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Budapest - Art & architecture in the Hungarian capital
5
days
from
£2,700
Book today with a deposit from
£405
7th - 11th September 2027
Tour highlights
- Explore the cultural riches of Budapest - painting, architecture and decorative arts.
- Special focus on the 19th and 20th centuries: from Austro-Hungarian grandeur to Magyar modernism.
- Led by cultural historian, Gavin Plumley, specialist in Central Europe during the final years of the Habsburg Empire.
- Option to combine this tour with Vienna’s Masterpieces, 1–6 September 2027.
Straddling the Danube, Budapest is the union of three once-separated cities: the ancient settlement of Óbuda; the royal seat of Buda, ensconced on an outcrop on the right bank; and Pest, a small town that became a place of Parisian elegance, stretching across the flatter terrain to the east. Formally united in 1873, Budapest underwent an extraordinary transformation in the later 19th century, becoming one of the most ambitious and culturally vibrant cities of the Habsburg world.
Its architectural legacy is remarkable. While medieval and Renaissance survivals remain, much of the earlier city was lost during the Ottoman occupation and the subsequent struggle for liberation. In their place rose a magnificent succession of Baroque, historicist and Secessionist buildings – many born of the burst of prosperity that accompanied growing Magyar demands for national self-determination.
Budapest is also one of Europe’s great centres of Art Nouveau, whose Hungarian expression is remarkable for its originality and variety. Here, the movement was not simply an aesthetic departure from established conventions: it became a means of expressing a distinctive national identity. Architects and artists sought an artistic language that was both modern and specifically Magyar, drawing on Hungarian folklore, traditional craftsmanship, ancient motifs and the study of vernacular culture.
The compromise of 1867 gave Hungary considerable autonomy within the Habsburg Monarchy, but it also intensified the desire to distinguish Hungarian culture from that of Austria. Budapest’s artists and architects consequently found themselves negotiating a fascinating tension: embracing the cosmopolitan models of the wider European world while simultaneously seeking forms that expressed Hungary’s own history and aspirations.
This layered identity – emulating western models on the one hand, cultivating distinctiveness and originality on the other – is in large part responsible for the allure of Budapest.
Itinerary
Morning flight from London Heathrow to Budapest. There is some time to settle into the hotel before an introductory lecture and dinner.
If combining this tour with Vienna’s Masterpieces, 1–6 September 2027, take the train from Vienna Hauptbahnhof to Budapest-Keleti (c. 3 hours), and transfer by taxi to the hotel.
Cross the Danube to the hill-top Castle District of Buda. Within the 18th- and 19th-century Royal Palace are the remains of its medieval and Renaissance predecessors; the National Gallery housed here has a marvellous collection of Hungarian art from the Middle Ages to the present day. In the afternoon, an architectural walk in and around Vörösmarty Square, the heart of inner-city Pest. Highlights include the Vigadó concert hall, the impressive Moorish Revival Dohány Street Synagogue and the beautifully restored Rumbach Street Synagogue.
Travel by coach to the former home of Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, now a museum, for a private piano recital. Visit also the György Ráth Villa, home to a fascinating collection of Art Nouveau art and design. Continue east to Heroes’ Square and the Millennium Monument, which commemorates the founding of the Hungarian state ad 896. After lunch, explore the Museum of Fine Arts, whose excellent collection includes antiquities and European painting, particularly rich in Spanish and Italian works.
Follow the Danube north to Szentendre, a delightful riverside town favoured as an artists’ retreat for over a century, now home to several small studios and galleries, including a museum dedicated to Károly Ferenczy, pioneer of Hungarian modernism. In the afternoon, continue to Skanzen, an open-air ethnographic museum showcasing Hungarian folk architecture from the 18th to 20th centuries.
Begin at the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a stark memorial to the Jews murdered on the riverbank in the winter of 1944–45. Walk on through Szabadság (Liberty) Square to the Parliament building, an elaborate Neo-Gothic pile modelled on the Palace of Westminster, for a guided tour. Fly from Budapest, arriving at London Heathrow in the afternoon.
Expert speaker
Mr Gavin Plumley
Writer, broadcaster, lecturer and the author of two books. He studied music at Keble College, Oxford and specialises in the culture of Central Europe during the final years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As well as writing for newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide, Gavin has lectured at the British Museum, the National Gallery, the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and Wigmore Hall. Twitter: @gavinplumley | Instagram: @gavinplumley | Website: gavinplumley.com
More tours led by Mr Gavin Plumley
Practicalities
Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,960 or £2,700 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,440 or £3,180 without flights.
Coach travel for transfers and excursions; accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 1 lunch, 3 dinners with wine; admission charges; all tips for restaurant staff, drivers and guides; all airport and state taxes; the services of the lecturer, tour manager and Hungarian local guide.
Intercontinental Hotel: a modern, international 5-star hotel excellently situated beside the Danube in Pest and close to the Chain Bridge. Single occupancy rooms are doubles for sole use.
There is quite a lot of walking on the excursions, some on uneven or cobbled ground. Average distance by coach per day: 10 miles.
Between 10 and 22 participants.
Before booking, please refer to the FCDO website and Travel Health Pro to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting.
Vienna’s Masterpieces, 1–6 September 2027.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
7th - 11th September 2027
Speaker:
Mr Gavin Plumley
Price:
from £2,700
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