Buda Castle (Royal Palace), Budapest, Hungary

Buda Castle (Budavári Palota), the former Royal Palace of the Hungarian kings, stands at the southern end of Castle Hill above the Danube. The first royal castle was built here in the 13th century, after the Mongol invasion, and grew into King Matthias Corvinus’s Renaissance palace in the 15th century. It was destroyed in the siege of 1686, rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 18th century and greatly enlarged in 1875–1912 by Miklós Ybl and Alajos Hauszmann, when its Danube front reached about 300 m. Badly damaged in 1944–1945, it was rebuilt in a simplified form after the war, and since 1987 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that covers the Banks of the Danube and the Buda Castle Quarter.

Today the palace houses the Hungarian National Gallery, with Hungarian art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century and a viewing terrace under the dome, as well as the Budapest History Museum and the National Széchényi Library. The courtyards and terraces are free to walk around: look out for the Turul bird at the top of the Habsburg Steps, the equestrian statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy on the Danube terrace, the Matthias Fountain with its hunting scene and the Corvinus Gate with a raven holding a ring. Parts of the palace, such as St Stephen’s Hall, have been restored in recent years.

Key points:

• Hungarian National Gallery: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, closed on Mondays; about HUF 5,400 for the permanent collection (2026).
• Palace courtyards and terraces: free.
• Getting there: Buda Castle Funicular from Clark Ádám tér by the Chain Bridge (HUF 4,500 one way in 2026), bus 16 from Deák Ferenc tér or 16A/116 from Széll Kálmán tér, or on foot up the paths of Castle Hill.
• Nearby: Fisherman’s Bastion, Matthias Church, Sándor Palace.