Ráth György-villa — Attraction in Budapest

My mother and I were celebrating her 60th birthday on the 28th of January. We have planned a visit at this beautiful villa in Budapest. She already had seen it, she just wanted to show me, that even Budapest has country house museum, not just London. I was so excited, as I work in a museum too, in the UK.

The receptionist lady, short blond hair, with glasses, - did not say anything when I mentioned that this is my mother's birthday. They organize events also for special occasion's, just like a birthday,- that is the reason why I said it. Her answer was simply, 'you have to order that in advance',- even if I was just joking. Again, she never said 'happy birthday'. But that was fine, she is not a relative.

After we paid, she insisted me to have their guidebook, even if I did not want to buy it, she gave it to me on loan. I said 'thank you very much, I really do not think, I need it, as I just want to enjoy my visit, take some pictures, and if I'm really interested in something, I'll ask someone.' She was literally angry, and she said 'but, nothing has any explanation up there in the museum..' She was so pushy, I had to say yes.

On the first floor, I gave that book immediately to one of her colleagues. I wanted to take pictures, talk to my mother, and that's it. But, anyway, why should I have to explain myself to anyone in this kind of place? I get rid of the book, and I loved the house. Small, but nicely run and it has million artifacts in it. Beautiful, absolutely magnificent.

We came down and I saw the receptionist sitting and watching YouTube at the front desk. When she saw me, she was demeaning her book back from me. I said to her 'your colleague has it on the first floor'. This was too much for her. 'You should have given the guide book back to me!!!' said angrily, and she went up to deal with it. I could not believe it. She put me a very uncomfortable situation. I felt so bad, even if I did not do anything wrong. It was obvious, that she had already problems in her life, who did not ever had a bad day,- but that does not mean that she could leave her professionalism behind. Absolutely terrible person!

As I work in the same environment in London, I know, how hard could be to work in a museum,- or (let's face it) sometimes how boring. But we are always kind and nice to the visitors. There is no way, that I should be this angry or moody to a person. Costumers are not always right, that is fine, - but this sudden reaction was something unexpected, and absolutely unacceptable behavior.

She made our visit, definitely unforgettable! I am a Hungarian citizen too, but after living in the United Kingdom, I forgot how Hungarian staff could be rude in shops, restaurants or museums like this. in London, this would have...

I went with my 8 month old just before Christmas. It's a really lovely museum set inside a former home - we had been to the Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts the previous day, and this was a very nice contrast. It is small and cozy, with some of the rooms set up just as the former residents had it, showing off everything from paintings to furniture, clothing and sculpture/decorative items. I loved that there are no placards - the staff gave me a book in english that describes the items, so again it doesn't feel like your typical museum. In addition the docent would explain and point out interesting features - I felt like I was getting a private tour. If you are traveling with a baby, there is a storage area downstairs for keeping a stroller (the museum isn't stroller friendly due to stairs so I wore my baby - the staff very kindly helped me carry the stroller down to the storage), there is also a baby changing bathroom. Wonderful experience and really made me appreciate Budapest and the...

If you want to feel like a Cold War spy, this is the place to go. The staff are probably very nice, but need to learn how to follow people around a little less ostentatiously, lest the guests feel like criminals. Although we loved the feeling of having our own personal security, it was a bit wearing to be silently tailed around the whole museum, especially as each room has security cameras and most exhibits are behind glass. The temptation to actually steal something (a sensation I’d not had before) became increasingly strong throughout our visit, if only to give the poor attendants something meaningful to do.

Aside from that, the place is lovely. Gorgeous art nouveau furniture, ceramics and decor. In fact, it was so beautiful we just had to take a few pieces with us....