Prime Estate real estate agency > About Budapest > Public transportation in Budapest
Public transportation in Budapest
Budapest has an excellent public transportation system compared to other European cities. We heard our clients complaining many times how difficult it was in other countries to get to their work place or rented homes. Good news: you definitely won’t have a problem like this in Budapest! Although vehicles are not really conforming the latest environmental standards and also not the youngest and cleanest, but they are always on the run and will take you safe home or to your office.
The name of the Budapest Transportation Company is BKV and it has a website in English and German as well with much useful information. You can explore how to get to different places within the city, how long it will approximately take and which kind of means of transportation is needed with the assistance of the route planner (also available on BKV’s website).
Budapest has 3 subway lines, called metro. The yellow line, the Millennium Underground was the first subway on the European continent and it is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage. It’s a kind of time travel back to the past.
Budapest offers not only the standard transport vehicles as bus, tram or subway, there are several interesting vehicles as well.
The cogwheel railway runs on Buda side up to Széchenyi Hill, where there is an excellent place to start with a long walk or switch to the children’s railway. The highest point of Budapest is in the 12th District, called Normafa, at Erzsébet look-out tower. This is a famous excursion area of the city, an ideal place for walking, talking and eating strudel (rétes) whole year long. The most beautiful way to get there is by the chairlift.
Since summer 2012 you can travel by the Danube cruiser boat service on the Danube River as part of public transportation services. There are several stops, it’s real fun, but please account for longer cruising time. This service can be used with regular BKV tickets and passes.
You can see tourists queuing and waiting for a funny vehicle at the foot of the Castle near to the Chain Bridge especially in the summer months. It is the funicular, a 95 meters long track, which takes you from the Tunnel up to the Buda Castle. The trip takes only few minutes and the view onto the Danube River and Pest side is amazing!
Our favorite is definitely the Christmas tram, which runs temporarily (around Christmas) on the tram line No. 2. It’s a fully decorated tram fitted with lots of lights and it’s a real fun to travel with.