Budapest city-break with a toddler

My son is almost 3 years old and since he was around 8 months old, we regularly take him to his “other home” in Hungary,where I am from. Living in Larnaca with family is safe and easy, combined with a wonderful climate, but taking a trip from a small island to a real, big city is inspirational for both parents and children.

I decided to contribute to LPN with an article about my city, where I had lived, as some of you might decide that you would like to take your small ones and fly to Hungary, even just for a short break, a long weekend, as it is easily reachable now with two low-budget airlines (Wizzair from Larnaca and Ryanair from Pafos). The flight from Cyprus to the Hungarian capital is less than 3 hours, so it is easily managable with children. The thrill of being on an airplane wears out by the time we reach our travel height and soon after take-off, my son usually falls asleep and wakes up just by the end of the flight. Our latest trip was at the beginning of May and this period until late September is the best time of the year to visit for some great outdoor adventures in Central Europe!

Budapest is just buzzing with activities and there are uncountable cultural, culinary, shopping and just simply “fun-time”opportunities. I am always excited to see my old home again and for my son it is a new world to be explored. First of all, being a boy, he is simply thrilled by the various means of transportation: yellow trams, red trolleys, blue buses, electric trains, the underground, the funicular railway (taking you up to the Buda castle) and not even talking about the myriad of bike-rider everywhere. Through the various experiences, he acquires new words, expressions in Hungarian and hopefully learns how to live and survive in another country and culture.

Budapest offers various colorful programmes for families with children. There is a wonderful Zoo and Botanical Garden in the City Park, right next to the Circus and the Amusement Park. The unique Children’s Railway, which is operated by kids, is also definitely worth a visit, as well as the various green and carefully manicured parks, safely fenced, modern playgrounds throughout the city and the wide pavements are just ideal for walks and “rides” by a toddler on a small plastic motorbike, like ours.

On our first day we took the tram to the Children’s Railway and had a ride on an old steam engine in the Buda hills. TheChildren’s Railway is operated by 10-12-year-old children, who act as conductors and the ride takes around an hour each way.

 Being in the fresh, green forest, as the nostalgic train puffs its way through the hills, with a panorama on the city and the surrounding Buda hills, is a wonderful experience. One of the best adventure parks for older children in the country is on the train’s route as well, in the woods.

The second day we had tickets to the Circus in the City Park (a park with a lake in the middle, where you can also row your boat). The latest show at the Circus brings the world’s best acrobats, rope dancers or Italian clowns to the ring, until the end of the summer. The real highlights were the animals for us: tigers, pumas, Andalusian horses, Siberian huskies, etc. It was amazing to see five tigers standing up on two feet, following their master’s instructions, just a few meters from us!

After the Cypriot lifestyle of driving around in our car, in Budapest we normally move around using public transport and of course always have our plastic motorbike (see on the attached picture) with us. You can buy this light toddlers’ vehicle in any toy shops and then just carry it back to Cyprus in your luggage. Soon after we bought one, when my son was around 2 years old,we committed a mistake and visited the zoo without it and of course we regretted it! Every 2- or 3-year-old child in Hungary sits on such a motorbike and our son was very disappointed that we did not have it with us! We had to cut that zoo visit short last
year…

I cannot list all the great places in Budapest in my article, just wanted to give you a taste. As the summer is already here, there are several open-air performances and the numerous parks are simply inviting your toddler as you walk around and explore the city. The Hungarian capital is colorful, affordable, full of beautiful and child-friendly hotels, oudoor cafes, floating restaurant-boats on the Danube river with a dazzling panorama of the Castle in Buda. Take a seat in one of the most popular spots of downtown’s Liszt Ferenc pedestrian square for a great meal and then head for dessert, try the “krémes” (cream cake) in the newly opened Szamos café in the heart of the city in the Vörösmarty pedestrian square. In both of these places kids can run around and play safely as cars are not allowed in this part of the city. Jó utat!

Beáta Pál Christodoulou, an LPN mum and communications consultant at Action Global Communications (Nicosia)