Twenty-one stops, one loop, and about an hour and fifty minutes if you never get off. That is the whole of Budapest’s hop-on hop-off network, because the red route is the only one running, and Big Bus and City Sightseeing both drive it.
Below is every stop in order, with what is near it and how long you walk from the stop, so you can see which ones are worth getting off at. The stop numbers are Big Bus’s. City Sightseeing’s list has the same stops in the same order under slightly different names.
Hop-on hop-off bus stops in Budapest, in order
Stops 1 to 8: the Basilica, the Synagogue and Andrássy út
- Stop 1, Basilica, behind St Stephen’s Basilica. About 2 minutes round to the front steps. The first bus and the walking tour both start here
- Stop 2, Chain Bridge, on Széchenyi István tér on the Pest side. About 4 minutes to the Chain Bridge
- Stop 3, József Attila utca, on Erzsébet tér. About 3 minutes to the Budapest Eye
- Stop 4, Synagogue, on Dohány utca, right outside the Dohány Street Synagogue
- Stop 5, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út, at Anker köz
- Stop 6, Andrássy Avenue, at Andrássy út 3, the start of Andrássy Avenue
- Stop 7, Opera, at Andrássy út 25 by the metro. About 3 minutes to the Opera House
- Stop 8, Liszt Ferenc tér, at Andrássy út 45 by the Oktogon. About 6 minutes up the avenue to the House of Terror
This first stretch is all flat and all close together, and you could walk most of it. City Sightseeing lists two stops at Astoria as temporarily closed.
Stops 9 to 12: Heroes' Square and the Grand Boulevard
- Stop 9, Heroes’ Square, at Olof Palme sétány 5, in front of the City Park Ice Rink. About 3 minutes to Heroes’ Square, 8 to the Zoo and 9 to Széchenyi Thermal Bath, across City Park
- Stop 10, Keleti Railway Station, at Rákóczi út 90
- Stop 11, New York Café, on Erzsébet körút, in front of the New York Palace
- Stop 12, Time Out Market, on Blaha Lujza tér
Heroes’ Square is the stop to get off at on this side of the river. It is a long way out from the centre, and the square, the bath, the Zoo and the park are all a short walk apart, so it is easy to spend half a day here and catch a later bus back.
Stops 13 to 15: Váci utca, the Citadel and Gellért
- Stop 13, Váci utca, on Kossuth Lajos utca at Ferenciek tere. About 9 minutes to the Vigadó tér embankment, where the Big Bus cruise leaves from Dock 6, and 11 to the Great Market Hall
- Stop 14, Citadel, on Szirtes út, high on Gellért Hill, for the Citadella and the lookout
- Stop 15, Gellért Bath, on Műegyetem rakpart opposite the Hotel Gellért. The Gellért Thermal Bath is closed for rebuilding until 2028, but the stop keeps its name. About 10 minutes across Liberty Bridge to the Great Market Hall
The Citadel stop is the one that saves you real effort. Walking up Gellért Hill from the river is a steep climb, and the bus takes you most of the way. Walk up to the lookout, take in the bridges and the Parliament, and catch the next bus down.
Stops 16 and 17: the foot of Castle Hill
- Stop 16, Castle Garden, at Ybl Miklós tér by the Várkert Bazár. About 7 minutes up to the palace of Buda Castle, using the Bazár’s escalators and lifts
- Stop 17, Castle / Funicular, on Clark Ádám tér opposite the funicular. About 4 minutes back to the Chain Bridge. Ride the funicular up, or walk it in about 8 minutes, uphill all the way. Fisherman’s Bastion is about 10 minutes on foot, also uphill
The red route stays at the bottom of Castle Hill, because big buses cannot drive into the old town on top. From Clark Ádám tér, the Castle Bus takes you round the top of the hill, and the funicular goes straight up to the palace. Getting up and around Castle Hill by every other way: how to get to Buda Castle.
Stops 18 to 21: the Buda embankment and back to the Parliament
- Stop 18, Batthyány tér, on Bem rakpart, facing the Parliament across the river. About 11 minutes uphill to Fisherman’s Bastion
- Stop 19, Margaret Bridge, at the Buda end of the bridge. About 11 minutes along the bridge to the south end of Margaret Island
- Stop 20, Nyugati Railway Station, on Teréz körút
- Stop 21, Parliament, on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út at Báthory utca. About 11 minutes to Kossuth Lajos tér and 13 to the Visitor Centre, where the Parliament tours start
Batthyány tér is the place for the classic view of the Parliament from across the water. Stay on the bus there and look right as you pull in, or get off for a few minutes by the river.
The Parliament stop is not outside the building, whatever its name. If you have a tour slot, leave a quarter of an hour for the walk. After stop 21 the bus returns to the Basilica.
The best hop-on hop-off stops to get off at
Heroes' Square
The far end of Andrássy út, with City Park, Széchenyi Thermal Bath and the Zoo within about 10 minutes’ walk.
Citadel
High on Gellért Hill, for the view over the river without the climb from the bottom.
Castle Garden or the funicular
The two ways up to Buda Castle, and the start of the Castle Bus round the top of the hill.
Insider tips
Sit on the right for the Buda embankment
Between the Castle Garden and Margaret Bridge the river and the Parliament are on your right. On a covered top deck, a seat on that side is the one with the view.
Walk the first stretch, ride the far ends
Stops 1 to 8 are all within an easy walk of each other. Start the loop at the Opera or Liszt Ferenc tér and ride the parts that are far or uphill: City Park, Gellért Hill and the Buda side.
Catch the last buses further round the loop
The last bus leaves Stop 1 at 17:00, but it reaches the stops on the Buda side later. If you are at the far end of the loop late in the day, check the time at your stop rather than assuming you have missed it.