Parliament & Danube Bank

Hungarian Parliament (Országház)

The Hungarian Parliament (1885–1904) is the third-largest parliament building in the world and Budapest's undisputed landmark: 268 meters long, 123 meters wide, 96 meters high (the number 96 represents the year of the Hungarian conquest in 896). The neo-Gothic building by Imre Steindl was modeled after the London Palace of Westminster and consists of 40 million bricks, 500,000 semi-precious stones, and 40 kg of gold leaf.

Parliament Tour

The 45-minute tour (available in German!) is one of the best experiences in Budapest: The golden staircase, the domed hall with the Holy Crown of St. Stephen (Hungary's most sacred relic, guarded by soldiers in ceremonial uniforms), the opulent assembly halls, and the endless corridors full of frescoes and statues. Admission: EU citizens 3,200 HUF (8€), Non-EU: 6,400 HUF (16€). ALWAYS book online in advance — tours are booked out weeks ahead.

Shoes on the Danube Bank (Cipők a Duna-parton)

The most poignant memorial in Budapest stands on the Danube bank, 300 meters south of the Parliament: 60 pairs of iron shoes — men's shoes, women's shoes, children's shoes — commemorate the Hungarian Jews who were driven to the Danube by the Arrow Cross (Hungarian fascists) in 1944/45, forced to remove their shoes, and shot into the water. The shoes stand on the riverbank wall as if their owners had just taken them off. A place of silence and remembrance.

Kossuth Lajos tér

The large square in front of the Parliament is named after the freedom hero Lajos Kossuth and is framed by monumental statues and the Ethnographic Museum (Néprajzi Múzeum). On the hour: ceremonial flag raising in front of the Parliament.