Budapest Guide
Óbuda and Margit-sziget
Margit-sziget
There's a saying that "love begins and ends on Margit-sziget", for this verdant island has been a favourite meeting place for lovers since the nineteenth century. A royal game reserve under the Árpáds and a monastic colony until the Turkish conquest, today Margit-sziget has two public baths fed by thermal springs, an outdoor theatre and other amenities.
There are two entrances to the island: from Árpád híd at the northern end and Margit híd to the south. Trams #4 and #6 stop at the southern entrance, tram #1 stops at the northern entrance, and bus #26 (from Nyugati tér, by Nugati pu. metro) runs up the middle of the island and finishes at the Árpád híd metro. Near both entrances you can rent bikes, pedaloes and electric cars, which tend to be rather battered but will get you around. Runners will love the low-impact jogging path around the island's circumference.
You'll find picnickers unloading cars and, as summer nights wear on, people streaming in to party in the woods or at outdoor bars and clubs. Revellers are greeted by a Millennial Monument and a fountain that emits bursts of grand music. Further on, behind trees to the left, is the Hajós Alfréd Pool, named after the winner of the 100-metre and 1200-metre swimming races at the 1896 Olympics. Another swimming venue, the Palatinus Strand, lies nearly a kilometre further north. With a monumental entrance from the 1930s, it can hold as many as ten thousand people at a time in numerous open-air thermal pools, complete with a water chute, wave machine and segregated terraces for nude sunbathing.
Off to the east of the road between the two pools are the ruins of a Franciscan church from the late thirteenth century, while a ruined Dominican church and convent stands in the vicinity of the Outdoor Theatre (Szabadtéri Színpad) further north along the main road, which hosts plays, operas, fashion shows and concerts during summer. The café here makes a convenient stop for a beer and a snack, and is easily located by the water tower that rises above the complex.