With an impressive number of decent venues, chances are that whatever time of year you travel to Budapest, it won't be difficult to plan a great evening out.

The main season here runs from September to mid-June and includes over 50 major productions, many of which are familiar to opera lovers abroad. For tickets, it's advisable to book a couple of weeks in advance, though cheaper seats are often available at the last minute. Performance listings (which are posted in the main box office) are easy for foreigners to decipher, unlike, it has to be said, the official State Opera House website, which is currently in Hungarian only. It’s best then to book online via Jegymester (Ticketmaster) at online.jegymester.hu (English and Hungarian).

Even if you can't get tickets for a performance, you must tour this incredible example of magnificent architecture. Designed by Miklós Ybl to commemorate the Hungarian millennium celebrations, Budapest's magnificent State Opera House was completed in 1884. Regarded as one of the most important historical buildings in Hungary, its elegantly styled neo-Renaissance proportions fit in perfectly with neighbouring buildings on Andrássy ut.

The façade of the building is decorated with statues of 16 of the world's greatest composers, including Monteverdi, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Bizet, and Tchaikovsky. There are also representations of the muses of opera, together with sculptures of Franz Liszt and Ferenc Erkel (the composer of the Hungarian national anthem and director of the opera house when it opened in 1884) on the ground level. The interior of the building is equally lavish. Karoly Lotz's frescoed ceiling in the main auditorium, which depicts "Olympus, home of the Gods," is particularly breathtaking. What's more, over 7 kilograms of gold were used to decorate the horseshoe-shaped auditorium, which seats over 1,200 people.

We also attended the opera in Vienna, and it's obvious that the Hungarians love opera even more than the Viennese do. Even though everyone died in the end, we experienced a heartfelt flawless performance of Othello that we will never forget.

A very large neo-Renaissance building with four gated porticos with frescoed ceilings of angels and muses is a very beautiful opera house, especially inside. It was built after the design of the same architect who designed St Stephen’s basilica.

Next to the main entrance, there are statues of Liszt and Erkel. On the sides, you can find statues of female sphinxes and muses. Balconies on the second floor are covered with mosaics. The lobby is a collection of arches supported by grey marble columns. The floor is laid out in tile that reminds of the ancient Greek mosaics. The ceilings are covered with frescoes of angels and floral motifs, which are quite common for the opera décor.

Inside there is a large, almost-square stage with red velvet curtain and a huge ceiling fresco with a large gilded chandelier with flower-like lamps. The circular plafond continues with frescoes of angels or cupids playing musical instruments coming down to the gilded columns at the top balcony. All the seats are covered in purple velvet, except for the royal balcony with red Damascus seats. Above it, there is an arch with statues in costumes as if performing. Along the balconies you can see names of operas on the top balcony, musical instruments in gilding along the third balcony and theatrical masks along the second balcony.

There are two large balconies with very tall ceilings and purple/gilded columns next to the stage. Above the stage there is another set of frescoes with gilded coffering between them.

The performances are very affordable and tickets prices are in local currency. Even though the opera house has its own website, to buy tickets or find out what’s on you need to go to http://www.jegymester.hu/. The website is in Hungarian and English. You can reserve tickets online, pay with the credit card, receive confirmation by email, and then pick up the tickets at the opera ticket office right before the performance.

I went to see the performance of "Bloody Wedding", a modern Hungarian opera. It left me with a mixed impression – very good voices but not much story, music, or direction.