Sightseeing boats leave the Pest bank almost every evening for an hour past the floodlit Parliament and Buda Castle, with a drink and a commentary in your ear and no dinner to sit through. For a first cruise take Legenda’s, which leaves every 20 minutes and refunds you in full if you cancel 24 hours before.
The others change one thing. The prosecco cruise keeps the glasses full for 75 minutes, Duna Cruises and La Perla sell sunset sailings, and Silverline’s cocktail night adds a folk show over two hours. Book by the time you want to sail first, then by what you want in your glass.
Evening and sunset cruise tickets in Budapest
Budapest: Danube Evening Sightseeing Cruise + Audio Guide + 1 Drink
Best for: An hour past the floodlit Parliament and Castle with a drink in hand
- 1 hour
- Audio guide in 29 languages, no live guide
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead
What’s included and more details
What’s included
- 1-hour evening sightseeing cruise
- Audio guide
- One drink: champagne, wine, beer, a soft drink or water
- Wi-Fi on board
- Boarding
- Legenda pier, 7 Jane Haining rakpart (Vigadó 7), Pest bank
- Departures
- Every 20 minutes through the evening
- Seats
- Open-deck seats are limited, first come first served
- Not included
- Food, extra drinks
- Wheelchairs
- Not every Legenda boat takes one; contact Legenda before booking
Unlimited Prosecco, Beer, Aperol & Limoncello Spritz Cruise
Best for: Friends who want the glasses kept full for the whole sail
- 75 minutes
- Audio commentary in English, recorded, no live guide
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead
What’s included and more details
What’s included
- 75-minute cruise
- Welcome glass of Hungarian sparkling wine
- Unlimited sparkling wine and beer
- Self-service Aperol, Hugo, Rossini and Limoncello spritzers, lemonade and water
- Boarding
- Choose a pier when booking: Carl Lutz rakpart Dock 0, Akadémia 3 or Vigadó 8/A (Pest bank)
- Not included
- Premium spirits and cocktails, food (the bar is cashless), hotel pickup
- Changes
- No changes or refunds within 24 hours
Budapest: Premium Sightseeing Cruise with Tokaj Frizzante
Best for: Catching the Parliament in the last of the light
- 1 hour
- Audio guide online in 30 languages, no live guide
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead
What’s included and more details
What’s included
- 1-hour cruise, route adjusted around sunset to pass the Parliament at its best light
- A glass of Tokaj Frizzante or juice
- A guaranteed seat (not assigned)
- Wi-Fi
- Boarding
- Duna Cruises, Dock 10, Jane Haining rakpart 10, Pest side of Elisabeth Bridge
- Bring
- Your own earphones
- Not included
- Meal, table service
Budapest: Historical Cruise, Kisfaludy Paddle Steamer
Best for: A different boat from the glass-roofed crowd
- 1 hour
- Audio guide online in 30 languages, no live guide
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead
What’s included and more details
What’s included
- 1-hour cruise on the Kisfaludy paddle steamer
- Welcome prosecco or juice (or a bar discount)
- Heated deck and blankets
- Wi-Fi
- Boarding
- Dock 10, Jane Haining rakpart 10, Pest side of Elisabeth Bridge
- Dogs
- Dog-friendly
- Bring
- Your own earphones
- Not included
- Meal, table service, live guide
Budapest: Boat Cruise with Guaranteed Rooftop Seating & BYOB
Best for: A guaranteed rooftop seat and your own bottle, from the Buda bank
- 50 minutes
- Audio guide, bring your own headphones
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead
What’s included and more details
What’s included
- 50-minute cruise
- Guaranteed rooftop or indoor seat
- Bring your own drinks and snacks
- Audio guide
- Boarding
- Várkert Bazár pier, Buda bank, below the Castle
- Sunset sailings
- The two earliest evening departures are sold as sunset cruises
- Not included
- Drinks; there is no bar
Budapest: Sightseeing Cruise + Unlimited Mulled Wine
Best for: A cold-evening cruise in a heated boat with refills
- 1 hour
- Free cancellation until 23:59 the day before
What’s included and more details
What’s included
- 1-hour sightseeing cruise
- Unlimited mulled wine: red, rosé with raspberry, apple-cinnamon
- Non-alcoholic hot apple-cinnamon and spiced orange
- Boarding
- Dock 11, Jane Haining rakpart, Pest bank
- Departures
- 16:15, 17:45, 19:15 and 20:45 in late autumn
- Good to know
- Silverline boats are not wheelchair accessible
Budapest: Cocktail and Folklore Night Cruise
Best for: Three cocktails and a folk operetta show without a dinner
- 2 hours
- Non-refundable, cannot be moved
What’s included and more details
What’s included
- Night cruise
- 3 cocktails per person
- Live folklore operetta show
- Boarding
- Dock 11, Jane Haining rakpart, right next to Elisabeth Bridge; boarding 30 minutes before
- Option
- Window seat
- Not included
- Food, extra drinks
Budapest: Evening Cruise with Drink Options
