Heroes Square, Buda Castle, Andrássy Street – all are beautiful places, few of the most popular tourist sights in the heart of Budapest. On the other hand, if you have visited them, and want to find attractions that are known by less people, but worth seeing as much as the most famous ones, include the outer districts in the itinerary, too. We’ve collected a bunch of places you shouldn’t miss.
Children’s Railway
Connecting Széchenyi-hegy and Hűvösvölgy, Children’s Railway (Gyermekvasút) is an eleven-kilometer-long, narrow gauge line in the western part of the capital city, in District II and District XII. It runs through a few of the most spectacular sceneries of the capital city, among others, stops at Normafa, Csillebérc or Jánoshegy. It takes passengers across the woods of the hills of Buda – look-out towers, playgrounds, beautiful forest paths and shrines are on the way. The name is a bit misleading, the trip is not (only) for kids. This apellation comes from the uniqueness of the railway: except the train driver, all the “employees” are children, continuously supervised by adults, of course. Young people aged 10 to 14 operate the switches and signals, control the traffic, print the tickets and inform the passengers, too. Children’s Railway offers a perfect half or one-day program for a family or a group of friends.
Memento Park
Lenin, Marx and Engels are well-known figures of the Communist era in Hungary. People wish to forget about them sometimes, but even if we wanted to erase them completely from our memories, it would not be possible. Memento Park, an open-air museum in District 22, collects statues of several Hungarian Communist Leaders, including those 3 gentlemen. There are all together 42 monuments that were placed all around Budapest between 1945 and 1989. Getting a glimpse of Hungarian history is fascinating and useful at the same time, as the architect, Ákos Eleőd said: „This park is about dictatorship. And at the same time, because it can be talked about, described, built, this park is about democracy. After all, only democracy is able to give the opportunity to let us think freely about dictatorship."
Merzse Marsh
This amazing natural sight can be found in the outskirts of Budapest, in District XVII, close to Ferihegy airport. Though it’s not easily approachable, it offers an excellent program if one gets tired of the crowded centre – from Rákoskert train station it’s a fifteen-minute walk to the six-kilometer-long nature trail built in 2012. The path consists of 21 stops, each conveying information about wildlife. The uniqueness of this nature reserve comes from the fact that it’s the most undisturbed wetland in Budapest, serving as home to numerous species of birds, amphibians, a wonderful flora, but foxes, deer or badgers are permanent inhabitants of the territory as well.
