The statue of the hooded figure opposite Vajdahunyad Castle is that of Anonymous, the unknown chronicler at the court of King Béla III (r 1172–96) who wrote a history of the early Magyars. Note the pen with the shiny tip in his hand; writers (both real and aspirant) stroke it for inspiration.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.58 MILES
Castle Hill is a kilometre-long limestone plateau towering 170m above the Danube. It contains some of Budapest’s most important medieval monuments and…
25.41 MILES
The largest church in Hungary sits on Castle Hill, and its 72m-high central dome can be seen for many kilometres around. The building of the present…
1.71 MILES
Budapest's stunning Great Synagogue is the world's largest Jewish house of worship outside New York City. Built in 1859, the synagogue has both Romantic…
7.31 MILES
Home to more than 40 statues, busts and plaques of Lenin, Marx, Béla Kun and others whose likenesses have ended up on trash heaps elsewhere, Memento Park,…
1.7 MILES
Budapest’s neoclassical cathedral is the most sacred Catholic church in all of Hungary and contains its most revered relic: the mummified right hand of…
1.03 MILES
The headquarters of the dreaded ÁVH secret police houses the disturbing House of Terror, focusing on the crimes and atrocities of Hungary's fascist and…
1.84 MILES
The Eclectic-style Parliament, designed by Imre Steindl and completed in 1902, has 691 sumptuously decorated rooms. You’ll get to see several of these and…
1.92 MILES
The Hungarian National Museum houses the nation’s most important collection of historical relics in an impressive neoclassical building, purpose built in…
Nearby Budapest attractions
1. Hungarian Agricultural Museum
0.02 MILES
This huge and rather esoteric museum is housed in the stunning baroque and gothic wings of Vajdahunyad Castle. Scattered across a dozen palatial halls,…
0.02 MILES
Erected for the 1896 millenary celebrations originally in canvas and later built in stone, the castle was modelled after a fortress in Transylvania – but…
0.03 MILES
The little church with the jungly, overgrown cloister opposite Vajdahunyad Castle is called Ják Chapel because its intricate, many-layered portal was…
0.05 MILES
Covered in vines, the turreted Gatehouse Tower, part of the Vajdahunyad Castle, greets visitors as they cross the footbridge to the small island in the…
0.06 MILES
Accessed via the Hungarian Agricultural Museum, the Apostles' Tower stands 30m tall and looks down on the beautiful Ják Chapel, as well as giving you a…
0.1 MILES
City Park is Pest’s green lung, an open space measuring almost a square kilometre that hosted most of the events during Hungary’s 1000th anniversary…
0.22 MILES
The Timewheel, on City Park’s western edge, is the world’s largest hourglass, standing 8m high and weighing 60 tonnes. Unveiled in 2004 to commemorate…
0.24 MILES
The Palace of Art, reminiscent of a Greek temple, is among the city’s largest exhibition spaces. It focuses on contemporary visual arts, with some three…