As nature's slowly awakening, we're starting to think about where to hang out in outside terms. After long months of grey, rainy weather, our bodies just crave to photosynthesise. It's time to grab our dog, partner, child, neighbour Ági's grandson and some scones, and sit out somewhere. With this list, we're trying to help you choose the perfect park for your outdoor plans. Mega compilation time!
1/24
Margaret Island
The multifunctional Margaret Island is the local residents' favourite park - it's good for jogging, picnics, parties, baseball, dog running, and basically anything we can think about when it comes to spring outdoor activities. No one will look at you with funny eyes here when you lose your mind to bubbling hormones. The singing fountain is ideal for sitting around, even all night long.
2/24
Népliget
This is one of Budapest's biggest parks. The grassy, woody, walkway-equipped resting place was formed in 1860. Perfect for walking dogs or daydreaming about the pollen-gathering bees. The park is located right next to the Népliget bus station, so the more adventurous souls have the opportunity to wander off farther.
3/24
Városliget
It's equipped with thousands of trees, resting places, hidden benches, the Petőfi Hall, the Vajdahunyad castle, and the Zoo. Its size makes it suitable for almost any kind of recreational activity, and since it's nearly as big as planet Endor, there's plenty of space for
zigzagging between the trees with a 74-Z type imperial speeder bike.
4/24
Erzsébet Square
The colloquially known 'Erzsi' Square is undoubtedly the city's most popular Square, thanks to its central location and superb endowments: large green areas, benches, shady trees, dog run, and even a skate park. The Square is undergoing major renovation right now, which was timely, since the youth has degraded the place a bit. But that's no surprise, given that drinking wine on the lawn is the best here, and the convenience store is not far, either.
5/24
Kossuth tér
The freshly renovated Kossuth Square became one of the city's most spectacular parks. The details are simple yet elegant, there's a 33-meter high country flag, and a huge patch of granite pavement in the center of the Square. Of course, that's not the only place to sit on - there are benches on either sides of the park that will probably be full with people soon.
6/24
Szabadság Square
Perhaps the most beautiful Square in Budapest is located in the middle of the banking district, in a quite frequented place, which makes it easily accessible. The official spring only comes when this park is crowded by picnicker couples, folks playing Frisbee with their dogs, and old people peacefully sitting on the bench. Everyone can find their kind of recreational opportunity here. As a bonus, the park has a fun, motion-detecting fountain that even adults like to play with.
7/24
Kopaszi dam
Kopaszi dam, or Lágymányosi bay is one of the Duna's right side's iconic resting places. In the 10 acres of beautiful lakeside setting, restaurants, cafés and terraces opened one after another. A perfect tourist spot, even for local patriots.
8/24
Népsziget
For some reason, people tend to forget about Népsziget even though it's in the XIII. district, northeast of Hajógyári Island, and is a rather large green area. In the 1960s and 70s, sport life was pretty big here: there were a number of kayak and canoe piles and winter docks built here at that time. Naturally, the island remains an excellent place to hang out and relax at, and can be used as part of a bicycle tour's path.
9/24
Óbuda
This island is world-famous thanks to the Sziget festival, but in the other parts of the year it's not so popular, altough it's worth visiting when you'd prefer a little peace. There aren't any roaring French or Dutch girls with beer-filled waterpistols as during the festival (what a pity), but instead there is peace and quiet, trees, and a lot of recreational opportunities.
10/24
Szent István park
This is one of Budapest's most popular resting place. Its location at Danube's shore ensures a super view on Margaret Island and the Buda Hills. When the weather's nice, there are all kinds of events and concerts - and when there aren't, the park is still decent for walking dogs, hand in hand, or eating breakfast outdoors.
11/24
Millenáris park
Youthful and modern. Those might be the best words to describe Millenáris behind Mammut, where apart from the ton of cultural events, there's a perfect park as well: lots of benches, green areas, a pond full of ducks, and there's even a cozy café. Perfect for relaxation, provided that we keep all the park's strict rules. For example, bringing in alcoholic drinks or dogs is forbidden, we can't go into the lake and littering is forbidden. But at least there are security guards, bike storage, and public toilets between 10 and 23 o'clock.
