The medical wing
Cave air prescribed for asthma.
Szenti Tamás — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Christo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Christo — CC BY-SA 4.0
The "underground palace", as Budapest calls it: Szemlő-hegyi Cave lies steps from Pálvölgyi but is its opposite — wide, tall passages with a level floor and considered lighting, walked in forty minutes without stooping or squeezing. Its walls are covered in "cave grapes": clustered calcite spheres formed by rising thermal vapour, with gypsum crystals and coral-like growths — the most famous feature of Buda's thermal caves. A large chamber is used for small concerts on its natural acoustics. Its best-known wing is medical: the cave's humid filtered air is prescribed for asthma and allergies, with breathing sessions booked on medical referral. For the ordinary visitor it is an easy visit suiting children and the elderly, unlike its neighbour.
Cave air prescribed for asthma.
Natural acoustics underground.
Pusztaszeri út 35, Budapest
Pálvölgyi CaveHungary's longest cave system beneath a residential district: the Pálvölgyi netw12 minutes walk4.7
Thermes Szent LukácsThe Lukács Baths are the bath Budapest itself uses. No tour coaches, no queues, 18 minutes walk4.4
Tomb of Gül BabaThe tomb of Gül Baba is the oldest surviving Islamic monument in Budapest and th19 minutes walk4.9
Margaret IslandMargaret Island is a green strip two and a half kilometres long in the middle of20 minutes walk4.7Bus 65 from Kolosy Square to the Pusztaszeri stop (Szemlő-hegyi) or 65A to Pálvölgyi; fifteen minutes from central Buda.