50 Best Sights in Hungary

Nyugati Pályaudvar, constructed by the Eiffel Company, is considered the city’s most elegant train station. The station has been featured in a number of Hollywood productions over the years. To its right, what was once part of the station is perhaps the world's fanciest McDonald’s, with booths fit for kings. Nyugati is currently nearing the completion of an extensive refurbishment, but the Royal Waiting Room is worth seeing if it's open, maintained in the same splendor as when it was first presented to Emperor Franz Joseph at the turn of the 20th century.

Kecskemét is Hungary’s fruit capital, and it’s worth experiencing the region’s riches firsthand by visiting the bustling indoor and covered market, around 2 km (1 mile) from the city center. Depending on the season, you can indulge in freshly plucked apples, cherries, and the famous Kecskemét apricots. Provided there is no sudden spring freeze, apricot season is around June through August. The market is surrounded by cafés and food stalls, so it makes a good option for a combined shopping and lunch excursion.

Probably dating from the second century AD, Óbuda's Roman military amphitheater once held some 16,000 people and, at 144 yards in diameter, was one of Europe's largest. A block of dwellings called the Round House was later built by the Romans above the amphitheater; massive stone walls found in the Round House's cellar were actually parts of the amphitheater. Below the amphitheater are the cells where prisoners and lions were held while awaiting confrontation.

Dating from 1874, Budapest’s oldest Jewish cemetery is technically part of the huge Kerespesi Cemetery but is separated by a tall stone wall. These serene grounds are the resting place of aristocratic Jewish Hungarian families and prestigious individuals, with a section dedicated to victims of the Holocaust. Stonemasonry by Hungary’s premier architects of the day provide exquisite examples of the conversation between popular artistic movements, such as Szecesszió (Hungarian Art Nouveau), and Jewish cultural history and identity. The cemetery doors are often closed to keep away the neighborhood's unsavory types, but if you knock on the gate, the guard will let you in.

Wander the riverside, just north of the chain bridge, and a simple but powerful memorial presents itself: 60 pairs of 1940s-style men's, women's, and children's shoes cast in iron standing along the riverbank. Shoes on the Danube Bank, designed by film director Can Togay and sculptor Gyula Pauer, was erected in 2005 to honor the memory of the countless and nameless victims of the Hungarian Arrow Cross party massacres. It is estimated that between 1944 and 1945 as many as 20,000 Hungarian Jews were taken from the Budapest ghettos by the "Nyilas," lined up on riverbank spots close to this one, sometimes several people deep, and shot at point-blank range. This haunting tribute to this horrific time in history is appropriately not far from Hungarian Parliament.

The sprawling Liberty Square has represented the pursuit of liberty for Hungarians since its days as the site of a massive troop barracks and the execution of Prime Minister Lajos Batthyány following the failed revolution against the Habsburg Dynasty in 1848. The square is dominated by Exchange Palace, the former stock exchange building, immortalized as Harrison Ford's hideout in Blade Runner 2049. Across from it is a solemn-looking neoclassical shrine, the Nemzeti Bank (The Hungarian National Bank). The bank's Postal Savings Bank branch, adjacent to the main building but visible from behind Szabadság tér on Hold utca, is another exuberant Art Nouveau masterpiece of architect Ödön Lechner, built in 1901 with colorful majolica mosaics, characteristically curvaceous windows, and pointed towers ending in swirling gold flourishes.

In the square's center remains a gold hammer and sickle atop a white stone obelisk, one of the few monuments to the Russian "liberation" of Budapest in 1945 that has not been banished to Memento Park. There were mutterings that it, too, would be pulled down, which prompted a Russian diplomatic protest; the monument, after all, marks a gravesite of fallen Soviet troops, but also a reminder of how close the city was to falling into Nazi hands.

