Travelling to Budapest?
Budapest wasn’t a city until 1873: it was three (Buda and Óbuda on the high bank, Pest on the flat) and the Danube didn’t so much separate them as define them. You still notice. Buda has the castle, the hills and the quiet. Pest the avenues, the cafés and most of the life. Under both, thermal water comes up at over forty degrees, and that is what has made this city what it is.
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What to see in Budapest
8 ROUTESOur routes, not a list of everything. Places that have been there for centuries: no opening times or prices, which go stale.
- 01
Budapest in a day
9 hOne bank has the castle and the views. The other the parliament and the life. A day is two river crossings and a finish in hot water.The Castle district and the Fishermen’s Bastion · The Chain Bridge · The Parliament and the Pest bank · A thermal bath, to end the dayRead the full guide - 02
A weekend in Budapest
20 hTwo days cover both banks, the Jewish quarter with its ruin bars, and the oldest underground on the continent, from 1896.Saturday: Buda, the river and the parliament · Saturday night: the ruin bars · Sunday: Heroes’ Square and the park · Sunday: the Great Market HallRead the full guide - 03
What to see in Budapest
14 hA hundred and twenty thermal springs under a capital, and a parliament ninety-six metres tall because the Magyars arrived in 896.The baths, and which are still open · Inside the Parliament · The Great Synagogue and the Jewish quarter · Gellért Hill and the CitadelRead the full guide - 04
Eating and drinking in Budapest
3 hWhat the world calls goulash is a different dish here: gulyás is a soup, and the thick one is called pörkölt.Gulyás, pörkölt and paprikás · Lángos and the market · Tokaji and Hungarian wine · Pálinka and UnicumRead the full guide - 05
Where to stay in Budapest
1 hThe districts run in Roman numerals and a spiral. The V is central Pest, the VII is the party, the I is the castle.Belváros-Lipótváros (District V) · Erzsébetváros (District VII) · Terézváros and Andrássy avenue (District VI) · The Castle district (District I) · Józsefváros (District VIII) and Ferencváros (IX)Read the full guide - 06
Day trips from Budapest
10 hUpstream, the Danube turns ninety degrees between mountains. And there’s a red-roofed town reached on a suburban train.Szentendre · Visegrád and the Danube Bend · Esztergom · Eger and the Valley of the Beautiful WomenRead the full guide - 07
From Budapest airport to the centre
1 hYour 72-hour pass covers the metro, the tram and even the train… but not the airport express bus. That needs its own ticket.The 100E and its separate ticket · The 200E, which the pass does cover · The train from Ferihegy · The taxi, on a decreed tariffRead the full guide - 08
Budapest: practical tips
1 hHungary is in the European Union but doesn’t use the euro, and the thermal baths have rules nobody explains until you arrive.The forint, which is not the euro · What to take to a thermal bath · Transport and the ticket you stamp · Water, tipping and the language · Mobile dataRead the full guide
Airport to city centre
4 OPTIONSThe real options, with what actually decides it: which terminal it leaves from and where it drops you. Fares and timetables live with the operator, who keeps them current.
- Bus100E (Airport Express)Deák Ferenc tér, vía Kálvin térThe direct one to the centre: about forty minutes to Deák Ferenc tér, calling at Kálvin tér on the way, and it runs around the clock. The catch is the ticket: the 100E requires its own and the ordinary 24- or 72-hour passes do NOT cover it, though a cheaper add-on exists for pass holders. Buying before boarding saves the argument.40-40 minFares and timesBKK
- Bus200EKőbánya-Kispest, enlace con el metro M3The ordinary city bus, and the one that ordinary tickets and passes do cover. It runs to Kőbánya-Kispest, the terminus of metro line M3, from where you reach the centre. It also runs all night. Slower and with a change, but it’s the cheap way.·Fares and timesBKK
- TrainTren desde FerihegyBudapest-Nyugati (estación del Oeste)The option almost nobody uses: the 200E drops you at Ferihegy station a few stops along, and from there a local train runs to Budapest-Nyugati, in central Pest, in a little under half an hour. The 24- and 72-hour passes cover both the bus and this train.·Fares and timesMÁV
- TaxiCentro de BudapestOnly one company holds the airport concession, Főtaxi, with desks and a rank outside arrivals at Terminals 2A and 2B, around the clock. In Hungary taxi tariffs are set by decree and are the same for everyone, so there is no “cheaper” firm: what changes is whose car you take.·Fares and timesFőtaxi
VIP lounges in Budapest
3Before you fly, or on the layover. Pay per visit, whatever airline.