Városliget in Budapest: a park with a zoo, a castle and thermal baths - and nothing like Hyde Park

Budapest has something London, Berlin and Vienna do not - Városliget, a park in the very centre of the city that combines a zoo, a castle, thermal baths, museums and an eight-year reconstruction in one near-perfect European space. A Balkan visitor on a weekend can find everything here - from the Archangel Gabriel to the Gundel restaurant.

The city's pointing finger runs down Andrássy út - the elegant avenue UNESCO has listed as world heritage and which is often compared to the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It ends at Heroes' Square, with a 36-metre column and the Archangel Gabriel on top, recalling Hungary's thousand-year history.

Inside the park - Vajdahunyad Castle. Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance mixed in one building, raised for the national exhibition in 1896. Netflix used it as a location for the series „The Witcher". Around the castle - a lake. In summer you row, in winter you skate.

The House of Hungarian Music is the newest attraction. Designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, with a roof that ripples like an open leaf and more than 6,000 ceiling elements inspired by autumn foliage. Inside it is not a traditional museum - it is an experience of sound. Exhibitions from flamenco to pop-rock. For visitors who want art, not just to listen to a guided tour.

The Ethnographic Museum is another contemporary intervention - monumental architecture, a roof terrace overlooking the city, and Croatian, Slovak and Transylvanian influences in the same space. It shows what Hungarian identity is through objects, textiles, crafts.

The zoo is among the oldest in the world - and architecturally one of the most beautiful. The Elephant House with its oriental cupolas is a visual attraction on its own. The zoo has been opening its gates to visitors since 1865 - for more than 160 years it has raised generations of Hungarian children.

For those who want the park from a different angle - the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. Yellow Baroque walls, outdoor pools, and Hungarians playing chess in the water. The springs come from 1,000-1,200 metres deep, with a source temperature of 74-76 degrees. And for those with an appetite - the Gundel restaurant, in business since 1894, with a kitchen that has hosted everything - from Habsburgs to Hungarian Nobel laureates.

Budapest is not as expensive as Vienna or Munich. From Skopje by car - less than 10 hours. The train is more comfortable. And unlike Schengen tour packages, here you still do not get crowds that kill the charm. Városliget is explored in two days. Remembered for ten.