Best for: The longest sightseeing sail, 90 minutes from the Pest end of the Chain Bridge
- 90 minutes on the Gróf Széchenyi, or 50 minutes on the Bakony
- Audio guide by QR code, no live guide
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead
What’s included and more details
What’s included
- Evening cruise of 50 or 90 minutes
- A welcome drink, or 2 cocktails or 3 beers on the cocktail options
- Heated cabin
- Audio guide
- Boarding
- Akadémia 2 ponton, Id. Antall József rakpart, Pest bank
- Bring
- Headphones
- Not included
- Transfer
- Every cruise here boards on the Pest bank except La Perla’s, which leaves from Várkert Bazár below the Castle. The piers map shows each one
- The Silverline cocktail and folklore cruise cannot be refunded or moved. Everything else can be cancelled free up to the day before
- Departure times move with the sunset through the year, so the times on the cards are for late autumn
Budapest evening cruises compared
| Legenda evening | Prosecco cruise | Tokaj sunset | Kisfaludy | La Perla | Mulled wine | Cocktail and folklore | Gróf Széchenyi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How long | 1 hour | 75 minutes | 1 hour | 1 hour | 50 minutes | 1 hour | 2 hours | 90 minutes |
| Drinks | One drink | Unlimited sparkling wine, beer and spritzers | A glass of Tokaj Frizzante | A welcome prosecco or juice | Bring your own | Unlimited mulled wine | 3 cocktails | A welcome drink, or cocktails or beers |
| Commentary | Audio guide, 29 languages | Recorded, in English | Audio guide on your phone | Audio guide on your phone | Audio guide, own headphones | None included | None; a live folk operetta show instead | Audio guide by QR code |
| Pier | Legenda, Dock 7, Pest | Dock 0, Akadémia 3 or Vigadó 8/A, Pest | Dock 10, Pest | Dock 10, Pest | Várkert Bazár, Buda | Dock 11, Pest | Dock 11, Pest | Akadémia 2, Pest |
| Evening departures in late autumn | Every 20 minutes, 16:20 to 21:00 | Two or three a night from each pier, 17:15 to 21:15 | 16:30, 18:00, 19:30, 21:00 | 16:00, 17:30, 19:00, 20:30 | 17:20, 18:30, 19:40, 20:50 | 16:15, 17:45, 19:15, 20:45 | 18:30 | 19:00 |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead | Free up to 24 hours ahead | Free up to 24 hours ahead | Free up to 24 hours ahead | Free up to 24 hours ahead | Free until 23:59 the day before | Non-refundable | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
| Best for | A first cruise | A night out with friends | The sunset | A historic boat | Your own bottle | A cold night | A show without dinner | The longest sail |
Which evening cruise is right for you
Budapest sunset cruise or night cruise
Pick the departure by what you want to see, the sun going down behind Buda or the city floodlit, because the times that give you each are hours apart between winter and summer. The sunset table on the cruises page gives the time for your month.
In November and December nearly every evening boat is a night cruise. Legenda’s first evening sailing is at 16:20 from late October and 15:40 from late November, around the time the sun goes down, and by the next boat or two it is dark. A true sunset cruise in December means the first boat, at 15:40.
La Perla sells its two earliest sailings as sunset cruises, but in early November they leave at 17:20 and 18:30, when the sun has already set at about 16:30. For the sunset itself that week, take Duna Cruises’ 16:30 Tokaj departure, which leaves as the sun goes down.
From late May to July it is the other way round. Legenda’s first evening boat leaves at 19:30 in daylight, the sun sets at about 20:30 to 20:45, and the city is properly dark only after 21:00. Take a boat leaving around 20:00 for the sunset, or one after 21:00 for the lights.
The last boat cuts it fine. The floodlights usually go off at 23:00 in summer and 22:00 in winter, and Legenda’s last evening boat leaves at 22:00 in summer and 21:00 in winter, so it comes back as the lights go out. Take the one before it if the lights are why you are going. On some national days and awareness nights the lights are dimmed or turned a different colour, which no cruise company controls.
For the Parliament itself, how it is lit and the free places to see it from the banks, read the Parliament at night.
Evening Danube cruises in Budapest, boat by boat
Start with Legenda's hour and a drink
Legenda’s evening cruise is the plain version done well. An hour from its pier at Vigadó tér past the Parliament, the Castle and the bridges, with one drink (champagne, wine, beer or a soft drink) and an audio guide in 29 languages.
Boats leave every 20 minutes through the evening, so you can book it after you know when dinner is. Legenda runs several boats and you don’t know which you get until you board. The open-deck seats are few and go to whoever gets there first, so board early if you want to be outside.
