Hungarian State Opera House
The beautiful neo-renaissance building was designed by the famous Hungarian architect, Miklós Ybl and was completed in 1884. Its repertoire includes wonderful Opera and ballet performances. There is also a possibility to tour this magnificent building every day at 2,3 & 4pm.
Palace of Arts
MUPA Budapest was built to represent more than 100 years of Hungarian cultural history. There are three institutions housed in the building – the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall at its core, the Ludwig Museum and the Festival Theatre. The primary cultural purpose of Müpa Budapest is to fill a void in Hungarian culture, yet its world-class technical features make it an outstanding work of Hungarian and International architecture.
Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music
Founded in 1875, the Liszt Academy is the only institution bearing the name of Ferenc Liszt in which the great composer himself had an active role in establishing. The university, which has been functioning for more than 140 years, is the bastion of music teaching and musicology in Hungary. The Liszt Academy is also an exemplary cultural institution of the highest standard in Budapest. There are guided tours to see this exceptional building every day at 1.30pm.
Vigado Concert Hall
The origin of the building dates back to 1829, however it had a very stormy history. The Vigadó hosted performances by Johann Strauss Jr., Mascagni, Dvořak, Debussy and Arthur Rubinstein. Ernő Dohnányi had his first solo concert here. Béla Bartók and Annie Fischer made their debuts here in 1905 and 1932 respectively. The concert hall had been beautifully renovated in 2014. There are guided tours to see the concert hall.
Opus Jazz Club
Opus Jazz Club presents the exciting artists and bands from the European and Hungarian jazz scene from Tuesday to Saturday each Week at Budapest Music Center. With its outstanding concert programme, acoustics, and gastronomy, Opus rightfully earns its place among the top European jazz clubs, attracting International jazz fans as well as a wider range of music lovers with an ear for fresh music.
Budapest Jazz Club
If you are looking for light, but still quality entertainment, if you feel you are committed to jazz or you are about to get the first taste of it, join the center of jazz life, the Budapest Jazz Club! Besides the impressive palace interior and the exceptional sound quality, there is also a friendly jazz café and bistro-style restaurant. You can enjoy the sounds of a Steinway B model in the Club, and a Blüthner piano in the café.
Gellért Spa
Gellért Spa was opened in 1918 and soon it became the meeting point of the European aristocracy. Gellért Spa is famous for its main hall with gallery and glass roof, built in Art-Nouveau style. The current bath complex and hotel was opened in 1918 and was expanded in 1927 and 1934 with an artificial wave pool and with a bubble bath. The complex also includes saunas and plunge pools an open-air swimming pool which can create artificial waves every 30 minutes and an effervescent swimming pool. A Finnish sauna with cold pool is also enclosed within the complex.
Széchenyi Bath
Széchenyi Bath was opened in 1913 and is one of the world’s most fascinating thermal baths. Széchenyi Spa – which is located in the City Park - has 15 indoor and 3 outdoor pools, 10 saunas and steam rooms, several massage therapies, water aerobics, cellulite treatments and many other beauty treatments.
Rudas Spa
Rudas thermal Bath is considered as one of the most beautiful Turkish-style spas in the world. The bath was built mid-sixteenth century during the Ottoman rule and the structure is similar to the Turkish baths in Istanbul. Rudas Thermal Bath was constructed in three different periods. It was inaugurated in 1550, enlarged in 1566 by Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and was renovated in 1896, when a new therapeutic pool and sauna were introduced to the building. The last renovation took place in 2006.
Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts which was opened in 1906 is considered to be among the most important European art museums. Its permanent collections include Hungarian and International art from antiquity until the end of the 18th century. Its temporary exhibitions always attract thousands of visitors. The museum building on its own is worth a visit!
Hungarian Houses of Parliament
The Hungarian Parliament building – completed in 1904 - is the most monumental building of the entire country. It is a true symbol of the turn of the century splendor and golden age that Hungary has experienced, as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is a functional Parliament building – not a museum – however a visit is definitely worthwhile!
National Gallery
If you are interested in local, Hungarian art, the best museum for you is the Hungarian National Gallery! The greatest Hungarian painters and sculptors have their masterpieces here, together with such curiosities, as the late gothic altarpieces. The Gallery is located in the former Royal Palace, on the Buda side.
Hungarian National Museum
This emblematic museum even played an important role in the Hungarian War of Independence in 1848-49. Today it offers a broad selection of exhibitions from Hungarian history, trough the Roman times until the modern times.
Holocaust Memorial Centre
The Holocaust Memorial Center is a national institution established by the Government in 1999. In 2002, the building was constructed in Páva Street, outside of the traditional Jewish quarter, further emphasizing its national character. The Holocaust Memorial Center is one of the few institutions in the world, established by the state, that focuses entirely on Holocaust research and education.
Budapest History Museum
The History Museum which opened in 1967 is located inside the former Royal Palace of Hungary. Among the many interesting exhibitions there is a remarkable one called “Shadow and light” which guides the visitor through the 1000 years history of this region.
Hospital in the Rock
A truly unique, underground cave system that was converted into a secret military hospital and later a nuclear bomb shelter. For decades it was kept intact “just in case” but was never used again as a hospital. In 2008 it reopened as a museum. It is a must see for nurses and doctors and history buffs who love World War II and the cold war.
House of Terror
The museum is really recommended to those who would like to gain a deeper understanding of communism, how it worked, how it affected all layers of society, what was the fundamental, structural and ideological basis for it. The actual building used to be the headquarter of the secret police until 1956.
Memento Park
Memento Park is a huge open-air museum just outside of Budapest, dedicated to monumental statues and sculpted plaques from the communist regime. There are statues of Lenin, Marx and Engels, as well as several Hungarian Communist leaders. The park was designed by Hungarian architect Ákos Előd in 1991.
