Are you a person in love with all sorts of cats? Are you dreaming of eating and drinking surrounded by cats, and you don’t mind having a cat jumping onto your lap while sipping a Cappuccino? Cat Café is not worth visiting if you can’t stand the thought of cats, and if you are allergic to cats, you should probably head elsewhere as well. But, if you are a cat lover, is Cat Café in Budapest the ideal place to visit?
Cat Café is in Révay utca in Budapest, next to the famous Andrassy út, and close to the inner city and St. Stephen’s Basilica. On the menu, you can find hot and cold drinks and some snacks. The price level is similar to other cafés, so it is neither cheaper nor more expensive than what you will experience elsewhere. The question, therefore, remains – what’s up with the cats in Cat Café?
You don’t have to spend many seconds in the café before you see the cats. They are walking around like they would in a normal home. There is a basement, a ground floor, and a first floor in the café. The basement is mostly where the cats go to eat and use their toilets and where the rest of the guests also go to the toilet. Besides that, not much action takes place in the basement.
The ground floor has one special room in which there is quite a lot of toys available to the cats, and there are also benches where guests can sit and chat and drink and have a good time.
There are tables and chairs on the first floor, which has a more traditional café look and atmosphere. All in all, the cats are visible and you immediately see and notice that this is a cat café. But, is it worth visiting?
Is it worth visiting Cat Café in Budapest?
It is impossible to answer this 100%. It is, however, important to come to the café with the right expectations. The cats in the café are used to people, and some of them are probably quite tired of all the people coming around throughout the day. As a result, there is no guarantee that you will meet a cat that actually wants to be with you. What do I mean? You cannot be sure that a cat will jump into your lap and let you pet it. It is more likely that the cats will keep their distance, and if you approach them, they will go another way. A worst-case scenario is that a cat might try to bite you (if you are very annoying) or at least make some angry noises.
What is your expectation? The cats are beautiful and they are a joy to look at. If that satisfies you, Cat Café is a place to visit in Budapest. If you come with higher expectations and long for more intimacy with the cats, you might end up disappointed.
What about the quality of the drinks? They are absolutely fine, and will satisfy you in the same way most other cafés in Budapest will.
Cat Café Budapest
Address: Révay utca 3., Budapest Opening times: 10:00 – 21:00
Have you been to Cat Café in Budapest? How did you like it? Do you have any comments or questions? Use the comment field below!
Thank you for the question! This is a good question and, at times, a tricky question. The local government has removed more and more free parking spots in Budapest, but there are still some. Here we will write about some of those free parking spots.
First of all, in large parts of the city, it is free parking on Sundays and after 22.00 in the evening (on the other days). However, this is in general, so make sure to check it out as you park your car to know if this is valid for where you would like to park your card as well.
General advice is to never to leave valuables in your car because, as in all other cities, there are people in Budapest as well who like to steal valuables from cars, so if you have lots of valuable stuff in your car, you better go to a secure parking lot instead with guards, to make sure that you, your car and your values stay safe!
Free parking in Budapest
Campona
You must park outside the city center if you want 100% free parking in Budapest. You can park mostly anywhere in the 22nd district of Budapest and in other “outside districts” such as the 4th district, the 17th district, and many others. Still a better option is to park in the giant parking lot by the shopping mall Campona outside the city center of Budapest. From there, you can travel with public transportation buses to Moricz Zsigmond Korter, Bikas, Park, or Ujbuda center, and then you can travel further on with the green metro line to wherever you want to in Budapest
You can type Campona Budapest in your GPS and you will be taken to the mall and its giant parking lot. This is probably the best option right now if you want a 100% free parking in Budapest.
Market Central (Vecsés, Fő út 246-248)
This is a shopping area very close to Budapest Airport. Here you find all sorts of stores, such as Tesco, Praktiker, DM, kik, Deichmann, SportFactory, Lidl, Müller, Burger King, and many others. A large parking lot is in front of the complex, and you can leave your car here for free. From here you can travel by bus 200E towards Köbanya Kispest and travel on the blue metro line from there to the city center of Budapest.
The parking lot along the main road connects the city center with the airport. You should, of course, be careful with leaving valuables in the car, just like you should anywhere else in the city.
P+R parking in Budapest (not free, but very cheap).
It is hard to find free parking in Budapest at central locations, but there are a couple of P+R parking options that will allow you to leave your car at a cheap price and then travel on with public transportation to all of Budapest within a few seconds. These were completely free until July 1st in 2023, but they now require a payment. Luckily, they are still cheap, making them great options!
What is the price of the different P+R parking options in Budapest?
The price is 350 HUF per entrance (valid between 06.00 and 22.00). In other words, if you arrive at 8.00 and leave at 21.50, you only pay 350 HUF (less than 1 euro) for the entire parking time. If you leave your car there for the night, you need to pay 105 HUF per hour between 22.00 and 06.00. If you arrive at 10.00 on a Monday and leave the parking lot at 10.00 on a Wednesday, you will end up paying three-day tickets (3×350) and also 16 night hours (16×105). The end result is then 2730 HUF, approximately 7 euro. The parking lot is guarded, meaning that it should be considered fairly safe to leave your car in this and other P+R locations in Budapest for a couple of days
1) Etele tér P+R (not free, but cheap)
You can type this name into Google Maps, leading you to a big parking lot in Budapest. It is located next to a big shopping mall named Etele Plaza, and from here, you can travel by metro line 4 to Kalvin square and Fövam square which are central locations in Budapest. Be aware that many people use this option on weekdays, meaning it might be hard to find a free parking lot, but if you are patient and lucky, it should work out nicely!
