Pest

Cheapest Opera on the planet-a full blooded production costs E1.50 in the "gods"

Millennium Subway

The recently renovated metro 1 line goes along under the boulevard see Budapest:Get around:By metro for background. A convenient way to reach the outer areas of City Park. Normal ticket needed, but unlike other public transport, this it is only good for thirty minutes after the ticket is validated.

Feeding hippopotamus is one of the main attractions in the zoo.

Parliament

The Hungarian National Parliament building is the largest in Europe, designed by architect Imre Steindl for the 1896 millennial celebrations, and built 1880-1902. It is based on England's Parliament building, and supposedly is one meter wider and longer than that august building, just a little bit of architectural conceit. The building is so immense, the weak alluvial soil along the Danube had to be reinforced with a 7-foot-deep concrete foundation. Not surprising, as the building is 300 yards long and 140 yards wide, with 691 rooms and 12.5 miles of corridors. The lacy white Gothic froth covering the building is actually educational: 88 statues representing Hungarian rulers, princes and military commanders. These statues are small and cannot be readily distinguished from the ground, but they are there.

Not to be confused with the Hungarian National Gallery Nemzeti Galéria, located in Buda Castle. Founded in 1802 by Count Ferenc Széchenyi, whose manuscript, map, numismatic and print collections formed its initial core holdings, the Hungarian National Museum was designed and built by the popular architect Mihály Polláck between 1837-1847. When it opened, it was the fourth largest museum in Europe. However, it was far enough from the city proper that sometimes loose cattle from the weekly Kálvin tér market wandered into the museum. Before entering, take note of the museum's exterior, a fine example of neoclassical architecture, with an exceptional portico. Eight Corinthian columns support a frieze with an ornamental cornice and a large pediment. The pediment features the allegorical figure of Pannonia Pannonia was the Roman name for the Hungarian lands sitting with the Hungarian coat of arms on her shield, surrounded on either side by Science and Art. The exterior of the museum is also significant for what has taken place there. According to a popular urban legend during the 1848 revolutions that swept through Central Europe, on 15 March, Sándor Petőfi perhaps Hungary's most famous patriotic poet recited his emotionally gripping poem called "National Song" to a large crowd from the left pillar of the National Museum's exterior staircase. This poem pleaded with the nation to liberate Hungary from the Habsburg oppression. Not everyone was impressed. The director of the museum recorded in his diary that a noisy mob had gathered outside the building that day, disturbing his work so much that he left for home. Major acquisitions and collections donated by the Kubinyi, Pyrker, Marczibányi and Jankovich families rapidly expanded the museum's holdings. Late in the 19th century some collections were separated from the general holdings to form new specialized museums such as the Museums of Fine Arts, Applied Arts, Natural Science and Ethnography. Today the museum's five major divisions archaeology, Middle Ages, modern era, numismatics, historical paintings, two permanent exhibitions, and archaeological library with over 100,000 volumes! make it one of the richest museums in Central Europe.