Matthias Church stands in the heart of Buda’s castle district, right next to the Fishermen’s Bastion. At first glance, it catches the eye with its tall Gothic tower and colourful roof made of Zsolnay ceramic tiles.

Inside, you’ll find painted walls, stained-glass windows, royal tombs and a small museum exhibition.

Always combine your visit with a walk through Buda Castle. Both sites are located in the same castle district, and it takes about 15 minutes to walk from the Royal Palace to the church.

• Time needed to visit the church: 45 to 60 minutes
• Church and tower combined: about 1.5 hours
• Entrance to the church: 3 400 huf
• Climbing the tower: 4 000 huf
• Number of steps to the tower: 197, no lift

The 10 cheapest hotels in Budapest

Is it worth going inside?

In my opinion, yes. The interior of St Matthias’s Basilica is significantly more colourful than that of most Gothic churches. The walls, columns and ceilings are covered in ornamentation and paintings, so the interior doesn’t look like just another run-of-the-mill European cathedral.

The ticket grants access to the main nave, the side chapels, the crypt, the Royal Oratory and the upper gallery with the cathedral’s collection. Particularly worth seeing are the tomb of King Béla III and his wife Anne of Châtillon, the original coat of arms of Matthias Corvinus, and the view from the gallery into the main nave.

If you want to save money, buy just the church admission ticket. The climb up the tower alone costs more than the tour of the interior, and you can get a similar view of the Parliament from the neighbouring Fishermen’s Bastion.

Climbing Matthias Tower

The viewing terrace is situated at a height of 47 metres and offers a panoramic view of the Danube, the Parliament, the historic centre of Pest and Buda Castle. There are 197 steps leading up to the terrace, and there is neither a lift nor a toilet in the tower.

Tickets are sold for specific time slots. The ticket includes a short, approximately ten-minute guided tour led by a cathedral staff member, after which you’ll have time to enjoy the view. Please arrive at least 5 minutes before your scheduled time – if you arrive late, you may not be allowed in at a later time, nor will you receive a refund.

The tower has limited capacity, so we recommend booking in advance. It may remain closed in strong winds, storms or icy conditions.

Admission and where to buy tickets

The church and the tower have separate tickets. There is no official combined ticket.

Tickets	Adults	Students and senior citizens
Church	3 400 huf	2 700 huf
Church with audio guide	5 000 huf	4 300 huf
Matthias Tower	4 000 huf	3 300 huf

Children under 6 go in for free. A family ticket to the church for 2 adults and more than 1 child costs 9 500 huf.

Tickets are cheapest on the cathedral’s official website. However, they are non-refundable. A ticket to the church is valid for a single entry at any time during the chosen calendar year, whilst a ticket to the tower is valid only on the booked date and time.

Opening hours

Standard opening hours for tourist visits are:

• Monday–Friday: 9.00 am–5.00 pm
• Saturday: 9.00 am–12.00 pm
• Sunday: 13:00–17:00

St Matthias’s Cathedral is still an active Catholic church. Church services, weddings, concerts and state visits take precedence over tourist visits, and opening hours may change even on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, please check the times listed directly on the cathedral’s homepage before you visit.

Regular guided tours are not available during services. Please ensure your shoulders are covered and your clothing reaches at least to the knees when entering the church.

Why is it called Matthias Church?

The official name is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at Buda Castle. The name ‘Matthias Church’ came into common use because of the south tower, which King Matthias Corvinus had completed in the 15th century and on which he placed his coat of arms featuring a raven.

The reliably documented history of the church begins in 1246–1247. The alleged founding of the first church in 1015 is based solely on later tradition, not on surviving contemporary sources.

Following the conquest of Buda by the Ottoman Empire in 1541, the church served as a mosque for almost 150 years. Its present appearance is primarily the result of an extensive reconstruction carried out by the architect Frigyes Schulek between 1873 and 1896. It was during this period that the distinctive roof, made of coloured Zsolnay tiles, was also constructed.

The cathedral hosted the coronations of Franz Joseph I and Elisabeth of Bavaria in 1867, and of the last King of Hungary, Charles IV, and his wife Zita in 1916. The building was severely damaged during the siege of Budapest at the end of the Second World War, after which a long period of restoration followed.

How to get to Matthias Church

The church stands on Szentháromság tér, right next to the Fishermen’s Bastion. The easiest way to get there is by city bus, for which standard tickets and travel passes for Budapest’s public transport system are valid:

• Szentháromság tér stop – buses 16, 16A and 116
• Bus 16 runs from Deák Ferenc tér in the centre of Pest
• buses 16A and 116 run from Széll Kálmán tér metro station

From the Danube, you can walk up or take the Budavári Sikló funicular. From its upper station, it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the cathedral. You can find details about tickets in the section on Transport in Budapest.

Accommodation near Matthias Church

We recommend the Castle District to anyone wishing to stay in a historic setting that is very peaceful in the evenings. These hotels are in the best locations:

• Hilton Budapest – situated right next to the basilica, with some rooms offering views of the Danube and the Parliament
• Pest-Buda Design Hotel – a small boutique hotel in a historic building, about a 3-minute walk from the basilica
• Buda Castle Hotel Budapest – a quieter hotel in the Castle District, about 200 metres from the square

Before booking, we recommend comparing the quieter Buda with the livelier and more practical Pest in our article ‘Where to stay in Budapest’.

What to see around

Discover all the places to see in Budapest.