I have lived in Hungary since 2017, and until last Friday I had never once set foot in Memento Park. My sister has been several times. Her husband is a serious history buff. I had simply never gone. Then an invitation arrived for Up Reds, Whites!, the Memento Park wine tasting held among the old communist statues after dark, an evening of eight wines guided in English, and Andrew and I finally made the trip out to the southern edge of Budapest. It turned out to be one of the more original nights we have had in this city, and I am a little annoyed it took me years to get there.
I went on 4 September 2026, the first English-language edition, with my husband Andrew, in a small group of people, and I tasted all eight wines myself.
Full disclosure: Memento Park invited me as press, so our two places were complimentary. The words here are my own and nothing was agreed in exchange for coverage.
The Statues Do Half the Talking
The evening is an after-hours themed wine tasting held at Memento Park once the statue park has closed to the public, pairing eight wines with the hidden history of the communist era. A wine expert and a guide walk you through the monuments in the low evening light, and each wine is tied to a story about how the men behind the propaganda actually lived, drank and entertained themselves.
The setting does the heavy lifting. Standing among those enormous bronze figures as the sun drops behind them is genuinely something, and I say that as someone who arrived a sceptic. Our host, Judit, was so full of life that even the quieter corners of the history felt alive.
What I did not expect was the group. Ours was small, and as the evening went on it turned out that most of us had Hungarian relatives somewhere in the story. I am first generation. Others went back further. So alongside the official history came a steady thread of personal family memories, and that is what made the night land. It stopped being a tour and became a conversation.
What the Memento Park Wine Tasting Costs
The Memento Park wine tasting runs about two to two and a half hours, costs a self-chosen donation of roughly 9,500 to 14,500 HUF per person, and you book it by emailing in**@*********rk.hu. Doors open at 6:00 PM and the walk itself begins at 6:15. Come earlier if you want to wander the Statue Park on your own first.
The pour is generous in range. Four Hungarian labels sit alongside four international ones, and the international picks lean, fittingly, into the old Eastern bloc. Ours ran from a Hungarian Szentesi Pince Fekete Muskotály to an Italian Pra di Bosso Lambrusco, a Serbian Crna Tamjanika, a Polish Winnica Zagrabie and a Spanish Bohigas. Because the September date fell during the Budafok wine festival, there was sparkling in the mix too.
The money is not a ticket. The evening is a fundraiser for the Monumentum Public Benefit Foundation, which keeps Memento Park running, so you decide what your attendance is worth against that suggested range. They prefer an advance bank transfer to hold your place, though cash or card on the night works too.
Reds, whites, and one good reason to make the trip out to District XXII.
The Evening at a Glance
| Detail | What to expect |
|---|---|
| What | After-hours themed wine tasting and guided walk |
| Where | Memento Park, District XXII, southern Budapest |
| Language | English-language editions run on selected dates |
| Duration | Two to two and a half hours |
| Group size | Small, capped at roughly 35 to 42 people |
| Cost | Donation, about 9,500 to 14,500 HUF per person |
| Booking | Email in**@*********rk.hu, they confirm back |
What I’d Sort Before You Book
Wear proper shoes, bring a layer, and book earlier than you think you need to. This is an outdoor walking tasting on uneven ground, and once the sun goes down the temperature drops faster than you expect. I almost wore the wrong shoes and would have regretted it within the first ten minutes.
The group is kept deliberately small, both to protect the experience and because the park is a working site after hours, so places go. Getting there is easier than its reputation suggests, though Kelenföld will catch you out first. The bus stops there are not obvious, and Andrew and I spent a few minutes turned around looking for the right one. A quick question to a passer-by sorted it in seconds, and people could not have been friendlier about pointing us the right way. Since its was unclear weather we would be boarding a BBK blue bus or a MAV yellow bus. It was, in fact, the blue 720 BKK bus.
