St Stephen’s Basilica

The biggest church in Budapest, a donation at the door, and a panorama terrace that is the easiest good view in the city.

What it costs

Entry to the nave asks for a donation rather than a ticket, and the suggested amount is posted at the door.

Two things inside are separately ticketed: the panorama terrace at the base of the dome — reached by lift or by stairs, your choice — and the chapel holding St Stephen’s mummified right hand, which has its own small charge to light the case.

When to go

Closed to visitors during services. The terrace is the reason to come and is at its best in the hour before sunset, when the light is on the Buda hills.

Getting there

Metro M1, M2 or M3 to Deak Ferenc ter, then a short walk. Metro M1 to Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut is closer still.

If you only have an hour

Go up. The lift to the panorama terrace takes minutes and the view is the flattest-effort good view in Budapest — no hill, no queue for a funicular. Then walk down Zrinyi utca, the pedestrian street pointing straight at the front door.

What people get wrong

It is exactly 96 metres tall, deliberately — the same as the Parliament dome, because no building in Budapest may be taller and both numbers point at 896, the year the Magyars arrived. That is not a coincidence anyone invented later; it was the rule.

Nearby

Ticketing arrangements and opening patterns as published for 2026 and checked on 4 September 2026. These change without much warning — confirm with the site itself before you travel. More sights, and how they fit together, in Landmarks & Sights.