Friday, May 27, 2011

Excursion in the Buda hills by the children railway

Far from the touristic Budapest sightseeing tours

If you would like to see more than the tourist paths of Budapest city, why don’t you explore the green Buda hills by the combination of the cog and the children railway, and the chairlift?

Take a half day excursion in the greenery of Budapest using the „public” transports.

From Széll Kálmán square (ex. Moszkva square) take two stops by tram nr. 56. Change the cog railway and climb up to the hill among the wooden. Its end stop is Szechenyi-hill (Széchenyi-hegy). Here you can hear the child voice from the speakers calling for the next train. Just follow the voice and the people.

The old pioneer railway, now children railway (Gyermekvasút) was built after the World War II and it is run by the children supervised by adults. Children sell the tickets, manage the traffic and so on.
The special vehicles has seven stops, all of them are famous excursion areas. Normafa is the skiing spot of Budapest and with its beautiful green scenery, it is a famous walking and biking destination in summer. Csillebérc was a pioneer camp, now it is an adventure park for youngers and olders. János hill, the highest point of the Buda hills, various touring routes drive here and it is the departure place of the chairlift, so called Libegő.

Take the children railway, get off at Normafa for a walking or rest, then continue by the train till János-hegy. Or you can take a 30 minute walk till the starting point of the chairlift.
From the train station you can reach the chairlift’s starting point by a short walk in the forest. Just follow the boards.

Then jump into the seat of the chairlift and enjoy the beautiful panorama. The 1040 m long journey takes about 12 minutes. There is a scenic view to the city and the surrounding hills. Under your feet private gardens and woods run away.
The other station of Libegő is Zugliget where you can take the bus nr. 291 to Nyugati square (city center).