Budapest visit

Ferencz Liszt Museum

VI. Vorosmarty utca 35. Website: http://www.lisztmuseum.hu
The former home of Hungary's most famous composer Ferenc Liszt, who lived here for 5 years from 1881 until his death in 1886. The three room apartment displays original furniture and other personal possessions. Recitals take place most Saturday mornings.

Opera House (Magyar Állami Operaház)

VI. Andrássy út 22. Website: http://www.opera.hu
Designed by Miklós Ybl to commemorate the Hungarian millennium celebrations, Budapest's magnificent State Opera House was completed in 1884. Regarded as one of the most important historical buildings in Hungary, its elegantly styled neo-Renaissance proportions fit in perfectly with neighbouring buildings on Andrássy ut.
The façade of the building is decorated with statues of 16 of the world's greatest composers including Monteverdi, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Bizet and Tchaikovsky. There are also representations of the muses of opera, together with sculptures of Franz Liszt and Ferenc Erkel (the composer of the Hungarian national anthem and director of the opera house when it opened in 1884) at ground level. The interior of the building is equally lavish. Karoly Lotz's frescoed ceiling in the main auditorium, which depicts 'Olympus, home of the Gods' is particularly breathtaking. Over seven kilograms of gold were used to decorate the horseshoe shaped auditorium, which seats over 1200 people.

Hopp Ference Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts

VI. Andrássy út 103. Website: http://www.hoppmuseum.com/
Museum based around the collection of Hungarian businessman Ferenc Hopp, who by the time of his death in 1919, had amassed a huge collection of works from India and the far east. Ancient Buddhist art dating back to the 9/10th centuries is displayed alongside Japanese, Indian and Tibetan-Nepalese pieces.

Museum of Fine Arts

XIV. Hosök tere. Website: http://www2.szepmuveszeti.hu/index.htm
The museum stands on the northern side of Heroes' Square and houses the National collection of non-Hungarian art with items dating back to the Egyptian era. Some count this as one of the most impressive galleries in Central Europe as it's home to works by famed artists such as El Greco, Goya, Rembrant and Rubens. A strong core of the art collection was collected by the Esterházy family, once one of the most influential aristocratic families in the country. There are often temporary exhibitions on show and it's therefore worth checking to see what's on beforehand.

Ráth György Museum

VI. Városligeti fasor 12. Website: http://www.museum.hu/search/museum.asp?ID=73
Just a stone's throw away from Heroes' Square, the former home of artist György Ráth is devoted to Buddhist and Eastern Art from China and Japan. Among the excellent displays are ornate snuff bottles, Samurai armour and intricately detailed lacquered combs. Temporary exhibitions of art from other Far Eastern countries also take place here during the summer.

Trafó Gallery

IX. Liliom utca 41. Website: http://www.trafo.hu
Arts centre devoted to both local and international artists. Joint events are frequently held, among them exhibitions with the Goethe Institute. It's no surprise then that the Trafó is popular all year round. Film screenings and lectures by featured artists also take place.

Museum of Applied Arts

IX. Ülloi út 33-37. Website: http://www.imm.hu
The galleries of the museum , which surrounded a central hall of white marble supposedly modelled on the Alhambra in southern Spain, contain a wonderful array of Hungarian furniture dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, Art Nouveau and Secessionist artefacts, and objects related to the history of trades and crafts. This beautiful building was designed by Odön Lechner and completed in 1896. It houses a number of interesting exhibitions with a permanent display of arts and crafts and furniture in the upstairs area.

Hungarian National Museum

VIII. Múzeum körút 14-16. Website: http://www.hnm.hu
Just north from Kálvin tér on Múzeum krt. stands the Hungarian National Museum. Built to the design of Mihály Pollack between 1837 and 1847, the museum's area covers over 8000 square metres and is the largest in Hungary.
It was from the steps of this building on March 15, 1848 that the famous Hungarian poet Sándor Petofi is said to have recited his revolutionary Nemzeti dal (National Song) as a call to arms against the Habsburg monarchy. Although the uprising failed, the date remains a celebrated national holiday. Permanent exhibitions include the Hungarian Coronation Insignia, the History of Hungary from St. Stephen to the Millennium and the History of Hungary in the 20th century.

