The Balcony of the József Pécsi Library of Photography

The grandest building in the theatre district was built by a photographer in 1894. You can only see the balconies – if you pretend to be interested in the library – on Floor III. Fantastic paintings represent the six mythical Muses of Photography. Try to find the little putto with a camera between the ground and first floors. (Nagymező utca 20, District VI.)

The Great Synagogue – the largest operating synagogue in Europe

Try to arrive at a concert half an hour before the start, so you may be alone with the feeling of oriental grandeur. The little square in front is named after Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism, since he was born in a corner building to the left of the synagogue. Discover the secrets of the Jewish Quarter on a themed walking tour. (Dohány utca 2, District VII.)

This institution is a member of the Cultural Budapest Group: www.culturalbudapest.com

The great hall of The Urania Cinema – the second grandest cinema interior in Europe

Originally a cabaret, then a hall for science lectures. The style is neo-Moorish – yes, in Budapest. There is a great (somewhat deserted) café upstairs, and occasionally film festivals, like the one called ‘Titanic’. The cinema is run by the Ministry of Culture, and is possibly the only state-owned cinema in Europe.

The statues of Franz Liszt – find them all

Franz Liszt, the world famous Hungarian piano virtuoso and romantic composer (1811-1886), founded the Budapest Music Academy in 1878. He is honoured by three statues, very near each other. One of them is on the façade of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, overlooking the square of the same name: he sits in an armchair, wearing monk’s garb – a preference of his from his fifties onwards. There is a spectacular bronze statue in the square, capturing him while playing a virtuoso piece on the piano ; one finger is always very shiny, as kids touch the statue there all the time. The third statue is on the façade of the Opera House, even though Liszt wrote only one (miserably unsuccessful) opera.

The best-known sculptor among Hungarians over fifty

Few contemporary Hungarian artists could hope to live to see a museum devoted solely to their work. The maverick octogenarian sculptor Imre Varga is one of the few. Much liked by the general public but sneered at by quite a few fellow artists, in the seventies and eighties he was said to have more commissions that all other sculptors put together. His three best-known works are the Wallenberg Monument in Buda, the Holocaust Memorial in the garden of the Great Synagogue in Pest, and ‘Passers-by with Umbrellas’ in the main square of old Buda. (The museum: Laktanya utca 7, District III)

Budapest Public Library, by the model of the building

A Baroque revival palace, with modern extensions. In a glass case in a quiet corner on the ground floor of the newly-built spiral staircase (near the lift) there is a white plaster model of the new library complex. The complex comprises three parts: the original neo-Baroque palace, a former residential block (recently added) and a brand-new wing. (Szabó Ervin tér 1, District VIII)

The National Gallery – the secret of the second floor

This huge Castle Hill museum in the former Royal Palace includes four of the palace’s five riverfront wings. On the second floor there is a display of large sombre canvases, focusing on the highlights of the country’s turbulent history – full of names a visitor would need an encyclopaedia to make sense of. On the riverfront there are large windows covered with semi-transparent linen curtains. They convert the view into quasi-paintings – a great comfort for tired eyes.

This institution is a member of the Cultural Budapest Group: www.culturalbudapest.com

The Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra – Hungary’s first

The oldest symphony orchestra in Hungary was established in 1853: the Budapest Philharmonic Society. It selects new members from the Opera’s orchestra (which is three times as large). It traditionally holds concerts on Mondays and Tuesdays. It is a magical experience to see any of them from a box. (Andrássy út 22, District VI)

Dinner at The Fészek Club – meeting artists

The Fészek Club’s building dates from 1903, but its garden reminds one of the inner courtyard of a private Renaissance mansion. This is a special feature of Budapest’s cultural life, frequented by many an older artist and upstanding member of the community who likes to move in those circles. An added attraction is that one can flaunt your acquaintance with some octogenarian painters and actors, and can even call some of them by their first name. (Kertész utca 36, District VII)

Gerbeaud Confectionary - The Altar Boy and the Apprentice Confectioner

Gerbeaud has been in operation since 1858, and has several rooms, all with different shapes and decoration. No wonder – the rooms used to belong to different blocks, and were gradually stitched together behind a unified façade. The finest artwork in the space – by a French painter – is without doubt in the middle, flat-ceilinged room, and is entitled ‘The Altar Boy and the Apprentice Confectioner’. You can see a dimly-lit corner of a large building, where two youngsters hastily meet and exchange treasures: wine for the Mass and fresh cookies. They are clearly in a hurry, fearing they might be caught. (V. Vörösmarty tér)

How Endre Ernő Friedmann became Robert Capa

Robert Capa, one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century was born in Budapest in 1913, as Endre Ernő Friedmann. His parents owned a fashionable custom dressmaking salon on Kossuth Lajos Street in the centre of Budapest.

The love of his life, Gerda took Endre’s excellent photos to the various newspapers as the agent of the fictitious Robert Capa, a famous American photographer. Capa represented all that Endre wanted to be: the rich, famous photo journalist. The trick worked, and his alias gradually became known throughout the profession. During his short life, he made photos in the battlefields of five wars. During the Second World War, he was there to document the events in London, North Africa, Italy, on Omaha Beach during the landing in Normandy, and during the liberation of Paris.

When not making photos on a battlefield, Capa lived life voraciously. Ingrid Bergman was one of his lovers, which he, always the gentlemen, kept silent about; we only know from Bergman’s autobiography. In 1954, Life Magazine sent him to Indochina, to report on the French colonial wars. On May 25, at five to three, he stepped on a landmine and died.

Budapest History Museum - Secrets of the Royal Palace

During the Middle Ages Buda became the centre of royal power. The presence of royalty prompted a great deal of building activity, chief among which was the construction of Buda's royal castle. Under subsequent kings Buda Castle was greatly enlarged and refurbished according to the requirements of contemporary fashion. Objects of every-day life such as dishes and cooking utensils, stove tiles and coins, which shed light on the artistic achievements of the period, were uncorvered during excavations. Among these were also fragments of splendid Gothic carvings ad finds from the age of King Matthias and the period of Turkish occupation.

Kiscell Museum - Pearl of Óbuda

Two main departments of the Budapest Historical Museum can be found in the building. Items of fine arts are exhibited by the Capital Gallery, whereas the modern historical collection of the Kiscell Museum exhibits the most valuable items of modern history.. The museum owns collections in the following fields: photography, toy, poster, lifestyle history, flag, glass, modern urban history and fine arts.

Museum of Applied Arts and its genious architect

There were heated debates on the palace ever since it was opened. By now its significance in the line of the international Secession and in the life-work of Lechner is an unquestionable fact. The most modern static technology with which the building was constructed all served the function, the artistically formed mass and the harmony of the individual decorational forms (just like the rolled steel poles of the main hall - that was not even hid away from the eyes of the visitors - has become an ornamental lace).

Natural History Museum - The story of the rocks

The huge rocks placed near the Museum entrance tell about millions of years of the geological history. Exhibited in the order of their formation, they include a Gneiss from Kópháza, a Devonian limestone rock from Szabadbattyán, a Permian sandstone from the Balaton Highlands.