Liszt Ferenc Memorial Museum
The museum was opened in 1986 in the flat where Franz Liszt used to live during the last 5 years of his life (1881-86). As founder and professor of the Hungarian Academy of Music, he has not accepted any financial remuneration, only this flat where he has stayed. His music instruments, furniture, books and notes are all on display here.
Béla Bartók Memorial Museum
The Béla Bartók Memorial House was the greatest Hungarian composer’s last home in Budapest and Hungary. Bartók and his family lived in this eclectic style villa until October, 1940. The museum was inaugurated in 1981 on the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth and refurbished considerably in 2006.
Victor Vasarely Museum
Victor Vasarely was a French-Hungarian artist credited as the grandfather and leader of the Op Art movement. Utilizing geometric shapes and colorful graphics, the artist created compelling illusions of spatial depth, as seen in his work Vega-Nor (1969). Vasarely’s method of painting borrowed from a range of influences, including Bauhaus design principles, Wassily Kandinsky and Constructivism.
Aquincum Museum and Archaeological Park
Aquincum museum is a really interesting introduction to the Roman heritage found in today’s territory of Budapest!
Hungarian Natural History Museum
Fun for everyone with life size dinosaurs, a variety of skull skeletons, minerals, rocks, and gems, coral reef displays and so much more covering 3 floors of interactive displays that will educate the whole family.
Ludvig Museum
Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art has a selected and dynamically expanding collection, at the core of which is a donation by Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig. Its collection comprising artworks from the sixties until today, some of them always on display, the museum has a circle of international art collectors as its partners.
Robert Capa Photography Center
A new and modern visual arts institute, the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center was opened in Budapest in December 2013. Among the tasks of the new visual institute are the organization of national and international exhibitions; the foundation of a prestigious photography award; the presentation of national and international photographers and photography workshops.
Palace of Art
A contemporary art museum with changing exhibitions covering hand crafts, folk art, sketches, photography, sculpture, film, fashion and everything in between from Hungarian artists and International artists.
Pinball Museum
The interactive permanent exhibition features the predecessors of pinball machines from the end of the 19th century to the most state-of-the-art pinball tables of the 21st century. It is constant fun with 130 machines on nearly 400 square meters.
House of Music
The House of Hungarian Music was built in the Budapest City Park, in the neighbourhood of the Városligeti lake, near the Vajdahunyad Castle. As part of the Liget Budapest Project, the permanent exhibitions of the institution include both universal and Hungarian music history. The building was designed by the Japanese star architect Fudzsimoto Sosuke, who intended a translucent glass structure in the middle of the trees, close to nature. The Hungarian House of Music is a concert venue, museum and education centre, but the building itself is unique.
Museum of Etnography
The Museum of Ethnography in Budapest is an important specialised museum at European level. Now, with the inauguration of its new building in 2022, it has become one of the most modern ethnographic museums in the world. Besides its collection of around 225,000 ethnographic objects, the museum’s holdings include exceptional photographic and film materials, manuscripts, and folk music recordings. Alongside priceless relics of Hungarian folk culture, the museum houses the biggest collection in the region of ethnographic objects representing the folk cultures of distant continents.
Ruszwurm Cukrászda
Ruszwurm is the longest-standing pastry-maker dynasty in Budapest that is still in business. The history of this family dates back to 1827 when they opened their first confectionery. Today, Ruszwurm equals tradition. The interior design here is like stepping back in time to the Budapest of the 'golden days' and it's worth a visit just to sip tea amongst the old furniture and decorations.
New York Café
New York Café was inaugurated in 1894 and soon became the meeting point of the Hungarian intellectual, writers, poets and artists. In 2006 the Café was restored to its original splendor, which had survived for over 100 years. Recently it was awarded the title of “the most beautiful coffee house of the world”.
Gerbaude Café
Gerbeaud Café was founded in 1858 by Henrik Kugler and since then its pastries and cakes have become increasingly well-known. Originally it used to be the meeting point of the local aristocracy. This traditional coffee house seats up to 300 people in its many saloons and its terrace also has the same capacity.
Művész Café
The artists from the Opera and nearby theatres have been regulars at this spot since 1898, dropping in for a black coffee and or a slice of delicious cake. To this day there are some Hungarian writers who visit, meeting friends under the giant chandeliers. The turn-of-the-century interior is an attraction in itself, while during spring/summer the terrace is popular too. One of the favourites is the aranygaluska cake, which is a walnut based creamy dessert, and when you slice into it, it oozes a delicious vanilla cream.
Gerlóczy Café
Gerlóczy is a snug café and restaurant tucked away on an unusually quiet pocket of Budapest's downtown. The charming plaza outside the restaurant, surrounded by elegant pre-war buildings, is one of the best kept secrets of this otherwise tourist-packed neighborhood. Gerlóczy's interior evokes French bistro vibes, complete with small round tables, leather banquettes and a high ceiling.
Central Café
Centrál Café is one of the oldest cafés and restaurants in Budapest, it opened in 1887. In the past, many artists, poets and writers met in this café to share and discuss ideas.
BalloonFly
The Balloon Fly in the City Park is a helium gas-filled balloon fixed to the ground, which effectively acts as an open-air lift, so it doesn not leave its landing and take-off point, Mimosa Hill. The balloon will reach its maximum altitude of 150 metres in about five minutes, spend the same amount of time in the air and return to the surface in five minutes.
ZOO in the Heart of Budapest
The Budapest Zoo (Budapest ZOO), built in 1866, is the oldest and largest zoo in Hungary. Since 1986, its nearly 11 hectares have been a nature reserve. The zoo, which is home to 3,500 plant species and around 5,000 specimens of 750 animal species, started to be renovated in the mid-1990s