Walking around the Budapest parliament is free all around the year, however, entry to the parliament building of Hungary requires ticket
purchase,check online ticket prices here.Not many know that Budapest parliament interior can be visited for free and it may appear as a surprise to many tourists.
There are limited number of days when entry to Hungarian parliament is totally free.With free Hungarian parliament tour, you can go inside the building just like the paid tour,with minor limitations.
It is worth checking other doubts if you may have,like the following
As majority of information on the internet just talks about free entry to Budapest parliament for only kids which are under 6 years of age. In this post we discuss about the possibilities to enter Hungarian parliament for free irrespective of your nationality,age and residence status.
Here we will share the selected days when entry to Hungarian parliament building is free for all.In all other cases, entry to Hungarian parliament entry is only possible through ticket purchase.
Free tour of Hungarian Parliament
You can go inside the Budapest parliament building for free during the days,when Hungarians are celebrating their national days. There are 3 such days associated with Hungarian National celebrations,when entry to Budapest parliament is totally free.
You can enter Hungarian parliament building without any tickets and payments on the following days.
- 15th of March
- 20th of August
- 23th of October
Hungarian Parliament free visit
On the mentioned 3 days in March,August and October, the Hungarian parliament entry is free for all the tourists as well as locals. You do not even need to show any ID card,passport or any reservation when entering the parliament building on these days.
Only challenge in visiting free Budapest parliament tour on national days is that, being a Budapest parliament building free visit day, there are hundreds of people who are in the queue to visit the parliament building for free.
Hence, if you are visiting the parliament building after 10:00 in the morning on free visit days, you may have to stand and wait in the queue for 1 to 3 hours,before you can enter the parliament building.
Even on the free days of Hungarian parliament visit, it is possible to skip the free entrants queue and enter through the paid entrance which will take 1/5 of the time spent in waiting for free tour. Hence, if you are interested in visiting the parliament via paid tour,check out the tickets availability here.
Entry point for Budapest parliament free tour
The entry point for Budapest parliament free tour is different from the paid tour. All the paid tours for Hungarian parliament building in
Budapest start from the Budapest Parliament visitor center.
On the other hand, the entry point for free tour of Budapest parliament building is near the Kossuth statue. The line for free tour entry starts building around 10:00 in the morning near the Kossuth statue and people are directed to the entry point near the parliament building.
Budapest parliament free tour opening hours
Opening hours for free tours for Budapest parliament on national holidays are between 10:00 and 17:00. If you joined the long queue for free tour at 16:00 and cannot enter the parliament before 17:00, your half hour standing is the line will go wasted.
Hence it is a good idea that you are joining the long queue around 14:00 and 14:30 to give your considerable time that you enter the
parliament building. Standing in queue for free entry to Budapest parliament after 15:00 can be tricky,and depends upon the length of the line.
What in included in free Budapest parliament tour?
There are some minor differences when you are visiting Hungarian parliament for free(on Hungarian National days) compared to when you are visiting with a paid ticket.
In the free parliament tour, there is no audio guide or even a tour guide available.
The chamber of peers and lounge of the chamber of peers is not open for the Budapest parliament free tour visitors.Even on the free tour of Hungarian parliament, you can take photos of the Budapest parliament interior,except for the Dome Hall where Hungarian Holy Crown and the Coronation Insignia are kept.
Inside Budapest parliament with free tour
When entering the Budapest parliament through the free tour,you can see quite good portion of Hungarian parliament inside.In fact the only thing you miss in free parliament tour, compare to the paid tour is the chamber of peers.
In free tour of Hungarian parliament you will not be having any guide,as its a self guided tour and there are no audio or human guides available.
You can explore the many sections of Hungarian parliament in the free tour.
Following sections of Hungarian parliament are free to visit on the national days
- Entrance stair case,leading to the Grand Stairway
- Grand Stair Case
- The Dome Hall
- View of the Lounge of the Chamber of Peers from outside
Although this list of Hungarian parliament building sections are good to have a taste of the marvel it is. Some sections are still skipped in the free tour and only available in paid tour. Hence, if you want to visit all sections possible in Hungarian parliament building, you should book your tickets prices in advance for the paid tour.
In addition to the above sections inside the Hungarian parliament, following sections attached to the parliament are also free to visit in the free tour of Hungarian parliament.
