Excursions
Szentendre
20 km from Budapest, the town dates back to the 14th century's cultural and tourist
centre, town of arts and artists, right on the bank of the Danube. Mediterranean
atmosphere, Serb Orthodox monuments, 12 museums - one of them an open-air folk
museum.
Easiest way to get there is to take the HÉV from Batthyány tér. (Station of Metró
line M2.) The HÉV train is there in 45 minutes.
Visegrád
Golden age in the 15th c. during the reign of King Matthias. The excavated parts
of the Renaissance Palace areamazing. You get the best view over the Danube Bend
from the Citadel right on top.
You can travel there by Bus from Árpád Bridge coach station (Árpád híd, a station of
Metró line M3), it is about 1 hour.
Esztergom
The town, 70 km from Budapest, is the seat of the Hungarian Roman Catholic
Church. It was a royal seat until the 13th century. St. Stephen was crowned here.
The Cathedral (Bazilika) is Hungary's largest church, and the Christian
Museum is one of the largest such collections.
Also the Bus from Árpád Bridge (Árpád híd, a station of Metró line M3) is the
easiest way, taking about 1 1/2 hours.
Dunakanyar (Danube Bend)
If you want to travel by boat to the Danube Bend, you can take the scheduled
services operated by Mahart. In service: May-Sept.
Hydrofoils are operated to the Danube Bend on Saturdays from mid-May to end-August
but they only call at Visegrád and Esztergom.
Departures, tickets: Vigadó Square Boat Station.
Gödöllő
The most famous sight of the town, 30 km from Budapest, is the Grassalkovich
Palace, the largest in Hungary. Maria Theresa stayed here several times, and it
was the favourite home of Queen Elisabeth (Sissy) in the 19th century.
Restoration is underway, but several wings are already open to the public.
Easiest way is the HÉV from Örs Vezér Tere (M2 Metró station).
The trip takes 45 minutes.
Buda Hills
Making small walks or a one-day trip, or just having a rest: This is the ideal
place for you! You can take the Cogwheel Railway to get to the top of
Széchényi-Hill by a 20 minutes trip, enjoying a delightful view of the City.
Then you can walk to János Hill (Jánoshegy, the highest point of Budapest: 529m),
to look out from the tower of Erzsébet Kilátó. Then you can continue to
Hűvösvölgy, or to Makkosmária, a beautiful Christian
pilgrimage site. You can use the "Flying Chairs" (Libegő) to get back to the
valley. Or take the Children's Railway, a tiny train that is directed by small
children linking Széchényi Hill with Hűvösvölgy on a 11 kilometre-long track,
between the old trees, calling at János Hill, in Flower Valley
(Virágvölgy, the nearest station to Makkosmária) and at Szépjuhászné,
nearby a medaeval monastory.
It takes only twenty minutes with tramway 56 to get in Hűvösvölgy,
the gate of the hills. You can reach the Hármashatárhegy area from there with
another half-an-hour walk. It has an amazing view from the cliffs to a
small sailplane-airport. From Ancient Buda you can also reach Hármashatárhegy
by bus 65. The two caves, Pálvölgyi Cseppkőbarlang and
Szemlőhegyi barlang, stuffed with fantastic stalagtites and
stalagmites, can be reached by the same bus. (A student entrace ticket for both
together costs HUF 600)
Hills of Buda, being Natural Reserve, have a very rich wild life, despite of
the closeness of the city. Several
types of rare plants, like the truffle grow there, and animals: squirrels, hedgehogs, but
sometimes wild boar and deers can often be seen. Birds as the long-eared
owl, the buzzard, several hawks, and the blackbird live in the foliage.
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