Exploring City Park in Budapest, Hungary
City Park or ‘Varosliget’ is the largest park in Budapest at just over 300 acres with several things to explore and take up one of your afternoons. So without further ado, here are 15 things to do in and around City Park. If you’re looking at more parks in Budapest to visit, you may want to check out cool things to do in Margaret Island as well!
Vajdahunyad Castle
Vajdahunyad Castle is a beautiful place to visit in Budapest’s City Park… While it is referred to as a castle, it was never actually used as one. It was actually built for the World Expo in 1896 as a celebration of Hungarian history and contains replicas of four prominent Hungarian buildings: the Roman chapel of Ják, the Transylvanian Hunyad Castle (also called Corvin), the Renaissance palace of Visegrad, and the Baroque Palace of Gödöllő.
Even though it’s not a real castle, it’s still a really cool place to visit, surrounded by a moat with a giant gate and towers on either side.
It also houses the next two attractions on our list: Ják Chapel and the Museum of Hungarian Agriculture.
The castle grounds are free to visit, but there is a small fee for visiting the museum and going up the tower.
Ják Chapel
This beautiful little chapel located in Vajdahunyard Castle is an architectural gem, with so many sculpted details. While beautifully crafted, it’s actually not unique to Budapest. The chapel was designed after the 13th century Church of St. George the Martyr in Ják, Hungary, which is famous for its many layered arched entryway and sculptures of Christ and the 12 Apostles.
Museum of Hungarian Agriculture
The building which houses the Museum of Hungarian Agriculture was built to resemble the Baroque Palace of Gödöllő, the summer residence of Elizabeth of Bavaria or Sissi, the beloved Hungarian Queen during the 1800s.
The museum has both permanent and temporary exhibits. The permanent exhibits cover the history Hungarian agriculture, forestry, hunting, fishing, Hungarian horses and equestrian sports, and grapes and wine.
We also saw temporary exhibits on the relationship between horses and humans, contemporary sculptures and paintings, and a clock collection.
You can check out more on the museum and current exhibits on their website: https://www.mezogazdasagimuzeum.hu/
Paddle Boat/Ice Skate
During summer months, the lake surrounding Vajdahunyard Castle is used for row and paddle boating. And during winter months, it’s transformed into Europe’s largest outdoor ice-skating rink.
House of Hungarian Music
The House of Hungarian Music is a new contemporary music hall designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. The building was inspired by sound and nature. It’s surrounded by glass walls to blend into the environment, an undulating overhanging roof resembling sound waves and a tree canopy, and has openings for natural trees and light.
The venue includes spaces for various music performances, permanent exhibits, and a sound dome.
The permanent exhibits include: Sound Dimensions – Musical Journeys in Space and Time, the Creative Soundspace, and the Sound Dome.
Sound Dimensions – Musical Journeys through Space and Time covers important musical milestones from and takes about 2-3 hours to complete. It does sell out quickly though, especially on weekends. So, it is recommended that you purchase tickets in advance.
The Creative Soundspace is an interactive music exhibit for children.
The Sound Dome is a 360-degree dome where visual images are projected onto the dome to accompany music. Different music and visual effects are played throughout the day. You can view the schedule on their website.
You can also schedule individual or group building tours.
Széchenyi Thermal Bath
One of the most popular things to do on a visit to Budapest is relaxing at one of the bath houses. And by far, the most popular bath house is Széchenyi Thermal Bath located right in City Park. Széchenyi has indoor and outdoor baths set at different temperatures with jets and fountains, saunas, and steam rooms. For an additional fee you can also do body treatments or their Beer Spa, which is pretty much what it sounds like (You can relax in tubs of beer, while you drink beer!). This place does get crowded though. So, we recommend going in the morning on a weekday to avoid crowds. We went Tuesday from about 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, and it still got busy by noon and packed by 1:00 – 2:00 pm. The lines for food can also get quite long and it’s not particularly good either. So, we recommend packing your own snacks or planning to eat before and after your visit.
You can check out our guide to the Thermal Baths here!
Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden
The Budapest Zoo was founded in 1866, making it one of the oldest zoos in the world. It has a somewhat interesting and sad history. It was destroyed during WWII and many animals were eaten by people to survive.