12/24
Olimpia park
Olimpia park, between the newly renovated Kossuth Square and Jászai Square got a new shine this year, and today is a place where we gladly spend our precious time. It's a multifunctional, open community space for picnics, relaxation, or even recreation. Now it has a boat-shaped climbing frame, a dog run, and a memorial to commemorate the Olympic Games.
13/24
Római shore
A legendary pilgrimage destination for those, who want to spend their whole day on the shore, eating fish or lángos with a good pint of beer outdoors. Beside this the Római is popular biker route way and running track, and a lot of local people like to take a walk here with their dogs. You can't miss it, especially in good weather.
14/24
Gül Baba
It's probably the most romantic place you can imagine. This park is the perfect place for spendig time outside. Gül baba's türbe is near by the bridge-head of Margaret bridge and is considered one of the best parks in Budapest because of its shady trees and pretty shores. We recommend it to everyone who'd like to take a break from the city's noises.
15/24
Normafa
You don't have to be a hobbit if you want to walk a lot with a hill as your destination. Normafa feels as if we'd be miles away from the city: the air is fresh and the panorama speaks for itself. It's perfect for hiking and family programs, but it's also worth to come here if inspiration doesn't come to us. The name Normafa comes for the opera Bellini Norma that Klein Rozália sang here in 1840.
16/24
The Gellért Hill
235 meters high, Gellért Hill rises from the view as romance's incarnation: parks, trees, benches with couples' names carved in them, a great view on the Pest side equal a perfect place for relaxation. In addition to its many great features, here's the Philosopher's Garden, one of the most ideal outdoor places of the city in our opinion.
17/24
Múzeum Garden
The park of the National Museum is a railed off island in the center of the city, and the local university students' favorite place to hang out instead of going to class. But this isn't just another park, since we can also sit on the Museum's steps, sipping coffee (or anything else), or we can hide behind the bushes if we want to retreat from others for a bit.
18/24
Károlyi Garden
The garden was once part of a baroque palace and became a public garden in 1932; since then, it's known for its beautiful plants and flowers, for its romantic little pathways and its relaxed atmosphere. When the weather is good, a lot of university students (mostly of the nearby ELTE's Faculty of Arts) come here to read and chill, but because of the modern playground, it's popular among families as well. However, it's prohibited to bring dogs and alcohol in.
19/24
Városmajor
The brightest jewel of Buda's romantics is definitely Városmajor, loved by locals and unfortunately neglected among citizens of the Pest part. To be honest, there's nothing special about it: people probably won't find natural gas or King Attila's grave under the ground, but it still has a special vibe.
20/24
Tabán
Under Tabán, people usually mean the inside of a triangle made by the Buda Várhegy, Gellért Hill, and Naphegy, but in reality it includes Gellért Hill's northern and Naphegy's southern parts, too. This area used to be a separate town, but later became part of Buda, then Budapest. At first, it was characterized by two-storey, densely built houses, but now it's mostly known as a romantic park with bushes and trees.
21/24
Mechwart liget
A 18 000 square meter park that got renovated on the summer of 2010. Now it's one of the most beautiful parks of the Buda side with a fountain, playground, decorative stones and plenty of sitting opportunities. Unsurprisingly, it's popular mainly among locals.
22/24
Füvészkert
ELTE's special educational unit and the country's first botanical garden isn't popular because of The Paul Street Boys (A Pál Utcai Fiúk) only. We can set aside our everyday thoughts among 150 year old maidenhair trees, orchids and hundreds of cactus varieties. The perfect place to hide from the world, especially if you take a special someone with you.
23/24
Vérmező
Despite its horroristic name ('Blood Field'), this is a rather peaceful place, even though Martinovics Ignác and others got executed here in 1795. Life is quiet now in the shadow of the castle, the sky is blue, the grass is green, the treetops are rich. It's perfect for a long walk or outdoor lunch.
24/24
Feneketlen lake
The Feneketlen ('Bottomless') lake formed in 1877, when the brick factory workers dug a clay pit there. Today there is no trace of sulfur steam at Kosztolányi Dezső Square, as to us it's a place for relaxation, picnics, romantig hugs and blindly looking into the distance.
