Vajdahunyad Castle

Walk past Heroes' Square into City Park and you come to what looks like a medieval castle rising from a lake, with towers, battlements, a Gothic gatehouse and a Romanesque chapel. It is not medieval at all. Vajdahunyad Castle was designed by the architect Ignác Alpár for the Millennium Exhibition of 1896, which celebrated a thousand years since the Magyar conquest of the Carpathian Basin, as an architectural anthology of the historic Kingdom of Hungary. Built first in wood and plaster for the exhibition, it proved so popular that it was rebuilt in stone and brick between 1904 and 1908. The complex is divided into wings in Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles, each borrowing details from real buildings around the old kingdom. The Gothic section is inspired by Hunyad Castle in Transylvania, today in Romania, which gives the whole complex its name. The Romanesque part includes a copy of the portal of the abbey church at Ják, in western Hungary, and the small Ják Chapel, which is still consecrated. The Baroque wing, modelled on palaces of the eighteenth century, houses the Hungarian Museum of Agriculture, one of the largest agricultural museums in Europe, with displays on farming, hunting, fishing, wine and horses. In the courtyard sits one of Budapest's best-loved statues: Anonymus, the hooded, faceless chronicler of the first Hungarian kings, by Miklós Ligeti; touching his pen is said to bring luck to writers, and it has been polished gold by hands. The courtyards and grounds are free and open at all times. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, with a ticket of a few thousand forints, and guided climbs of the towers are sold separately. Around the castle, the lake is used for rowing boats in the warm months and becomes the City Park Ice Rink in winter.

Why it matters: Vajdahunyad is the most photogenic place in City Park, and it is also a fascinating document of the Hungary of 1896, a country confidently celebrating its history and the reach of its old kingdom. Walking from wing to wing is a quick tour of eight centuries of architecture, and the setting, among trees on the edge of a lake, is lovely in every season. It is also one of the best free sights in Budapest, which makes it an easy addition to a day at the Széchenyi baths, the Museum of Fine Arts or the House of Music, all within a few minutes' walk.

Through the seasons: in winter, the City Park Ice Rink, one of the largest and oldest open-air rinks in Europe, fills the lake in front of the castle, with skate rental and the castle floodlit behind the skaters; it is one of Budapest's classic winter experiences, and its season and prices are published each year on the rink's own website. In spring and summer, you can hire a rowing boat on the lake, and the park around it is full of picnickers. In autumn, the trees of City Park turn gold and the castle reflects in the water. Come early in the morning for photographs without crowds, or after dark, when the castle is lit.

Working the visit: allow half an hour to walk around the castle and through the courtyards, and another hour or more for the agricultural museum, which is old-fashioned in places but surprisingly interesting, especially for families, with its hunting trophies, horse-breeding displays and wine sections. Check the opening times, as the museum is closed on Mondays and on several holidays. The castle is a short walk from the Hősök tere and Széchenyi fürdő stops on the M1 Millennium Underground.