Parliament
Price guide: Expensive
Kossuth Lajos ter 1-3, Budapest, 1055
Loading map...
| Save money and beat the queues by booking attractions, tours and things... |
#4 of 20
expert-rated things to do in Budapest- Recommended for:
- Business travellers, Culture vultures, Seasoned travellers, Design and architecture, History
Expert review of Parliament
One of the world’s most handsome Parliaments: a Neo-Gothic masterpiece.
The Parliament is Budapest’s glamorous front man – the image most familiar on the picture postcards and tourist brochures. In the 1880s, a competition was launched to design the Parliament building, a project to coincide with the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of the country. Imre Steindl was the winner, and it was he who conjured the Neo-Gothic spires and onion dome that loom over the riverside. The dome measures 96m in height – a mathematical nod to 896AD, the year the Magyar tribes arrived and settled in Hungary. You can take a guided tour of the building, with its sweeping staircase, central Dome Hall and ceiling frescoes. Set in a glass case, the jewel in the crown is the – ahem – Holy Crown, the country’s national symbol.
Price advice:
Entrance 3,200 forints (adult), 1,600 forints (concessions). Note that EU residents can visit free of charge – just show your passport at the ticket desk at Gate X.
Expert tips:
Photography is allowed, but you must switch the flash off when taking pictures of the Holy Crown.
Be aware that there is no access to toilets during the tour, so spend a penny in advance.
More information on Parliament:
- Price guide:
- Type:
- Historic site, Landmark / monument, Tour
- Address:
- Kossuth Lajos ter 1-3, Budapest, 1055
- Telephone:
- 1 441 4904
- Website:
- http://www.parlament.hu
- Months open:
- All year round
- Opening times:
- Tours (in English) start at 10am, noon and 2pm daily (tourists may only visit on a tour).
- Indoor/outdoor?:
- Indoor
