The Buda Hills: the Children's Railway and the lookout
A cogwheel up, a train run by children, the tower over the whole city, and a chairlift down. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Városmajor cogwheel terminus
Start at the bottom of the *Fogaskerekű*, the cogwheel railway that has clanked up the hill since 1874. It runs on a normal transit ticket, no special fare. Take it to the top at Széchenyi-hegy rather than walking the road; the walk proper begins up there.

2. Children's Railway, Széchenyi-hegy station
The *Gyermekvasút* (children's railway) is a narrow-gauge line staffed almost entirely by ten-to-fourteen-year-olds — they sell the tickets, signal the trains, salute on the platform. A Communist-era youth scheme that outlived the regime and is all the better for it. Hop on for a stop or two, or walk the forest beside the track.

3. Normafa meadow
The grassy ridge where Budapest comes to walk, sledge and eat *rétes* (strudel) from the kiosks. Open sky, the city haze below, beech woods at the edge. A good place to slow down before the climb to the tower.

4. Erzsébet lookout tower, János Hill
The white neo-Romanesque tower on the highest point in Budapest, 527 metres. Climb the spiral to the top: the whole city, the Danube's bends, and the Pilis hills beyond. The reason for the morning start — come before the midday haze settles.

5. János Hill chairlift upper station
The *Libegő* (chairlift) sets off a short walk from the tower. You don't have to take it — there are paths down — but you should. Single open chairs, no cabin, just your feet over the treetops for fifteen quiet minutes.

6. Zugligeti út, chairlift lower station
The chairlift lands you back among the villas of Zugliget. Bus 291 runs from here towards the centre. Look back up the wooded slope you just floated down; from below it's a wall of green.

The Buda Hills: the Children's Railway and the lookout