Hungarian museums abolish free admission

Entrance to Hungary's state-owned museums are no longer free as of January 1, 2008. Full-price tickets to the largest Budapest museums cost roughly as much as cinema tickets. At the same time, museums have introduced a few discounts to compensate visitors.

A full-price ticket to the Museum of Fine Arts now costs Ft 1,200 (€4.70). On the third Saturday of every month, visitors under 26 years of age and those accompanying visitors under 18 years of age can enter free of charge. Buying a ticket to any temporary exhibition will grant access to the permanent exhibition.

The same discounts and rules apply at the Hungarian National Gallery. A ticket to the permanent exhibition costs Ft 800, but both permanent and temporary exhibitions will be free on the third Sunday of every month.

A ticket to the permanent exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum costs Ft 1,000, with a discount family ticket Ft 2,000.

A full-price ticket to the Museum of Applied Arts is Ft 800.

The government made a decision in October to modify rules on discounts for museum visitors created in 2004. According to the new regulations, while admission to state-owned museums is no longer free, the discounts apply to all citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA).

Old discounts include free admission to teachers. Organized groups of students are also entitled to free admission to permanent exhibitions, while they receive a 50% discount on tickets to temporary exhibitions. Senior citizens above 70 years of age, children under six years of age and people living with disabilities can visit all exhibitions for free. Visitors between 62 and 70 years of age receive a 50% discount.

All exhibitions will be free on state holidays.

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