Central Market Hall (Nagy Vásárcsarnok)

IX. Fovam tér. Website: http://www.csapi.hu. Heading south-west from Kálvin tér to Vámház körút, you'll come across the largest of five market halls opened towards the end of the 19th-century - the Central Market Hall. This grand structure originally incorporated an indoor canal by which goods were delivered to the market's traders. Restored in 1994, the sheer size and grandeur of the hall reflects an era when Budapest was a city with big ideas.
Although the canal is long gone, visitors can still marvel at the amazing variety of fresh produce, meat and flowers for sale. Housed beneath a beautifully restored Zsolnay tiled roof, the immaculately laid out market stalls charge the senses with a combination of vivid colours and intoxicating smells.
As is the case with many of Europe's great market halls, if you plan to visit, do so early in the morning. Saturday in particular, is the best time to see this impressive market in full swing.

Párizsi udvar

V. Ferenciek tere 10-11/Petofi Sándor utca 2-8.
Although not the bustling place it once was, this elegant shopping arcade (designed by Henrik Schmahl in 1913) is well-worth a visit, particularly as it's just around the corner from Váci utca. The building, which was originally commissioned by a savings bank, contains motifs, mosaics and ornaments of every description, with fragile and intricate woodwork forming part of the roof structure. Although criticized at the time for being too garish, it's a far cry from the bleak functionality of today's Budapest malls.

Danube Embankment (Dunakorzó)

Although today's Dunakorzó (universally known as the korzó) cannot be compared to the grand promenade which existed during the second half of the 19th-century, it remains a favourite spot for tourists. Running alongside the Danube between the Erzsébet and Szabadság bridges, the korzó follows the route of the No. 2 Villamos passed the Sofitel Regency, InterContinental and Marriott Hotels.
On a warm summer's day, it's fashionable to sit and chat over a cold beer or coffee in one of the many riverside cafés (service can be painfully slow during high season though). Alternatively, you can sit and admire the views of Buda, free of charge, from one of the old-time replica 'Buchwald-chairs' on the front. Also worth looking out for is Laszlo Marton's little bronze statue of a child perched on the railings between the korzó and the tramline. Entitled 'Little Princess' the figure is curiously seen wearing a jester's hat. Less than five minutes walk away is the fashionable Váci utca which stretches from Vörösmarty tér to Vámház kórút.

Vigadó (Pesti Vigadó)

V. Vigadó utca 5. Website: http://www.tabulas.hu/vigado
Although the acoustics of Budapest's second largest concert hall are sadly lacking, the building itself, designed by Frigyes Feszl in 1859 makes a bold impression along the Pest embankment. Built to replace another concert hall on the same site (which was destroyed by fire in the 1848 War of Independence) Feszl's Vigadó was also badly damaged, this time during World War II. The post-war reconstruction, which took some thirty-six years to complete, remains faithful to his original design and continues to attract leading conductors and performers from around the world.

Gresham Palace (Gresham Palota)

V. Roosevelt tér 6., Website: http://www.greshampalace.com
Commissioned by the Gresham Insurance Company of London in 1904, Zsigmond Quittner's extravagant Art Nouveau Palace is situated at the very foot of the Lánchid on Roosevelt tér.
Although the richly decorated façade crumbled during post war years, it was still easy to appreciate just what a remarkable addition to the riverbank the building was at the time. Completed in 1907, and undoubtedly state of the art for the period, the Palace was fitted with all the latest mod-cons including central heating and a unique central vacuum system. Despite the building being heavily damaged in both World War II and the 1956 uprising, the beautiful wrought-iron 'peacock' entrance gates survived intact. Inside, on the second floor, Miksa Róth's fine stained glass window depicts the Hungarian reformist politician Lajos Kossuth.
Now, after being purchased by the Four Season's chain, over $85 million has been spent on turning the building into a luxury hotel (opening early 2004).

