Royal Palace of Godollo is without doubt one of the most stunning locations to go to in Hungary and one of many best day journeys from Budapest. Positioned solely lower than 30 km away from the capital and with frequent prepare connections, you’ll be able to simply go to Godollo Palace, even on a day journey, as soon as you’re uninterested in the hustle and bustle of Budapest.
That’s what I did, and I used to be enchanted with the place! I’m an enormous fan of Sisi and Emperor Franz Joseph, so visiting the place the place they spent a lot time (particularly Sisi) was such an incredible expertise for me. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, there weren’t so many individuals round, and the entire place simply felt proper.
Now I can’t suggest sufficient visiting Royal Palace of Godollo. Learn on to plan your excellent journey there!
A short historical past of Godollo Palace
The Royal Palace of Godollo, often known as the Grassalkovich Fortress, was constructed within the mid-18th century for Rely Antal Grassalkovich I (therefore the identify of the place) and belonged to the household for round 100 years. After Antal Grassalkovich III died and not using a male descendant in 1841, Godollo Palace had a couple of house owners and served as a base for Hungarian revolutionary troops in 1849 or as a discipline hospital for wounded troopers combating within the Prussian-Austrian conflict.
That’s additionally when the well-known Austrian Empress Sisi visited Godollo Palace for the primary time and fell in love with the place. At first, because of the excessive prices of the conflict, the Habsburg dynasty didn’t resolve to buy the palace. Shortly after, when Austria-Hungary was created, Godollo Palace was purchased by the Hungarian state and given as a present to the brand new sovereign of the nation.
The entire property was renovated and redesigned to completely meet the expectations of the ruler and his spouse. Godollo Royal Palace shortly turned a favourite place of Sisi, who spent over two thousand days right here, principally within the spring and autumn. The city itself flourished in that point, too, and was a favourite summer season vacation spot for Budapest’s excessive society.
When Sisi died in 1898, Emperor Franz Joseph wasn’t such a frequent customer to Godollo anymore. As soon as Hungary gained its independence in 1918, Godollo Royal Palace was beneath the administration of the Hungarian Ministry of Finance.
Between the wars, it was used because the residence for Regent Miklós Horthy, and through World Struggle 2, it was briefly the seat of Wehrmacht – the Nazi German military. The Palace was additionally bombed however happily wasn’t badly broken; nonetheless, it was plundered.
After the conflict, Godollo Royal Palace served because the outdated folks’s dwelling: fantastically adorned rooms have been full of iron beds, the flowery ballroom served because the TV room, and the orangery was a laundry room. Even when since 1951 the palace has a monument statute, it fell into decay.
Lastly, in 1990 all of the establishments moved out of the constructing, and the renovation course of began. Since 1996, Godollo Palace is open to guests and has develop into one of many greatest vacationer points of interest in Hungary.
How one can get to Godollo
Getting from Budapest to Godollo could be very straightforward.
You possibly can take the regional prepare from the Keleti station (simply reachable by metro traces 2-red and 4-green); they depart roughly each half an hour, the journey takes 25-40 minutes, relying on the connection, and the ticket prices 745 HUF. You’ll arrive on the fundamental prepare station in Godollo, some quarter-hour strolling from the Palace.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to take the suburban prepare H8 from the Örs vezér the station, on the finish of the purple metro line 2. In case you have a sound Budapest journey cross, you solely want the extension ticket for out of doors of the town. The suburban prepare takes round 45 minutes to succeed in Godollo, however you’ll arrive at Szabadság tér station, simply throughout the road from the palace.
Or you’ll be able to go to Godollo on a guided tour from Budapest. This manner, not solely do you not want to fret about navigating public transport, however additionally, you will be taught extra in regards to the palace and its historical past. Listed below are a number of the beneficial Godollo excursions:
Visiting the Royal Palace of Godollo
The Royal Palace of Godollo is open all 12 months lengthy (apart from 1st November and Christmas), from 10:00 to 17:00 or 18:00, relying on the season. The ticket workplace closes one hour earlier than the closing time of the palace.
At the moment, the ticket for the principle exhibition (The Period of the Grassalkovich, Royal residences, Queen Elisabeth memorial exhibition, and the Twentieth-century historical past of the palace) is 4200 HUF (round €11,25/$12,50) for a daily ticket. Moreover, you can too go to Baroque Theater and Using Corridor (ticket is 2200 HUF) and Horthy Bunker (2000 HUF). You should buy the tickets upfront on-line on the website of the Godollo Palace (the place you can too examine the opening hours and different helpful info) or within the palace – the ticket workplace is on the left facet on the bottom ground.
Godollo Royal Palace is without doubt one of the hottest points of interest in Hungary and an ideal day journey from Budapest. Annually a couple of hundred thousand folks go to the place, so in the event you resolve to return right here within the peak time (summertime, weekends, and so forth.), you’ll be able to anticipate the palace to be a bit crowded. I visited it in June, on Sunday afternoon, shortly earlier than closing time (I used to be one of many final individuals who purchased tickets on that day), and it was pretty empty, excellent for exploring and checking each single merchandise with out too many individuals pushing round.
You want roughly one hour to see the Palace inside. The primary seven rooms are devoted to the Grassalkovich household and their social standing. On this a part of the tour, you can too peek into the fantastically adorned palace church.
The remainder of the rooms are the place Franz Joseph and Sisi stayed throughout their visits to the Godollo Palace, with the historic inside and artifacts from that point. When touring the Palace, additionally, you will discover the exhibition devoted to Sisi. Essentially the most spectacular room inside Godollo Palace is the beautiful consultant corridor that also at the moment is used for live shows, weddings, and different occasions.
As soon as you’re carried out with the inside of the Royal Palace of Godollo, be sure you wander across the nice and well-maintained park, too, and luxuriate in its stress-free vibe. That is such an ideal getaway from the hustle and bustle of busy Budapest. In case you are fortunate, you would possibly even attend an open-air live performance in entrance of the palace. There may be additionally a espresso home if you wish to seize a drink and one thing candy to eat.
Additional studying
Whereas the vast majority of vacationers who go to Hungary give attention to Budapest solely, there are a lot of extra attention-grabbing locations within the nation. Lately I went for a couple of journeys to see extra of what Hungary has to supply and I used to be amazed!
Listed below are a number of the articles you would possibly need to learn earlier than planning your journey to Budapest and past:
In case you are in search of articles a couple of particular vacation spot – take a look at the map with all of the articles I’ve printed (and their areas).
For the tip I left a couple of bulletins which may curiosity you:
- Sign up to my newsletter or follow me on Bloglovin to get updates in regards to the new posts
- Be part of my Fb group about Jap Europe, the Balkans and former USSR and join with fellow travellers and lovers of those areas – just click here!
- I’ve included a couple of useful hyperlinks of companies and merchandise I personally like and use so you’ll be able to plan your individual journey to Hungary too. They’re typically affiliate hyperlinks. This implies I’ll get a small fee in the event you e book/buy something via my hyperlinks, at no additional prices for you. Thanks!
LIKED IT? PIN THIS POST FOR LATER!
When you loved that publish why do not you share it with your mates? That may imply a lot to me! Additionally be sure you be a part of 27.000+ fellow vacationers and comply with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for journey updates and much more photos! When you do not need to miss new posts signal as much as my newsletter or follow on Bloglovin!
