Budapest Museum Guide for Art Lovers 2024
As most big cities, Budapest has plenty of museums. The tragic history of Hungary filled many museums, like the Hungarian National Museum, the House of Terror, and the Holocaust Memorial Center. The finest Hungarian paintings you can explore in the National Gallery, inside the spectacular Buda Castle.
International collections can be found in Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art or the Museum of Fine Arts. And these are just the most famous ones. If you are interested in some unique or temporary exhibitions as well, follow our small guide.
The Zwack Museum
The story of Unicum, the famous Hungarian liquor. For 8 EUR you can join for film screening, guided tour of the old distillery and cellar, free viewing of the exhibition space with the help of an audio guide, tasting of Unicum and Unicum Plums. Open from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.
Pinball Museum, aka Flippermúzeum
One of the largest collections of pinball machines in Europe. Unlike other exhibitions, here you are more than welcome to touch the exhibition pieces . Buy the 9 EUR ticket and play as much as you like on the museum’s 130 machines.
Hospital in the Rock
This labyrinthine hospital is inside of the belly of Budapest's Castle Hill. It was built to provide care for the wounded during WWII. In the communist era, the place was used as an atomic bunker. Entry fee is 8 EUR, including a guided tour. Open every day from 10 am to 7 pm.
Mai Manó House
The Hungarian House of Photography. The multi-storey house was built by the royal photographer in 1894 to exhibit Hungarian photographs. From 1931-44 new owners built the three-story Arizona nightclub in the empty yard. After the war, the building served a variety of purposes, was a school, a showroom, and was used by the Budapest organization of the Hungarian Automobile Club for 30 years.
From 1996, the Hungarian Photography Foundation was able to buy out the rental rights from the tenants living inside and turned it into the Museum as it is today. Entry fee is 4 EUR. Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm.
House of Terror
The House of Terror Museum is a museum created in memory of the victims of the 20th century dictatorships in Budapest, in a very symbolic place at 60 Andrássy út near Oktogon. Until 1944, the building was the seat of the Arrow Cross party, and under the regime of the People's Republic, the headquarters of the Hungarian Communist Political Police, the AVH.
It commemorates the victims of those regimes, including those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building. Open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am to 6 pm. Entry fee is 9 EUR.
Museum of Fine Arts
This imposing building belongs to the World Heritage Sites of Budapest as part of the Heroes' Square monument complex. The museum presents the memories of universal and Hungarian art from antiquity to the end of the 18th century.
Open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am to 6 pm.