"Central Pest: Budapest Museum of Transport" Top 5 Page for this destination Museums of Budapest Tip by antistar

Along with the Museum of Aircraft, the Budapest Museum of Transport makes up one of two huge museums in the City Park dedicated to vehicles of land, sea, air and space. It covers everything transport related and Hungarian, with particular emphasis on the Hungarian rail system, with a number of actual locomotives inside and outside the building, and a large collection of 1:5 scale models. There's also a capsule used by the only (or first as the museum optimistically describes him) Hungarian astronaut.

It was a little bit disappointing for two reasons. Firstly Hungary hasn't got a significant history of transportation, especially when compared to Germany or Britain, but even when compared to neighbours like the Czech Republic or Serbia, who both have had their own major aircraft and automobile manufacturers, in Skoda and Yugo. Secondly the layout of the museum meant that some of its best exhibits, like the 1:5 scale locomotives, were barely visible. The model locomotives were hidden in the shadow of the full scale versions, and clumped together so tightly you couldn't see some of them at all.

I think my favourite aspect of the museum, and something that brightened up many of the exhibits, were the hilariously bad human models. Some had crazed, bulging eyes, some were contorted into impossible positions, and others barely resembled humans at all.

It's a very cheap museum to visit for what you get, at only 200 forints or less than 1 euro, but they slap on a large surcharge of another 600 forints if you want to take pictures. It's still good value for money.

It's closed on Mondays.

Address: 11 Városliget körút
Directions: Walk through the middle of City Park from Heroes' Square, and take a right at Városliget körút. You'll recognise the huge transport museum by the aircraft on its roof.