Here's How To Get Around Budapest

Getting to and from the airport

Budapest's airport shuttle bus (100E Airport Express) connects the city center (Deák Ferenc tér) with the Liszt Ferenc International Airport. It is a convenient and cheap way to get into and out of the airport and what most local people use. The trip takes about half an hour and a one-way ticket costs €5.5 (HUF2,200). I suggest you purchase a ticket ahead of your trip through the user-friendly BudapestGO app (App Store; Google Play) otherwise you might have to wait out the line at the vending machine by the stations. The shuttle buses run every 7-8 minutes throughout the day and somewhat less frequently late at night and early morning; the app provides detailed schedules.

To take a licensed cab, head to the taxi booth at the airport located outside the arrivals, provide your destination, then give the printout to the cab driver. Depending on your final destination, the ride will cost the Hungarian forint equivalent of approximately €30 to €40.

Exploring Budapest on foot

Walking is the best way to discover a new city and most Budapest attractions, restaurants, bars, and thermal baths are easily within walking distance of the city center. Széchenyi Thermal Baths is one of the more far-flung destinations, but even that is only a 40-minute walk from downtown, reachable via the scenic Andrássy Avenue.

Are you crossing over to the Buda side? The Chain Bridge was the first permanent connection between the two sides; it was completed in 1849, a time when the ancient world inspired art and architecture (Neoclassicism), hence those stone pillars resembling a Roman triumphal arch. During the 1945 siege of Budapest, both the advancing Soviet and the retreating German armies tried to blow up the bridge (the Germans succeeded in this). It was rebuilt by 1949. Recently car-free and bicycle-friendly – and no longer with a toll, as was the case until 1918 – there has never been a better time to walk across the Chain Bridge! Hiking trails lead up to both the Castle Hill and the Gellért Hill. My district-level overviews can help you get to know the main pockets of Budapest.

Biking: MOL Bubi

An alternative to walking is MOL Bubi, Budapest's bicycle sharing system. With more than 220 docking stations and 2,500 bicycles, the network provides an excellent coverage of the inner parts of Pest, primarily within the Grand Boulevard. Although docking stations exist also on the other side of the Danube, Buda's rolling hills are less biker-friendly than the flat terrain of Pest. No electric bikes yet, unfortunately.

You can rent a bike through the MOL Bubi app (App Store; Google Play). Unless you have a Hungarian residency card, you will need to use the "Pay-as-you-go" option which charges by the minute, but it is cheap; a half-hour bike ride, for example, costs €4 (HUF 1,500).

Public transport

Budapest has an especially good public transportation system – buses, trolleys, and trams roam the city (subways do too, but then you wouldn’t see as much of it). Good news if you are older than 65 and from an EU country: all public transport in Budapest is free for you. For everyone else, the cost of a single fare is HUF 500 (€1.25). One-day, three-day, and weekly tickets are also available via the same BudapestGO app (App Store; Google Play) used for the the airport shuttle bus.

Remember to validate your ticket by scanning the barcode located on the bus and tram doors and the driver's booths. Many stations have ticket vending machines, but the app is more convenient. You can also buy tickets directly from the bus drivers, but those will be more expensive and you will hold up traffic. For directions and schedules, rely on a loyal friend: Google Maps.

Several public transportation lines provide a memorable sightseeing tour for merely the cost of a fare. On tram #2, one can marvel at the Hungarian Parliament building and the Buda Castle, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, as the tram rumbles along the Danube's bank. You could take it from Jászai Mari tér to Fővám tér. If you are curious about the Müpa art center which is home of the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art (think: Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, David Hockney, Sigmar Polke, Vera Molnár), then all the way to Közvágóhíd.

The Millennium Underground dates back to 1896, making it the first subway line on the European continent. It runs below Andrássy Avenue, passing the Opera house, the House of Terror museum, Heroes' Square, and Széchenyi Thermal Baths. You could hop on for a few stops to experience this charming piece of living history. Budapest's newest subway line (M4), completed in 2014, has won prestigious design awards, especially the Fővám tér and the Szent Gellért tér stations.

Bus #16, also known as the Castle Bus, will take you from the city center of Pest (Deák Ferenc tér) to the Castle Hill and the Royal Palace, crossing the Chain Bridge along the way. Get off the bus at Dísz tér and you are smack in the middle of the old town.

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The two busiest tram lines in Budapest, #4 and #6, offer panoramic vistas while crossing the Danube. They travel through the Grand Boulevard, an unofficial dividing line of the city center in Pest. Tens of thousands of people from all walks of life ride these trams every day, so a journey from Széll Kálmán tér to Boráros tér offers a true cross-section of Budapest's residents.

Bus #5 will take you to the well-off neighborhoods in the Buda foothills. Once at Pasaréti tér, architecture fans might enjoy a walk through the Napraforgó utca model housing estate designed by Bauhaus pupils and their acolytes in the 1930s.

Finally, the charming Danubian city of Szentendre is also within reach by public transport, using the HÉV commuter rail line. In about forty minutes from Batthyány tér, one can soak up plenty of art and Mediterranean-Balkan vibes. Along the way, the train passes giant Communist-era housing blocks and the ancient Roman remains of Aquincum. How to spend a day in Szentendre? Here are some ideas.

Taxis & Ridesharing Apps

Cab prices are regulated across all taxi operators in Budapest. The fare consists of a base fee of HUF 1,100 (€3) plus a distance-based charge of HUF 440 per km (€1.25). Licensed cabs are yellow and recognizable by the corporate logos appearing on both sides of the front doors and by the official prices displayed on one of the rear doors.

In theory, you should feel free to hail any yellow cab off the street without being overcharged, but I recommend that you use one of the mainstream providers, such as City Taxi (+36 1 211 1111), Főtaxi (+36 1 222 2222), or Tele 5 (+36 1 555 5555). All cabs are required by law to accept credit cards.

Try to avoid freelance cabs; they are also yellow, but instead of the corporate logo "freelance" and "független szolgáltató" appear on their front doors and their roof signs simply say "taxi" instead of the taxi company's name. If you need to take one, be sure to agree on a price upfront with the driver to avoid unpleasant surprises. A ride within the city shouldn't cost more than €15 (HUF 6,000 or so), while €35 (HUF 14,000) ought to get you to the airport.

Bolt (App Store; Google Play) and Uber are the two main ridesharing companies that operate in Budapest (no Lyft). Their drivers are licensed cabbies and their prices are the same as those charged by the taxi companies above. In other words, you have the convenience of using these ridesharing apps, but they don't use dynamic pricing.

Electric scooters

As in other cities, electric scooters have flooded Budapest; they aren't properly regulated and many pedestrians, especially older people, feel unsafe because of reckless scooter drivers. If this is your chosen form of transport, please be mindful of others sharing the road. Note that there are several "no parking zones" in downtown (District 5), Margaret Island, and the Castle District as detailed in the apps.