If you’re looking for an easy day trip from Budapest to a gorgeous baroque palace, then consider a visit to Gödöllő Palace. This palace sits just outside Budapest’s city limits and was once home to Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth of the Hapsburg Empire. The palace is small, compared to other palaces in Europe, but that’s what makes it such an easy day trip from Budapest to squeeze into your itinerary.
About Gödöllő Palace
The Hapsburgs ruled over the Austria-Hungarian Empire. While they predominantly stayed in Vienna, Austria, it was the Austria-Hungarian Empire, so they also needed to have a place to stay in Hungary. That place was Gödöllő Palace, which sits just outside Budapest. It’s the largest baroque palace in Hungary and makes for an easy day trip from Budapest.
Many notable rulers used Gödöllő Palace, but perhaps none is more famous that Emperor Franz Josef and his wife Empress Elisabeth (Erzsébet in Hungarian), better known as “Sisi”. Sisi came to despise her title and the role of royals entirely, which is part of the reason people were so fascinated with her. She’s the Empress who didn’t want to be an Empress.
Sisi enjoyed Hungarian and it could be said that she enjoyed Hungary more than Vienna. As she became older, she spent more and more time at Gödöllő Palace as she preferred this palace to those in Vienna.
The palace itself was constructed in the 1740s by a Hungarian aristocrat. Gödöllő Palace was then used by Franz Josef and Sisi when they became Emperor and Empress of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. After the Hapsburgs, the palace was used by Admiral Miklós Horthy who led Hungary during World War I and World War II. Gödöllő Palace fell into disrepair during communist times, but was eventually restored and opened to the public.
Gödöllő Palace is nice, but it’s nothing compared to Schönbrunn Palace (the Hapsburg’s summer residence, just outside of Vienna). That said, I personally enjoyed this palace more than the Imperial Apartments at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.
Tips for Your Day Trip to Gödöllő Palace
Now that we’ve covered a bit about the history of Gödöllő Palace, let’s talk about what I recommend for your visit.
Arrive Early
I think with every big sight, it’s important to arrive early so you can minimize crowds. While it’s true that I found crowds at Gödöllő Palace more manageable than at the Hapsburg Palaces in Vienna, there were still more people than I expected. The thing was, it didn’t seem like there were many independent travelers. Don’t get me wrong, independent travelers were visiting Gödöllő Palace, but most of the visitors were there on a tour. Whether they were from a cruise ship or some other tour agency, I don’t know, but around noon, there were many more people than I was expecting.
So, if I were to visit again, I’d try to go closer to opening time.
Beware of the Tour Groups
As I said in my last tip, there were a lot of tour groups at Gödöllő Palace. This is totally fine, but it did make it inconvenient as I tried to navigate around the palace. Like so many palaces, it’s a one way system so when there was a tour group in the room, it became a bit uncomfortable for me.
Again, they are totally welcome in the space, but when there’s twenty people in a room and everyone is trying to see the exact same thing, it gets busy. I found myself slowing down and speeding up my own visit just to avoid these groups. I wish I could have gone at a more natural pace, but it just wasn’t possible.
Get a Guide
The palace is nice, but having a guide will help bring the palace to life. When you purchase your ticket, you’ll have the option to add on an audioguide. This is a totally valid option, but I stuck with my guidebook. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I still check out guidebooks from the library just so I have access to those DIY walking tours (I find Rick Steves’ guides great for this sort of thing).
If you went through Gödöllő Palace without any other information, I just don’t think it would be as interesting or as meaningful. So do your research and figure out what kind of guide makes the most sense for you.
You May Need Less Time than You Think
At Schönbrunn Palace outside of Vienna, I spent nearly two hours exploring. That included an hour in the palace and another hour in the gardens. At Versailles just outside of Paris, it was a similar situation. So, you might think that another Hapsburg Palace will take a few hours to tour, but Gödöllő Palace is smaller than you may be expecting.
The palace interior is smaller and I’d recommend giving yourself about 45 minutes to experience. Of course you may take longer (or even shorter), but I think this is a reasonable estimate. You can stroll the gardens, but I don’t think they are as impressive as those at other palaces. Admittedly I didn’t spend a lot of time in the gardens, but after my short walk, I realized I really didn’t need to spend much more time exploring. So I’d recommend budgeting an hour to an hour and a half for your visit to Gödöllő Palace.
Check the Train Schedule
To reach Gödöllő Palace, you’ll want to catch the HEV suburban train from Budapest (more on this later). The train only runs every half hour, so make sure you know when the train leaves and keep an eye on the clock. Since the train isn’t super frequent, it would really stink to show up just after the train left and realize you have a full 30 minutes to wait before you can catch the next train.