Today it has over 800 animal species and 2000-3000 plant species. It’s also the first place to successfully birth a rhinoceros through artificial insemination. The zoo has seven sections: Magical Hill, American Tropicana, Savannah Zone, Australia Zone, India Zone, János Xántus House, and Primates Near-at-Hand.
1956 Hungarian Revolution Monument
The 1956 Revolution Monument, also known as the Monument to the Uprising or Vaskefe, meaning “iron brush,” was built in 2006, on the 50th anniversary of the revolution. It technically isn’t in the park, but sits right to the… It’s a triangular structure composed of rusted metal columns that gradually increase in height and condense to a shiny point. The condensing columns symbolize Hungarians joining together against the communist regime.
The monument stands where a statue of Joseph Stalin was taken down, further symbolizing the reclamation of Hungary.
On either side of the monument are ascending green spaces, which are part of the Museum of Ethnography, where you can get a bird’s eye view of the monument and the city.
Museum of Ethnography
Budapest boasts one of the largest ethnography museums in Europe with approximately 250,000 pieces depicting the life, culture, and art of Hungarians, including old photos, furniture, clothing, tools, music, and more. Even if you don’t visit the museum, it’s worth passing by just to see its unique architectural design. The building was designed by a local architect, Ferencz Marcel, from the NAPUR Architect firm. Most of the museum is under ground, but the two ends of the building curve upward like giant wings around the Revolution Monument and allow natural light through a glass curtain wall.
Millennium Monument/Heroes’ Square
The Millennium Monument lies in Heroes’ Square on the west side of City Park. The monument is dedicated to heroes who fought to make Hungary an independent nation.
The central monument contains a tall column topped with the Archangel Gabriel holding the crown of St. Stephen, the first king of Hungary, and a two barred apostolic cross, which was awarded to St. Stephen by the Pope for his efforts to convert Hungarians to Christianity.
At the base of the central monument are the original Hungarian chieftains, with Hungary’s founder at the center.
Behind the central monument is a row of columns. The statues lining the base of the columns represent Hungarian kings and heroes and the statues on top of the columns represent labor and wealth, war, peace, and knowledge and glory.
Museum of Fine Arts
The century old Museum of Fine Arts is located in Heroes’ Square next to the Millennium Monument.
It has over 100,000 pieces and is divided into six collections: Egyptian Antiques, Classical Antiques, Old Master Paintings, Sculptures, Prints and Drawings, and the Old Hungarian Collection.
It also has its own library focused on the history of local and international art.
Q Contemporary
Q Contemporary is a new contemporary art museum, which opened in 2021. It’s technically not in City Park, but is a less than 10-minute walk from Heroes’ Square. The museum focuses on Central and Eastern European contemporary art, with a particular focus on emerging artists, and was founded by a businesswoman from Hong-Kong.
It’s a relatively small museum, with only about 80-100 pieces, but has received good reviews.
BalloonFly
If you’ve never ridden in a hot air balloon, check out BalloonFly located right in City Park. This giant balloon can hold 30 people and takes you 150 meters into the air, providing 360° views of the city. It’s a little different than traditional hot air balloons in that you won’t be traveling. It’s secured with cords and just takes you up and back down. The ride up takes about 5 minutes and then you have another 5 minutes at the top before coming back down. So, it’s pretty quick, but it could be a great opportunity to check it off your bucket list if you’ve never done one before. It’s also much more affordable, currently about $17 USD/person, compared to traditional balloon rides that cost $100+/person.
Remember to plan this on a day with good weather. The balloon can’t run during stormy or windy weather. And passengers must be 6+ years old.
Children’s Playgrounds
There are a few playgrounds in City Park. The primary and aptly named playground is Main Playground Városliget on the south side of the park, which has a miniature balloon resembling BalloonFly, ropes courses, a tire swing, and slides.
A smaller playground, Játszótér, lies on the northern side.
And a third area called Városligeti KRESZ Park is designed like a miniature city with stoplights and street signs to help teach kids the rules of the road in a safe environment, which we thought was brilliant.
Capital Circus of Budapest
The circus has been around since 1889 and dazzles crowds with animal, clown, and acrobatic performances with light and water effects. It’s been described as a good show for both kids and adults and is rated very well on Google and Tripadvisor. Our only suggestion would be to look into it ahead of time and make sure it’s an ethical establishment. I used to love circuses as a kid, but since learning they sometimes mistreat and overwork the animals, I haven’t been to one in a long time.