I think we can say it without exaggeration that many Hungarians are quite proud of the river views and the riverfront in Budapest (it is also part of the UNESCO world heritage). No wonder there are so many scenic sightseeing boat tours in Budapest.
What is less known is that there is a nice tram route right parallel with the river Danube, the riverfront route of Tram 2 / Streetcar number 2. This tram runs between the northern and the southern bridges, with many stops along the Danube. National Geographic has picked Streetcar 2 in Budapest among its top ten panoramic streetcar route list - in the world. While in the world list Tram 2 ranks as number 7, according to the travel and nature magazine of National Geographic, In Europe the humble Budapest tram 2 got number 1, the best! Congratulations to the 19th century urban designers of Budapest!
Number 1 tram route: 501 tram, Toronto Canada
Number 2 tram route: George Benson Waterfront Streetcar, Seattle, US (the service ceased a few years ago, but will be restored in another ten years or so)
Number 3 tram route: St. Charles Streetcar (yes, the original Streetcar named Desire!!), New Orleans, US
Budapest Number 2 Tram by the river Danube
You can easily get on it and go down to Lagymanyosi Bridge where the Palace of Arts and the Ludwig Museum can be found, get to the most famous Budapest Market Hall, by the Liberty Bridge, reach Vaci street from the tram stops at the Erzsebet Bridge or at Chain Bridge, and reach the nice green Margaret Island by getting off at Jaszai Mari Square stop. A streetcar named City Views, a streetcar named Budapest Desire. The tram cars are sort of heritage streetcars. Taking the tram 2 along the river is one of the top things to do in Budapest, and if you are travelling as a couple, take the panorama tram to enjoy the romantic Budapest.
By the way, tram 2 in Budapest at Christmas time gets all fancy.
Showing posts with label Public Transport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Transport. Show all posts
Monday, 22 October 2012
Monday, 9 July 2012
New Metro Cars in Budapest
Hurray, there are new metro cars coming to Budapest in a couple of months, hopefully in 2012, but definitely in 2013. Getting around in Budapest will be hopefully more modern and comfortable, which suits better our beautiful beloved city.
We are very happy about the long awaited changes, as many of the old Russian metro cars look terribly shabby with rusty patches. They must have been really well engineered by the Russians as the old blue metro cars have served lots of decades in Budapest, Hungary. The somewhat tightfisted Budapest Public Transport company (abbreviated as BKV in Hungarian) should have replaced the old metro cars a long long time ago.
In recent years there have been 1-2 technical accidents (fires, smokes) along the M3 blue metro line in Budapest.
We love the fact that Budapest has an efficient public transit system, no doubt about it, and we also use the Budapest metro network each and every day, but the thought of a potential metro smoke or fire hovering in the back of our minds is not that ideal metro trip experience to say the least. And looking at the old and run down metro cars is not reassuring either.
Alsto, the French transport vehicles maker, is handing over 22 new metro cars to the M2 metro line of Budapest (the red metro running between Deli Train Station and Ors Vezer Square (including Batthyany Square, Kossuth Square, Deak Square, Astoria Square, Blaha Lujza Square and Keleti Train Station).
Let's hope the much neglected M3 metro line is also getting its new cars, wires and shiny new everything.
In the meantime, you may prefer to use the trams or buses along the line of M3 blue metro line. Tram 2 is a superb Budapest thing to do in itself, as it provides the best panoramic view along the river Danube with major attractions. Travel on the surface and take a look at the beautiful 19th century architecture the city has. Look up to the facades, you will see amazing buildings - unlisted in Budapest travel guide books.
Compare the two metro videos, the first is about M3 metro line smoke incident (hopefully the soon to be past), the second video is about testing the new Alstom metro cars in Budapest (hopefully the soon to be future).
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| Budapest New Metro Cars (photo MTI) |
In recent years there have been 1-2 technical accidents (fires, smokes) along the M3 blue metro line in Budapest.
We love the fact that Budapest has an efficient public transit system, no doubt about it, and we also use the Budapest metro network each and every day, but the thought of a potential metro smoke or fire hovering in the back of our minds is not that ideal metro trip experience to say the least. And looking at the old and run down metro cars is not reassuring either.
Alsto, the French transport vehicles maker, is handing over 22 new metro cars to the M2 metro line of Budapest (the red metro running between Deli Train Station and Ors Vezer Square (including Batthyany Square, Kossuth Square, Deak Square, Astoria Square, Blaha Lujza Square and Keleti Train Station).
Let's hope the much neglected M3 metro line is also getting its new cars, wires and shiny new everything.
In the meantime, you may prefer to use the trams or buses along the line of M3 blue metro line. Tram 2 is a superb Budapest thing to do in itself, as it provides the best panoramic view along the river Danube with major attractions. Travel on the surface and take a look at the beautiful 19th century architecture the city has. Look up to the facades, you will see amazing buildings - unlisted in Budapest travel guide books.
Compare the two metro videos, the first is about M3 metro line smoke incident (hopefully the soon to be past), the second video is about testing the new Alstom metro cars in Budapest (hopefully the soon to be future).
Metro Smoke in Budapest
The new metro cars in Budapest (tested by index.hu Hungarian news site)
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