Budapest's history on Metro Line One

Budapest was the first city in continental Europe to build a metro system. Line One, the original 19th-century route, is an atmospheric tour through the city's past. Jamie Lafferty hops aboard. London won the race to the underworld. Perhaps that's not a surprise given the wealth of the British Empire at the end of the 19th century. But the next city to successfully build an underground network wasn't Paris, nor New York, nor Glasgow, the British Empire's second city. It was Budapest, in May 1896, that became the first city in continental Europe to open a metro system. The intervening years have seen Budapest's fortunes rise and fall with political and economic fluctuations, but the original route - the iconic Line One - has remained unaltered. Now celebrating 10 years on Unesco's world heritage list, Line One has become especially popular with tourists. Three other lines have been added around the city, yet this original route has many stops next to some of the most important cultural attractions in the city. The route has inadvertently become a kind of tour through Hungary's glorious past. For such an old system - the trains are 40 years old - the doors shut surprisingly brusquely, opening for just a few seconds. Dashing commuters are unanimously disappointed if they fail to make it before the doors snap shut; so brief are these stops that it only takes the train 20 minutes to complete the entire run. Thankfully, the trains in Budapest are incredibly frequent - at peak times another one will rattle into the station just two minutes later. Line One starts (or ends) in the middle of Café Gerbeaud, one of the finest coffee shops in Europe. Built in 1870 at the height of the Grunderzeit boom period, its bold white stucco facade dominates the square on which it's built. During the hot summer months, its al fresco tables surround the exit to Vorosmarty Ter, the metro's first station. The cafe predates the rail system by 26 years but, like the trains, their strong coffee and delicate pastries have almost never been out of fashion. In a city filled with historic architecture, this is one of the few buildings to have been continuously inhabited by the same business; though many of the surrounding units were built during the same era, they're now filled with predictable international chains. Yet the people who seek out expensive brands in those shops still fill the tables at Café Gerbeaud, their overflowing bags waiting patiently at their side while they top up on caffeine. It's a surprise to many who come to the city, but Budapest was once two separate villages. The settlement on the western banks of the Danube was called Buda, while Pest lay in the east. Line One is contained entirely on the Pest side, and from Gerbeaud, it heads farther away from the busy riverside. Deak Ferenc Ter is the next stop. Budapest's town hall is near here, as are a series of bakers in little wooden huts, teasing politicians with the smell of their fresh bread. Perhaps more interesting for visitors is the Foldalatti Vasut museum, which is dedicated to the development of the rail network. Some of the original carriages are stored down here, as well as dozens of photographs detailing the complicated construction and opening of Line One. It's a trainspotter's dream. The National