The House of Terror Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and closed every Monday. The cash desk closes at 17:30. There are no seasons and no late nights, and the same hours apply on the national holidays. This page has the holiday dates, what happens at closing time, the best times to go and how long to allow.
Two things complicate the simple version. The museum publishes a short list of days it closes or closes early each year, and it can shut at short notice, as it did in September 2026, when it closed for technical reasons and reopened on 22 September. Since reopening it has warned of longer waits than usual at the entrance, because only a set number of visitors are allowed in the exhibition rooms at once, so allow extra time.
Opening hours
House of Terror Museum
| Monday | Closed |
| 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 |
The cash desk closes at 17:30. Closed on 24 to 26 December, 1 January and for a week of maintenance in late January; open until 15:00 on 31 December. The museum can close at short notice.
Best times to visit
Time of day
The first hour after opening is the quietest. There is no advance ticket, so everyone arrives at the same desk, and the cloakroom, which is compulsory for every backpack, is where the queue really forms when a group of up to 30 comes in together. Be at the door at 10:00 and you are on the second floor before the coaches.
The last two hours are quiet too, but for the wrong reason. The cash desk closes at 17:30 and the route is long, so an afternoon arrival should be by 15:30 at the latest.
Day of the week
Tuesday to Friday are the days to choose, with the museum’s own hours on their side and school and coach traffic spread across the week. Weekends are busier. The first Sunday of the month is free for citizens of European Economic Area countries under 26 and for under-18s with their family, which is worth knowing whether you qualify or want to avoid it.
Monday is closed, and the day after a closed day is never the quietest.
Season
The museum is indoors and its hours never change, so the season only decides the company. The summer months bring the most visitors, and the reconstructed cellar has no air to spare on a hot day. The national holidays are open days and draw Hungarian visitors, especially 23 October, the anniversary of the 1956 revolution that the basement commemorates.
The week of maintenance in late January is the one closure a winter visitor needs to check.
How long to spend
We would allow 2 to 3 hours. The route runs from the second floor down to the cellar, and the route down is the exhibit. The slow lift alone takes three or four minutes.
Ninety minutes, the floor
The rooms in order, the tank and the cellar, reading little and skipping the films. Enough to see it, not enough to understand it.
2 to 3 hours, the standard visit
With the audio guide or the printed English sheets, the propaganda films in the projection room, and time in the cellar without rushing.
Three hours with a tour
The walking tour and the private tour both run three hours, with the museum as part of the day. The walking tour includes your entry.
Insider tips
Check the website the day before
The museum posts its closures, holiday hours and reopening dates on its own site and social media. A two-minute check the evening before saves a wasted journey, especially in the last week of January and around Christmas.
Do the outside on a Monday
The black frame, the shadow of the word TERROR, the Wall of Heroes along the pavement and the Iron Curtain sculpture can be seen any day at any hour. If Monday is your only free day, see the outside then and come back for the inside.
Leave the cellar for last, and leave time for it
The route puts the cellar at the end, and it is where the visit lands. Do not arrive at the lift with twenty minutes to closing.