- The Lapidarium
- 25th October 1956 – memorial
Although the free parliament entry tour has a long queue, entry to Lapidarium and 1956 memorial does not have such a long queue.
Duration of free Hungarian parliament tour
It is not mentioned anywhere that how long visitors can stay inside for the free Hungarian parliament building tour. Typically, visiting the
interior of Hungarian parliament should not take more than 25 minutes during the free tour.
As there is no audio or personal guide during the free tour, you can follow the path from eastern side of the parliament after passing the
security check. Security check should not take more than 30 seconds if you are without prohibited items.
After that, you can walk from the stair case to the Grand stairways and take photos,which can take 10 mins max. Next is to watch the artifacts in the Dome Hall,where photos are prohibited. You can spend 5 mins or so watching the artifacts in the Dome Hall of Hungarian Parliament.
Next to the Dome Hall of Budapest parliament is the entrance to the Lounge of chamber of peers,which is closed during the free tour of
parliament.After crossing the door of Lounge of chamber of peers, you are on your way back to the exit staircase,which leads to the western side of Hungarian parliament,and you will be out of the parliament.
How to plan for free tour of Hungarian parliament
As 15th of march,20th of August and 23th of October are national days in Hungary where parliament visit is free for all,you can plan your day in a way to enter Hungarian parliament in lesser time.
For visitors coming to Budapest in March,August and October,there is an opportunity to enter the Hungarian parliament for free on national Hungarian days celebrations. Therefore, if you plan to visit Hungary in any of these months,its a good idea to move your dates closer to the Hungarian national day in respective months.
This will enable you to see how the Hungarians celebrate their national days with a lot of fun activities to explore.
Arrive Early
On all the Hungarian national days, there is a guard ceremony in front of the parliament,typically starting at 0800 in the morning. It may be better that you arrive before that to see the ceremony that continues till 0900.
After watching the ceremony in front of the parliament, you can watch the airshow behind the parliament which is between 0900 and 1000. Around 0945 the queue for entering the Budapest parliament (for free) starts building outside the visitor center. If you are able to join the parliament entry line around 1000, there are high chances that you will be able to get into the Hungarian parliament building for free in 45 mins or so.
Bring an umbrella
When standing in the queue for free visit of Hungarian parliament building, it is better to bring an umbrella. You never know if it will rain, but in August, the temperature can go up to 36C+,hence, its a good idea to protect from the sun.
Get comfortable shoes
As normal time to enter parliament building with the free tour can be 1.5 to 2 hours, you should wear comfortable shoes. Despite the fact that there are benches to sit along the line, hardly anyone leaves the queue to sit. Hence, wear comfortable shoes when visiting the parliament for free tour.
Bring food and water
For free entry to Hungarian parliament, you will be standing in queue for a long time, it is better to bring some snacks and water. Eating is definitely not allowed inside the parliament building,while in the queue you can eat.
Although in 2023, there were water coolers available to provide free water to the visitors in the Parliament square.
Drinking non-alcoholic drinks is allowed in the free tour of Hungarian Parliament building. You should bring at least 1.5 liter of water to avoid dehydration while standing outside while waiting for entry to the parliament building.
Don’t bring your luggage
Make sure you do not bring your luggage or unnecessary things with you,when entering the Budapest parliament with free tour. There is a proper security check happening at the entry gate of Hungarian parliament building,where you have to take out your mobile,wallets,etc.
No ID checks but better to bring
When visiting Hungarian parliament building on Hungarian national days for free, there is no IDs required from the visitors. Once, you get to the entry door of the parliament, you can enter by just passing the security check without showing your IDs. However, it is still a good practice to have your ID cards with you.
Pictures are allowed in free Parliament tour
In the free tour of Hungarian parliament,you can take pictures in all the sections,except in the Dome Hall. The Dome Hall has security guards which are ensuring that no one takes picture in the hall.
Due to the golden color and lighting inside the parliament building of Hungary, you need good photographic skills to get better photos.
Hungarian parliament tour tickets on national days
Keep in mind that despite the free entry on the national days of Hungary, the paid tours still operate. If you happen to visit Budapest on any of the 3 national days in Hungary,and see the huge queue of people waiting to enter for free to the Budapest Parliament, you can visit the Parliament visitor center and purchase tickets from there. Of course, you can also buy the parliament guided tour in advance online and join the guided tour.
