Budapest’s State Opera House on Andrassy Avenue opened in 1884 to the reported displeasure of Emperor Franz Joseph, who found it too splendid compared to Vienna’s own opera. Architect Miklos Ybl’s Neo-Renaissance building genuinely rivals Vienna’s Staatsoper in gilded opulence, and ticket prices are a fraction of Western European opera houses. Performance tickets run EUR 5 to EUR 60; daily guided tours at 15:00 and 16:00 cost around EUR 15. Metro Line 1 (yellow, the first underground railway in continental Europe, running since 1896) stops directly below the building. Combined with Andrassy Avenue’s UNESCO-listed boulevard and the House of Terror at number 60, this is one of the most historically layered streets in Budapest.
opera house in Budapest
Hungarian State Opera House
Also known as Magyar Állami Operaház
Emperor Franz Joseph attended the opening of Budapest's State Opera House in 1884 but was reportedly displeased: it was too beautiful, he said, more splendid than his Vienna Opera.
- Type
- opera house
- Destination
- Budapest
- Cost
- Paid entry
- Founded
- 1884
- Era
- Neo-Renaissance
- Address
- Andrássy út 22, 1061 Budapest
- Coordinates
- 47.5029, 19.0582
- Official website
- Visit website