Gellért Hill & Tabán
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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 64 Gellért Hill & Tabán Neighbourhood Top Five 1 Taking in the incompar- 3 Reliving history at the Communist monuments able views of Castle Hill, former Swedish Embassy that has to be seen to be the Danube and Pest from (p68) from where Raoul believed. the Liberty Monument Wallenberg and others res- 5 Making the short and (p67). cued thousands of Hungar- easy journey to the Palace 2 Soaking in the Art ian Jews from deportation of Wonders (p70) in Nouveau Gellért Baths and death. Nagytétény, one of the most (p66) – an experience that 4 Having the not-so- popular attractions for kids has been likened to taking a distant past surprise you in Budapest. bath in a cathedral. by visiting Memento Park (p70), a ‘cemetery’ of K A Várker ri tti BELVÁROS 0500 m sz la e# 00.2 miles ti u t na tó ú Al k j rt t sa k r d M TABÁN k a ot b u p a é t Sz ás z Elizabeth Bridge s res z Ke á (Erzsébet híd) u r o J C s a sör M sz u u n e o út ln ja D H á al u Ra a a r y rom n i u Heg O ou n u in b g l e GELLÉRT HILL W R r i k Jubilee al v p l e e r u Park thon u n Ot c be r r é 1# g B r Kele V kp S nhegyi ú erejték Liberty Bridge ch t w u eid (Szabadság híd) R el K 3# a u e n le v M n M á V énesi he n i g ű llá y # e y n 2 i út y ú ú u g u i t y út S t a e o v t m r e u ló e m t i n e i ányoki r r ú k SASHEGY ü t M p M z t u S ú t y i g ú k e K a o h l f a ó é a s r l o M B A l SZENTIMRE- éne k ud i si út n ó B t a VÁROS r t a ú ú Di B i t ós V s ze il r g u lán i yi ö út út ér da z e v Bu út Ka s la r 4# (8km) Bé int B Ta k hy ocs tó Fr lős u ka ar igye (8kmD ) i 5# ysző út B s Nag út For more detail of this area, see Map p236A 65 Lonely Planet’s Explore: Gellért Hill & Tabán Top Tip Gellért Hill (Gellért-hegy) is a 235m-high rocky hill A handful of thermal spas in southeast of Castle Hill. Crowned with a fortress (of this district make good use sorts) and the spectacular Liberty Monument, it is Buda- of the hot springs gushing pest’s unofficial symbol. You can’t beat the views of the from deep below, including Royal Palace or the Danube and its fine bridges from the Gellért, the Rudas and Gellért Hill, and Jubilee Park on the south side is an (still holding our breath) the ideal spot for a picnic. Rácz, which closed for reno- The Tabán, the leafy area between Gellért and Castle vation in 2002 and is still Hills, and stretching northwest towards Déli train sta- awaiting resurrection. If you tion, is associated with the Serbs, who settled here after don’t like getting wet or you & GELLÉRT HILL fleeing from the Ottoman Turks in the early 18th cen- don’t have the time, do what tury. Plaques on I Döbrentei utca mark the water level of locals do and try a ‘drinking the Danube during devastating floods in 1775 and again cure’ by visiting the Pump in 1838 that hit the area particularly hard. Room (Ivócsarnok; Map p236; The Tabán later became known for its restaurants I Erzsébet hid; h11am-6pm and wine gardens, but all that remains of them is a love- Mon, Wed & Fri, 7am-2pm Tue & Thu), which is just below T ly little renovated building with a fountain designed by ABÁN Miklós Ybl in 1878, known as the Castle Garden Pal- the western end of Elizabeth ace (Várkert Palota; Map p236; %1-212 1936; I Ybl Miklós tér 9) Bridge. A half-litre/litre of , which was once a pump house for Castle Hill. The steps the hot, smelly water, which and archways across the road are part of the renovated is meant to cure whatever Castle Bazaar (Várbazár) pleasure park built in 1883. ails you, is just 40/70Ft. Bring your own container. Local Life 5 Best Places ¨Views If you walk west for a few minutes along to Eat Citadella sétány north of the Citadella itself, you’ll come ¨ Aranyszarvas (p69) to a lookout with one of the best vantage points in ¨ Budapest. Hemingway (p69) ¨ Marcello (p69) ¨Táncház For some excellent táncház (folk music and dance) programs, head for the Municipal Cultural House For reviews, see p69A (p71). ¨Architecture Not just a great place to soak away your cares and aches, the Rudas Baths (p71) boasts some 6 Best Places of the best Turkish architecture in Hungary. to Drink ¨ Szatyor Bár és Galéria (p69) Getting There & Away ¨ A38 (p69) ¨ Tranzit Art Café (p69) ¨ Bus XI Szent Gellért tér can be reached from V Ferenciek tere in Pest on bus 7, and from points in For reviews, see p69A Óbuda or south Buda on bus 86. Bus 27 runs almost to the top of Gellért Hill from XI Móricz Zsigmond körtér. ¨ Metro The new M4 metro line, with stations at XI 2 Best Places Gellért tér and XI Móricz Zsigmond körtér, now makes to Relax this neighbourhood even more accessible by public ¨ Gellért Baths (p66) transport. ¨ Rudas Baths (p71) ¨ Tram XI Szent Gellért tér is linked to Déli station by tram 18, and to I Batthyány tér by tram 19. Trams For reviews, see p71A 47 and 49 cross over to Pest and follow the Little Ring Rd from the same place. Trams 18 and 47 run south along XI Fehérvári út – useful for several entertainment venues mentioned in this chapter..