Gödöllő Palace: All About Sisi’s Beloved Hungarian Haven - The Gödöllő Royal Palace tour is a captivating journey through Hungarian history, expertly guided by an articulate and knowledgeable English-speaking guide (Anna, I think - she was awesome!). Anna offered up a deep dive into the palace's rich past on the short bus ride from Budapest to the castle, taking us through the palace's construction by the aristocratic Grassalkovich family to its significant role in the lives of Franz Joseph I and his beloved wife, Sisi. The guide skillfully weaves together fascinating tales of the palace's history and its occupants, briefly touches on the use (and plunder) of the palace by Nazi forces during World War II and later by Soviet forces, and then talks about the meticulous restoration done in recent years. The restored palace now stands as a stunning tribute to its illustrious history, especially highlighting Sisi’s deep connection to the residence and to the people of Hungary. This tour not only enriches your understanding of Hungarian history but also provides fascinating insights into the architecture, décor, entertainment and fashion of the time, all while celebrating the legacy of Sisi. We loved this tour!

An ancient fairy tale - Stunning place, nice to retrace the stages of Sissi's Hungarian life. Friendly, explanatory and professional, our guide in Italian, Mrs. Gabriella, was able to explain even the smallest curiosities to us.

A very pleasant setting - Nice visit. Sissi Castle is worth a visit, even though there are no original furnishings. The castle park is very relaxing

Vera is a wonderful guide - We really enjoyed the excursion thanks to Vera, our guide, who in addition to knowing a lot, it is clear that she enjoys her profession.

Beautiful castle, great guides - Beautiful castle! The trip was great, the bus ride to the castle was very pleasant. Our tour guide, Nikki, did a great job in German. We were able to learn a lot from her, she talked a lot and spoke very well. She was also very friendly. It was also nice that we went through the rooms and the castle quite quickly, because I personally don't need to spend 10 minutes in each room. The free time afterwards in the park is also very pleasant, it's just a shame that there isn't really anything except the small café, because there were far too many people in it! Luckily we had brought something to eat and drink with us, and were able to enjoy it in the park. The only negative thing was the other participants on this tour! You are told that you have to be there by 9:45 because the bus leaves at 10:00. More than half of the participants didn't arrive until after 10:00 and no one apologized or felt embarrassed! The last ones arrived at 10:20 and we couldn't leave until then. Then they said that we had to be back at the bus at 1:00 p.m. to go back and this time everyone had to be on time! The same people were all late again and didn't arrive until 1:10 p.m. I understand that there could be problems, but I think the tour guides should just say at 10:05 a.m. that we're leaving, tough luck. That was a bit annoying but it wasn't the tour guides' fault and the tour was great.

Gödöllö Palace, a journey to the real Sissi - This long weekend on 08.12.23 we decided to go to Budapest, it was a success, we made various outings to learn about the history of this monumental city. It is worth visiting it thoroughly, there is a wide range of outings and tours, we stayed 4 nights/five days, The excursion that we liked the most was the visit to the Gödöllö Palace, just the night before it had snowed, just as we got on the bus to start the journey, one of our guides captivated us, Vera, a native Hungarian, with a very good command of Spanish explained to us the places and monuments we were passing through, he explained the history to us in a simple, clear and understandable way, just as it was. Already at the Gödöllö Palace, we were lucky enough to continue with her. Vera introduced us to the reality of the time, it was spectacular and her great knowledge of Hungarian history was evident, she told us the true story of Sissi, not the version we are accustomed to of princess stories. Highly recommended, the cultural level and the great information we received from this excellent native guide Vera, made this excursion one of the best gifts we took with us from Budapest. What can we say about his predisposition, attention, respect, good work and his good Spanish. Without a doubt, when we return, we will repeat. The palace is beautiful, although the quality of the restoration could be better; But the explanations, history and anecdotes that we received from Vera were worth it, it was the "plus" of the visit.

Must see - Must see if you want to know more about Sissi. Beware though, some rooms might be closed due to privatisation. Nice to walk where Sissi walked as well.

good excursion, but poor assignment of the guide by the agency - The tour was very good and the Palace is worth it. The only "downside" I found is that the guide Vera, with whom we did the tour, has a poor command of the Spanish language and since she did not know how to conjugate the phrases correctly, we did not understand well what she meant. It was obvious that his knowledge is high, but he could not (or knew how) to express it correctly. He tried very hard to explain, that's a point in his favor. But I think the agency should assign guides with a broader command of the language they are working on at the moment.

Nice place, not good tour. - The palace was lovely, if you have extra time in Budapest. However the guide was doing a dual language tour and she spent a lot of time speaking Spanish and next to nothing in English. We eventually asked if we could just go ahead and meet her somewhere. She laughed and said this is how it usually goes, one group always gives up and goes on. Nice to know.

Reconsider the tour company not the palace - Dual language tour in which one language got lengthy explanations and the other stood around waiting for their 30 seconds. Half way thru we asked where to meet them later and the guide said “this always happens, one group always gives up”. Palace was nice.