The Jetpacker

Budapest is a beautiful, intimate city that is made for walking. But it can also be noisy and congested. So where’s a great place to escape and get some fresh air? Margaret Island.

Margaret Island is a mile and a half long island that sits in the middle of the Danube River. It spans the area between the Margaret Bridge to the south and the Árpád Bridge to the north.

The island was named after Margaret, the daughter of King Béla IV, who vowed that he would relegate his daughter to the island if he successfully defeated the Mongols in 1242 (what a nice guy). Today you can see the remains of the Dominican Convent where Saint Margaret lived her entire life.

There is also a Music Fountain, which isn’t as grandiose as the fountains outside the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, but it’s still nice. On the day we visited, the music selection was cleverly limited to Strauss’ “Blue Danube”… over and over again.

Besides sunbathers, joggers and the occasional homeless person, the island is also home to a famous water tower and open-air theater, an outdoor water park, a sports pool, a small soccer stadium and athletics center, a small zoo, and a couple of hotels and restaurants. For all that, the island is surprisingly quiet and never feels crowded.

Since the 1980s, car traffic has been banned on the island: only a single bus line and the occasional taxi, along with the service traffic of local stores and restaurants are allowed to enter. But the island is easily accessible by the tram stop on Margaret Bridge.

We walked along the shaded paths, passing numerous statues of famous Hungarians we know nothing about, and decided to take a break near an unusual tree. The tree had a thick branch that was crooked like a swing on a playground, and we all took turns lounging on it as if it was a hammock. There may be more quirky and unique things like this hiding in the island’s many nooks and crannies, but it’s difficult to see everything on this vast landscape in just a few hours.