6 Best Sights in Budapest, Hungary

Handsome and massive, this is one of the chief landmarks of Pest and the city's largest church---it can hold 8,500 people. Its very Holy Roman front porch greets you with a tympanum bustling with statuary. The basilica's dome and the dome of Parliament are by far the most visible in the Pest skyline, and this is no accident: with the Magyar Millennium of 1896 in mind (the lavishly celebrated thousandth anniversary of the settling of the Carpathian Basin in 896), both domes were planned to be 315 feet high and to this day city codes specify that no downtown Pest building may exceed this height.

The millennium was not yet in sight when architect József Hild began building the basilica in Neoclassical style in 1851, two years after the revolution was suppressed. After Hild's death, the project was taken over in 1867 by Miklós Ybl, the architect who did the most to transform modern Pest into a monumental metropolis. Wherever he could, Ybl shifted Hild's motifs toward the neo-Renaissance mode that Ybl favored. When the dome collapsed, partly damaging the walls, he made even more drastic changes. Ybl died in 1891, five years before the 1,000-year celebration, and the basilica was completed in neo-Renaissance style by József Kauser---but not until 1905.

Below the cupola is a rich collection of late-19th-century Hungarian art: mosaics, altarpieces, and statuary (what heady days the Magyar Millennium must have meant for local talents). There are 150 kinds of marble, all from Hungary except for the Carrara in the sanctuary's centerpiece: a white statue of King (St.) Stephen I, Hungary's first king and patron saint. Stephen's mummified right hand is preserved as a relic in the Szent Jobb Kápolna (Holy Right Chapel); press a button and it will be illuminated for two minutes. You can also climb the 364 stairs (or take the elevator) to the top of the cupola for a spectacular view of the city. Extensive renovation work here has, among other things, returned the cathedral from a sooty gray to an almost bright tan. Small-group guided tours in English are offered, but must be reserved at least 72 hours in advance.

The ornate white steeple of the Matthias Church is the highest point on Castle Hill. It was added in the 15th century, above a 13th-century Gothic chapel. Officially the Buda Church of Our Lady, it has been known as the Matthias Church since the 15th century, in remembrance of the so-called Just King who greatly added to and embellished it during his reign (though many of these changes were lost when the Turks converted it into a mosque). The intricate white stonework, colorful mosaic roof decorations, and some of its geometric patterned columns seem to suggest Byzantium, yet it was substantially rebuilt in the neo-Baroque style 87 years after the Turkish defeat in 1686. One fortunate survivor of all the changes was perhaps the finest example of Gothic stone carving in Hungary: the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, visible above the door on the side of the church that faces Szentháromság tér.

Inside, the Trinity Chapel holds an encolpion, an enameled casket containing a miniature copy of the gospel to be worn on the chest; it belonged to the 12th-century king Béla III and his wife, Anne of Chatillon. Their burial crowns and a cross, scepter, and rings found in their excavated graves are also displayed here. The church's treasury contains Renaissance and baroque chalices, monstrances, and vestments. Climb the steps in the church's northwest corner to visit the Royal Oratory and the collection of ecclesiastical art, as well as (for an extra fee) the panoramic tower with spectacular views of the city. From here, you can also admire the baroque Trinity Column in the square opposite, erected in 1712–13 as a gesture of thanksgiving by survivors of a plague.

High mass is celebrated every Sunday at 10 am, sometimes with full orchestra and choir and often with major soloists; get here early if you want a seat. During the summer there are classical concerts on Friday (plus some Mondays and Wednesdays) at 7 pm, and organ recitals on Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 pm.

Sitting on a charming little square punctuating Víziváros most strollworthy street, Fő utca, this striking, neo-Gothic church was designed by Samu Pecz and built in 1893–96. Rising above the deep-red brickwork of its facade, both its steeple and a massive dome above the main part of the church are covered with colorful tilework from the famous Zsolnay factory in Pécs.

Located at the Pest end of the Erzsébet híd (Elizabeth Bridge), this is not only the oldest church in Budapest, but the oldest building anywhere on this side of the river; its importance is illustrated by the evasive bend in the main road beside it. The relatively understated 18th-century Baroque facade belies the long history and variety of architectural styles you'll find inside, where a medieval Gothic nave stands over the remains of the original 11th-century Romanesque basilica (complete with fragments of frescoes) and the ruins of the Roman garrison that it was built upon. You will also find frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries, a 16th-century Islamic mihrab (prayer niche)—a holdover from the 150-year Ottoman occupation of Hungary—a 19th-century rococo pulpit, and a 20th-century high altar. The church contains the relics of Saint Gellért, the bishop who was first buried here in 1046 after pagans pushed him off a hill across the river, as well as those of 11th century Hungarian king Saint László.

This church, whose steeple is a symbol of the old Tabán neighborhood, arose between 1728 and 1736 on the site of a Turkish mosque and was subsequently expanded several times, its present facade dating from 1880-81. Its form—mustard-colored stone with a rotund, green clock tower—could be described as restrained baroque, and it is dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. It is often closed on weekdays but worth noting as a truly ancient place of worship if you pass by; there has been a religious building on the site since the eleventh century.

Its pale yellow and green metal steeple being one of Óbuda's core landmarks, this church—a tad more impressive on the outside than the inside—was built by the Zichy family from 1744 to 1749 as the successor to a previous church established here by Hungary's first king, Saint Stephen, in 1010. Situated in a peaceful neighborhood a couple minutes' walk from Fő tér and behind the Aquincum Hotel, it features a red-marble altar (1774) and striking wooden statues of Christ and the church's patron saints (1884).