Day 10 - Along the Danube
We’ll begin today with a 45-minute tour of the impressive Hungarian Parliament building. This building was labeled by Forbes in 2023 as the top tourist attraction in the world!
Time to rent some bikes! There are tons of bike-sharing points in Budapest, but you need an app, a registration, and access to data. We'll go north from Parliament and get our bikes at one of the nearby stations.
We are going to cross Margaret Bridge (Margit híd) and travel the length of Margaret Island (Margit-sziget), a journey of about 3 km. You can spend half a day here, walking up one side and down the other. There are several interesting spots to stop and linger at, such as a musical fountain, the ruin of a small church, and a Japanese garden. We could walk it, but bikes will make the journey quicker so that we have time and energy for the rest of the day. We’ll be able to return the bikes at the north end of the island.
We’ll cross the river west on the Árpád Bridge to catch the train (H5) to Szentendre.
You will need your metro tickets or pass for the first part of this ride (in case anyone checks). You will also need an additional regional ticket as the train takes us outside of the Budapest metropolitan area. A return ticket for Szentendre costs 1000 ft (about $4). Trains come about every 20 minutes, and the ride to Szentendre is about 30 minutes.
Szentendre is a small village north of Budapest. In its compact area, it has picturesque streets, and several accessible attractions. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the train station to the centre. Lunch at Kereskedőhaz Étterem or another place you find could be a good place to start.
This suggested route (about 1 km) will take you to the Ur Eleonora Batik Gallery, the Marzipan Museum, the Margit Kovács Ceramic Museum, and to Fő tér (the main square). If there are six of us who want to participate, we can arrange a marzipan workshop for about $20 per person! Then, just up from the square is St John the Baptist’s Parish Church. You may find more!
After a soft 1.5-2 hours in town (after lunch), we’ll meet at the Szentendrei Lutheran church at the south end of this central area, then head back to the station to take the train back to Budapest.
Schedule
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 | Parliament tour |
| 11:00 | biking on Margaret Island |
| 12:30 | train to Szentendre |
| 1:00 | lunch + visit Szentendre |
| 3:45 | train to Budapest |
| 4:30 | self-directed |
| 6:00 | supper (suggested) |
| 7:30 | self-directed |