BASICS - The Rough Guide to Budapest - page 44

Cycling
Cycling isfinally catching oninBudapest, with rising numbers ofcyclists andthe emergence
of dedicated cycle lanes (red with yellow lines on either side). That said, it isn't easy riding:
drivers are generally oblivious and you also have to contend with sunken tramlines, bumpy
cobbles and bad air pollution. Cycle routes are still patchy and don't link up to form a co-
herent network yet, so you're best off sticking to the city's green areas like Margaret Island
and the City Park. There are also good routes out of town, such as along the Buda bank of the
Danube to Szentendre and on up towards Slovakia. Bicycles can be carried on HÉV trains
and the Cogwheel Railway for the price of a one-way ticket, but not on buses or trams. For
trail-biking in the Buda Hills, see By bike .
There are several excellent bike-rental outfits in the city, as well as a number of bike shops
that do repairs, including Nella Bikes, off Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út at V, Kálmán Imre utca 23 (
1 331 3184, nella.hu ). For an in-depth look at cycling from a local's point of view visit
cyclingsolution.blogspot.hu .
BIKE RENTAL
Expect to pay around 2000Ft for half a day's rental and 3000Ft for a full day's rental, includ-
ing a lock and helmet.
Bikebase VI, Podmaniczky utca 19 1 269 5983, bikebase.hu . Excellent operation near
Nyugati Station, with friendly staff who dole out maps and advise on cycling routes. Repair
service available too. March to mid-Nov daily 9am-7pm.
BuBi Bike molbubi.bkk.hu . Bike-sharing scheme with docking stations all over Bud-
apest; pre-registration is required however; 30mins free then 500Ft for one hour, 1500Ft for
two hours.
BudapestBike VII, Wesselényi utca 13 30 944 5533, budapestbike.hu . Bike rental and
bike tours. Mid-March to mid-Oct daily 9am-6pm.
Yellow Zebra VI, Lázár utca 16 1 269 3843, yellowzebrabudapest.com .
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CITY TOURS
There is now a wide range of city tours available in Budapest; indeed you can't move
these days without being accosted by someone offering a tour of some description. But
if you're hard-pressed for time, you might appreciate one of the city's bus tours, which
generally take you past the Parliament, along Andrássy út, across to the Várhegy and
up to Gellért-hegy for panoramic photo opportunities.