Kossuth Square has been reshaped countless times over the past century at the very heart of Budapest, and it still anchors some of the city’s most meaningful public moments. This winter into early spring, it’s the launchpad for a long run of Parliament tours and free Saturday museum walk-throughs that chart a thousand years of lawmaking in Hungary—right where the country’s democracy works day to day.
What’s On and When
The program runs from December 29, 2025, to March 22, 2026, with two main attractions on a steady rhythm: 45-minute guided visits to the Parliament Building and free Saturday guided tours at the Museum of the National Assembly. Most dates center on January and February, then extend into March with the same format.
Parliament Tours: Short, Sharp, Multilingual
The classic 45-minute Parliament tour runs in multiple blocks: January 5–11, January 12–18, January 19–25, January 26–February 1, February 2–8, February 9–15, February 16–22, February 23–March 1, March 2–8, March 9–15, and March 16–22. There’s also a broad window from December 29, 2025, to January 31, 2026, covering the winter holidays and the New Year period.
Tours are delivered either with a trained guide or via audioguide. Live guided options include Hungarian, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. If you’re touring in Russian, Polish, Slovak, Croatian, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Korean, Portuguese, Arabic, Slovenian, Czech, Chinese, Japanese, Bulgarian, Dutch, Greek, Turkish, or Vietnamese, you’ll use the audioguide—the content remains comprehensive, just delivered through headphones. The tight runtime means you get the essentials without losing an afternoon, and the lineup of languages makes it easy to bring visitors of nearly any background along.
The Saturday Freebie: A Thousand Years of Lawmaking
Every Saturday at 10 a.m., the Museum of the National Assembly hosts a free 45-minute guided visit to the exhibition titled A Thousand Years of Hungarian Legislation (A magyar törvényhozás ezer éve), a continuously refreshed display that tracks how Hungary’s legislative power has evolved across a millennium. Dates in this run include January 10, 17, 24, and 31; February 7, 14, 21, and 28; and March 7 and 14. Each tour starts at the Parliament Visitor Centre, right on Kossuth Square, so you’re walking into history from the square that fronts the building’s neo-Gothic façade.
There’s a cap on group size—no more than 30 guests per session—and registration is required. Sign up by 10 a.m. the day before your chosen Saturday via email, then bring your confirmation email to join the group. It’s simple, free, and very popular, so expect slots to go quickly, especially in January when the city is quieter and locals reclaim their landmarks.
How to Plan It
– Location: All activities are in Budapest, at Kossuth Square (1055 Budapest), anchored by the Parliament Building and its Visitor Centre.
– Timing: The Parliament tour schedule is broken into weeklong blocks, and the museum’s free guided visit is every Saturday at 10 a.m. for 45 minutes.
– Languages: Live guides in Hungarian, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish; audioguides cover 21 additional languages.
– Capacity and access: The Saturday museum tour maxes out at 30 people with advance confirmation. Arrive a little early at the Visitor Centre to check in smoothly and clear any security.
Why Kossuth Square Matters
Kossuth Square isn’t just an address. Over the last hundred years it’s been rebuilt, reimagined, and reopened multiple times, mirroring the twists of Hungary’s modern story. The Parliament’s river-facing silhouette may be the postcard, but it’s the square that hosts demonstrations, national commemorations, and everyday flow. Slotting a steady calendar of tours and free museum visits into this space keeps the site alive beyond its legislative work—something you feel as you move from the open plaza through the building’s vaulted corridors and into exhibits that outpace the usual civics lesson.
Dates at a Glance
– Free Museum Tours, Saturdays at 10 a.m.: Jan 10, 17, 24, 31; Feb 7, 14, 21, 28; Mar 7, 14.
– Parliament Tours, 45 minutes: Dec 29, 2025–Jan 31, 2026; Jan 5–11; Jan 12–18; Jan 19–25; Jan 26–Feb 1; Feb 2–8; Feb 9–15; Feb 16–22; Feb 23–Mar 1; Mar 2–8; Mar 9–15; Mar 16–22.
Good to Know
– The Parliament tour can be taken with a guide or with an audioguide, depending on your language preference. Either way, you’re covering the highlights in under an hour.
– The museum’s A Thousand Years of Hungarian Legislation (A magyar törvényhozás ezer éve) exhibition is continuously updated, so repeat visitors will still find fresh material.
– Registration for the free Saturday tour closes at 10 a.m. the day before the visit. Bring the confirmation email with you; it’s your ticket in.
Make a Morning of It
Bundle the Saturday museum visit with a Parliament tour in the same week to get both the big-picture timeline and the on-the-ground architecture. Kossuth Square gives you the city’s layers in one sweep—open air, stone, and stories stacked together over a hundred restless years—and this winter’s lineup makes that history easy, brief, and accessible in almost any language.
