With Kids - Budapest - page 50

to move about the canvas of its own accord - will surprise and please kids of all ages. The
revamped Aquincum Museum has lots of great interactive exhibits including virtual duelling
with a gladiator.
Thermal Baths & Pools
Both the Széchenyi Baths and the Gellért Baths are huge and have an abundance of indoor
and outdoor pools. Gellért's outdoor pool has a wave machine, Széchenyi's has a whirlpool.
Palatinus Strand and Dagály have vast lawns for lounging and playing around on a sum-
mer's day.
Aquaworld in northern Pest, a favourite with kids of all ages, is a bit far out of the city but
easily reached by free shuttle bus and public transport. Some of the slides reach five storeys
in height (kids have to be 150cm tall to use these), and there's a baby swimming program
available.
Live Entertainment
The Capital Circus , Europe's only permanent big top, is often booked out by school groups
at matinees, but there are almost always seats in the evening. Most kids will be transfixed by
the marionette and other shows at the Budapest Puppet Theatre (Budapest Bábszínház;
MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 1-321 5200, 1-342 2702; www.budapest-babszinhaz.hu ; VI
Andrássy út 69; tickets 800-2700Ft; ticket office 9am-6pm; M1 Vörösmarty utca), even if
they don't speak Hungarian.
Táncház (a folk music and dance evening), whether they participate or just watch, is al-
ways a big hit with kids. Most of the children's ones have instructors, with folk musicians
playing the tunes. The best are the children's programs at the Budavár Cultural Centre and
the Municipal Cultural House in Buda.
Public Transport
Kids love transport and the city's many unusual forms of conveyance will delight. The Cog
Railway and Children's Railway in the Buda Hills and the Sikló ( GOOGLE MAP ;
www.bkv.hu/en/siklojegy/siklojegyek ; I Szent György tér; one way/return adult 1100/
1700Ft, child 650/1100Ft; 7.30am-10pm, closed 1st & 3rd Mon of month; 16, 19,
41) funicular climbing up to Castle Hill are particular favourites. But even the mainstays of
getting around town - the trams, trolleybuses and little M1 metro that are so commonplace