Kodály's Bells and Zsolnay Tiles: A Day in Kecskemét

Kodály’s Hometown

Zoltán Kodály was born in Kecskemét on 16 December 1882. The house is gone, and the plaque that marks his birth is on the wall of the railway station, so if you come by train, it is the first thing you pass. In 1983, for his hundredth birthday, the city put a carillon in its Town Hall, and every day at 12:05 it plays Kodály over the main square.

That Town Hall, one of Ödön Lechner’s Art Nouveau buildings roofed in Zsolnay tiles, is the first reason to come. The second is the Cifrapalota across the road, a palace faced in ceramic hearts and peacocks with Avar gold inside. Add the Kodály exhibition and an instrument collection you are allowed to play, and you have a full day within a few linked squares. Kecskemét is 1 hour 10 minutes from Budapest by coach. The one thing to plan around is the calendar: on Mondays the main museums are closed.

Photo: Pudelek (Marcin Szala), CC BY-SA 3.0, resized.

📋 At a Glance

📍 Where	Kecskemét, on the Great Hungarian Plain, about 80 km southeast of Budapest by road (Google Maps)
🚌 Getting there	Coach from Népliget every hour, 1 hour 10 minutes, or InterCity from Nyugati, 1 hour 20 minutes
💰 Fare	Coach 1,680 Ft, train 2,200 Ft plus a seat reservation from 650 Ft
🎟️ Core tickets	Town Hall 2,500 Ft, Cifrapalota 1,800 Ft, Kodály exhibition 1,000 Ft, Leskowsky collection 2,400 Ft
🚫 Skip if	It is a Monday

The Town Hall and Its Carillon

The Town Hall on Kossuth tér was designed by Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos and built in 1893 to 1897, with Zsolnay roof tiles and majolica and, in the Ceremonial Hall, murals by Bertalan Székely. It is on UNESCO’s Tentative List together with later Lechner works. After a four-year renovation that began in 2019, it has a visitor center with an exhibition on the city’s history.

From November to April the visitor center is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 18:00, with the last tickets at 17:30, and on Sundays by appointment only. From May to October it opens Tuesday to Sunday. A ticket is 2,500 Ft (about $7.70). The Ceremonial Hall is shown separately, for 30 minutes and 500 Ft (about $1.50), only at a time agreed in advance (+36 76 512-242, info@kecskemetvaroshaza.hu), so book before you travel if you want to see it.

The carillon plays a short signal on the hour, but the full programs are at fixed times:

• 12:05: Kodály’s Viennese Carillon and the Intermezzo from Háry János, then Erkel’s Palotás.
• 18:00: Handel’s Water Music, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and Mozart’s Magic Flute.
• 20:00: Hungarian folk songs.

Photo: David Nagy from Hungary, CC BY 2.0, resized.

The 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, with Art Nouveau curves. It has been a museum since 1983.

Inside, the first floor holds the Kunbábony Avar princely grave, a hoard of 155 gold objects, and the second floor a gallery of Hungarian painting with Rippl-Rónai, Czóbel, Gulácsy and Mednyánszky. Look up in the Peacock Hall, an oval former casino hall with eight peacocks on the ceiling. Until 3 January 2027 there is also a biennale of contemporary Christian iconography.

It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, with the last tickets at 16:30, and a ticket is 1,800 Ft (about $5.60). Photography needs a 500 Ft photo ticket. The coat check is free and compulsory, and backpacks are not allowed in the galleries. If you plan to see three or more of the city museum’s venues, the 3,300 Ft (about $10.20) ticket covers all five venues of the city museum.

Kodály, and an Orchestra You Can Play

The Kodály memorial exhibition is in the Kodály Institute, a former Franciscan monastery of 1700 to 1736 on Kéttemplom köz, a few minutes from the Town Hall. It is small, so plan 20 to 30 minutes. It is open every day, 10:00 to 18:00, except on public holidays, and a ticket is 1,000 Ft (about $3.10). The building is being renovated and extended, and the exhibition stays open during the works.

The Leskowsky Musical Instrument Collection at Rákóczi út 15 is Hungary’s largest interactive instrument collection, and on the guided visit you can play many of the instruments, which makes it a good stop with children. Visits are guided only, in Hungarian or English, Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, and cost 2,400 Ft (about $7.40). Tickets are sold on site or online through the collection’s ticket page. Tours start on the hour, so at busy times you may wait for the next one.

The Town of Towers

The main squares run into one another, and around them stand the churches of most denominations, which is why the city calls itself the town of towers. The Great Church (Nagytemplom), built in 1774 to 1806, faces the Town Hall, and its tower clock has dials 3.84 meters across. The Katona József National Theater was finished in 1896 by Fellner and Helmer, the Viennese firm behind Budapest’s Vígszínház, and has held the National Theater title since 2019. Unless you are seeing a show, enjoy it from outside.

