10 Cool & Peculiar Things To Do In Budapest, Hungary

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The city of Budapest has a rich and interesting history with very notable landmarks spread across the metropolis. Hidden beyond the city’s dramatic streets are impressively peculiar places that you may not see in other places. 

In this article, you will find some of the most unusual and incredible places to visit in Budapest, which sets the city apart from other tourist destinations in the world. 

1. Bet on the Fastest Horse in Kincsem Park

Kincsem Park is considered to be the largest horse racing track in the entire Budapest. During its early years in 1952, it was known as the most modern racecourse in Europe. 

As spectators, you can see the entire race from a 3500-seater grandstand. Additionally, the Kincsem Park also has four VIP boxes equipped with everything you need, a reception hall that accommodates 1000 individuals at a time, a close circuit relay system with 73 televisions, and a panoramic restaurant that can hold up to 400 people. Besides the horse races, the park also offers flat races, harness races, and greyhound races and during these events, you bet on the contestants, cheer horses while having a cocktail. You can end the day with a party under the open sky until dawn. Betting on actual race events immerses you to the real deal. 

However, if you wish for laid-back and convenient race betting, you can always have online gambling websites like in online casino singapore. This also allows betting in the comfort of your home. 

2. Check Out Classic Pinball Games Galore

If you are the type of person that enjoys arcade games like pinball and other arcade games, this next thing on the list is best for you. 

In Budapest, you can visit the Flipper Museum–a 400 square meter cellar that has more than 130 pinballs, flippers, and arcade machines that you can play with for as long as you want for as low as 10 euros. 

The Flipper Museum Budapest can be a really good family activity and a one-of-a-kind experience that can be enjoyed by adults and kids alike.

3. Discover Iron Shoes on the Danube Bank

Visiting Budapest, you might want to learn the rich history of the city, starting from the iron shoes on the banks of the Danube river. 

Not far from the Hungarian Parliament building, 60 pairs of old-fashioned shoes that people wore in the 1940s, sit along the edge of the Danube riverbank to serve as a monument and memorial of the Hungarian Jews that were shot on the said riverbanks by the members of the Arrow Cross Party in the winter of 1944.  

This memorial monument was conceptualized by film director, Can Togay, together with Gyula Pauer which was installed on the river edge in 2005. 

4. Escape The Rooms of Claustrophilia

You do not want to leave Budapest without visiting the famous escape rooms of Claustrophilia. 

Viktor Oszvald, the founder of the attraction managed to place it at TripAdvisor’s top-ranked thing to do in the city. This attraction combines live-action puzzles, riddles, and tasks with the goal to escape from a room. Usually, teams of five people get an hour to escape. 

Claustrophilia has only been beaten by 11 teams since late 2012. 

5. Explore a Train ‘Graveyard’

The next peculiar thing to do in Budapest is for adrenaline seekers and history enthusiasts.

The Red Star train graveyard is located north of Budapest, and it is where abandoned trains were left after World War II. The attraction was so named because of its landmark, the red star train from the times of Hungary being a part of the Soviet regime, which commemorates the communist era in Hungary. 

6. View The Mummified Right Hand of A Saint

The mummified holy right hand belongs to St. Stephen, King of Hungary. 

The holy hand is housed in the St. Stephen Basilica in Budapest. St. Stephen was the first king of Hungary and played a vital role in the conversion of Magyars to Catholicism. Although the hand relic is not for the faint of heart, preserving the hand of the founder of the Hungarian state is a noble gesture from the citizens of Hungary. 

On August 20 of every year, the city holds a procession for the Holy Right of St. Stephen. 

7. Learn about Hungary’s Nightmare Periods in Terror Háza

The regimes of terror in Hungary are long over but in commemoration of the victims and the sufferings of the Hungarians during those times, the Public Foundation for Research on Central and Eastern European History and Society has spearheaded the establishment of the House of Terror Museum that began in December 2000 and ended in February 2002. 

The House of Terror Museum opened in February 2002 and served as a memorial of those held captive, killed, and tortured while presenting the oppressions that happened before. These efforts of the government intend to let the people understand the sacrifices made before were not in vain. 

8. See Where Count Dracula Did Time

Buda castle labyrinth is approximately half a million years old and was built naturally by the effects of hot water springs and the castle’s limestone rocks that resulted in caverns, basements, and cellars. It is one of the most visited tourist spots in Budapest, under Buda Castle Hill. 

The Labyrinth under the castle is more like an underground museum in the Buda Castle District that showcases the peculiarity that the city possesses. 

9. Ogle Over Medical Oddities

Budapest is also known for the Golden Pharmacy Museum (Aranysas Patika Muzeum), a medieval alchemist’s lab. This lab is a great addition for the places that you want to visit if you are fond of the forgotten methods of healing during the middle ages. 

In this Museum you may find wet specimens in jars, herbs in bowls, medicine books, and all sorts of potions as if you turned back time and visited a 17th-century apothecary. 

10. Witness the Castle Originally Built from Cardboard

The Vajdahunyad Castle is located in front of the Heroes’ Square in the city park and is considered the most romantic spot in the whole of Budapest. 

In 1896, the people built a pavilion during the celebration of the Hungarian millennium. The majority of the materials used were plywood wood bars and paper mache which set itself different from other castles in other places. After the celebration, the structure was destroyed but the people admired the castle and decided to make a stoned version of it in the very same spot which ended in 1908. 

Summary

Do not miss out on the opportunity to relive the rich history that happened in the city of Budapest. The attractions listed above may not be a 100% guarantee that you make the best out of your stay in the city but having these suggestions of peculiar spots to visit will give a point of reference on where to begin.