Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 287

Often, however, a taxi fare will be cheaper, especially for groups of two or more trav-
elers (see “Getting Around,” below).
BY BUS The Népliget Bus Station is the city's recently opened modern main bus
terminal on the Red metro line at the Stadionok stop. The Blue line goes to the much
smaller Árpád híd bus station that caters to domestic bus service only.
CITY LAYOUT
You'll follow this section much better with a map in hand. The city of Budapest came
into being in 1873, the result of a union of three separate cities: Buda, Pest, and
Óbuda. Budapest, like Hungary itself, is defined by the River Danube (Duna). The
stretch of the Danube flowing through the capital is fairly wide (the average width is
400m/1,325 ft.), and most of the city's historic sites are on or near the river. Eight
bridges connect the two banks, including five in the city center. The Széchenyi Chain
Bridge (Lánchíd), built in 1849, was the first permanent bridge across the Danube.
Although it was blown up by the Nazis, it was rebuilt after the war.
GETTING AROUND
BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Budapest has an extensive, efficient, and inexpensive public transportation system. If
you have some patience and enjoy reading maps, you can easily learn the system well
enough to use it wisely. Public transportation, however, is not without its drawbacks.
The biggest disadvantage is that except for 17 well-traveled bus and tram routes, all
forms of transport shut down for the night at around 11:30pm (see “Night Service,”
below). Certain areas of the city, most notably the Buda Hills, are beyond the reach
of this night service, and taxis are thus required for late-night journeys. Another prob-
lem with the system is that travel can be quite slow, especially during rush hour. A
third disadvantage, pertinent mostly to travelers, is that Castle Hill can be reached in
only three ways by public transportation and all of these modes of transportation are
quite crowded in the high seasons. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, crowded
public transport is the place where you are most likely to be targeted by Budapest's
professional pickpockets.
FARES All forms of public transportation (metro, bus, tram, trolleybus, some
HÉV railway lines, and cogwheel railway) in Budapest require the self-validation of
prepurchased tickets (vonaljegy), which cost 170 Ft (85¢/45p) apiece (children under
6 travel free); single tickets can be bought at metro ticket windows, newspaper kiosks,
and the occasional tobacco shop. There are also automated machines in most metro
stations and at major transportation hubs, most of which have been recently modern-
ized or installed and provide reliable service. We recommend that you buy a handful
of tickets in advance so that you can avoid the trouble of constantly having to replen-
ish your stock with the appropriate coins for the vending machines. For 1,450 Ft
($7.25/£3.75) you can get a 10-pack (tizes csomag), and for 2,800 Ft ($14/£7.20), you
can get a 20-pack (huszas csomag).
While this standard ticket is valid on the metro, three types of optional single-ride
metro tickets were introduced several years ago, making ticket buying a bit more com-
plicated for those who are inclined to try to buy the most appropriate ticket for their
journey. A “metro section ticket” (metrószakaszjegy), at 120 Ft (60¢/32p), is valid for
a single metro trip stopping at three stations or less. A “metro transfer ticket” (metróát-
szállójegy), at 270 Ft ($1.35/72p), allows you to transfer from one metro line to