincészet)—100 hectares and a full tourist hub on Szekszárd’s southern edge—you’ll find a working winery, event center, restaurant with show kitchen, guesthouses, and an 18,298-square-foot main cellar flared by twelve domes. The 3,229-square-foot aging cellar opens for tours, while a 15,069-square-foot rosé facility turns out volume without skimping on quality. The Bodri estate hosts up to 61 guests in refined rooms, with an underground thermal Roman bath, jacuzzi, and sauna. Optimus Restaurant (Optimus Étterem) plates the full color of Hungarian cuisine with a modern touch.
Cellars with stories
Borfaragó Cellar (Borfaragó Pince) sits in the heart of the “upper town,” on the site of an old carpenter and woodcarver workshop. It pours handcrafted wines alongside folk woodcarving masterpieces—ideal for a private, tucked-away gathering that’s still easy to reach. On Várdomb Hill, another estate puts Blaufränkisch (Kékfrankos) center stage for its versatility, quality, and reliability, bottling it solo and as the backbone of blends, with special care for Rhine Riesling (Rajnai rizling), Cserszegi Fűszeres, Kadarka, Blauportugieser (Kékoportó), Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah.
Natural and experimental
A local artisan winery tends vines mostly in the Porkoláb Valley, processing only estate-grown fruit. Their wines skip commercial yeasts, malolactic bacteria, enzymes, fining agents, colorants, and flavor/scent/acidity modifiers. They also avoid filtration, sterilization, oxygen dosing, and heat treatments. Every bottle is filled at the source. Elsewhere, a family winery plays with blends and styles: nearly every red grape gets a rosé counterpart, many of them decorated at international competitions. Reds lean proudly on Szekszárd DNA—Blaufränkisch (Kékfrankos) and Kadarka—rounded with Merlot, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir.
Tradition poured by the family
The Eszterbauer family, with Swabian and Serbian roots, runs a tradition-rich winery in Szekszárd. Tastings in their showcase wine house and panoramic cellar are presented by family members, serving groups from 8 to 50 with food ranging from simple wine snacks to multi-course dinners. Their webshop highlights award-winning bottles ready to ship.
Across four sites
One more family estate farms 6.6 hectares in four different parts of the Szekszárd wine region, planting Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Blaufränkisch (Kékfrankos). It’s all about place, patience, and pour.
The organizers reserve the right to change dates and programs.
