I love public transportation. Perhaps because, at home, we have so little of it and what we do have seems so grossly inefficient, which is something we can probably blame on constant lobbying efforts by the automobile industry, but I digress.

In Budapest, between trains, trams and buses, there isn’t a location you can’t get to within a block of. If you weren’t in the delivery business, I can’t imagine why you would want to deal with a car.

We purchased 7 day passes that allow us to use any trains, trams or buses and cost only about $3 a day, half that if you are a EU citizen. We have used it constantly. This is the best sightseeing buy in town.

The trams are great fun. A little old fashioned, they are all above ground and wind their way through the old city center giving you passing views of all the city’s most fascinating locations. The #2 line, which hugs the Danube from one end of the city to the other and affords great views of monumental government buildings, palaces and bridges, is my favorite.

The Budapest Metro is particularly interesting. It is the oldest electrified underground railway system on the European continent, and the second-oldest in the world, predated only by the 1890 City & South London Railway. Its iconic Line 1, completed in 1896, was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.

Line 1

The Metro has expanded over the years by renovating and adding new updated lines while preserving and restoring it’s older historic parts.

Lines 2 and 3 are newer but still date from the at least the 60s.

Stations on the 4 and 5 Lines represent more state of the art.