The city is famous far and wide for its apricot pálinka (brandy), Art Nouveau buildings adorned with coloured ceramics and the Kodály method of musical education.

A number of famous buildings grace the wide and impressive Kossuth tér crossed by promenades. The tile-roofed Town Hall with its splendid floral ornaments and the beautiful frescoes in the conference hall, is a masterpiece of Hungarian Art Nouveau and one of the most attractive municipal buildings in the country.

A fine example of Hungarian Art Nouveau is the so-called Cifrapalota (Garish or Fancy Palace), lavishly decorated with floral patterns. Inside, the collection of the Kecskemét Gallery contains the works of 19th- and 20th-century Hungarian painters. The House of Science and Technology operates in a former synagogue, built in the Romantic Moorish style, where authentic plaster replicas of 15 statues by the Renaissance master, Michelangelo Buonarotti are kept.

Kecskemét owes much of its charm in the spacious rnain square with its promenades, with the churches of various denominations side by side. The town hall dating from the 19th century has been beautifully refurbished. Its facade is decorated with a set of chimes containing 37 elements; they mark the passing of time with a pleasing tune composed by the towns famous son, the composer and teacher Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967). The tune of the chimes that sound every hour was composed by Zoltán Kodály. Students from all over the world enrol for courses at the Kodály Zoltán Institute of Musical Education to study in his native city the Hungarian composer's method of teaching music.

The town contains many exceptional museums and collections of national importance which can be seen only here. The collection of the Museum of Hungarian Folk Applied Arts includes the works of Hungary's most reputed folk artists. The naive art collection of the Museum of the Hungarian Naive Artists consists of nearly 2,500 paintings and sculptures. The building also houses the Szórakaténusz Toy Museum and Workshop exhibiting over 10,000 railway models, toys from the early 20th century, folk toys and musical instruments for children. The Museum of Hungarian Photography, the only one of its kind, at Katona József tér, holds a collection of approximately 3,000 exhibits. The Leskowsky Collection of Musical Instruments exhibits 1,500 instruments from all over the world.

The oldest church in the city is the Franciscan church of St. Nicholas, originally erected in Gothic style 600 years ago but now with an exuberant Baroque interior. Outside the church are the Stations of the Cross. The foundation stones of the Protestant church were laid down in the 15th century. The Nagytemplom (Great Church), also called Öregtemplom (Old Church), at Kossuth tér is the largest church in rococo style on the Puszta.