Castles and Palaces in Hungary
Many of Hungary’s castles tell the story of the Ottoman wars: hilltop forts in the north, baroque palaces built once the fighting stopped. The cards give the reason to go, and the guides have tickets, hours and how to get there.
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Choose a category and an area. Each card says in a line why the place is worth your time, and links to the guide that covers it.
33 places
Boldogkő vára
Covered in our guide: Castles in Hungary: 19 Day Trips from Budapest, with Prices and a Verdict on Each
Bory-vár
Not medieval by any stretch. The sculptor Jenő Bory built this himself between 1923 and 1959, mixing Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance into a shape that answers to no historical rulebook at all.
Buda Castle
Budavári Palota
A palace coming back one courtyard at a time: free terraces and courtyards, St Stephen's Hall, a grand-prize winner in Paris in 1900, for 4,900 HUF, the guard at Sándor Palace and the cheap way up.
Cifrapalota
Géza Márkus built the Cifrapalota (the Ornamented Palace) in 1902 and 1903 as the city's first apartment building, and covered it in Zsolnay ceramics: 37 glazed panels mixing folk motifs, hearts, peacocks and the tree of life…
Diósgyőri vár
Closed. The operator's site, diosgyorivar.hu, says the castle is not receiving visitors while the reconstruction runs, and points visitors to the jousting arena next door, the Lovagi Tornák Tere, which hosts concerts, theater…
Drégely vára
Drégely fell in 1552, the same year Eger held. Captain György Szondi and a small garrison fought to the last man, and Arany's poem about his two pages is why every Hungarian knows the name.
Egri vár
If you add one countryside castle to a Hungary trip, add this one. In 1552 István Dobó and roughly 2,000 defenders held the walls against an Ottoman force many times their size, and the museum inside is built around that.
Esterházy-kastély
direct coaches leave Sopron bus station about every hour in the morning and take about 50 minutes to the Fertőd, Esterházy-kastély stop, for 600 Ft.
Esterházy-kastély
The Esterházy-kastély on Hősök tere was fully restored between 2018 and 2020 and is open inside.
Esterházy-palota
From Káptalandomb the old town is a short walk, and it is compact: an hour or two on foot covers the main squares, more with a museum.
Festetics-kastély
An aristocratic residence rather than a castle, and the label stops mattering once you are inside. Baroque wings, French gardens, and the Helikon Library with its 90,000 volumes.
Füzéri vár
Füzér vára
One of the most dramatically placed fortresses in Hungary, on a rock spur deep in the Zemplén, and the castle where the Holy Crown was kept for almost a year after the coronation of 1526.
Gödöllői Királyi Kastély
Hungary's largest baroque palace, and Empress Elisabeth's escape from Viennese court life. Furnished rooms, manicured gardens, and considerably less museum-hall sterility than the category usually delivers.
Gyulai Almásy-kastély
The Almásy mansion, the Baroque palace opposite the castle, lost its furnishings after 1945, and its visitor center uses replicas and interactive displays to show the life of the aristocrats and of the servants who kept the…
Gyulai vár
Around it: the Castle Spa next door, one of the better countryside thermal baths in the country, and the sausage the town is named for.
Herend Porcelain Palace
Hungarian souvenirs worth carrying home from Budapest: paprika, Tokaji, Unicum, Herend and Zsolnay, embroidery and communist memorabilia, with 2026 prices, shops and the rules for packing them.
Herend, Castle District
Hungarian souvenirs worth carrying home from Budapest: paprika, Tokaji, Unicum, Herend and Zsolnay, embroidery and communist memorabilia, with 2026 prices, shops and the rules for packing them.
Hollókői vár
The castle is compact, and the village below turns it into a full outing: Hollókő is the only Hungarian village on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and its Palóc traditions, whitewashed houses and craft work are part of everyday…
Jurisics-vár
Covered in our guide: Kőszeg: Hungary's Jewel-Box Town on the Austrian Border
Királyi Palota
Covered in our guide: The Danube Bend From Budapest: Szentendre, Visegrád, Esztergom or Vác?
Püspökvár
Káptalandomb, Chapter Hill, is the old core of Győr above the rivers, with the cathedral, the Bishop's Castle and the chapter houses grouped together.
Rákóczi-vár
Covered in our guide: The Castle That Kept the Holy Crown: A Zemplén Weekend From Budapest
REÖK Palota
The Art Nouveau Reök Palace (1907) flows like water, all curves and decoration, and it is one of the most photographed buildings in Hungary.
Salgó vára
The most photogenic ruin in Hungary, and it costs nothing. What is left of the castle stands on a 625 m basalt peak above Salgóbánya, stone against volcanic rock and forest, and on a misty autumn morning it stops looking like a…
Sándor-palota
Next door to the palace, at Szent György tér 1, the early classicist Sándor Palace is the office of the President of Hungary.
Savoyai-kastély
Most people treat this as a bath with a train station attached. It is also a genuinely interesting small town, and two buildings justify an hour before or after the water.
Siklósi vár
Eight hundred years of continuous habitation, Gothic and Renaissance layers, and an inner courtyard that does more for the atmosphere than any exhibition could.
Sümegi vár
One of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in the country, and the one that leans hardest into performance: knight tournaments, costumed feasts, the full summer program.
Szigligeti vár
A volcanic peak above Balaton's northern shore, with views over the Balaton Uplands and, on a clear day, Badacsony.
Tatai vár
Neither the largest nor the most dramatic, but it stands on the shore of the Old Lake in Tata and reflects in it, which covers a lot of ground.
Vajdahunyad Castle
Vajdahunyad vára
Vajdahunyad Castle is a free 1896 architectural showcase in City Park: four styles, the Hungarian Agricultural Museum inside, and its 2026 prices and hours.
Veszprémi vár
Covered in our guide: The City of Queens: Veszprém and Herend in a Day
Visegrádi Fellegvár
The best panorama of the Danube Bend in Hungary, from a medieval fortress on a mountain above the river. About 45 minutes from Budapest by car, or bus plus ferry if you would rather do it scenically.