St Stephen's Basilica is the largest church in Budapest. Due to a number of difficulties it took 55 years to complete (1851-1906), so Hungarians even developed a saying 'When basilica is finished' meaning that something will very unlikely happen. The construction of basilica started according to the plans of Jószef Hild (side façades of today's basilica are his work), however he died soon after the project started so the work has been carried on by Miklós Ybl (the main entrance and the façade along Bajczy-Zsilinszky út are his works). Eventually Ybl died too so the basilica has been completed by a third architect and then the dome collapsed so it had to be completely reconstructed and rebuilt. It is said that Franz Joseph has been anxiously looking up to the ceiling when attending the first mass in the basilica in 1906, having heard about all the trouble with the construction and about the collapsed dome. Nevertheless, the dome seems to be solid now. It is still standing and it's open for visitors wishing to admire Budapest from a different perspective.
There are a number of (expensive) restaurants around the pleasant square in front of basilica's main entrance, predominantly frequented by tourists and local posers.
On St. Stephen's day (20th of August) the procession winds through the side streets around basilica, its main attraction being the right hand of St. Stephen. The procession attracts a number of participants and curious onlookers although their number is hardly compared to the crowds watching Red Bull Air Race along the banks of Danube which takes place on the same day.
Location: Pest V, Szent István tér. Transport: Metro M1 (Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út or Deák Ferenc tér), M3 (Arany János utca or Deák Ferenc tér), M2 (Deák Ferenc tér).