A short walk from the budaveg vegetarian B&B you find the loveliest park in the city, Margaret Island rich in sights and history. It belongs to our municipality and can be easily reached by bridge or boat. The island is car free, there are two buses and a car park at the northern tip, it is also possible to rent a bike or a bicycle-carriage.
The island was in fact called “The Island of Rabbits” for a long time, and received it’s name from Princess Margaret, who lived as a nun on the island. She was the daughter of King Bela IV, who vowed to dedicate his daughter to God after the Tatar invasion, so Margaret entered the convent as a child. You will find the ruins of the convent and the memorial of St Margaret almost at the centre of the island. Today the island is a lovely landscaped park full of 150-200 year old enormous sycamore trees and lots of flowers. There is a rubber jogging track all the way around the island which is enormously popular amongst joggers.
If you enter from Margaret Bridge you pass first the Athletics centre, then the centenary monument commemorating the unification of Buda and Pest in 1873. Right behind that is the musical fountain; there are several speakers around blasting out Pavarotti to accompany the water. On the west side is the Olympic Swimming pool named after Alfréd Hajós, and right behind it a large playground. On the east side are beautifully maintained parks with flower beds and roses. There are also couple of bars and a restaurant.
Further down on the west side there is a small zoo and a large bird hospital, we go there very often since our kids love animals, and they can also go pony riding there. A short walk from the zoo and you get to the ruins of the convent and the Chapel of St Michael.
On the east side you can find the biggest water park in Budapest, Palatinus, with many swimming pools, slides, thermal water, a wave machine and children’s pools.
Further up north is an enormous green field where people play football and frisbee on sunny days. The island is full of wildlife, a very good place for urban birdwatching, also red squirrels abound.
At the other end of the island you can find the two thermal hotels and the car park. Right next to them you can see the lovely Japanese Garden with a small thermal pond, full of gold fish and terrapins.
There is a brand new “eco” playground behind the parking area and there is a popular bar called Cha cha cha at the very northern tip of the island.
Should you get hungry there are vegetarian places quite close: Nem Süti and Keleti on the pest side and Govinda Buda and Napfényes patisserie on the Buda side
