Royal Palace

On the top of the hill that rises over the city on the West bank of the river, the side of Buda sits a cluster of modern-day attractions simply known as the Buda Castle, where the spectacular Royal Palace of Budapest is located. Overall the Buda Castle is a whole historic district that includes many landmarks worth visiting.

The Royal Palace is divided today into the Budapest History Museum and the Hungarian National Gallery, the Sandor Palace (home of the President of the Hungarian Republic today), the 18th-century town hall, Matthias Church and a series of other architectural landmarks like the Fisherman’s Bastion, the Trinity Square, the Castle’s Labyrinth. Several impressive sculptural monuments like the Eugene of Savoy Monument and Matthias Fountain adorn the castle’s outer spaces, which are truly remarkable.

It’s only natural that you start your tour of the Hungarian capital from the former Royal Palace. The courts and courtyards of the palace are open to the public 24/7 so you can stroll around whenever you like but to enter the Palace you should opt for one or both of the museums that today occupy its premises and are normally open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The exhibitions in the Budapest History Museum focus on the turbulent history of the 2000 years of the city now known as Budapest: what the once separate towns of Buda, Pest, and Obuda were like.

You can visit the museum free of charge with the Budapest Card. The most stunning part of the museum is its basement, where the oldest surviving part of the castle ruins is located. In the Medieval exhibition, visitors can see the fine books of the royal libraries, like Matthias Corvinus’ library from the Renaissance period, the medieval latrine, the accommodation of the castle guards or a stone carving workshop, and artistically painted constellations. More

The building of the Hungarian National Gallery – located in several wings of the Buda Castle – is a stunning piece of art, as are the views over the city and the river Danube from the Dome terrace. See the masters of Hungarian fine arts offering insights into the history of Hungary, everyday life, and rural landscapes through beautiful paintings.

The paintings display Gothic Art in the Hungarian Kingdom, 1300–1500 of a Late Gothic Winged Altarpieces exhibition, a collection of International Art after 1800 with artists like Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, an exhibition focusing on the art of Mihály Munkácsy and the depiction of reality, an exhibition with Hungarian art between 1896 and 1945 and one presenting Hungarian art after 1945. More