Entry into the Gellért spa complex is reduced with a Budapest Card.
Although Budapest is one of the less expensive cities in Europe, there is so much to see and do that expense soon starts to mount up. The best way doing justice to the myriad museums, galleries and sights of Hungary’s capital is to invest in a sightseer’s Budapest Card.
Available in parcels of 24-, 48- and 72-hours, the Budapest Card currently costs 4,500HUF (€17), 7,500HUF (€28) and 8,900HUF (€33) respectively and is the perfect answer to hassle-free sightseeing in Budapest as well as making considerable savings on public transport, museum entries, river cruises and guided tours. Many of the city’s major sights are covered in the card’s free admission policy, including one admission to eight major museums such as Budapest History Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hungarian National Gallery. A whole host of restaurants, festivals, cultural events and sightseeing tours can be discounted with the card, sometimes by as much as 50 per cent.
A fantastic bonus of the Budapest Card is the chance to experience a real Hungarian spa bath with free entry to the Lukács spa complex as well as discounted admission to the famous thermal baths at Gellért and Dagály lido, which has a lazy river and wave pools. Classical-music buffs can benefit from discounted entry to organ recitals at St Stephen’s Basilica as well as summertime open-air concerts in Budapest Park.
Free as part of the Budapest Card package is the PocketGuide sightseeing app, giving access to a choice of 12 city tours to suit individual tastes. There’s also a free, guided walk (in English) that leaves Szentháromság Square at 2pm daily; this takes in all the major sights of Buda, including the Danube, Fisherman’s Bastion and the museums and galleries in the Royal Castle.
The Budapest Card also offers free transport on the city’s network of BKK trams, buses, trolley buses and underground metro lines as well as certain boat services and HÉV trains within the city limits. That includes the Fogaskerekű cogwheel train up into the Buda hills but not the Budavári Sikló (Castle hill funicular), but permits travel by bus or metro line out to the airport. It’s worth noting that all public transport in the city is free for people over the age of 65, so there may be less saving on the Budapest Card for them.
Budapest Cards can be bought online or from the main Budapestinfo Points in both terminals at the airport and at Deák Ferenc tér or Hősök tere. They are also available at major hotels, metro stations and train stations.