Exterior of National Museum.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Hungarian National Museum

Top choice in Budapest


The Hungarian National Museum houses the nation’s most important collection of historical relics in an impressive neoclassical building, purpose built in 1847. Exhibits on the 1st floor trace the history of the Carpathian Basin from earliest times to the arrival of the Magyars in the 9th century; the ongoing story of the Magyar people resumes on the 2nd floor, from the conquest of the basin to the end of communism.

The museum was founded in 1802, when Count Ferenc Széchényi donated his personal collection of more than 20,000 prints, maps, manuscripts, coins and archaeological finds to the state. Highlights include Celtic gold and silver jewellery, a huge 2nd-century Roman mosaic, King St Stephen’s crimson silk coronation mantle, a Broadwood piano used by both Beethoven and Liszt and memorabilia from socialist times.

Transportation

  • tram: 47, 49
  • metro: M3/4 Kálvin tér

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Budapest attractions

1. Hungarian Radio Headquarters

0.11 MILES

The renovated headquarters of Hungarian Radio was where shots were first fired on 23 October 1956; a memorial plaque marks the spot.

2. Vintage Galería

0.13 MILES

This private gallery with banker's hours features some striking contemporary photography.

3. Ervin Szabó Central Library

0.15 MILES

Southeast of the Hungarian National Museum is the main repository of Budapest’s public library system, which holds some 2.4 million books and bound…

4. Károly Garden

0.17 MILES

A pleasant place to take a breather, this flowered-filled garden was built for the Károly Palace, which now houses the Petőfi Museum of Literature…

5. Makovec Office Building

0.18 MILES

This office block was designed by Imre Makovec (1935–2011), who developed his own 'organic' style using unusual materials like tree trunks and turf.

6. Egyetem tér

0.21 MILES

Boasting a fountain, abstract sculpture, benches and shade sails, ‘University Sq’ takes its name from the branch of the prestigious Loránd Eötvös Science…

7. Petőfi Museum of Literature

0.22 MILES

Just north of Egyetem tér and housed in the sumptuous neoclassical Károly Palace (Károlyi Palota), dating from 1840, this museum is devoted to Sándor…

8. University Church

0.22 MILES

This Baroque church was built in 1742 on the site of an Ottoman mosque. Above the main altar hangs a copy of the Black Madonna of Czetochowa, which is…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "hungary/budapest/southern-pest/attractions/hungarian-national-museum/a/poi-sig/412014/1329735",
      "destination": "Budapest",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Hungary",
      "city": "Budapest",
      "position": "superzone"
    }