Your visit to Budapest cannot be all about Pálinka, Unicum, Gulyás or Kürtőskalács, the so-called chimney cakes. In addition to your voracious appetite, you must also feed that thirst for knowledge that you have brought with you to Budapest. 

We are going to take you on a real journey through time, where you will learn about the true history of Budapest; from its everyday life in the 17th century to the holocaust, medieval art or the ravages of the most extreme communism. 

This will make you understand the pain of the Hungarians, of those who have never won a war, who have failed in every revolution but that has not stopped them from standing up to injustice.

Best Historical & History Museums

Budapest History Museum & Castle Museum

Szent György tér 2, 1014

The Buda Castle is probably on your list of the most important sights in Budapest. The Buda area is home to some of the most beautiful and charming spots in the whole city. Perfect for taking photos, enjoying an Eszterházy, a typical Hungarian dessert, on a bench sitting in front of St. Matthias Church or proposing to your partner on the Fisherman’s Bastion. 

To this comprehensive list of things to do in Buda, add right now a visit to the Budapest History Museum & Castle Museum, which, in addition to being in Buda Castle and having a spectacular structure, tells the history of the city of Budapest from prehistoric times to the communist era. 

And they don’t just talk about the periods with simple posters, you’ll find real objects from all periods of history, taking you on a real journey through time.  

Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum

Lovas út 4/c, 1012 

Don’t leave the Buda Castle yet. Well, you can go down, but don’t go away. At the foot of the hill awaits you, carved into the rock, one of the most interesting and claustrophobic museums in the whole country; Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum. 

This bunker was converted into a hospital during the Second World War and the revolution in 1956. You’ll be able to get an idea of the day-to-day life in the bunker thanks to the incredible reproduction made with mannequins and original objects from the period.

House of Terror Museum

Andrássy út 60, 1062

Let’s go to one of Budapest’s most famous museums. The famous Andrássy Avenue not only takes you to Heroes’ Square along its more than two kilometres, but also transports you to one of the darkest and harshest moments in Budapest’s history. 

Inside this building, now a museum, torture, beatings and executions have been carried out in the name of both communist and fascist totalitarian governments. Inside there is a permanent exhibition about everything that happened both in the building and in the city and the country under these regimes.

Holocaust Memorial Center

Páva u. 39, 1094

Twenty minutes away by metro, in the southern part of the centre of Budapest, we find a memorial that, like the House of Terror Museum, remembers those who fell into the hands of those in power. 

In this case we are talking about the Holocaust, the great pain and damage done by the Germans in their months of occupation, where hundreds and thousands of people were executed. Personal objects show the raw and harsh history of many of those people who lost their lives.

Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives

Dohány u. 2, 1077

If we have already mentioned the Buda Castle as one of the most important stops on your route, surely you haven’t forgotten to mention the Great Synagogue on Dohány Street. Here, in addition to history and monuments, you will find a museum with an impressive archive with essential information for the Jewish community. 

This is not something that is important at a local level, but rather this institution is a reference point at a European and even world level.

Hungarian Agricultural Museum (Magyar Mezogazdasagi Muzeum)

Vajdahunyad stny., 1146

We change, we go to the north of the city centre, to visit one of the most beautiful buildings in the whole of Budapest. And that’s saying a lot. The Hungarian Agricultural Museum, known as the Magyar Mezogazdasagi Muzeum, is located inside the Vajdahunyad Castle. 

Walking through the gate of the Vajdahunyad Castle is quite an experience, because it has a special charm, it looks like a movie and it is in a perfect location for sightseeing; close to the Heroes’ Square, which is escorted by two national art museums, the largest spa in Europe, the Széchenyi baths and the City Park, as well as the circus and other buildings you should see. 

The museum is very interesting, even if you don’t look like an agricultural scholar or can’t tell the difference between a tomato plant and a potato, it doesn’t matter. It tells you about the development of different types of gathering, hunting and fishing over the years, including tools and techniques. An interesting visit in a spectacular location.

In memoriam 1956. October 25. Memorial and Exhibition

Kossuth Lajos tér 6-8, 1055

We have already talked about totalitarian governments, the German occupation and the Holocaust, but now it is the turn of the Hungarian revolution of 1956. This open-air site pays tribute to all the victims who lost their lives trying to escape an oppressive government. 

The site is full of resources to make the visitor understand the harshness of the times, from real images to film clips.