Budapest’s Hungarian National Gallery will throw open its doors in early 2026 with a run of intimate, themed guided tours, from Gothic gems to turn-of-the-century nudes and a crash course in the avant-garde. The walks unfold at the museum’s home at 2 Szent György Square (Szent György tér 2), with small groups, fixed times, and a front-row seat to some of Hungary’s most beloved collections. Photo credits are protected by the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery.
Tours meet at the information desk. Most last 60 minutes, with strictly limited spots. Some programs require both a permanent exhibition ticket and an extra program ticket costing 4.10 USD. Organizers reserve the right to change times and programs. Phone booking is encouraged.
“Embroidered in Concrete” with writer Rita Halász
On January 17, 3:00–4:00 PM, and January 31, 3:00–4:00 PM, writer and art historian Rita Halász leads a subjective tour through the collections that shaped her novel Betonba hímezve (Embroidered in Concrete). She reflects: “Working in a museum is a privileged state. Once you experience it, you long to return, even if you move on. When I worked at the Hungarian National Gallery, the artworks slowly became part of my daily life, almost my family.”
Her route lingers in the Gothic collection: “I love the infant Jesuses with old men’s faces, the S-shaped Madonnas hollowed at the back, those endearing, often amusing touches where medieval masters’ human frailty peeks through. And there sits my favorite pilgrim from Zalaszentgrót, resting at the foot of a hill.” She then pivots to the contemporary wing: El Kazovszkij’s wandering animal, Gyula Pauer’s split Maya, and Mariann Imre’s Saint Cecilia—“the most defining and powerful museum experience I’ve had.” She adds that without these works, her novel wouldn’t exist—and neither would she be the same person. Duration: 60 minutes. Max group: 24. Meeting point: information desk.
Nude Sculptures of the Fin de Siècle
On January 18, 3:00–4:00 PM, the renewed display of 19th–20th-century nude sculpture gets a focused walk-through. The naked human body has been a core subject in art from antiquity to now, but how artists show it shifts with each era’s ideals. This tour tracks those changes in material, pose, and perception across a pivotal moment when modernity redefined truth and beauty. Duration: 60 minutes. Max group: 17. Tickets: permanent exhibition entry plus program ticket, 4.10 USD. Meeting point: information desk.
Meet The Eight (Nyolcak)
On February 1, 3:00–4:00 PM, dive into the short, electric life of The Eight (Nyolcak), the artist group tied to the museum’s major Lajos Tihanyi retrospective. First known as the “Seekers,” they worked together for just three years, 1909–1912, staging three exhibitions that jolted Hungarian culture and the visual arts like a scientific and technological revolution. The tour sketches the members’ radical ideas, Tihanyi’s restless experimentation, and how their shockwaves still pulse through modern Hungarian art. Duration: 60 minutes. Max group: 17. Tickets: permanent exhibition entry plus program ticket, 4.10 USD. Meeting point: information desk.
Dates and where to be
Key dates: January 17 (Budapest), January 18 (Budapest), January 31 (Budapest), February 1 (Budapest). All tours meet at the information desk inside the Hungarian National Gallery, 2 Szent György Square (Szent György tér 2).
More to add to your list
The calendar is packed with guided visits, kids’ workshops, lectures, and accessible programs. Highlights include: Visita guidata in italiano (January 16 and February 13); The Person Behind the Palette | Guided tour by Gergely Barki (Az ember a paletta mögött | Barki Gergely tárlatvezetése) on January 16; Create! – Abstract Experience Painting (Alkoss! – Absztrakt élményfestés) on January 17; Rebellious Forms, Bold Colors – The Art of Lajos Tihanyi (Lázadó formák, merész színek – Tihanyi Lajos művészete) on multiple dates January 17–31 and into February; Color It Anew! – museum workshop for kids (Színezd újra!) on January 21 and 28; Mental Fitness – New Year, New Style (Szellemi fitnesz – Új év, új stílus) on January 21; Online guided tour of the Tihanyi exhibition on January 22; Adventure in the Gallery – Strange Faces (Kaland a Galériában – Különös arcok) on January 24; Two or None. Doublings and Hiatuses in Tihanyi’s Oeuvre | Lecture by art historian Gergely Barki (Kettő vagy egy sem. Kettőződések és kihagyások Tihanyi életművében) on January 24; a sign-language-interpreted Tihanyi tour on January 25; Toddlers – Snowflake Dance (Tipegők – Hópihe tánc) on January 27; Mom, Look! – Silence Speaks (Mama, nézd! – A csend beszél) on January 29; Lajos Tihanyi, the Restless Charmer | Tour with Nóra Winkler and Tünde Topor (Tihanyi Lajos, a nyughatatlan sármőr) on February 5; Mom, Look! – The Beauty of the Body (Mama, nézd! – A test szépsége) on February 5; Budapest–Berlin–Paris. Tihanyi’s Road to Abstraction | Guided by writer–art historian Rita Halász (Budapest–Berlin–Párizs. Tihanyi útja az absztrakcióig) on February 6; The Art of Adolf Fényes (Fényes Adolf művészete) on February 7; Create! – Naked Reality (Alkoss! – Meztelen valóság) on February 7; Building Walk – From Crypt to Dome (Épületséta – Kriptától a kupoláig) on February 8; Toddlers – Venice Carnival (Tipegők – Velencei Karnevál) on February 10; and Love Is in the Air on February 14.
Plan ahead, book by phone, and keep an eye on updates—programs and times may shift.
