Public Transportation
Most of Budapest's city center and historic districts are suitable for walking. There are pedestrian precincts in downtown Pest and traffic is restricted on Castle Hill, so walking is probably the best way to get around. However, Budapest also has an excellent public transportation system. Glance skyward and you'll see that most of the city's streets are lined with cables, as Budapest has a vast system of streetcars (or trams) and trolley buses. Budapest also has a clean, fast, and efficient subway system (or metro as the locals call it). Outer suburbs are well served by HÉV trains (suburban railway).
Getting around is easy. Although walking is probably your best bet, streetcars 2, 4 and 6 as well as the three subway lines are also good options to get to most places in the city.
Metro (Subway)
M1 (Millennium Underground, Yellow line) - Runs under Andrássy Avenue, between Vörösmarty tér and Mexikói út
M2 (Red line) - Runs east west, between Déli pályaudvar and Örs vezér tere
M3 (Blue line) - Runs north south, between Újpest-Központ and Kőbánya-Kispest
Budapest has three subway lines and the fourth one is currently under construction. The main junction is at Deák Ferenc tér where all three lines meet.
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| Metro Subway |
Yellow Streetcars (Trams) - the most important routes
2 - Runs along the Pest riverfront connecting Margit hid and Petőfi hid
4 - Runs on the Grand Boulevard connecting Moszkva tér and Október 23. utca
6 - Runs also on the Grand Boulevard connecting Moszkva tér and Móricz Zsigmond körtér in Buda
19 - Runs along the Buda riverfront connecting Batthyány tér and Gellért tér and continues on to Kelenföld
If you ride streetcars 4 or 6 from the first to the last stop in either direction, you will have taken the world's longest streetcar ride.
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| Yellow Street Cars |
Trolley buses
Trolley bus service is available on 13 routes in Pest only. Trolley buses are numbered starting from 70 because the first route began operations on Stalin's 70th birthday in 1949.
Buses
The majority of people in Budapest using mass transit travel by bus. There are over 200 routes, and express buses with red number signs serve the busiest routes in the city. They travel along the same route as the regular buses with black number signs, but make fewer stops.
Public transportation in Budapest virtually ends after 11pm, when the metro, streetcars and trolley buses stop operating. There are some night buses running (marked with "É"), but not as frequently.
