MUSEUMS, THEATRE AND CINEMA
If you want to discover the cultural offerings of the city, one of the best places to visit is the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter. It serves as the home not only of several exhibitions and art events, but also of the Faculty (School) of Music and Arts of the University of Pécs. The Cultural Quarter received its name after the Hungarian porcelain-maker Vilmos Zsolnay, whose manufactured goods are world-famous.
You can also find the Zsolnay porcelain collection of Louis (László) Gyugyi and the Pink Collection along with the Bóbita Puppet Theatre in the Quarter. You can find pieces of art commemorating the Zsolnay family not just in the Quarter; there is a fountain made of Zsolnay porcelain in the main square and a Zsolnay statue not far from the central mall of Pécs.
Many of the museums are located downtown, so you don't have to go far if you want to see the most popular art and historical exhibitions of the city. You don’t want to miss the most famous of all, the Cella Septichora Visitor Centre, a cemetery from the early Christian times, which has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage since the year 2000. We also recommend visiting the Vasarely museum, which was the one-time house of the famous painter, Victor Vasarely (considered leader of the op-art movement) and his family. Seeing these special, geometric pictures is a unique experience for your senses. You only have to walk a few meters to find the Csontváry Museum. The acclaimed Hungarian painter, Tivadar Csontváry-Kosztka has become world-famous for his paintings. Still in downtown you can find one of Hungary’s biggest and richest collection of fine art pieces from the 19th-20th century, the Modern Hungarian Art Gallery.
The National Theatre of Pécs is located at the heart of the city in the main street (called Király Street), where you can enjoy a changing variety of the most popular theatre plays with a student discount.
There are three cinemas in Pécs offering movies in English with Hungarian subtitles. The CinemaCity in Pécs Pláza mall has the newest box office movie offers, while at the Apolló Art Movie you can watch both art movies considered rare pieces and the biggest film festivals’ award-winning movies. Urania Cinema is located in a beautiful Bauhaus-style building that allows you to experience the cultural life of the university town during a movie night. Both Apolló and Urania Cinema can be found in the downtown of Pécs.
