Debrecen

Pirate island, magical creatures, fairy realm: they are only few of the attractions of the amazing thematic toy exhibition. The families are welcomed in the city centre gallery with the enormous exhibition material of Playmobil, to transform to a knight or a fairy in the miniature world. Children and adults can also test their skills in the mini golf course and they can select from toys of various types in the playroom and the plotting boards. Children can be photographed with characters in the exhibition area, but they can also take the dresses to be a pirate or a princess.

Kerekerdő (Round Forest) Adventure Park is situated in picturesque, leafy surroundings, close to the Csereerdő stop of “Zsuzsi” Narrow Gauge Railroad. This wonder world offers nearly 30,000 sq m worth of indoor and outdoor programs to each and every member of your family. Let the fun start immediately on arrival if you are a lover of water sports. The “Flintstones” paddle boat lays at anchor in the small harbor next to the entrance, ready for rides. A magic land of fairy tales will reveal itself as you follow the trail leading to the interior of the park. Don’t be surprised if you should come across Snow White and her Seven Dwarfs, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, or Hansel and Gretel in their candy house while you are exploring the interactive pavilions and puppet-show stages. Your little tykes will find all they need to let off steam in the playground wilderness. They can lay siege to the castle via suspension bridges and climbing ropes or engage in combat to take bastions. Should they be hungry for even bigger challenges, they may attempt to fight their way along adventure trails rigged with slides, climbing walls, and cul-de-sacs. Older visitors will get their fix of adrenaline by negotiating scenic, but oftentimes menacing mazes of rope courses criss-crossing the park at elevations of up to several meters. Accessible to all but the most fainthearted visitors, regardless of age, the main course spans the lake. You may also try your luck with pony riding, or explore audio-visual features such as the Talking Tree. Fashioned to form the 3D image of a human face, this display recites Hungarian folk tales and fables on weekdays. The park houses a traditional handicraft fair modeled on similar events of bygone eras. Not only will it provide you with insights into the trades of medieval artisans, but also the hustle and bustle of royal courts. The ballroom is the ideal venue for birthday parties. Should you or your little ones need replenishment after the exertions of a busy day, be sure you check out the grill terrace or the pancake stall.

The only one of its kind in the region, this center offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience to visitors regardless of their ages. Agora presents serious scientific knowledge and the little wonders of everyday life in a fun and easy-to-understand way. It features more than thirty interactive games and gets visitors involved in spectacular experiments. At the top of the futuristic three-storey building, stargazers will be delighted to test the limits of the observatory taking aim at the Sun, our fellow planets and other celestial bodies.

More than 130 years young, Zsuzsi is Hungary’s oldest narrow-gauge railway. Its final stop at Hármahegyalja, fringed with beautiful woodland, is complete with hiking trails, a fish pond, observation decks, playgrounds and picnic areas. More attractions are provided by the House of Nature & Observatory and the Forest School that await visitors with classes in wildlife conservation.

This complex covers an area of 17 hectares under the canopy of Big Forest’s grand old trees. On display are some 700 specimens of 160 species native to various habitats of five continents. Watch how these critters feed, or join the many exciting programs. Open from May to late September, the theme park features 17 rides as well as the smallest Ferris wheel in the country.

The leisure centre, built around a fishing pond, is located in the suburban Lencz-telep neighbourhood of Debrecen. SzuSz Park, as the locals call it, has grown into a 5-hectare leisure and water park, and is an excellent venue for corporate or family events, weddings, or birthday parties celebrated in a closer circle of friends and family. A fishing pond, clay and beach football fields, beach volleyball courts, covered patios, fire sites, a restaurant serving Hungarian-style dishes, a pizzeria, special events building, water park, free parking, spacious playgrounds, an indoor playhouse and bouncy castle, huge grassy areas – all of this in a picturesque natural environment, far from all the noise of the city, and still so close, since the centre of Debrecen is only a few kilometres away.

All great cities can be identified by famous parks. In the case of Debrecen, this is called Nagyerdei Park Forest, the nation’s first conservation area. Only a ten-minute ride from downtown, the park offers total peace and quiet in the shade of hundred-year-old trees as well as countless entertainment options. You will definitely enjoy negotiating the meandering footpaths, designed by landscape architects, no matter if you explore the secrets of the woods on your own or with kids in tow. Your ventures along the trails will be made even more fun thanks to the Landart pieces, which make use of the forms and “props” of their natural environment to provide unique visual input. Should you have overexerted yourself through walking, check out the nearby spa center, zoo, amusement park, or “literary” statue park for different kinds of entertainment. Or contemplate the novel architectural techniques applied to the building of the brand new, multifunctional Nagyerdei Stadium, which smoothly cuddles up to its leafy surroundings. In the immediate vicinity, a one-of-a-kind attraction beckons from spring through fall. The “Mist Theatre” boasts a 10-m-high curtain of water which can be used as a functional movie screen. It may provide a bonus show after you watched a less ethereal theatrical or musical performance at the nearby amphitheater.

Located in an area of scenic beauty in Big Forest, the spa complex offers an entire unit of medical facilities and a wide range of specialist consultations to guests who seek regeneration, healing, or relaxation. Your comfort and enjoyment will be guaranteed by the attractions of the Thermal Bath, the Indoor Mediterranean Pleasure Bath, “water-chute park,” wellness center (directly accessible from the hotel unit) as well as the “sauna world.” All this in an area of natural beauty set aside for public recreational use. Mediterranean Aqua Park It is summer all year round in this fantastic spa complex thanks to the lush tropical vegetation and special features. The latter include artificial waves, pools for kids, 12 water chutes, climbing wall, whirlpools, underwater jets, massage showers, grottos, and a “water chopper.” The facility, directly accessible from the thermal bath, also features a Thai massage center, Mediterranean sauna complex and a restaurant. Your watery adventures will be complemented by the thrills of the annual National Water Chute Time Trials, and sessions conducted by world champion sauna masters.