How to get into Budapest from the airport and around town

Budapest Airport is 16km (ten miles) south-east of town, connected by frequent bus 100E that takes 40 minutes to reach central Deák Ferenc tér. The service runs 24/7, every 7-10mins by day, 30-40mins at night.

Buy your ticket (Ft2,500/€6.50) by touching into the yellow machine on board, in cash/by card from the English-friendly machine outside Arrivals, or through local transport app BudapestGO.

Alternatively, an English-speaking dispatcher outside Arrivals can allocate you the next Főtaxi (+36 1 222 2222). Expect to pay Ft15,000-17,000 (€39-44) for the city centre.

Budapest has four metro lines. Yellow line 1 is the oldest on continental Europe and runs from the city centre to City Park, serving major stops on Andrássy út such as the Opera House and the House of Terror.

Red line 2 goes between major Buda hub Széll Kálmán tér and Örs Vezér ter in east Pest. It calls at Parliament, Keleti station and the key junction of Blaha Lujza tér, location for the Time Out Market Budapest.

Recently renovated blue line 3 runs north-south through Pest, between Újpest and Kőbánya-Kispest towards the airport. Stops include Nyugati station, Arany János utca by St. Stephen’s Basilica and Kálvin tér near the National Museum.

These three lines cross at focal Deák Ferenc tér, departure and arrival point for the 100E express bus serving the airport (see above). Coming by train, you arrive at Keleti, Nyugati or Déli station, each with its own stop on the red 2 or blue 3 line. 

Green line 4 is the latest introduction, driver-less trains shuttling between Kelenföld and Keleti stations, via Fővám tér for the main market hall and crossing point of Kálvin tér for the National Museum.

Trams are the easiest and best way to get around the city. Lines 4/6 are among the busiest in the world, gliding along the Nagykörút artery through Pest, looping between Margaret Bridge and Petőfi Bridge to access Buda. Route 6 runs all night. Major stops include Blaha Lujza tér for Time Out Market Budapest and the New York Café, Oktogon for Andrássy út and yellow metro line 1, and Nyugati station.

For a scenic journey, tram 2 skirts the Pest side of the Danube, past Parliament and the main bridges – river-facing windows provide cityscape views of Buda's historic sights. Routes 19 and 41 hug the Buda embankment, taking in Parliament and the landmarks of Pest.

Budapest's blue buses serve destinations beyond the metro network, particularly in Buda. They are complemented by a web of red trolleybuses which run on overhead cables.

For buses, you should board via the front door, showing or validating your ticket as you do so – trolleybuses tend to be more relaxed.

The main bus route runs along the main axis connecting Móricz Zsigmond körtér via Elizabeth Bridge with Astoria, Blaha Lujza tér and Keleti station, served by No.7 and half-a-dozen other lines. The trolleys are good for City Park and the cross-cross of streets around Pest districts VI, VII and XIV.

Standard daytime services end around 11.30pm, but if you’re still out and about, night buses cover main routes, vehicles numbered in the 900s. 

Mainly handy for reaching key day-trip destinations just outside Budapest, most notably Szentendre and Gödöllő, green HÉV trains use the same ticket system as other urban transport – as far as the city limits, at least.

For Szentendre, your standard ticket or pass is valid until Békásmegyer, after which you need to pay a supplement – you can buy one for the whole journey (and back) from the BudapestGO app or any machine, or the windows at the main HÉV terminus in town, Batthyány tér. Örs vezér tere (red metro line 2) serves the HÉV to Gödöllő.

The other main HÉV route is to Csepel, a former industrial island in south Pest/Buda, site of a recently built stadium which hosted the World Athletics Championships in 2023. Services run from Boráros tér, on tram lines 2 and 4/6.

The city transport company BKK also runs city-centre cruises but low water levels have seen the service temporarily suspended for the time being. This situation may change come spring 2026.

As and when they restart, boats set off from Kossuth Lajos tér by Parliament, head up to Margaret Island and back down via Batthyány tér and the Várkert Bazár to Petőfi tér in town. The journey lasts 40mins and costs Ft 2,800/€7.25, 3-14s Ft 1,500/€3.90.

Private company Mahart Passnave offers a year-round hop-on, hop-off boat service along a similar route, departing from and returning to Vigadó tér, the main dock in the city centre. Trips last around an hour and cost Ft 5,000/€13, 2-14s Ft 2,500/€6.50.

To scale the hills of Buda, options include a swift glide up to Buda Castle or forested treks by more exotic forms of transport further afield.

While the Funicular from Clark Ádám tér on the Buda side of Chain Bridge is part of the BKK network, it requires separate (and pricy) return tickets, Ft 5,000/€13, 3-14s Ft 2,000/€5.20. The journey is only a couple of minutes and there are no one-way tickets.

By contrast, for the Cogwheel Railway for Városmajor in Buda, officially route 60, requires only a regular ticket or pass for the 14-min journey to connect with the Children's Railway (Ft 1,000/€2.60, 6-18s Ft 500/€1.30) on the slopes of Széchenyi-hegy. Városmajor is a 10min walk or a couple of tram stops from Széll Kálmán tér. 

Also overseen by BKK, with special return fares of Ft 3,500/€9 (15-25s Ft 2,000/€5.20, 3-14s Ft 1,000/€2.60), the two-person gondolas of the Zugliget Chairlift scale János-hegy, Budapest’s highest slope, with ease. To reach it, take bus 291 from Szilágyi Erzsébet fasor, near the Városmajor Cogwheel Rail terminus, to Zugliget, Libegő, journey time 6mins. The flight to the top is swift but memorable, the city spread out below, and a further walk from the upper terminus takes you to the Elizabeth Lookout Tower, Budapest's highest point.