New York Café (New York Kávéház)
VII. Erzsébet körút 9-11, Metro: M2 Astoria, Tram 4, 6
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
recently the resultant structural damage was deemed too costly to repair.
All that changed, however, following the acquisition of the New York
Palace (in which the café is housed) by Italian hotel group Boscolo. Having spent
in excess of 8 Billion HUF on restoration work alone, the building has now been transformed into a luxury
235 room, five star hotel.
Opera House (Magyar Állami Operaház)
VI. Andrássy út 22, Metro: M1
Opera, Box office opens: 10am 7pm daily, Guided Tours 3pm and 4pm daily,
Website: 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. What's more, over seven kilograms of gold were used to decorate the horseshoe shaped
auditorium, which seats over 1200 people. Details of a combined Parliament/Opera
House tour can be found on our brochure
pages, while elsewhere, our site also gives classical/operatic performance
listings and ticket information.
 V. Kossuth Lajos tér, Metro: M2 Kossuth
Lajos tér, Tram 2, Website: www.mkogy.hu/parl_en.htm
(lists times for tours in English, French, German, Russian, Hebrew, Japanese,
Italian and Spanish)
Looking out from the vantage point of the Fisherman's Bastion across the Danube, the flat Pest
skyline between the Margaret bridge and Lánchíd is dominated by only one building -
the Országház (Houses of Parliament).
Conceived and built for the millennium celebrations of 1896, the Imre Steindl
design was only finished in 1902 (the year of his death). Inspired in part, by the Palace of
Westminster, its white neo-gothic turrets and arches stretch for over 250 metres along the Danube
embankment.
 The building, which comprises of 691 rooms, immense halls and over
12.5 miles
of corridors, has a central dome of 96-metres (precisely the same height as that of Szent
István Basilica). Group excursions take place when Parliament is not in session, usually
taking in the chamber of the former upper house (you can actually sit on the members benches). Each
tour lasts approximately 20 minutes and flash/video photography is allowed.
Details of a special combined Parliament/Opera House tour can also be found on
our sightseeing
brochure pages.
 V. Ferenciek tere 10-11/Petőfi Sándor utca 2-8, M3 Ferenciek tere, Bus 7
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.
Royal Palace (Budavári palota)
 I. Budavári palota, Várbus, Bus 16
The Royal Palace, which dominates the southern skyline of the Castle District, shares a similar
history to that of the Mátyás Templom, namely one of upheaval and reconstruction. The
building that stands today is a mock historic structure, comprising of original features from the
17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
The first royal residence on Castle Hill is said to have been constructed by
Béla IV after the Mongol Invasion of 1241. Later, new sections were added by the Angevin
kings before a much larger Gothic palace was established under the reign of Sigismund of Luxembourg
(1387-1437). Considered even at this time to be one of the most beautiful palaces in Europe, the
golden era of the palace complex came during the reign of King Matthias (1451-90). Widely seen as
being one of the most extravagant, beautiful and important renaissance buildings of the time,
nobleman, scholars and renaissance artists would journey here from all over Europe, encouraged (in
no small part) by the prospect of receiving lavish treatment and hospitality from Queen
Beatrice.
Despite suffering only minor structural damage during the lengthy period of
Turkish occupation, it was completely destroyed by the pan-European Christian army which liberated
Buda in 1686. During the early part of the 18th century, work commenced on a much smaller Baroque
Palace, although by 1779 its overall size had increased significantly.
 Less than a century later, the Palace was damaged again, this time during the
1848-49 War of Independence. The subsequent reconstruction work, which finished in 1904, more than
doubled the size of the Palace from the original Gothic structure. Yet this was not the final
episode in the Palace's turbulent history.
During World War II the building served as the command post for German
occupying forces. In the final months of the war, the advancing Red Army besieged the Palace and,
amidst fierce fighting, completely gutted the building. The present post war reconstruction, which
includes Baroque and Gothic elements, now houses the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest History
Museum and the National Széchenyi Library.
Ruszwurm Café (Ruszwurm Cukrászda)
I. Szentháromság utca 7, Tel: 175-5284, Metro: M2 Moszkva tér, Várbusz, Open 10am-7pm daily,
Website: www.ruszwurm.hu
Tucked away down Szentháromság utca is the famous Ruszwurm café. This small,
but charming pastry shop began life as a coffee house way back in 1824.
The fine Biedermeier interior, together with the sheer variety of
mouth-watering cakes on display makes the Ruszwurm well-worth a visit (although
you'll need the best part of an hour to spare if you plan to sit inside). On a hot summer's day, you'll
find people queuing to buy ice-cream by the scoop (gomboc) just inside the entrance.
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