The October Tasting: Imre Nagy’s Wines
The next themed evening is on Friday 2 October 2026, tracing the life of Imre Nagy through Hungarian, Italian and Polish wines, with arrival from 5:00 PM and the programme starting at 5:30. The earlier start reflects the October sunset, and the theme suits the month, since Nagy led the country during the 1956 Revolution that Hungary marks every October.
The format matches September: a guided walk among the statues, roughly two to two and a half hours, a small group of 28 to 35 people, and the same donation model of about 9,500 to 14,500 HUF for the foundation. Booking runs through the same address, in**@*********rk.hu. You can find more details on Facebook here.
Andrew and I are planning to go back for this one, and I rarely repeat an evening within a month.
The group that made the night, Andrew and me in the mix, plus the history colouring books they sent us home with.
More From HOW TO HUNGARY
- Hungarian Wine: Europe’s Best-Kept Secret, for the background on what you will actually be drinking.
- Explore the Szentendre Open-Air Ethnographic Museum (Skanzen), if the open-air history side of the evening is what draws you in.
- HOW TO HUNGARY September Social, for my own wine evenings a few times a year.
- Official venue details, opening times and directions: Memento Park.
The Questions I Get Asked Most
Is the Memento Park wine tasting in English? Yes, on selected dates. The series now runs English-language editions, and the 4 September 2026 evening I attended was guided entirely in English, from the history to the wine notes. Other dates are guided in Hungarian, so when you email to book, confirm that your chosen evening is the English one. The written event pages appear in English regardless, which can be misleading, so ask directly.
How much does the Memento Park wine tasting cost? There is no fixed ticket price. The evening is a fundraiser for the Monumentum Public Benefit Foundation, which keeps Memento Park running, so you decide what to give against a suggested range of about 9,500 to 14,500 HUF per person. The organisers prefer an advance bank transfer to secure your place and avoid no-shows, but cash or card on the night is also accepted.
How do I book a place? Send a registration email to in**@*********rk.hu. They reply with the payment details, and your booking becomes final once you confirm back. Groups are small, capped at around 35 to 42 in September and 28 to 35 in October, so it is worth writing well ahead of the date rather than deciding on the day.
How do I get to Memento Park? Memento Park sits on the southern edge of Budapest in District XXII. From the Kelenföld Railway Station terminus of Metro 4, the 101B and 101E buses reach the park in about ten minutes, and the 150 takes around twenty. Services run past midnight, and there is a free car park on site if you would rather drive.
Is it worth going if I have never been to Memento Park? Yes, and I say that as someone who left it eight years too late. The after-hours walk gives you the park almost to yourself, in the best light of the day, with someone explaining what you are looking at. Wear comfortable shoes for the uneven ground and bring a layer for after sunset, and it makes a genuinely memorable first visit.
Why This One Stuck With Me
I did not expect a wine tasting among Stalin-era statues to be the evening I keep recommending, but here we are. October in Budapest is the right month for it. The city turns reflective, the 1956 anniversary is everywhere, and an evening that puts a glass in your hand while it walks you through that history is a smarter way to mark the season than most. If you have been meaning to see Memento Park and never quite gone, treat the 2 October tasting as your excuse. Andrew and I will be the two arguing happily over the Lambrusco.
If you are still finding your feet here, my HOW TO HUNGARY guide covers the practical side of settling in, from paperwork to where to actually start. Start here.
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I write the HOW TO HUNGARY Insider every week or so, for people trying to figure out life here without the expensive surprises: house prices, paperwork, healthcare, and the small print nobody warns you about. I do the digging, live through the mess, and check my answers with the people who actually know. If that is useful to you, I would love to have you along.
Anikó Woods is a Canadian-Hungarian writer, technology specialist, and digital strategist who swapped Toronto traffic for Hungarian bureaucracy. She’s the creator of HOW TO HUNGARY: Budapest & Beyond. Since moving to Hungary in 2017, she’s been deep in the paperwork trenches – fact-checking, interviewing experts, and helping others make sense of the madness. Her writing turns chaos into clarity, with a few laughs (and wine recommendations) along the way.
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