Photo: Kaboldy, CC BY-SA 3.0, resized.

The Toy Museum and the Smaller Collections

The Szórakaténusz Toy Museum at Gáspár András körút 11 is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 17:00, and costs 1,200 Ft (about $3.70). From 1 November to 14 March the small naive art collection in the same courtyard opens by appointment only. The Hungarian Museum of Photography is not open to visitors.

Bugac and the Puszta

The Kiskunság National Park’s puszta at Bugac, with its herdsmen’s horse show, is the classic add-on in tour brochures. The park runs the horse show from May to October only. There is no train, and buses from Kecskemét take 1 hour 15 minutes to nearly 3 hours, with one or two changes, so even in season Bugac takes the whole day and leaves no time for the city. Treat it as a separate summer trip, and from November to April skip it.

Getting There

• By coach: Volánbusz from Budapest-Népliget (metro M3) every hour at 15 past, 1 hour 10 minutes, 1,680 Ft (about $5.20). Slower coaches at 35 past take 1 hour 40 minutes. Back, the fast coaches leave Kecskemét at 30 past, and the last fast coach is the 19:30.
• By train: InterCity from Budapest-Nyugati every hour at 50 past, 1 hour 20 minutes, also stopping at Kőbánya-Kispest and Ferihegy. The fare is 2,200 Ft (about $6.80) plus a seat reservation, 650 Ft in advance. Back, trains leave Kecskemét at 48 past, and the last InterCity is the 21:48, arriving at Nyugati at 23:14. No works are announced on this line before the timetable change on 13 December.
• Into town: the train and bus stations are a few minutes’ walk apart on the edge of the center. Walk in, or take city bus 110, 114, 115 or 119, two minutes to the Cifrapalota stop. A ticket is 300 Ft bought in advance or 500 Ft from the driver.

For trains and tickets in general, see our guide to traveling Hungary by train.

The Calendar Problem

• Monday: the Town Hall, the Cifrapalota, the Leskowsky collection and the toy museum are closed. The Kodály exhibition is open.
• Sunday from November to April: the Town Hall opens by appointment only, and the toy museum is closed. The Cifrapalota, the Leskowsky collection and the Kodály exhibition are open.
• Saturday is the best day: every main sight on this page is open.
• The Ceremonial Hall needs a booked time.
• The Kodály exhibition is closed on public holidays.
• The Bugac horse show runs from May to October only.

A Saturday, Hour by Hour

Time	What	Note
07:50	InterCity from Budapest-Nyugati	Arrives 09:10. Or the 08:15 coach from Népliget, arriving 09:25 at the bus station, a few minutes from the rail station
09:15	Kodály's plaque on the station wall, then into town	On foot, or bus 110, 114, 115 or 119
10:00	Town Hall visitor center	2,500 Ft, plus the Ceremonial Hall if booked
11:15	Kodály memorial exhibition	1,000 Ft, 20 to 30 minutes
12:05	Carillon on Kossuth tér	Kodály and Erkel
12:30	Lunch
13:30	Cifrapalota	1,800 Ft, Peacock Hall and the Avar gold
15:00	Leskowsky Instrument Collection	2,400 Ft, guided tours on the hour. Or the toy museum, 1,200 Ft
16:48	InterCity to Budapest	Arrives Nyugati 18:09. Or stay for the 18:00 carillon and take the 18:48

On a Tuesday the same plan works. On a Sunday from November to April, swap the Town Hall for a walk around the squares and the carillon, and skip the toy museum.

The Verdict

Come for Kodály’s bells and Lechner’s tiles. Be on Kossuth tér for the 12:05 carillon, give the afternoon to the Cifrapalota and the Leskowsky collection, and if you can stay, hear the 18:00 program before the train home. Pick a Tuesday to Saturday, and leave Bugac for a summer day of its own.

If you want more of the Great Plain, Szeged lies further south on the plain, and the Cegléd thermal spa is on the same rail line.

Sources: MÁV ticket shop and journey planner, KEKO fares and timetables, Kecskemét Town Hall visitor center, Kecskemét city: Town Hall and carillon, Kodály’s Kecskemét, Kecskeméti Katona József Múzeum and Cifrapalota, Kodály Institute, Leskowsky Hangszergyűjtemény, Great Church parish, Kiskunság National Park: Bugac, all checked 18 October 2026.

Prices are in HUF, which is what you pay at the counter. Converted at 1 USD = 324 HUF, the ECB rate on 15 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the converted figures as indicative.

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