Not far from Buda's city bustle, just a four-minute walk away from the gritty transit hub of Széll Kálmán Square, we find ourselves amid an oasis of peace. Between all of the green areas and serene tranquility, only sometimes “disrupted” by the noise of playing children and some birdsongs, being here makes us feel as though we were in a small countryside town. The newly refurbished Városmajor Park is now a real haven for those seeking escape from the concrete jungle.
The renovation plans were realized thanks to an investment of about 250 million HUF, prepared with active solicitation of the opinions of nearby residents. In the first phase of the renovations, the so-called “reception area” received a facelift in the form of a lot of newly planted flowers, and in order to improve public safety, a security-camera system was installed. The park was previously reputed as a dangerous place, but now, thanks to the 13 surveillance cameras, the sense of security here is drastically improved.
The park is always full of life, not only after work hours and on weekends. The playgrounds and the football and basketball facilities are usually overrun by children, while elders wage fierce chess battles at the picnic tables, sometimes even gathering a small audience around them. A dog run offers nice exercise opportunities for owners of humankind's favorite four-legged critters, and there is also a tennis wall for solo players.
We mainly recommend the sports opportunities of Városmajor Park for those who want to spend their free time in motion. The Városmajor Running Track was completed a few weeks ago, and since then, several interesting things happened – the track’s visitors created a Facebook group and consulted with the local government about a number of things related to their healthy pastime. For example, information signs were installed about the correct use of the track (since there were previously some conflicts about this), a “meter counter” was added to the track, and soon there will be safety deposit boxes installed.
For those who prefer modern sports, there is a brand-new parkour course and some outdoor fitness equipment, all posted with information signs similar to those on the running track in order to offer guidance for beginners.
The whole park is well lit, so we can run on late summer evenings, or can even play football or basketball under the same electric light. Furthermore, this is the site of a major venue for the Budapest Summer Festival, including many musical programs held outdoors - check out www.szabadter.hu for complete program information.
