Stand on Kossuth Square and Look Up at the Gothic Frontage
You arrive on Kossuth Lajos Square on the Pest side of the Danube and the building runs away from you along the riverbank, a symmetrical Gothic Revival façade topped by a Renaissance Revival dome. This is the Országház, the House of the Country, the seat of Hungary's National Assembly and the largest building in the country since its completion. It was designed by Imre Steindl, who won the international competition for the commission; his neo-Gothic plans resembled the Palace of Westminster in London, and 19th-century Hungarian politicians wanted the building to signal the nation's commitment to Western Europe, with Britain as a political role model. Construction began in 1885 and the building was inaugurated in 1896, on the presumed 1,000th anniversary of the country, but it was not fully completed until 1904. Steindl went blind and died before it was finished.
Walk the length of the eastern front and read the façade. The walls carry 242 sculptures inside and outside; the exterior displays statues of Hungarian rulers, Transylvanian leaders and military figures, with the coats of arms of kings and dukes over the windows. The official main entrance is on this east side, even though the main façade overlooks the Danube. The eastern staircase is flanked by two lions.
Join the Guided Tour Through the Staircase, Dome Hall and Old Upper House
The building can only be visited with an official Parliament guide, so book ahead; tours sell out weeks in advance, and a limited number of same-day tickets are sold at the Visitor Centre about fifteen minutes before tour time. Tours run daily in eight languages, and you choose your language at booking. Note that tours can be cancelled or postponed without notice during parliamentary sessions or official receptions.
Expect airport-style security on entry, so travel light; large bags and backpacks are checked, and weapons, knives, gas spray, explosives and pyrotechnics are prohibited. The standard tour runs around 45 minutes including the security check. On the route you climb the great ornamental stairs, see frescoes on the ceiling and pass the bust of Imre Steindl in a wall niche. You enter the sixteen-sided central hall, with the huge chambers of the Lower House and Upper House adjoining it. The modern National Assembly is unicameral and meets in the Lower House, while the Upper House serves as a conference and meeting room. The Holy Crown of Hungary has been displayed in the central hall since 2000. Photography is allowed along most of the route, except at the security check and in the Crown Jewels Dome Hall.
Look for the stained glass and glass mosaics by Miksa Róth, and for statues of Árpád, Stephen I and John Hunyadi. The sheer fabric of the place is worth noticing too: ten courtyards, twenty-seven gates, twenty-nine staircases and 691 rooms, more than 200 of them offices. The building is almost always under renovation somewhere, given its surface and handiwork.
Time Your Visit for the River Light and the Free National Days
The main façade faces the Danube, so approach from the river side first, then walk around to the east entrance for your tour. On Hungary's historical national days entry is free, but expect multi-hour queues. The building closes on certain holidays, and cancellations are announced on the official Parliament site and by email.
If you are an EU citizen, you can join short guided tours free with your EU passport, though you still need to book ahead. The highlight not to miss is the central hall and the Holy Crown; build your tour time around it rather than treating the staircase as the main event. Afterwards, the Visitor Centre has a café and a gift shop, a sensible place to sit once security has released you back onto the square.
Walk the Memorials Around the Square and Cross to the Museum of Ethnography
The square itself is a sequence of monuments. At the east front of the building is the memorial to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, along with the imposing Kossuth Memorial and the equestrian statue of Francis II Rákóczi. On the south lawn sits a seated statue of Attila József, as described in his poem "By the Danube." Martyrs' Square is immediately adjacent to Kossuth Square, with a statue of Imre Nagy. From the balcony facing Kossuth Lajos Square, Mátyás Szűrös declared the Hungarian Republic on 23 October 1989.
Opposite the Parliament stands the Museum of Ethnography, one of the two buildings whose competition plans were realised alongside Steindl's; the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture also faces the Parliament. A couple of hundred metres away is St Stephen's Basilica, the main church of Budapest and an important example of Neo-Classical architecture. The Parliament is reachable on Line 2 of the Budapest Metro and line 2 of the tram system, from the Kossuth Lajos Square station.
Start With the Booking, Then Build the Day Around It
Book your guided tour first, in your language and at a time that leaves the rest of the day free, then plan the walk: the Danube façade, the eastern front and its lions, the memorials across the square, and the Museum of Ethnography opposite. Check the official Parliament site for closures and cancellations before you travel, and carry your passport if you are claiming the EU rate or a free short tour. The building has been open to the public since 1990, and only a few sections are used by the government and closed to visitors, so what you see on the tour is a working parliament as well as a monument. Give it a morning, and let the rest of Pest follow.