Strap on your skates and perform figure eights amid one of Europe’s most beautiful winter-sports settings, slipping and gliding between monumental sights. The gigantic open-air skating rink of City Park – found just a few steps away from Heroes’ Square – reopened this week to welcome skaters of all ages and skill levels, and as always, visitors can take frequent breaks to sip on well-deserved hot drinks after a few laps.
There have been some technical changes to the rink: the cooling system was expanded back during the summer; the cooling compressors were renovated, and the heat exchanger of the refrigerating house was replaced by one with much greater cooling capacity. This way, the ice rink’s cooling equipment will be able to deal with operating difficulties caused by extreme weather much more efficiently, according to the Municipality of Budapest. As a result, the equipment that produces the ice will be capable of providing a high-quality ice surface suitable for winter sports, even in the relatively warm conditions of this winter season so far.
However, prices did not change at all from last year, so on the first two days of the week, the rink offers discounted tickets: on Mondays and Tuesdays, tickets for students and seniors cost 800 forints, while from Wednesday to Friday morning, this price increases to 1,000 forints, and to 1,500 forints from Friday afternoon through Sunday. On the same days, regular tickets cost 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 forints, respectively. Children under the age of six always skate for free.
Visitors can still rent skates (800 HUF/hour) and get their own skates sharpened (1,500 HUF) here; there are also permanent medical services available during opening hours. To avoid using them, a 50-minute training session is available for children over the age of five and for adults, costing 600 forints. Europe’s oldest continuously functioning artificial ice rink, and largest outdoor artificial ice surface, welcomes visitors from Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm and 5pm to 9pm, on Saturday from 10am to 2pm and 4pm to 9pm, and on Sunday from 10am-2pm and 4pm-8pm.