With so much to see in and around Budapest, it’s very important to plan and budget your time wisely.
How Long Do You Need at Gödöllő Palace?
You’ll want to give yourself about an hour to tour the palace interior at Gödöllő Palace. Depending on the day, you may also want to add a little time to walk through the gardens. In my opinion, these gardens aren’t as nice as the gardens at Schönbrunn Palace outside of Vienna, but if it’s a nice day, it may be a nice option.
In general, I’d say give yourself between one to two hours. This gives you enough time to walk from the train station to the palace, buy your ticket, tour the palace, briefly stroll the gardens, and walk back to the train station. Could you spend more time? Absolutely, but I think most visitors will need between one to two hours.
How Do You Get to Gödöllő?
In short, you’ll want to board the HEV suburban train from Örs Vezér Tér to Gödöllő. On the surface, it’s pretty simple, but you’ll be dealing with Budapest public transportation.
I’ve already written an entire blog post about Budapest’s public transportation system since it’s one of the more confusing systems I’ve encountered. That guide serves as a good starting point, but Gödöllő Palace is outside of the Budapest city limits, so you’ll need to make sure you have the proper tickets or you’ll risk a fine from the very thorough ticket inspectors. So here’s what you need.
First and foremost, you need a public transportation ticket. If you have a 24 hour pass, you’re good and you can move on to the next step for the suburban extension ticket. If you are using single tickets, you’ll need a brand new, never used single ticket. If you caught a bus or metro to Örs Vezér Tér, you’re single ticket will not transfer. Before you board the HEV train, get a new single tickets.
The other ticket you will need is a suburban extension ticket. You will need this regardless of whether you’re using a 24 hour pass or single tickets. At the Örs Vezér Tér station, go to one of the kiosks. Change the button to English and follow the prompts to buy a ticket to Gödöllő. When I did this, the screen made it pretty obvious which ticket you’ll need.
Before you board the train, make sure you have both tickets: the single ticket (or 24 hour pass) and the suburban extension ticket. Then, validate the single ticket and the suburban extension ticket when you board the train. Look for a little yellow box in the carriage, stick your ticket in, and pull. This should punch some holes in your ticket and will prove to the ticket inspectors that you have a validated ticket.
Note that there’s some debate about whether or not you need to validate your suburban extension ticket. I validated all of my suburban extension tickets and was never questioned or yelled at, so at a minimum, it doesn’t hurt to validate the suburban extension ticket.
When you return to Budapest, you’ll need to pick up another suburban extension ticket in Gödöllő. If you’re traveling with single tickets, don’t forget to get another single ticket as well.
Is It Worth Visiting Gödöllő Palace?
This is a day trip that I think depends on the person. I’m happy that I included a visit to Gödöllő Palace but I’ll be the first to admit that it’s not for everyone.
Gödöllő Palace is nice, but it’s not the over the top palace that you’ll find elsewhere in Europe. Despite being a palace used by the Hapsburgs, it pales in comparison to the Hofburg Palace in Vienna (though I did prefer Gödöllő to Hofburg) or the Schönbrunn Palace just outside of Vienna. If you’ve already visited the Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace (especially if it’s been on the same trip as your visit to Budapest), I think it’s ok to skip Gödöllő. Now, if you love history and want to learn more about the Hapsburg family, by all means tour Gödöllő.
I also think it’s important to consider how many days you have in Budapest. If you have two days in Budapest, stick to the city of Budapest. There is so much to see there and two days will leave you feeling like you’ve just barely scratched the surface. Only if you have at least three days in Budapest, should you start to look at day trips from Budapest. Gödöllő Palace is one easy option and Szentendre is another.
I visited both Szentendre and Gödöllő Palace and while I preferred the town of Szentendre, I think that Gödöllő Palace is a better day trip for those with a deep interest in history.
Final Thoughts
Gödöllő Palace may not be as famous as some of the other palaces in Europe, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth visiting. After all, it was the Hungarian Palace for the Hapsburgs and the palace that Sisi came to love more than Vienna’s. A day trip to Gödöllő Palace can be interesting, especially if you have passion for history.
Continue Your Adventure
Budapest: Check out my guide for two days in Budapest. If you’re on a time crunch, try my guide for one day in Budapest. Get around the city effortlessly with my Budapest Transportation Guide. Use my Budapest Travel Budget to plan out your trip. For another day trip, try Szentendre.
More in Europe: If you’re already visiting Budapest, consider adding Vienna. Beyond that, Paris is one of my favorites, but Amsterdam can also be fun. For an easy first trip, try visiting London.
Itineraries: Loop Vienna together with several other great cities in this Central Europe 2 week itinerary or this 10 day Central Europe itinerary.