Deák Ferenc tér is the answer to almost every version of this question. The only station in Budapest where all three metro lines meet sits at the far end of Erzsébet tér, about four minutes’ walk from the wheel, and the trams, trolleybuses and a string of bus routes use the same interchange.
If you have the time, arrive on tram 2 instead and walk in from the river. This page covers every line and stop, the walks from the landmarks nearby, where a taxi can actually stop, and the step-free route.
Location and address
By public transport
Arriving here is about as easy as it gets in Budapest. Every metro line, three tram routes, half a dozen bus routes and the airport bus stop within about five minutes’ walk of the wheel, at or around the Deák Ferenc tér interchange.
By metro
- M1, M2 and M3, Deák Ferenc tér: about 300 m, four minutes. Come out on the Erzsébet tér side and the wheel is in front of you. It is the simplest arrival from anywhere in the city, whichever line you are on
- M1, Vörösmarty tér: about 275 m, four minutes, and the nearest station of the lot. The southern terminus of the 1896 line, and the natural stop if you are coming up from Váci utca
- M1, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út: about 420 m, six minutes, and useful only if you are already on the yellow line heading in from Andrássy út
Buy a single ticket, a travelcard or a Budapest Card before you board, and validate a single ticket when you start the journey.
By tram
- Trams 47, 48 and 49, Deák Ferenc tér M: about 335 m, five minutes. All three terminate at the interchange, arriving from Buda and from south Pest. Night tram N19 uses the same stop
- Trams 2, 2B and 23, Eötvös tér: about 520 m, seven minutes. Tram 2 runs along the Pest bank past the Parliament and the Chain Bridge and is the ride worth taking for its own sake. Get off at Eötvös tér and walk inland along József Attila utca
By bus and trolleybus
- Bus 15, Hild tér (Deák Ferenc tér M): about 130 m, two minutes, and the closest stop to the wheel of any kind
- Buses 9, 16, 105, 178 and 216: about 300 m, four minutes, at the stops around the Deák Ferenc tér interchange
- Trolleybus 72, Deák Ferenc tér M: about 350 m, five minutes, on the far side of the interchange
- Bus 100E from the airport: the direct service from Liszt Ferenc International, ending at Deák Ferenc tér. It needs its own ticket, sold separately from the ordinary singles and travelcards
- Night buses 909, 914A, 916, 931, 950, 979A and 990 all call at the interchange, which matters here because the wheel runs until midnight at weekends
On foot
Everything below is inside a quarter of an hour, and central Pest is flat, so walking in is usually quicker than working out a connection.
From St Stephen's Basilica (about 500 m, 7 minutes)
From the front steps on Szent István tér, walk round to Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út and head south. The street runs straight down to the Deák Ferenc tér interchange, and Erzsébet tér opens on your right just before it. You can see the top of the wheel for most of the walk.
From Vörösmarty tér and Váci utca (about 275 m, 4 minutes)
From the top of Váci utca at Vörösmarty tér, walk north up Deák Ferenc utca, the short shopping street that ends at József Attila utca on the edge of Erzsébet tér. Cross into the square and the wheel is ahead of you, with the fountain on the way to it.
From the Széchenyi Chain Bridge (about 650 m, 9 minutes)
From the Pest end of the bridge at Széchenyi István tér, walk east along József Attila utca, which runs beside Erzsébet tér and delivers you at the corner where the wheel stands. Flat, paved and busy with traffic on one side, so keep to the square side where you can.
From the Dohány Street Synagogue (about 800 m, 11 minutes)
Head west along Dohány utca to Károly körút, cross it at Astoria or at the Deák Ferenc tér end, and keep going north-west past the interchange into Erzsébet tér. The last stretch is through the square itself.
By car and taxi
If you are arriving by taxi or by Bolt, the rideshare app most people in Budapest use, ask for Erzsébet tér and get out on József Attila utca along the north side of the square. From there it is a minute to the kiosk. The same street is where the hop-on hop-off buses stop, so it is easy for a driver to find.
By hop-on hop-off bus
Accessibility
- The square and the platform are level. Erzsébet tér is flat and paved throughout, and boarding the wheel means walking or wheeling onto a platform with no steps at all
- The metro is the weak link. Deák Ferenc tér has a lift at one entrance but is not step-free throughout, and Vörösmarty tér has stairs only
- Bus 15 to Hild tér is the shortest step-free approach, about 130 m of flat paving from the stop to the kiosk
- There is a larger cabin for wheelchair users. Ask for it at the kiosk when you buy. What the operator does and does not publish about it is on our Budapest Eye guide