Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
emerge from the bowels of hell to find themselves within a glorious and sunlit Art Deco
syn-
agogue
, built by Leopold Baumhorn in the 1920s, which has been restored and incorporated
in the memorial centre, itself designed by István Mányi. There's a very pleasant on-site café
here, and the bookshop is worth a quick browse too.
On your way back to the main road it's worth a detour on to Liliom utca to see another strik-
ing building - an old transformer plant turned into an outstanding contemporary arts centre,
Trafó
.
The Natural History Museum
Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum • VIII, Ludovika tér 2 • Daily except Tues 10am-6pm • 1600Ft, 400Ft
for dinosaur garden, 2000Ft for temporary displays • 1 210 1085,
nhmus.hu
A kilometre further down Üllői út just past the Klinikák metro stop, a left turn up Korányi
Sándor utca brings you to the
Hungarian Natural History Museum
. Though slightly out
on a limb, it's worth the hike, especially if you have children: the presentation is captivating,
with lots of colour, wide-open spaces, interactive displays, explanations in English and, for
the weary, benches made from huge tree trunks.
From the entrance hall, dominated by a whale skeleton, you walk through to a fantastic
underwater room
, which has colourful fish in sea- and freshwater aquariums - the mock
seabed under the glass floor makes you feel as if you're walking on water. Upstairs are dis-
plays on animals and their Hungarian habitats, an Africa exhibition and a Noah's Ark that
focuses on animals under threat and what Hungary is doing for the environment.
Botanical Garden
Fűvészkert • VIII, Illés utca 25 • Daily: April-Oct 9am-5pm; Nov-March 9am-4pm • 850Ft • 1 210 1074,
Across the road from the Natural History Museum is a small
Botanical Garden
, established
by the Eötvös Loránd University's faculty of medicine as long ago as 1771, before moving to
its present site in 1847. Delightfully jungle-like, its main features are greenhouses, a pleas-
antly landscaped Japanese garden with ponds and streams, and a magnificent Palm House.
The Ferencváros riverbank
Taking the #2 tram down from the Corvinus University, you pass a striking development, loc-
ally known as
TheWhale
, two old warehouses united by a huge waving glass roof to form a
major retail and cultural centre; however, the project remains only partially complete owing
to a fall-out between the developer and the City Hall. To the south of Petőfi híd, the bank
is lined with hip office and flat developments, all the way down to two of Budapest's most
important arts complexes near the Rákóczi híd.
The National Theatre
Nemzeti Szinház • IX, Bajor Gizi park •
nemzetiszinhaz.hu
• Tram #2 to Vágóhíd utca, or take the Csepel
HÉV from Boráros tér one stop
