Which one to choose in Budapest
Two churches in Budapest. Matthias Church has 9 tickets and tours to book; St Stephen’s Basilica has 12 tickets and tours to book. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
Budapest, Hungary
The church charges a modest entry that includes the museum in the gallery and the crypt; a slightly dearer ticket adds the tower, climbed in small guided groups up 197 steps with a view over the Danube and Pest. Buying at the door is normal and the queue is short. Concerts of organ and choral music are held several evenings a week and are ticketed separately by promoters; the acoustics are good and the setting is the real draw.
Budapest, Hungary
The basic ticket covers the church, and adding the dome and the treasury costs only a little more, which makes the combined ticket the obvious buy. The dome is reached by lift or by 364 steps and ends on an external gallery at 65 metres with a full circle of Budapest, including the Parliament across the river. The treasury holds church plate and, in a small dark chapel off the nave, the Holy Right, the mummified right hand of King Stephen, which lights up for two minutes when you drop a coin in the box.
| Matthias Church | St Stephen’s Basilica | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Cathedral | Basilica |
| Height | — | 96 m |
| Opened | 1255 | 1905 |
| Tickets and tours on GetYourGuide | 9 | 12 |
| Official website | yes | yes |