Hungarian State Opera

Miklós Ybl's neo-Renaissance opera house, opened in 1884 and one of the finest rooms in Europe to hear music in.

Franz Joseph paid for a large share of the construction on one condition: that it must not be bigger than the Vienna State Opera. It is not. The widely repeated story is that on seeing it he regretted the wording, because nothing in the agreement had said anything about being more beautiful.

The auditorium is a horseshoe in gold and deep red, seating around 1,200 — small by the standards of the great houses, which is precisely why the acoustics are what they are. The ceiling fresco is by Károly Lotz. Gustav Mahler was its director from 1888 to 1891.

The building closed for several years of restoration and reopened in 2022, with the interior returned to something close to its original state.

There are two ways in. A guided building tour runs during the day and usually ends with a short live vocal performance. Or you buy a ticket to something — and unusually for a house of this quality, seats can still be had at prices that would be unimaginable in Vienna or Milan.

It stands on Andrássy Avenue, on the M1 metro line.