The Liszt Academy of Music

The academy was founded in 1875 with Ferenc Liszt as its first president, and the present building, by Floris Korb and Kalman Giergl, opened in 1907. Behind a facade with a seated Liszt above the door is a lobby of mosaics, stained glass and Zsolnay ceramic in green and gold, and a Grand Hall of about a thousand seats with the organ built into the wall behind the stage. A restoration completed in 2013 took the interiors back to their original colours after decades of overpainting. It remains a working conservatory as well as a concert hall, so students practise in the upper floors while the public files through the lobby below.

What you actually see

• The Grand Hall - gold and green art nouveau with the organ set into the back wall.
• The main lobby - Zsolnay ceramic, mosaic and stained glass around the stairs.
• The Solti Chamber Hall - the smaller recital room used for student and chamber concerts.
• The Liszt figure - the seated bronze composer above the entrance.

When to go

The concert season runs from September to June and cheap student recitals appear throughout it, often free or close to it. Guided tours run on a published schedule, usually early afternoon, and only when the halls are free, so they can be cancelled at short notice. Book main-season concerts a few weeks ahead; last-minute seats are usually in the upper gallery.

Honest expectations

Tours are limited in number and language and sell out, and there is no way to wander in on your own. The upper gallery seats are cheap for a reason, with restricted sightlines onto the stage and a long climb. The square outside is wall-to-wall terraces and is loud into the night in summer, which matters if you are staying nearby rather than just visiting.

Nearby

Andrassy Avenue runs past the door, with the opera house further down towards the centre.