As if in counterbalance, a memorial statue of Ronald Reagan---one of five that Reagan commissioned himself in his will---was erected in the summer of 2011, standing just left of the Soviet liberation monument. Next to it, at Szabadság tér 12, Stars and Stripes flying out in front and with a high-security presence, stands the United States Embassy. One of the square's most popular stories is how Cardinal József Mindszenty, fearing religious persecution, lived here as a guest of the U.S. government for 15 years during communism. On the south side of the square another monument appeared amid controversy in 2014. The Memorial for Victims of the German Occupation is a state-commissioned statue that commemorates the Hungarian victims of the German Nazis in WWII. Germany, represented by a vicious eagle, is attacking the peaceful form of the Archangel Gabriel, Hungary's patron saint. Jewish and opposition leaders have criticized the statue as an attempt to absolve the Hungarian state and Hungarians of their collaboration with Nazi Germany and complicity in the Holocaust. The latest addition is on the other side of the Soviet obelisk, a statue of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush erected by the Hungarian government in October 2020 to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of communist rule in Central and Eastern Europe. A political location from its historical beginnings, but a center of leisure life in the city, too, Szabadság tér is also simply a great place to walk or take a break from sightseeing, with a lovely café in its center. During major football championships, like the World Cup, it is turned into an outdoor screening area and is packed to the gills with locals. It also regularly hosts various culinary and seasonal festivals.

Győr's main square, ringed by historic buildings, hotels, restaurants, and bars, is the life and soul of the town. It's the setting for most of the city's major cultural events, including the famous “Baroque Marriage,” a traditional August ceremony where baroque music is played and participants dress up in ornate wedding outfits and perform. While in the square, check out the attractive, twin-turreted Loyolai Szent Ignác bencés templom (Benedictine Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola) and the nearby Mária-oszlop (Mary's Column), built in 1686 to commemorate the recapturing of the city from the Turks. It depicts the Virgin wearing the Hungarian crown and holding the infant Jesus in her arms.

This beautiful Inner Town street runs south from Fő tér to Orsolya tér, where there's an interesting fountain showing Jesus using his crucifix to pierce a snake with an apple. As you walk down the street, you will come across an eclectic mix of architecture coexisting in a surprisingly harmonious fashion. The Erdődy-palota (Erdody Palace) at No. 16 is Sopron’s richest rococo building. Two doors down, at No. 12, stands the Eggenberg Ház (Eggenberg House), where the widow of Prince Johann Eggenberg held Protestant services during the harshest days of the Counter-Reformation and beyond. Today, it's home to the Macskakő Múzeum, an interactive children's museum about the everyday lives of people living in ancient times. But the street takes its name from Szent György templom (St. George’s Church), a 14th-century Catholic church so sensitively “baroqued” some 300 years later that its interior is still as soft as whipped cream.

The oldest building on Kossuth tér is the Szent Miklós templom (Church of St. Nicholas), known also as the Barátság templom (Friendship Church) because of St. Nick’s role as the saint of friendship. The church, the oldest in the city, was built in Gothic style in either the 13th or 15th century (a subject of debate). What is not debated is that it was rebuilt in baroque style during the 18th century. Once you pass through the elaborate wrought-iron gate and through an attractive little courtyard out front, note the interior’s apricot hues, which are typical of many an edifice in downtown Kecskemét.

Towering over the village of Szigliget, atop a 239-meter-high hill, is the ruin of the 13th-century Óvár (Old Castle). Unlike many of Hungary's fortresses, this one was so well protected that it was never taken by the Turks; in fact, it was demolished in the early 18th century by Habsburgs fearful of rebellions. A steep path starting from Kisfaludy utca brings you to the top of the hill, where you can explore the ruins and take in the breathtaking views.

This atmospheric church built into a cave—one of several in the hill—lies just north of the Gellért Thermal Baths. Mass is still held here (the church is run by the Pauline monks) and worth attending if so inclined, but it is also worth a look for its novelty value. Note: it was rebuilt in faux-cave style in the '90s so it is not quite as authentic as it could be.

Trees, restaurants, and shops line this busy waterfront promenade, which is named after the Nobel Prize–winning Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore: he came to one Balatonfüred's sanitoriums in 1926 to get treatment for a heart condition. You will find a bust of Tagore in front of a lime tree along the promenade; the poet planted it himself following his recovery. The promenade begins near the boat landing and runs for nearly a kilometer (½ mile) to the east.

Climb the narrow steps up Váralja lépcső, located near the corner of Fő tér and Görög utca, to reach this cobblestone hilltop square. Once the site of a medieval fortress, today it is home to the baroque Szentendrei Keresztelő Szent János Plébánia (Church of St. John the Baptist), famed for its enormous, dark frescoes. But the real reward for the climb comes in the form of spectacular views over the town's angular sile rooftops and steeples, and of the Danube beyond.

