Visit Festetics Palace in Keszthely, Hungary

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Keszthely is the Festetics Palace. It is a Baroque palace that dates from 1745. It is one of the largest country houses in Hungary.

Festetics Palace is a very grand place and is home to several museums. It is also a great place to explore Kastélypark and its gardens for free.

Explore Kastélypark For Free

You can explore Kastélypark and see the palace’s entire exterior for free. The grounds are also dog-friendly.

Kastélypark has a lake, fountains and colourful gardens. It’s a good way to see the outside of the building and its fabulous architecture.

There are also benches throughout Kastélypark to sit on and relax or admire the views. There is a ‘WOW Hungary’ sign, which is popular with people for taking their photographs.

Tickets For Festetics Palace & Museums

There are many ticket options for visiting the castle. They have concessions for under-26s and over-62s, and also offer group tickets.

You can also opt to join a tour or explore the castle and museums on your own. I purchased my tickets at the castle ticket office just outside the main gate, next door to the aristocracy travel exhibition.

What’s Inside

The Festetics Palace is a beautiful place outside, and the interior is no different. The decor and furniture are very grand, and most are made from wood. They have a good collection of art featuring the Festetics family.

Inside the palace, they had many rooms with furniture from the last few centuries and certainly oozed aristocracy.

The main staircase was decorative, made of wood, and featured an impressive chandelier. The staircase also serves as a portrait gallery for the Festetics family, with many paintings of different generations.

As with many country houses, Festetics Palace also has a chapel. This is a beautiful room that you can see from above. They have some colourful stained-glass windows here, too.

Attractions at Festetics Palace in Keszthely

The optional exhibitions to see when booking the full ticket for the Festetics Palace in Keszthely, Hungary, are

Carriage Exhibition

The carriage exhibition covers a variety of transportation topics and gives visitors the chance to see historical transportation methods up close.

The horse-drawn carriages were fascinating, with unique designs. This includes the colourful bride’s coach they built in 1770.

They also had carriages used for different purposes, including a few elaborate hearses. The white hearse dates back to the early 19th century.

The archbishops’ carriage from Vienna was interesting and built in 1814.

They dedicated another section of the museum to horse sledges. These are like the carriages but were made for use in the snow in the Austro-Hungarian region. You can also see and learn about the horse tack used by the carriage drivers.

They also had some cars on display from the early 20th century, including some Model T Fords.

Hunting Exhibition

The Festetics family were keen trophy hunters, and this exhibition shows off their trophies. The hunting exhibition hosts trophies of wild species killed on five continents.

Another aspect of this museum is the animal habitat displays, including scenes of predators hunting prey.

The museum also has artwork related to hunting, as well as the guns and other weapons used by hunters.

Historic Model Railway Exhibition

Upstairs in the hunting museum is a historic model railway exhibition.

The Historic Model Railway display is massive and has lifelike models of the European train network, including Keszthely, Budapest and Berlin.

The model railway has 2.5 kilometres of track and has 25 train stations. It is one of the longest in Europe and a must-see attraction for rail enthusiasts.

Exhibition of Aristocratic Travels

The exhibition of aristocratic travels is in the same building as the ticket office. The museum covers how the Hungarian and Austrian aristocracy used to travel.

This includes exhibitions of horse-drawn coaches, holidays travelling by paddle steamer on the Danube, and luxury train travel. They have exhibits about methods of transport and the excessive luggage the aristocracy took; they certainly didn’t travel light. Another section was the travel sayings that Austro-Hungarian aristocrats used.

• The best way to travel is to have many people before you, and many after you
• The heaviest baggage for a traveller is an empty wallet.
• He who would travel through the land must go with an open purse in hand.
• He who eats with travellers receives the sacrament.
• Good company on a journey is worth a coach.
• Love to travel, but do not make the road your home.
• If you want to travel for a day, bring enough bread for a week.

Finally, the travel exhibition covers the early motorcars and motorbikes. This has some nicely preserved vehicles.

Palm House and Bird Park

Count Tassilo Festetics II built the Palm House in 1880. They made parts of its structure in Gustave Eiffel’s workshop. They were originally used to keep the palace’s palms and pot plants: they served as a ‘plant sanatorium’.

In its present form, the Palm House evokes the tradition of orangeries and tropical plant houses typical of the royal and aristocratic lifestyle. It contains exotic plants from Tahiti to Florida.

The Palm House and gardens are full of exotic plants to see. The giant cacti are nice to see and wander through.

There is also a bird park to see; this includes wildfowl and peacocks. The area also has a pond which is home to some big koi carp.

Review of My Visit to Festetics Palace

I thought the full ticket was good value, and the exhibitions to see were excellent. However, you can enjoy the grounds for free, which is very worthwhile too. The gardens are a splendid option to explore for budget travellers. There is a selection of bars and restaurants nearby; however, some near the castle are more expensive than in the town centre.