City of Culture
Cultural programmes in Budapest
Cinema
Hungarians like the cinema. Budapest is full of opportunities to watch a good movie. You just need to choose whether it will be a classic Hollywood or art movie, in a 3D or art cinema, dubbed or subtitled.
Ticket prices range from 2,500 to 3,500 HUF. If you present your student card, you are eligible for a discount ticket price.
If you want to watch the most popular Hollywood movies, you should go to one of the cinemas belonging to the “Cinema City” chain. There is a Cinema City in almost every major shopping centre.
Art cinemas not only offer movies but also act as a meeting point where you can drink a coffee or beer with your friends.
Here are the most popular art cinemas in Budapest:
- Művész Cinema 1066 Budapest, Teréz körút 30
- Puskin Cinema 1053 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos utca 18
- Toldi Cinema 1052 Budapest, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 36-38
- Uránia National Film Theatre 1088 Budapest, Rákóczi út 21.
Theatre
Budapest offers a huge selection of excellent plays during the theatrical season (September- May).
Plays in foreign languages are regularly staged at the following theatres:
Museums and Art Galleries
The museums in Budapest offer a wide variety of exhibitions: you need never be bored in the city. Museums are open from Tuesday till Sunday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. If you present your student card, you are entitled to a discount ticket price. Here are some of the most famous museums in Budapest:
The Hungarian National Museum collects archaeological, historical, ethnic objects on the history of Hungary and the Carpathian Basin. It is one of the oldest and largest museums in Hungary.
The Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1896 and opened in 1906. The museum’s collection consists mostly of international works of art, including over 120,000 items from all periods of European art.
The Hungarian National Gallery was established in 1957 as the national art museum. It is located in the Buda Castle in Budapest. It has the largest public collection documenting and presenting the rise and development of fine arts in Hungary.
Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art collects and displays masterworks of modern and contemporary art. The permanent collection contains valuable pieces of American pop art (Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg etc.).
Hall of Art (Műcsarnok) is the centre of contemporary Hungarian fine art, and a key institution in the formation of an artistic canon. It is a national institution with the mission of exhibiting the most significant trends of both contemporary Hungarian and international fine art in Budapest. Website: mucsarnok.hu/
The House of Terror Museum is a museum and a monument at No. 60 Andrássy Avenue, the former headquarters of the communist secret police (ÁVH). Its exhibitions commemorate the victims of the fascist and communist regimes in Hungary in the 20th century, including those detained, interrogated, tortured or killed in the building itself.
The main goal of the Hungarian House of Photography in Mai Mano House is to provide a venue for Hungarian, international, historical, and contemporary photo exhibitions.