This eye-catching, glass-covered building, designed in 1906 by architects Henrik Böhm and Ármin Hegedűs, proudly displays Budapest's largest outdoor mosaic. Can't see it? Take a few steps back and crane your neck until you have a good view of the facade's upper gable. It's there you will find the Seccessionist-style mosaic by Hungarian master Miksa Roth, which depicts the Virgin Mary wearing the country's royal crown and wielding a sword before a veritable who's who of Hungarian heroes.

This romantic tree-lined promenade, often overlooked by sightseers, follows the castle's ramparts southeast from Capistrano Square toward the Royal Palace. It offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the matte-pastel baroque houses that face Úri utca, with their regal arched windows and wrought iron gates. On a late spring afternoon, the fragrance of the cherry trees and the sweeping view of the quiet Buda neighborhoods below may be enough to revive even the weariest. About halfway along the route is a staircase leading down to Sziklakórház (Hospital in the Rock), a subterranean World War II medical facility turned Cold War nuclear bunker that's part of the extensive Castle Hill caves network. Although fascinating, entry to Sziklakórház (including an English-speaking tour) costs a hard-to-justify €25.

Running south from Vörösmarty Square to Elizabeth Bridge is Váci utca, Budapest's best-known shopping street and most unabashed tourist zone. This pedestrian precinct with electric 19th-century lampposts has a lot of chain outlets, souvenir stores, and overpriced cafés, but also springs the odd surprise with high-quality china shops, independent bookstores, and folk-craft emporiums. Most notable of all is the architecture, which is consistently beautiful: look out for Philanthia Virág at number 9, a tacky flower and gift shop set within a beautiful Art Nouveau building blessed with original tiles, frescoes, and arches. Other notable Art Nouveau buildings along Váci utca include the four-story Thonet House (no. 11/A) by renowned architect Ödön Lechner, and—somewhat surprisingly—the McDonald's on the corner of Régi posta. It was Hungary's first, and remains one of Europe's most beautiful.

Starting near the Fire Tower and following the route of Sopron's medieval town walls, the Bailey Promenade makes for a lovely stroll. The oldest part of city walls were built in the 14th century but some sights along the way are even older: look out for ancient gate foundations, remnants of the Roman town of Scarbantian. Some sections of the promenade close overnight.

The cobblestone Vár utca (Castle Street), north of Szabadság tér (Freedom Square), runs through the most picturesque part of town. It also has most of the sights worth seeing in Veszprém. The Hosök kapuja (Heroes’ Gate) at the entrance commemorates those who died during World War I and has a small exhibit on Hungary’s history. Farther up, Szent Mihály Főszékesegyház (St. Michael's Cathedral) is a beautifully light and colorful basilica that's been rebuilt many times since the 11th century. Nearby, the Gizella kápolna (Gisele Chapel), named for St. Stephen's wife, is home to gorgeous Byzantine-style frescoes of the apostles from the 13th century. From here, walk to the top of the hill to see giant stone statues of St. Stephen and Gisele, as well as lovely views to a rocky outcrop with a crucifix; a popular Easter procession stop. On the way back down the hill, stop in to see Ferences-templom and Piarista templom, two churches with very different depictions of St. Stephen (his outfits reflect the fashions of the time), as well as some interesting museums and galleries, including Vass László Gyűjtemény and Dubniczay-palota. Finally, just before you are back at Szabadság tér, you'll pass by the half-medieval and half-baroque Tűztorony (Fire Tower).

It may look centuries old, but this beautiful complex of palatial riverside buildings was actually only constructed in the late 1800s by architect Miklos Ybl; the use of neobaroque and neo-Renaissance architecture was very fashionable at the time. The buildings are today home to everything from theaters and art exhibitions to restaurants and shops, but the complex's highlights are the spaces in between, including the manicured ornamental gardens and the lovely, strollable footpaths. You can take an elevator and escalator from here up to the top of Castle Hill for free.

A self-described "open community cultural space" located in a beautiful former pump house on the banks of the Danube, this cool little gallery and art space has rotating exhibitions of modern art. Access is through FELIX Kitchen&Bar, an elegant (and pricey) stop for a coffee, cocktail, or sumptuous meal.