Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Cogwheel Railway
Fogaskerekűvasút, also designated tram #60 • Daily 5am-11pm • BKK fares and passes apply
The circuit begins at the lower terminal of the
Cogwheel Railway
, which was the third such
railway in the world when it was inaugurated in 1874, and steam-powered until its electrific-
ation in 1929. Running every ten minutes or so, its cogs fitting into a notched track, the train
climbs 300m over nearly 4km through the villa-suburb of
Svábhegy
; for the best view on the
way up, take a window seat on the right-hand side, facing backwards.
The Children's Railway
Gyermekvasút • Tues-Sun June-Aug also Mon, trains go every 45-60min 9am-5pm • 600Ft to any mid-station,
700Ft from terminus to terminus •
gyermekvasut.hu
From the upper terminal on
Széchenyi-hegy
, it's a minute's walk to the
Children'sRailway
.
A narrow-gauge line built by Communist youth brigades in 1948, it's almost entirely run by
13-to17-year-oldmembers ofthe Scouts andGuides movement, enabling them toget hands-
on experience if they fancy a career with MÁV, the Hungarian Railways company. Watching
them wave flags, collect tickets and salute departures with great solemnity, you can see why
it appealed to the Communists. The forty-minute ride along the full 11km length of the line
is a delightful run through the wooded hills. In summer, they sometimes run heritage trains,
pulled by a steam engine or vintage diesel loco, for which a 200Ft supplement is charged.
Normafa
The first stop along the Children's Railway route,
Normafa
, is a popular excursion centre
with a modest
ski-run
and sledging slopes. Its name comes from a performance of the fam-
ous aria from Bellini's
Norma
given here by the actress Rozália Klein in 1840. A popular
destination at the top of the slope is the
Rétes Büfé
, a wooden shack that sells a range of deli-
cious
rétes
strudel.
Csillebérc adventure playground
April-Sept daily 10am-6pm; Nov-March Sat & Sun 10am-5pm • 4200Ft, children 3200Ft • 1 274 5705,
Right by the next stop,
Csillebérc
, there's a large wooded
adventure playground
, with
tree-top walkways and a series of zip-wires of varying difficulty, though anyone attempting
these must be over 100cm in height. Although not as challenging as the tree-top canopy at
from the sun.
János-hegy
Alighting at
János-hegy
, two stops on from
Csillebérc
, you can either strike out down
through woods to the town of
Budakeszi
, from where bus #22 takes you back to Széll
Kálmán tér, or make the steep twenty-minute climb from the station to the top of
János-
hegy
(527m), the highest point in Budapest. The Romanesque-style
Erzsébetlookouttower
