The Budapest Parliament, located in Pest along the Danube, is one of the iconic monuments of the Hungarian capital!

The building was inaugurated at the beginning of the 20th century after 17 years of construction under the aegis of the Hungarian architect, Imre Steindl.
The Budapest Parliament, organized around a central dome, is as impressive from the inside as it is from the outside.

With 18,000 m2, it is one of the largest parliaments in the world, and its neo-gothic symmetrical façade is inspired by London’s Parliament, the Palace of Westminster.

At 268m and 123m wide, the Hungarian Parliament is composed of nearly 700 rooms, 10 courtyards, 29 staircases and about 250 sculptures. Its dome, which rises to 96m, makes it one of the tallest buildings in Budapest.

Since its inauguration in 1902, the Hungarian Parliament is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary. This assembly is composed of 199 representatives, who are elected for four years.

The guided tour of the Parliament of Budapest enables you to discover its beautiful interior. The main staircase and imposing frescoes of Károly Lotz, the large room of the dome, the living room of the former Chamber of Deputies and the meeting room of the Upper House. In the central hexadecagonal hall, you will find the crown of Saint Stephen referring to Stephen, the 1st king of Hungary. This royal crown is permanently protected by two guards.

budapest parliament interior
Main staircase – Budapest Parliament.
Budapest Parliament - the Crown of Saint Stephen
Budapest Parliament – the Crown of Saint Stephen.
budapest pariament interior must see
National Assembly of Hungary – Budapest Parliament.

Kossuth Square in front of the Hungarian Parliament:

Hungarian Parlaiment Budapest
@parlament.hu

In front of the Hungarian Parliament stands Kossuth Square and the many monuments and buildings numbered on the map above. Of particular note are:

1 – Monitor Lajta Museum Boat
Travel back 150 years of Danube warship history and discover the only restored unit of the former Austro-Hungarian Navy, the oldest river armored warship in the world, which served for 47 years and fought throughout World War I. Open to visitors every day from 12:00 to 19:00 (website: www.lajtahajo.hu).

2 – Statue of Istvan Tisza, Prime Minister of Hungary between 1903 and 1905, and between 1913 and 1917. This monument was rebuilt identically by the will of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The bronze sculptures and the monument, works of Imre Elek were inaugurated on June 9, 2014.

3 – Smúz Café Budapest – Kossuth Lajor tér 18. website: www.smuzcafe.hu

4 – Entrance to the Budapest Parliament Visitor Center.

5 – MÁK Palace, one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings in Budapest.

6 – Kossuth Statue: the central figure of this monument is Lajos Kossuth, Minister of Finance of the first responsible government of Hungary, formed as an interim government during the revolution and war of independence of 1848-1849. He was one of the greatest figures in Hungarian history in the 19th century, leading the campaign to eliminate the privileges of the nobility and establish civil liberties. The other figures are the members of the first government formed in 1848.

7 – Exhibition of the Stone Museum (Lapidárium) on the history of the construction of Kossuth Square and the Parliament building in chronological order, from the foundations in the 19th century, through the inauguration ceremonies of the statues.

8 – Palace of Justice

9 – The National Unity Memorial, located at the intersection of Kossuth Square and Alkotmány Street, is a 100-meter long and 4-meter wide ramp sloping from Kossuth Square and flanked by side walls on both sides, bearing the names of the 12,485 settlements of historical Hungary, based on the official census of 1913 before the annexation in accordance with the Treaty of Trianon.

10 – Ministry of Agriculture

11 – The Monument of the National Martyrs was erected in 1934, to commemorate the victims of the revolutions and the Red Terror that took place from 1918 to 1919. The original statue was demolished and destroyed by the communists in 1945. The reconstructed monument was made by the sculptor Imre Elek, and inaugurated in 2019 at the original location.

12 – the equestrian statue of Franz II Rákóczi, prince of Hungary (1704-1711) known to remain famous for his war of independence and his opposition to the Habsburgs

13 – Metro station Kossuth Tér on Line M2.

14 – Memorial site of October 25, 1956 in honor of the victims not only of the Kossuth Square massacre, but also the victims of other shootings during the repression of the spontaneous popular revolt against the communist regime.

15 – Statues of Count Gyula Andrássy, who was Prime Minister of Hungary between 1867 and 1871, and later Foreign Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

16 – Statue of Attila József (1905-1937), a prominent figure of 20th century Hungarian literature and one of the most influential Hungarian poets. The Hungarian Poetry Day is celebrated on April 11, his birthday.

ACCESS TO THE HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT OF BUDAPEST

Address: Kossuth Lajos ter 1-3, 5th district, Pest – map.
Station ‘Kossuth Lajos tér’ on metro line 2 and tram lines 2 and 2A.
Open time: April 1st to October 31st: every day from 08:00 to 18:00 from November 1st to March 31st: every day from 08:00 to 16:00.

The building is closed during plenary sessions and public holidays (January 1st, March 5th, the Sunday and Monday of Easter, May 1st, August 20th, October 23rd, November 1st and the 24th of 26th of December).

VISITOR’S INFORMATION

The Hungarian Parliament can only be visited with tours which last about 45 minutes. Guided tours in English take place at: 10.00, 12.00, 12.30, 13.30, 14.30, 15.30. Visits also take place with guides in other languages ​​(German, Italian, Spanish, French etc…). Language schedule can be found on the website of the Parliament of Budapest via this official link.

We strongly recommend booking and buying your entry ticket in advance.
Official link: agency ‘jegymester‘, official provider of the Parliament.

If you do not find available tickets, you can also check the company Headout which propose 45mn guided tours on this link.

The tourist visitor center of the Budapest Parliament is located on the right side in the basement (number 12 on the map below):

source: parlament.hu
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Discover the beautiful architecture of the Parliament of Budapest seen from the sky, filmed majestically by a drone on this superb video:

You can also admire the Hungarian Parliament from the Danube via Budapest cruises on the Danube, day and night (duration 45mn-1h, from 9 euros!):

 Budapest Cruise Information and Ticket – click here

Do not miss: on the left of the Parliament (facing the Danube), go down to the riverbank for 200 meters to reach the poignant memorial, ‘Shoes on the banks of the Danube’, dedicated to the victims of the Shoah in Budapest. About forty meters of metal shoes represent the thousands of Jews who were shot before removing their shoes.
must see parliamant shoes

Also find the main monuments of Budapest recommended to visit in our article, ‘Budapest Must-see Sights’ as well as our recommendations to ‘visit Budapest in 2 days, 3 days and 4 days‘.