Budapest
The little church with the jungly, overgrown cloister opposite Vajdahunyad Castle is called Ják Chapel because its intricate, many-layered portal was…
Must-see attractions in Hungary
Hungarian Institute of Geology
Budapest
To the south of City Park is the Hungarian Institute of Geology, designed by Ödön Lechner (1845–1914) in 1899 and probably his best-preserved work. Check…
Budapest
This green villa with its curious turret was designed by Emil Vidor Emil Vidor (1867–1952) for his father in 1905 and incorporates any number of European…
Castle District
With sections dating from the late 14th century, this tiny house of worship contains documents and items linked to the Jewish community of Buda, as well…
Budapest
The Philanthia flower shop sells all sorts of gift items but you've come to admire the original (and very rare) art nouveau interior designed by master…
Budapest
This Baroque church was built in 1742 on the site of an Ottoman mosque. Above the main altar hangs a copy of the Black Madonna of Czetochowa, which is…
Budapest
A stunning example of late art nouveau architecture designed by Aladár Arkay in 1913, with carved wooden gates, stained glass and ceramic tiles on the…
Budapest
This office block was designed by Imre Makovec (1935–2011), who developed his own 'organic' style using unusual materials like tree trunks and turf.
Budapest
Built as a block of flats by master architect Kálmán Albert Körössy in 1904, this lovely Secessionist building now serves as a school.
Budapest
At the northern end of V Szabadság tér is a memorial to the Soviet army, the last of its type still standing in Budapest.
Pécs
The foundations of the neo-Romanesque four-towered basilica dedicated to St Peter date from the 11th century and the side chapels are from the 1300s, but…
Keszthely
On the top floor of a former military building, this grin-inducing museum exhibits one of the world's largest mountain railway layouts. Trains whiz round…
Keszthely
Full disclosure: this is an X-rated wax museum. Kind of tacky – yes. Fascinating – absolutely. The tiny subterranean space brings to 'life' lust and sex…
Óbuda & Buda Hills
This branch of the Budapest Gallery includes sculptures, statues, medals and drawings by Imre Varga (b 1923), one of Hungary’s foremost sculptors. Like…
Sopron
The Old Synagogue, built in the 14th century, contains two rooms, one for each sex (note the women’s windows along the west wall). The main room contains…
Pécs
The porcelain factory established in Pécs in 1853 was at the forefront of European art and design for more than half a century. Many of its majolica tiles…
Budapest
This huge 207-hectare cemetery, dating to 1886 and easily reached by tram from Blaha Lujza tér, is where Imre Nagy, prime minister during the 1956…
Óbuda & Buda Hills
'Wolf's Meadow' Cemetery in the Buda Hills is the place where composer Béla Bartók is seeing out eternity, along with conductor Georg Solti, who avoided…
Pécs
The suburb of Budaiváros, to the northeast of Pécs' town centre, is where most Hungarians settled after the Turks banned them from living within the city…
Castle District
The copyright National Széchenyi Library contains codices and manuscripts, a large collection of foreign newspapers and a copy of everything published in…
Óbuda & Buda Hills
Of Budapest's 200 caves, several are accessible to the public and can be visited on walk-through guided tours. This one, left in its natural state, throws…
Budapest
City Park is Pest’s green lung, an open space measuring almost a square kilometre that hosted most of the events during Hungary’s 1000th anniversary…
Lake Balaton & Southern Transdanubia
The entire town seems to stroll the leafy lake-hugging promenade all day. It hides a number of statues, including a bust of Nobel Prize–winning poet…
Esztergom
This 400-year-old mosque was built in the 17th century, during the Ottoman occupation of Esztergom. In its later incarnations it served both as a granary…
Debrecen
Folklore exhibits at the Déri Museum offer excellent insights into life on the plain and for the bourgeois citizens of Debrecen up to the 19th century…
Esztergom
The Castle Museum is housed in the former Royal Palace, built mostly by French architects in the 12th century during Esztergom’s golden age. The palace…
Keszthely
Housed in several early-19th-century buildings of what was the Georgikon’s experimental farm, this is the perfect museum for lovers of early industrial…
Sopron
Sopron’s answer to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The Austrian confectioner dynasty Harrer goes back four generations and aims to initiate you into the…
Óbuda & Buda Hills
High up on Buda's highest hill, János-hegy (527m), is this tower named after Emperor Franz-Joseph's beloved consort Elizabeth (or Sissi). Take the 134…
Keszthely
The Balaton Museum was purpose-built in 1928 and its permanent exhibits focus on the life and history of Lake Balaton. The Balaton aquarium showcases the…
Budapest
In the pedestrian subway/underpss below V Deák Ferenc tér, with its entrance within the main ticket office, the small, revamped Underground Railway Museum…
Keszthely
Depending on what generation you're from, the exhibits at this wonderful place will either make you smile in remembrance or gawp in fascination. Ye olde…
Szentendre
The first museum you come across when walking up from the HÉV or bus station is this one, in the former home of the prolific Ferenczy family. Károly…
Sopron
Built in the late 13th century, this mostly Gothic church gets its unusual name from the legend that the church had been built thanks to the treasure…
Budapest
An easy way to cool down on a warm afternoon (and enjoy views of Castle Hill and the Royal Palace) is to stroll along the Duna korzó, the riverside…
Pécs
Pécs' beautifully preserved 1869 Conservative synagogue is south of Széchenyi tér and faces renovated Kossuth tér. It was built in the Romantic style in…
Serbian Ecclesiastical Art Collection
Szentendre
This is a treasure trove of icons, vestments and other sacred objects in precious metals. A 14th-century glass painting of the crucifixion is the oldest…
Hungarian Natural History Museum
Budapest
The skeleton of a finback whale greets you at this science museum, which houses a confusing raft of interactive displays over three floors. Interesting…
Margit Kovács Ceramic Collection
Szentendre
Descend Görög utca from the main square and turn right on to Vastagh György utca to reach this museum (in an 18th-century salt house) dedicated to the…
Budapest
Hard by the Danube in Ferencváros, the National Theatre (2002) remains controversial for its architecture. Designed by Mária Siklós, it is supposedly …
