There is no closing time at Buda Castle, only closing times inside it. The courtyards, terraces and gardens are public space day and night.
Everything you pay for keeps its own hours, and the one that catches people out is the Hungarian National Gallery, which shuts on the last Monday of every month while the museum next door is open. This page has every set of hours in one place, the festive days, the guard change and the quietest times to go.
Six things keep six timetables. The Castle Museum and St Stephen’s Hall run 10:00 to 18:00 every day, the Gallery the same but not on the last Monday of the month, the Hospital in the Rock to 19:00, the Labyrinth 11:00 to 18:00, the funicular 08:00 to 22:00 with a maintenance Monday every second week, and the Riding Hall’s lobby opens its doors for three hours in the afternoon.
Opening hours
The hours below are the same all year. Last entry is 17:00 at the Gallery and 17:30 at the Castle Museum, and the last St Stephen’s Hall tour starts at 17:15. The Hospital in the Rock’s last tour leaves at 18:00.
Castle grounds, courtyards and terraces (free)
| Monday | 00:00-24:00 |
| Tuesday | 00:00-24:00 |
| Wednesday | 00:00-24:00 |
| Thursday | 00:00-24:00 |
| Friday | 00:00-24:00 |
| Saturday | 00:00-24:00 |
| Sunday | 00:00-24:00 |
Public space, open day and night all year, and lit after dark. No ticket. Fences and closures move with the rebuilding works.
Hungarian National Gallery
| Monday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Tuesday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Friday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00-18:00 |
Closed on the last Monday of each month. Last entry at 17:00. The dome terrace closes at 17:00 and in bad weather.
Castle Museum and St Stephen's Hall
| Monday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Tuesday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Friday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00-18:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00-18:00 |
Last entry to the Castle Museum at 17:30. The last St Stephen's Hall tour starts at 17:15, and the hall is visited in timed slots. Closed 1 November and 24 to 26 December.
Hospital in the Rock
| Monday | 10:00-19:00 |
| Tuesday | 10:00-19:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:00-19:00 |
| Thursday | 10:00-19:00 |
| Friday | 10:00-19:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00-19:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00-19:00 |
Guided tours only, the last at 18:00, and the ticket office closes at 18:00. Closed 1 January, 1 November, 24 and 25 December and 31 December.
Labyrinth
| Monday | 11:00-18:00 |
| Tuesday | 11:00-18:00 |
| Wednesday | 11:00-18:00 |
| Thursday | 11:00-18:00 |
| Friday | 11:00-18:00 |
| Saturday | 11:00-18:00 |
| Sunday | 11:00-18:00 |
Entrance at Úri utca 9, in the civilian town north of the palace.
Changing of the guard at Sándor Palace
Best times to visit
Time of day
The terraces belong to whoever gets there before 10:00. By mid-morning the guided walks are gathering on the Savoy Terrace, and it stays busy until the last of them finish in the late afternoon, when the light on Pest gets better. After 18:00 the museums are shut but the courtyards are yours, and after dark the palace is floodlit and the terrace view is at its best.
Day of the week
Avoid the last Monday of the month if the Gallery is on your list, and check the funicular’s maintenance Mondays if you are set on riding up. Weekends bring the most people onto the hill, and the Bastion end of it more than the palace end. A weekday morning gives you the fountains and the terraces almost empty and a St Stephen’s Hall slot without a wait.
Season
Spring and early autumn are the sweet spot, when the weather keeps the dome terrace open and the courtyards are pleasant to cross. In summer the courtyards bake and the Hospital in the Rock and the caves become the cool escape.
In winter the dome terrace is often shut by the weather, but the Gallery and the hall carry on, and the floodlit palace on a winter evening is as good as it gets.
How long to spend
We would allow two hours for the courtyards, the terraces and one museum. Your timing depends on how many of the ticketed things you add.
Courtyards and terraces only, 45 minutes to an hour
The Savoy Terrace, the Hunyadi Court and its fountain, the Lion Court and a look into the Riding Hall’s lobby if it is after 13:00.
Add St Stephen's Hall, 2 hours
A 30 to 45-minute slot in the hall and the Castle Museum’s medieval rooms on the same ticket.
Add the National Gallery, half a day
Allow 90 minutes inside and a few more for the dome terrace on a clear day.
The whole hill, a full day
The palace in the morning, then Matthias Church, Fisherman’s Bastion and an hour in the Hospital in the Rock in the afternoon.
Insider tips
Do the hall in the afternoon, the Gallery in the morning
The Gallery stops selling tickets at 17:00 and its dome closes then too, so it is a morning job. The last St Stephen’s Hall tour starts at 17:15 and the slots are timed, so book one for the afternoon and let the Gallery set the morning.
Be on Szent György tér five minutes before noon
The noon drill is short and there is no announcement. Arrive at 11:55, stand on the square side of the palace, and you have the best of the guard’s day for nothing.
Stay for the lights
Nothing indoors runs past 19:00, but the funicular runs until 22:00. See the museums by day, eat in the old town, then walk back through the courtyards after dark for the floodlit palace and the lit bridges below.