House of Hungarian Photographers and other Budapest, Hungary Things to Do Tips

Most museums in Budapest are closed on Mondays, but one place that is open is the House of Hungarian Photographers. It is housed in a building built on order of the photographer Mano Mai in 1894.

In two floors exhibitions are shown. They are not permanent but change now and then. When I visited there was an exhibition called Living for the moment, photos taken between 1954 - 1979 by Endre Friedmann and an exhibition with some younger photographers who had got the Jozsef Pecsi Scholarship.

Entrance is 500 ft.

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Phone: 473 2666
Address: VI Nagymez? utca 20
Directions: To go there take the metro to Opera and walk north on Andrassy ut, turn left on Nagymez? and there you have the building on your left.
Website: www.maimano.hu/

St Stephen's Basilica is the largest church in Budapest, and the most important Catholic church. It was completed in 1905, but construction started already 50 years earlier. When the dome collapsed during a storm in 1868 the whole building had to be demolished and work started from the ground again. The church is built in neoclassic style. Statues on the exterior shows the twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists etc. The interior is decorated with work of arts made by 19th century Hungarian artists.

The church is open every day, but not in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays.

In summertime you can climb the steps (or take the elevator) to see the view from top of the dome, but it was closed in February when I was there.

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Phone: +36 1 317-2859
Address: 1051 Budapest, Hercegpr?m?s u.
Directions: Near Deak Ferenc ter (central metro station (M1 M2 M3), terminal for buses 4 9 15 and trams 47 49;M1 or bus 4 express Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut station/stop.
Website: http://www.basilica.hu

The Holy Right is believed to be the mummified right hand of St Stephen (King Stephen I was canonised 1083, about 50 years after his death). The relic is behind glass and in darkness. To see it better you can put a 100 ft coin in a machine and there will be light for a while in the glass casket.
The Holy Right Chapel is to the left in St Stephen?s Basilica, behind the main altar.

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Phone: +36 1 317-2859
Address: 1051 Budapest, Hercegpr?m?s u.
Directions: Near Deak Ferenc ter (central metro station (M1 M2 M3), terminal for buses 4 9 15 and trams 47 49;M1 or bus 4 express Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut station/stop.
Website: http://www.basilica.hu

Mathias Church is easy to recognise with its lovely tower and the colourful tile on the roof. The church dates back to the 13th century, but has several times been reconstructed and in the late 19th century it got a neo-Gothic look. The walls were then painted with geometrical and floral motifs.
Up the stairs there is a Collection of Ecclesiastical Art.
To enter the church it cost 600 ft.

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Phone: (+36 1) 489-0717
Address: 1014 Budapest, Orszaghaz utca 14
Directions: In the Castle District, next to Fisherman's Bastion. 'Varbusz' service from Moszkva ter metro to Szentharomsag ter or bus #16 from Deak F. ter to Disz ter.
Website: http://www.matyas-templom.hu

Szechenyi Chain Bridge was the first permanent bridge built between Buda and Pest. The bridge opened up in 1849 and was by then one of the largest suspension bridges with its 380 metres. As all other bridges in Budapest it was destroyed by the Nazis during the end of the second World War, but rebuilt a few years later.
The bridge has got its name from Count Istvan Szechenyi who was a great reformer in the 19th century.

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Address: Above the Danube
Directions: Just follow the Danube. You'll surely find them. :-) From North to South: Northern Railway Connector, Arpad, Margharet, Szechenyi Chain, Elisabeth, Liberty, Petofi, Lagymanyosi, S Railway Connector

From Fishermen’s Bastion you will have a splendid view over the Danube, the Parliament and Pest. And it was actually as a viewing platform it was built in 1905. Fishermen’s Bastion was built in a neo-Gothic style and looks like a small castle. Fishermen’s Bastion has got its name because in the Middle Ages it were the fishermen who were responsible to defend this part of the wall.

I had read in the guidebook there was going to be an entrance fee during daytime, but that was not the case when I visited.

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Address: Castle District (Varhegy) in Buda
Directions: It can be reached by the Castle bus (Varbusz) from Moszkva ter.

Stephen I was the first king in Hungary. He united the Magyar tribes and established Christianity in the country. Stephen I died in 1038 and less than 50 years later he was canonised.

The statue in the photo stands just in front of Fishermen’s Bastion. It is a bronze statue made by Alajos Stobl in 1906. Stephen is sitting on a horse, wearing the Hungarian crown and the coronation mantle.

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The Parliament is one of the most well known buildings in Budapest, and it is on many postcards. You will get a great view of the building from Castle Hill, on the other side of Danube. The Parliament building was built from 1884 to 1904. It’s built in a neo-Gothic style and its one of the largest parliamentary buildings in the world.

The national government sits here, but visitors are allowed to join one of the guided tours, to see some of the beautiful rooms and the Crown Jewels.

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Phone: + (36) 1 441-4000
Address: 1055 Budapest, Kossuth tér 1-3.
Directions: On Kossuth Lajos ter; metro M2, trams #2 2A, trolley-buses #70 78 and bus #15 to Kossuth Lajos ter stop
Website: http://www.parlament.hu

Heroes Square (Hösök tere) is a big square in the end of Andrassy ut. In the centre stands a 36 metres high pillar with a statue of the angel Gabriel on the top. Behind the pillar is a colonnade and between the columns in it are statues of Hungarian rulers, beginning with king Stephen I to the left.

Through the years the square has been the place for many big demonstrations and celebrations.

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Address: Hosok tere
Directions: Pest side, near City Park - metro station Hosok tere (M1)

The Independence Bridge was built between 1894 - 1896 for the millennium celebrations. It was then called Franz Joseph Bridge and it was the king himself who hammered the last silver nail into the bridge at the inauguration.
The bridge is 334 metres long and 20 metres wide.
As the Nazis left Budapest in 1945 the bridge was destroyed, but in 1946 it was rebuilt again in the same style.
The Independence Bridge crosses Danube between Gellert Hill and F?vam ter (where the Great Market Hall is).

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Address: Above the Danube
Directions: Just follow the Danube. You'll surely find them. :-) From North to South: Northern Railway Connector, Arpad, Margharet, Szechenyi Chain, Elisabeth, Liberty, Petofi, Lagymanyosi, S Railway Connector