What You Need To Know Before Going On A Hungarian Parliament Building Tour
When Caleb and I lived in Budapest, we *almost* didn’t go on a Hungarian parliament building tour because it just seemed so touristy, and we’re usually not into guided tours unless they involve food and wine.
But, since it is the most visited building in the city, we decided to do it, and we were SO glad we did. It’s such a surprisingly interesting experience, and it’s beautiful inside and out. I feel like I’m writing an inspirational speech. 😅
In this quick guide, we’re sharing the basics to know before you visit and a few things we wished we knew about visiting the parliament building in Budapest so your visit can be smoother and less chaotic than ours. Let’s get into it!
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Quick History Of Building
The Hungarian Parliament Building lights up the Pest side of the Danube River and is pretty much an ICON in the city for its architectural beauty. We’re not “architecture people,” but seeing it makes us want to weep tears of joy every time we see it.
But that could just be all the amazing Hungarian wine. We’ll never know. 😅
It was built during the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1885 and 1904 in a mix of styles like Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival. Its symmetrical design spans 268 meters in length and 123 meters in width, with a central dome reaching 96 meters high. This height commemorates the year 896, marking the settlement of the Magyars in the region.
The interior is equally impressive, with SO MANY statues, paintings, and stained glass windows. When you walk around some of the areas inside, like the Grand Stairway and the Dome Hall, you’ll see beautifully detailed decorations that reflect Hungary’s history and culture.
But it’s not just a pretty face! It’s an active government facility and is still used for Hungarian politics to this day.
How To Get There
Like most things in Budapest, we think the best way to get there is just by walking! From the city center, it’s only 20 minutes, and it’s a great way to work off the heavy Hungarian food and all those delicious chimney cakes you’re eating. Trust us, you’ll probably want to!
You can also get there by taking Tram #2, which is one of the most beautiful tram rides in the world, according to National Geographic. Or, take the M2 metro line.
The Basics To Know Before You Go
Opening Hours and Address
The hours for the parliament building are as follows:
- 1st January – 31st March: Monday – Sunday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m
- 1st April – 31st October: Monday – Sunday: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- 1st November – 31st December: Monday – Sunday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
📍 Address: Kossuth tér 1-3, 1055 Budapest, Hungary
How to Buy Hungarian Parliament Building Tickets
The best way to buy tickets is directly on their website here.
You CAN buy tickets the day of right at the ticket office, but this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the WHOLE WORLD, and tickets get sold out SO FAST. When we lived in the city, we tried to get day-off tickets at the office, but they were always sold out, even in winter.
So, one our best tips for visiting is to get online and buy them in advance. This way, you can pick an ideal date that works with your overall plan for your time in the city and know you are getting in.
Ticket Prices
The prices for a guided parliament tour are as follows:
- Ticket for EEA citizens: HUF 6000 ($17)
- Student ticket for EEA citizens (aged 6-24): HUF 3000 ($9)
- Ticket for non-EEA citizens: HUF 12000 ($34)
- Student ticket for non-EEA citizens (aged 6-24): HUF 6000 ($17)
- For visitors under the age of 6, visiting the Parliament is free.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION: The only way you can get inside the parliament building is by guided tour. Since it’s an active government building, you can’t just wander around inside! While it’s not super cheap, we did think it was totally worth working into our budget to visit Budapest!
Tour Times
For the most part, the tours run every 15 minutes. Some of these tours use audio guides only (available in a ton of languages) or a mix of an audioguide with a professional guide (fewer languages available.)
PRACTICAL INFORMATION: we usually hate audio guides and think they ramble on, but this might have been the best one we’ve ever listened to! It’s super informational and interesting, and we learned so much about the parliament building from it without wanting to go to sleep.
FUN FACT WE LEARNED: The dome hall chandelier weighs one tonne (!!!!), and they only light up a few bulbs at a time because changing the bulbs is very hard for electricians. It can’t be lowered, so they have to climb a massive ladder and actually climb into the chandelier to change the bulbs!! You’ll see how crazy this is when you visit.
What You Need To Know About Arriving Because It’s Chaos
Getting in for our tour was super chaotic, so you need to know how it’s going to go down:
If you’re late, you won’t get in, so BE ON TIME. However, there’s no need to arrive super early because they only let you in at your scheduled time. We arrived at 11:45 for our 12:15 slot, but they kept sending us away since it was just one line for all times.
This makes it super disorganized because you have everyone with different ticket times waiting and trying to rush in at the next opening because they are worried they will miss their spot!
So, we HIGHLY recommend that you arrive a little early to avoid missing your slot, but don’t stress if the line looks long. Many people in line are likely early and won’t get in until their designated time.
When it’s finally your turn, you go through metal detectors and can use a free coat check, which is handy. But you can only leave your jackets, not bags.
Once you drop your stuff, you can pick up your free audio guide, and on the tour you go!
Pro Tips You Might Need
Here are a few things we wish we had known before starting our tour:
- You can take pics and videos during the tour, but not during the security check or the dome hall. The crown is there, so they want to protect it for obvious reasons.
- There are 132 stairs when you walk in. But there is also an elevator if you can’t take all the stairs!
- Make sure to keep your ticket the entire time. You need to scan it to get out when the tour is over.
- You have to get a hard copy if you buy your tickets online. You can’t just show an email or QR code. You can either print your tickets if you somehow travel with a printer? Or, do what we did and get a hard copy at the ticket desk. We just gave our name.
- Don’t stress if you lose your confirmation email like I somehow did. I didn’t think we would get in, but I went to the visitors/ticket desk, and they looked up our tickets by name and printed them out!
- Arrive 15 minutes early because of the chaos we described above!
A Few Questions You Might Have
How long is the tour of the Budapest Parliament building?
The tour lasts about 45 minutes, give or take. It goes by quickly!
Is the Hungarian Parliament building worth visiting?
The Hungarian Parliament building is absolutely worth visiting. This is not usually our “scene,” but it was so beautiful, and the guide was super interesting, and we really enjoyed our visit!
What Languages Are The Tour In?
The tours with a professional tour guide are in Hungarian, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. Tours with an audioguide are available in Polish, Slovakian, Croatian, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Korean, Portuguese, Arabic, Slovenian, Czech, Chinese, Japanese, Bulgarian, Turkish, Dutch, Greek and Vietnamese.
That’s a wrap on what we wished we knew before visiting the STUNNING parliament building. When you’re done, go check out Tokaj Wine Bar, one of our favorite hidden gems in Budapest, for a little happy hour!
Or, check out our guide to the best things to do for couples in Budapest here if you want to add a little romance to your vacay!
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