Budapest Guide
Óbuda and Margit-sziget
Roman remains
Óbuda's Roman remains lurk in a concrete jungle. On Flórián tér, 500m west of Fő tér, weathered columns rise amid a shopping plaza, while the old military baths (thermae maiores) are exposed in the pedestrian underpass beneath the Szentendrei út flyover. The largest ruin is a weed-choked, crumbling 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. A more elusive relic – only viewable by pre-arrangement – is the Hercules Villa (1/250-1650; minimum six people, 500Ft each) at Meggyfa utca 19–21 (take bus #86 to the Bogdan utca stop).
North of Óbuda, the riverside factory belt merges into the Rómaifürdő (Roman Bath) district, harbouring a campsite, a lido and the ruins of Aquincum. Originally a settlement of camp followers spawned by the legionary garrison, Aquincum eventually became a municipium and then a colonia, the provincial capital of Pannonia Inferior. The ruins (Tues– Sun: May– Sept 9am–6pm; late April & Oct 9am–5pm; Nov 10am–4pm; 900Ft; www.aquincum.hu) are visible from the Aquincum HÉV stop, from where a brief walk south under the mainline rail bridge brings you to the site itself. Enough of the foundation walls and underground piping survives to give a fair idea of the town's layout, with its forum and law courts, its sanctuaries of the goddesses Epona and Fortuna Augusta, and the collegia and bathhouses where fraternal societies met. Its bare bones are given substance by an excellent museum (opens at 10am, same ticket) and smaller exhibitions around the site. Its star exhibit is the mosaic of Nessus abducting Deianeira, from the Hercules Villa, which originally consisted of sixty thousand stones, selected and arranged in Alexandria before shipment to Europe. Other highlights include a mummy preserved in natron, a cult-relief of the god Mithras and a reconstructed water-organ. The Floralia Festival (May 17–18) and Aquincum Summer (mid-May to mid-Sept at weekends) see theatrical performances, crafts-making displays, mock gladiator battles and other events staged here, rather than in the ancient civilian amphitheatre near the HÉV stop, which once seated up to seven thousand spectators.