Ethnographical Museum

V. Kossuth tér 12. Website: http://www.neprajz.hu
This impressive building, designed by Alajos Hauszmann, was originally the Palace of Justice. With sculptures on the main façade depicting magistrates and legislators, the interior decoration is also beautiful, particularly the huge entrance hall with its chandeliers and marble staircases.
However, pride of place must go to the magnificent ceiling fresco by Karoly Lotz (note that images of Justitia the goddess of justice give away the original function of the building). The museum also houses a fine permanent exhibition of Hungarian culture and colourful folkart, as well as other cultural displays from around the world.

The Central Synagogue (Nagy Zsinagóga)

VII. Dohany utca 2.
Completed in 1859 from a Lajos Förster design, the Great Synagogue is second only in size to New York's Temple Emmanuel. Two impressive 'Moorish' style domes make it one of the most distinguishable landmarks in Pest, while the detailed façade of the building is decorated with brickwork in the heraldic colours of the city - blue, yellow and red.
Adjoining the main building (on the corner of Wesselényi u.) is the Heroes Temple, which seats 250 people and is used for religious services on weekdays. Although not open to the public, the Lazlo Vago/Ferenc Farogó design serves as a memorial to Hungarian Jews who gave their lives during World War I.
The courtyard to the rear houses the Synagogue's garden of remembrance. Here, Imre Varga's poignant weeping willow stands as a memorial to the Holocaust. As well as the names of Jewish families who were murdered, an inscription simply reads 'Whose agony is greater than mine'. A moving exhibition on the fate of Budapest's Jewish population during World War II is also housed in a wing of the Synagogue.

Jewish Museum

VII. Dohány utca 2.
Housed in a wing of the Central Synagogue (the second largest in the world) Budapest's Jewish Museum was built on the site where Theodor Herzl, the famous Zionist leader and novelist was born. Containing mostly 18th and 19th century art treasures, exhibits are arranged in three main rooms according to their ritual significance i.e. Sabbath, holidays and life cycle ceremonies. A fourth room, which covers the Holocaust, gives a harrowing insight into the fate of an estimated 550,000 Hungarian Jews murdered by the Nazis and Hungarian Arrow Cross fascists during the final years of WWII.

Gozsdu Courtyard (Gozsdu Udvar)

VII. Király utca/Dob utca.
A long row of seven linked inner courtyards in the heart of the old Jewish quarter, in which you'll find a number of small shops and workshops. Not far from Deák tér, this area will give you a small taste of how Jewish Budapest used to be. Depending on which end you enter from, the entrances are at 16 Dob utca or 13 Király utca.

New York Café (New York Kávéház)

VII. Erzsébet körút 9-11.
Previously shrouded under scaffolding and a dirty black exterior, visitors 'not in the know' would simply pass by the New York Kávéház without discovering the wonderfully lavish neo-Baroque interior of this late 19th-century building. Unfortunately, the café, which was once the haunt of Budapest's most famous poets and playwrights, was rammed unceremoniously by a Russian tank during the 1956 uprising (it also suffered significant bomb damage during WWII). Until now the resultant structural damage was deemed too costly to repair. All that is set to change, however, following the acquisition of the New York Palace (in which the café is housed) by Italian hotel group Boscolo. Promising to spend 8 Billion HUF on restoration work alone, they are currently transforming the building into a luxury 235 room, five star hotel.

Statue Park (Szoborpark)

XXII. Balatoni út. Website: http:// www.szoborpark.hu
The Statue park is the most popular tourist attraction out of the city. Clearly visible from the highway , a bogus classical façade frames giant statues of Lenin, Marx and Engels. Visitors to Szobor Park seem to fall into two categories - those intrigued by the idea of a dumping ground for Soviet and Communist statues and others making a bizarre sort of pilgrimage to wallow in what remains of the good old days of 'goulash communism'. The statues represented a powerful symbol of Soviet strength and unity. Today, stuck out on the edge of town, they've lost much of their dignity, instead being brutally exposed as the idealistic follies that ordinary Hungarians always knew them to be.

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