Not every Legenda boat takes a wheelchair. Ask Legenda which boat sails at your time before you book.
Pick your pier for the unlimited prosecco cruise
The prosecco cruise is 75 minutes with the glasses refilled: Hungarian sparkling wine, beer, and Aperol, Hugo, Rossini and Limoncello spritzers from a self-service bar. Recorded commentary in English comes on at set points, with background music in between.
It leaves from three piers. In early November it leaves Akadémia 3, near the Chain Bridge, at 17:15, 19:00 and 20:45, Vigadó 8/A at 17:45, 19:30 and 21:15, and Carl Lutz rakpart Dock 0 at 18:45 and 20:30. Choose the pier when you book, and go to that one.
Food is not in the ticket, the bar takes no cash, and premium spirits and cocktails are extra.
Catch the sunset or the steamer from Dock 10
Duna Cruises sails from Dock 10, just south of Elisabeth Bridge on the Pest side. Look for its “Dock 10” and “Welcome on Board” signs on the quay.
Its Tokaj Frizzante cruise is the one built around the sunset. The route is adjusted so the boat passes the Parliament in the best light, and you get a glass of Tokaj Frizzante, a guaranteed seat (not a numbered one) and an audio guide that plays on your own phone.
The company’s other evening boat is the Kisfaludy, a paddle steamer that is a rebuild of Lake Balaton’s first steamship. It sailed on Lake Balaton until 2023, when Duna Cruises brought it to Budapest. The deck is heated, there are blankets, dogs are welcome, and the hour comes with a welcome prosecco or juice.
Bring a bottle to La Perla's rooftop
La Perla is the only cruise here that boards on the Buda bank, at Várkert Bazár below the Castle. There is no bar, so you bring your own drinks and snacks, and the ticket guarantees you a seat on the rooftop or indoors.
The sail is 50 minutes, with an audio guide. Bring your own headphones.
Warm up with Silverline's mulled wine
Silverline’s cold-weather cruise is an hour from Dock 11, by Elisabeth Bridge, with unlimited mulled wine: red, a rosé with raspberry, and apple-cinnamon. For anyone not drinking there is a hot apple-cinnamon drink and spiced orange juice.
The cabin is heated and has big glass windows, so you watch the lit city from the warm. It is sold as a warm-up after the Christmas markets, so if it shows no departures for your dates, book the prosecco cruise instead.
Silverline’s boats are not wheelchair accessible.
Book Silverline's cocktail and folklore night for a show
This is the evening cruise with entertainment but no dinner. Two hours from Dock 11, three cocktails each, and a folk operetta show: Hungarian songs and dances by performers in traditional costume, with bagpipes, fiddles and drums, and a chance to get up on stage with them.
Board 30 minutes before departure, which is at 18:30 in late autumn. The ticket is non-refundable and cannot be moved, so book it only once the evening is certain.
Take the Gróf Széchenyi for the full 90 minutes
The longest sightseeing cruise on this page sails on the Gróf Széchenyi, at 19:00 in late autumn, from Akadémia 2, the pontoon below the Pest end of the Chain Bridge. Ninety minutes in a heated cabin, with a welcome drink, or two cocktails or three beers if you book a cocktail option.
The same ticket has a 50-minute option on another boat, the Bakony, with more departures through the evening. Choose the Gróf Széchenyi option for the longer sail. The audio guide plays from a QR code, so bring headphones.
How to book and board an evening cruise
Choose the departure by the light
Decide between sunset and the floodlights, then pick the boat that sails at that time. In winter almost any evening departure is after dark, and in summer only the later ones are.
Book, and check what you can change
Most of these cruises can be cancelled free up to 24 hours ahead, and the mulled wine cruise until 23:59 the day before. The cocktail and folklore cruise cannot be refunded or moved, and the prosecco cruise cannot be changed within 24 hours.
Go to the pier on your voucher
The voucher names the pier. The prosecco cruise sails from whichever of its three piers you chose, and the Duna Cruises and Silverline boats sit side by side at Docks 10 and 11, so check the number. Legenda’s pier and Docks 10 and 11 are a few minutes’ walk from the tram 2 stops at Vigadó tér and Március 15. tér.
Board early for a seat outside
Staff at the entrance check the voucher on your phone. On Legenda’s boats the open deck goes first come, first served. For the Silverline cocktail cruise be there 30 minutes before departure.
Insider tips
Book the window seat for the folk show
Silverline stages its folklore show in a bigger room with tables in the middle, where the view is worse than beside the glass. If the river matters as much as the show, book the window seat option.
Plan round Christmas Eve
On 24 December Legenda runs daytime cruises only, so there is no evening sailing that night. Book another evening.
Bring the dog on the Kisfaludy
Duna Cruises’ paddle steamer is dog-friendly. Silverline’s boats take service animals only.