In 1902, after a mere 17 years of construction, Hungary presented itself with what was then the largest parliament building in the world. An architectural echo of the Houses of Parliament of London, this neo-Gothic edifice expressed the country's robust self-confidence at the beginning of the 20th century. Since WWII, when Hungary's House of Lords was abolished, members of Parliament have convened only in the southern wing of the building. During the communist era, they convened hardly at all - only eight days a year, in fact, to rubber-stamp the laws drawn up by the Party. Parliament is fronted by several monuments to the nation's lost struggles: the wars for independence in 1703, 1848 and again in 1956. Parliament also contains the crown jewels of Hungary - the Holy Crown and the Coronation Insignia, which were worn by Hungarian kings since the Middle Ages. At the end of WWII, these regalia were spirited out of the country and ended up in the United States, not to be returned until 1978. For the guided tours show up a few minutes early at Gate X, just right of the main stairs. The parliament building is chained off here, but a guard or tour guide should let you in to buy a ticket.
Venue Info
Tickets
Admission: 3 500 HUF/adult, 1 750/discount.
Phone
(+36-1) 441 4000
Website
http://www.parlament.huYou may also be interested in
Check out other destinations in Hungary
Comments
Lance Grundy
Great Britain
27. 1. 2026
SMS Leitha [the Lajta Monitor Museumship], the first river monitor warship in Europe and the oldest and also the only remaining, fully restored warship of the Austro-Hungarian Navy is currently moored on a pontoon in front of the Parliament building. Laid down in 1871 and launched in 1872, the monitor saw active service in the First World War. In 1919, 'Lajta' and her sister ship, the ‘Maros’ took an active part in the so-called ‘Monitor Revolt’ which was one of the first anti-communist rebellions in the world. A military takeover was organized in Budapest against the communist dictatorship and naval support from the Danube was seen as crucial to its success. When the monitors appeared on the river, they hoisted the red-white-green national flag, instead of the Soviet red one. The people welcomed them, but the revolt was soon brutally suppressed by Hungarian communist forces. The monitor can be visited free of charge on guided tours which start every half hour from 10:00-16:00 Tuesday-Saturday.
Stuart Smith
27. 1. 2026
It appears you may need patience, more than anything else, to visit. The queue to buy tickets when we went was slow moving at best. A security guard let 2 people in at a time to buy tickets; they re-appeared afer up to 10 minutes. I know we all have to be security conscious these days but, frankly, we couldn't be bothered to wait in a queue for (we estimated) 40 mins!
Ernest J Sinclaire
27. 1. 2026
I think you should include the visiting hrs also on your website.