It’s my own little Christmas miracle! After two Christmases in Budapest, I finally was able to see the beautiful Budapest Christmas tram!
What is the Budapest Christmas tram?
The Budapest Christmas tram is covered from end to end in lights, and even has decorations on the inside. I’d read a lot of articles and seen friends’ pictures of the tram, but never caught it myself. It started to take on a myth like quality for me–the ever elusive Christmas display on wheels.
But I figured it was like true love: you can’t go looking for it, you have to let it find you. And so, on a freezing winter’s night when I was fast-walking through the cold, Christmas lights the last thing on my mind, there it was: glittering, doors wide open, waiting for me. Luckily, it was at the terminal station of Deak Ferenc Square, so it waited around long enough that I could take some pictures and bask in the glow.
How can I find the tram?
Like I said, I left it up to luck…but that took two years. So if you’d like to be a little more purposeful, head here for the Christmas Streetcar schedule. The site lists seven different Christmas trams: 2, 19, 50, 59, 49, 47, and 56A.
Often the most popular is Tram 2, as it takes you parallel to the river on the Pest side. Hop on at Jaszai Mari Square and ride past Parliament, Buda Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion, and more. The ride is already impressive even without the Christmas lights, but with…how romantic!
The Budapest Christmas tram definitely brought some Christmas spirit–as soon as it pulled up, everyone waiting at the stop would start to smile. I hope you get to experience it for yourself! Happy hunting! And Merry Christmas!
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