Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
atrical performances, craft-making displays, mock gladiator battles and other events staged
here.
ROMAN REMAINS
Roman soldiers had been in the region since the first century AD, but the larger settlement
only came a century later, lasting until the fourth century. While Aquincum was the main
civilian centre, the Romans' militarygarrison was to the south, and today its remains lurk
in the concrete jungle of Óbuda's centre. On Flórián tér, 500m west of Fő tér, weathered
columns rise next to a shopping plaza, while the old militarybaths ( thermae maiores ) are
exposed in the pedestrian underpass beneath the Szentendrei út flyover. You'll also find the
odd Roman wall protruding between the apartment blocks near Fő tér. The largest ruin is
a military amphitheatre ( amfiteátrum ) which once seated up to 13,000 spectators, at the
junction of Pacsirtamező utca and Nagyszombat utca, 800m further south - accessible by
bus #86 or by walking 400m from Kolosy tér, near the Szépvölgyi út HÉV stop. (The re-
mains of a civilian amphitheatre are by the Aquincum HÉV stop.)
A more elusive relic is the Hercules Villa , Meggyfa utca 19-21, north of Florian tér,
which contained the mosaic floor of the centaur Nessus abducting Deianeira that can now
be seen in the Aquincum Museum. A fragment of another mosaic remains in situ , featuring
a delightfully rendered tiger and Hercules about to vomit at a wine festival.
The caves
Bus #86 from Flórián tér or Batthyány tér, or bus #6 from Nyugati tér in Pest, from where you catch bus #65
five stops to the Pálvölgyi Cave, or bus #29 four stops to the Szemlőhegyi Cave
The hills rising to the west of Óbuda feature a network of caves that are unique for having
been formed by thermal waters rising up from below, rather than by rainwater. Two of the
sites have been accessible to the public since the 1980s, with guided tours only (some Eng-
lish spoken). In both cases, the starting point is Kolosy tér in Óbuda. As the two caves are
ten minutes' walk apart, it's possible to see them both within two and a half hours if you start
with the Szemlőhegyi Cave.
Pálvölgyi Stalactite Cave
Pálvölgyi cseppkőbarlang • III, Szépvölgyi út 162 • 45min tours hourly at quarter past the hour, Tues-Sun
10am-4.15pm • 1200Ft • 1 325 9505, palvolgyi.atw.hu
The Pálvölgyi Stalactite Cave is the more spectacular of the two labyrinths; part of the
longest of the cave systems in the Buda Hills, at around 29km, it is still being explored by
speleologists. It was discovered in 1904 by a quarryman searching for a sheep that disap-
peared when the floor of the quarry fell in. Tours, on which you negotiate hundreds of steps
anddankconstricted passages, start onthe lowest level, which boasts rockformations such as
the “Organ Pipes” and “Beehive”. From “John's Lookout” in the largest chamber, you ascend
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