I will be visiting Budapest for 3 and one half days in June. I enjoy going to museums but I also would like to explore the different areas of the city.
After spending time at the Louve, Met and other world class museums will I be disappointed with the art on view in Budapest? Here are the four museums I am considering. Which do you recommend?

Museum of Applied Arts
Hungarian National Gallery
Hungarian National Museum
Museum of Fine Arts

The National Gallery and also The House of Terror which is not on your list but I thought very interesting.

One vote for the Museum of Fine Arts at Heroes Square and a second vote for the House of Terror on Andrassy. The two are relatively close. On another note, the Parliament Building features exquisite ceramic decoration.

Thanks to all for your reponces. The House of Terror is on my must-see list. I have just received my reservation for the 11am tour of the Parliament. It is the mentioned museums that I am unsure of.

Don;t miss the Castle - a lot of fun.

Ooh, I am going in July. How do you get the reservations for the Parliament tour please? I'm a Government teacher in high school and seats of government is on my must-see list, even if it isn't on my 13yo's list! LOL

Kellye, go to their site and just send a request on their given E-mail address. Its easy!

The Museum of Terror is particularly chilling account of Hungary's more brutal past. Its a genuinely fascinating place to a visit, if a little macabre.

http://www.travel--guide.org/Budapest

The Hungarian National Gallery (if this is the art museum on Castle Hill) - has interesting and impressive works by artists we had seen nowhere else (and we, too, are avid art museum visitors) - made us realize how western-euro-centered our art history background is. (Do watch your step on the museum's most highly polished and slippery marble floors). And a visit there takes you to one of the most beautiful and romantic areas of Budapest - the views across the Danube from the Fisherman's Bastion are fairy tale beautiful - especially if you can arrange to enjoy them as the sun sets - with musicians playing, as they did each of the six evenings we were there (our hotel was on Castle Hill). Try to visit one of the famous baths - you may get a feel for soviet-era life.

The Museum of Applied Arts should be seen if only for its architecture.

For photos of Buadpest, inlcuding the museum:

http://tinyurl.com/29agtz

nice pictures Michael

Thanks for the photos and this thread. I'm visiting Budapest starting late next week.

Can I hijack this thread with a question about the language? How common is English in Budapest? I'm generally okay in more Western European countries, but how will things work for me in Budapest?

English is pretty common in Budapest,since it's the language of the EU, but outside of Budapest mostly those under 35 will know a few words and be able to communicate. Have a great time..you should have a great time.

Michael, great photos, thanks for sharing. Blueridge, what other museums would you recommend? Can German be used with people that do not speak English?

Many Hungarians speak German. This is especially true of the older generation.

Hungarians do not expect visitors to speak their language, and seem very willing to co-operate in every effort at communication, including signs and gestures, and in shops and restaurants I heve found them writing prices on scraps of paper (at least we share a system for writing numbers). I find it all very good-humoured and enjoyable.

Michael - Just looked at your pictures and we have just come back from Hungary ourselves. Where is the "Organic Hungarian Architecture" that you show? Wish we would have seen it. (There's really so much to do and see in Budapest.)

Re: The Terror Museum. We had a private afternoon tour with a native born Hugarian who spoke on many historic Hungarian items (we got quite an education on his outlook). He said he didn't like the Terror Museum because it concentrates mostly on the Communist and not the Nazi "terror". He said "This museum was desgined and set up by extreme conservatives so they concentrate on Communism. But, the Communists took only a few thousand lives, while the Nazi's killed 600,000 of our own (the Jews)." He is not Jewish.

Honestly, I wrote a completely different and happily enthusiastic response to this post, but on re-reading your question "will I be disappointed with the art on view in Budapest" I just deleted it. If you're looking for Louvre or Met you should go to Louvre or Met.

And I'm not sure what the guy was trying to get at by not "liking" the Terror Museum, there's plenty of historical horror to go around in Central Europe. Besides personal heritage and friends/family battered by Fascism and Communism, I'm visiting these countries to witness the struggle to emerge from the shadow of Communism. The Dohany u Synagogue has memorial to Holocaust victims in the courtyard; we were there on a day it was closed to visitors, but the temple is strong and beautiful -- just mentioning this to OP as a destination.

kenav,

It's on the Buda side, between Moscow Square and the river. Or, up the street from B&B Bellevue, going down river. Sorry, I can't be more specific than that. If ever you go back to Budapest, ask for the American clinic, which is located in the building, and there's a cyber café in it too. There are other Organic Architecture buildings according to the book we have, but we did not find them, nor were we looking for them in Budapest.

Fidel, I posted the question in regards to the Louve/Met because of a remark made by a friend of mine. He felt that the art museums of Budapest did not match other "world class" museums. I just wanted to get other opinions, he is a bit of a snob.

A BIT of a snob, InMiami? Sheesh. Listen, I'm not knowledgeable enough to compare collections or pieces or give overall ratings, all I know is that I enjoy learning a little about art in the cities I go to, and want to "support" museums. The Museum of Fine Arts is probably the "best" (?) in size and scope.

For an exploration, I enjoyed a quick walking tour of the southeast city center, which gave an interesting city/architectural overview as well as a little art ...begin at the Doheny u Synagogue, then pop in to the National Museum with its stone steps, and down the road to the Museum of Applied Arts (they were refurbishing it so I didn't see anything but the building was worth it). Swing around to Raday u and stop at a cafe, and I see on my map the small "Biblia Muzeum" which I missed. Then you're near the Central Market, the restored train station with the paned window ceiling, what a great job they did with that. It didn't take long to do all of this and I felt I was traveling through time somehow and without being too simplistic, very different from Western Europe.

Well, can you tell how happy I was to be there? The time there