Budapest (Hungary)

This is my home town. This is the city where I have lived 32 years before we moved to the US. It is hard to be realistic if you are showing your home town to your kids. There are so many places which I would like to show them and so many stories connected to them.

My kids are still small so I am trying to take them to some places which are fun for them. 

What To Do With Small Kids In Budapest

• Margaret Island (Margit-sziget)

Margaret Island is filled with quiet walkways, flower gardens, romantic ruins and century-old trees and is poupular recreation spot located in the heart of Budapest.

Next you will see a stunning musical fountain that was completely renovated in 2013. It is no secret that the city leaders wants the fountain on Margitsziget to be as popular as the one in Barcelona. - See more at: http://www.budapest-tourist-guide.com/margaret-island.html#sthash.9PxLVxS4.dpuf

Next you will see a stunning musical fountain that was completely renovated in 2013. It is no secret that the city leaders wants the fountain on Margitsziget to be as popular as the one in Barcelona. - See more at: http://www.budapest-tourist-guide.com/margaret-island.html#sthash.9PxLVxS4.dpuf

My kids really enjoyed watching and listening to the completely renovated musical fountain.

The fountain includes a musical water performance as well, during the summer the audience may listen to the songs as follows:

1. Vivaldi: Four seasons - Spring
2. Simon and Garfunkel: Cecilia
3. Verdi: Nabucco – Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival: Who’ll Stop The Rain
5. Brahms: Hungarian Dances No. 1
6. Shadows: Kon-Tiki
7. The Rolling Stones: Let Me Down Slow
8. Andrea Bocelli: Time To Say Goodbye

Daily schedule of the songs of the Margaret Island fountain:

• 10.30 a.m. – 4 songs
• 17.00 – 4 songs
• 18.00 – Full program
• 19.30 – 4 songs
• 21.00 – Full program

Next you will see a stunning musical fountain that was completely renovated in 2013. It is no secret that the city leaders wants the fountain on Margitsziget to be as popular as the one in Barcelona.

TIP: If you want to hear the fountain's music it is good to know the schedule of music playing: every day at 10.30 and 17.00 4 musical pieces, at 18.00 the complete music list is played, at 19.30 4 pieces, at 21.00 complete list: Vivaldi's Spring from the Four Seasons, Simon and Garfunkel: Cecilia, Verdi: Nabucco-Chorus of the Slaves, Creedence Clearwater Revival: Who'll Stop the Rain, Brahms: Hungarian Dances, 1. piece, The Rolling Stones: Let Me Down Slow, Bocelli: Time to Say Goodbye

- See more at: http://www.budapest-tourist-guide.com/margaret-island.html#sthash.9PxLVxS4.dpuf

Next you will see a stunning musical fountain that was completely renovated in 2013. It is no secret that the city leaders wants the fountain on Margitsziget to be as popular as the one in Barcelona.

TIP: If you want to hear the fountain's music it is good to know the schedule of music playing: every day at 10.30 and 17.00 4 musical pieces, at 18.00 the complete music list is played, at 19.30 4 pieces, at 21.00 complete list: Vivaldi's Spring from the Four Seasons, Simon and Garfunkel: Cecilia, Verdi: Nabucco-Chorus of the Slaves, Creedence Clearwater Revival: Who'll Stop the Rain, Brahms: Hungarian Dances, 1. piece, The Rolling Stones: Let Me Down Slow, Bocelli: Time to Say Goodbye

- See more at: http://www.budapest-tourist-guide.com/margaret-island.html#sthash.9PxLVxS4.dpuf

If you wouldn't like to walk so much, you can take a tour with this small bus on the island.

There is a very small zoo on the island with deer, horses and stork.

• Zoo (Állatkert)

Budapest has a rather big and nice zoo. This is the one of the oldest zoo parks in the world. There are 733 animal species there.

I really recommend spending a morning or an afternoon there. You can find lots of baby animals this year (2013) at the zoo. We saw a baby giraffe, a baby lion, a baby leopard and a baby elephant there.

One part of the zoo is a petting zoo with farm animals.

 

• Heroes' Square (Hősök tere)

Heroes' Square is one of the must see things in Budapest. 

It is one of the major squares of Budapest. Its iconic statue complex, the Millennium Memorial, was completed in 1900, the same year the square was named "Heroes' Square". It lies at the end of Andrássy Avenue (with which it comprises part of an extensive World Heritage site), next to City Park.

• Circus (cirkusz)

My mother wanted to surprise her older granddaughter. She got two tickets to the Budapester Circus. It was a perfect afternoon which I spent with my 5 year old Sophie. She enjoyed using the public transportation. We traveled on a subway and the Millenium Underground Railway which is the second oldest underground railway in the world. It has been working since 1896.

The show in the Circus was more interesting for my daughter but I was happy to spend time just with her.

• Castle (Budai vár)

Since I was a child I have liked the Buda Castle. It is like traveling back in time hundreds of years. The streets and houses are narrow, the houses are smaller and you have the feeling that time there just stopped. This is a very touristy place so you will be not alone during the day. But if you come in a quiet evening you can feel some peace there. 

This is not a special program for kids but every time when we are in Budapest I take them there for a walk. It is very nice. There are a lot of things which must be seen in that part of Buda.

In every Budapest guide book you will find the Matthias Church. It is an absolutely beautiful roman catholic church at the heart of Buda's Castle District.

When I lived in Budapest I sang in a choir and we gave concerts in this church with stunning acoustics many times. If you visit the church during the day you have to buy a ticket but if you have an opportunity to go there to hear a concert that would be a very nice experience. Inside you can find a small museum and a gift shop too.

In front of the Matthias Church is the Fisherman's Bastion.

Nowadays you have to buy a ticket to go up to the Fisherman's Bastion but it is totally worth it. The view to the other side of the city, Pest is stunning.

This picture was taken a year ago :)

The Hungarian Parliament

Please, take a walk in this area in the direction of the Budapest Castle Hill Funicular.

View from the Funicular

Your kids will enjoy riding down with the funicular.  Before that watch the changing of the guards in front of the Office of the President of the Republic which is at 12 pm every day.

 

 

Just a short walk from here is the Hungarian National Gallery where there are a lot of interesting collections of paintings, sculptures and other fine art pieces. All of the greatest Hungarian painters are represented here like Rippl-Rónai, Szinyei Merse and others.

This time we didn't use the funicular. We took a walk on the way back and found the statue of Zoltán Kodály who was a very famous Hungarian composer and folk song collector.

On the other side of the Castle you can enjoy a walk under the huge chestnut trees and watch the view of the Buda hills.

 

 

• Normafa

When I was a kid I spent every weekend at the Normafa which is a public park on a hill in the middle of Buda. I had training there with my ski club. You can go for a short hike there and can visit the playground. It is a nice place in every season. There are a lot of skiers and sleigh riders during the Winter.  There are many people walking and enjoying the beautiful trees in every other season too.

This is the end of what we could see in Budapest this year but it doesn't mean we saw everything. On the contrary. There are so many other things that I would like to show to my kids and when I do I will write about them for you too.

Bye bye Budapest!

(2 weeks- 2013. July)