2) Örmezö P+R (not free, but cheap)
This is located close to the first parking lot mentioned (Etele tér P+R), on the other side of the railway lines. It is the perfect place to start your trip to Budapest as you can leave your car for free and travel by metro to downtown. You can buy tickets at the metro station. If you’d rather travel by tram to central Budapest, that can also be done using tram 49.
3) KÖKI Terminál P+R (not free, but cheap)
This isn’t entirely free, but it is quite close to free. It is located next to metro line three (the blue line) and the station named Köbanya Kispest. It is a part of a giant mall, meaning that you can easily shop at this location besides parking your car.
The mall is between the main city center of Budapest and the international airport, making it ideal for those traveling between the city and the airport or who just want a good location for parking their car. It is possible to buy tickets for longer periods of time here, including a ticket valid for 30 days. Such long-term tickets must be bought in the parking office at the -1 level of the mall.
Above you can see the prices and tickets available for parking at Köki Terminal in Budapest.
4) Arena Plaza parking lot (this is not P+R, making it much more expensive than the other options)
The parking lot belonging to the Arena Plaza shopping mall can be used for free. It is not super central, but by walking a bit you can reach the Keleti Palyaudvar, and there you will find two metro lines, making it easy to get on from there in town.
November 2022 update. You can now only park for free for 2 hours in Arena Plaza. After this, all the following hours will cost 300 HUF (appx. 1 Euro). The parking lot is possible to use during the opening times of the Plaza itself.
5) Bikas Park (this is not P+R, so it is more expensive than the other options)
This is not very central, but this location has a metro station, and from here, you can easily travel to central locations using public transportation. It is also nice to know that this entire region has free parking, so if you cannot park at the large parking lot on the Bikas park, then you can also park for free in the streets around the park. Be aware of the fact that it is a local market at Bikas Park every Saturday, so all cars have to be removed from the spot before the market starts (they have to be removed latest on Friday evening before midnight).
This is a great place to leave your car if you come to Budapest by car and want to do a day of sightseeing before traveling in the evening. You can also leave your car here for days, but that isn’t a normal thing to do. If you leave your car here, make sure not to leave it from Friday to Saturday as it will be removed due to the market (a great local market in Budapest).
December 2022 update: The local government just changed its policy about Bikas park. Since December 5th in, 2022, you need to pay a parking fee here of 300 HUF per hour between 8:00 and 18:00 on weekdays. It is still free parking here on Saturdays after the market has finished (around 13.00) and on Sundays.
The taxis in Budapest does not have the best rumor in the world, and that is easy to understand. Watch out for how much you pay and for the change you get back as you use the taxis in Budapest.
Last week we arranged a guided tour for a nice group of Scandinavians in Budapest. They were a pleasant group and we had a great time together as we discovered Budapest together. Along the way the guide told them a couple of good advises concerning taxi traveling in Budapest:
Order your taxi from your hotel or your restaurant.
Do not jump on taxis on the street.
Watch out for the change they give you back, and especially pay attention to receive back money in the right currency.
The fact that a taxi is yellow does not guarantee you anything.
Those were the advises we gave. 48 hours later we met the group again to go on a half-day trip to Szentendre with wine tasting and more cool stuff. They had some interesting stories to tell by then!
Watch out for taxis in Budapest so that you will not be ripped off!
Some horrible Budapest taxi stories
First taxi rip-off in Budapest
First of all some of the ladies in the group had traveled alone. They jumped on a taxi on the street and by the time they reached their hotel he wanted them to pay 40,000 HUF (a normal fare in Budapest should cost between 1500-4000 HUF). They did not really know for sure how much that was by then, and the driver looked really scary, so they paid. It didn’t take much time before they knew they had been ripped off heavily.
Second taxi rip-off(s) in Budapest
Then it was interesting to hear that several other people in the group had experienced the same problem that we told them about during the guided tour. They paid for the taxi ride (which had a okay fare), but then it was time to receive the change. Instead of getting back 10,000 Hungarian Forint they receive Indonesian money (which has no value at all compared to the Hungarian Forint). Some others received change in another currency as well. Some of them discovered it and got really made at the driver (who according to the tourists almost peed in his pants), while someone only discovered that they had been tricked a few moments later.
Budapest taxi rip-offs
It is incredibly common with such rip-offs in Budapest. 95% of such things happen when you jump into a cab on the street. Avoiding such will save you from most trouble. But, stay alert and if you jump into a cab on the street, feel free to write down the number plate (before you enter) so that you have something to fight with in case there should be trouble in some kind of way. If you are afraid of a fight, do not jump on a taxi on the street instead.
The Norwegian airline named Norwegian is about to launch a new destination from Budapest. Until now Norwegian has only connected to Budapest to their bases in Scandinavia, but this summer they will launch a direct flight from Budapest to London Gatwick.
This is a big and interesting step for the Norwegian company, making them enter into the Hungarian market, not only competing on travels to Scandinavia, but also fighting for travelers going from Hungary to the UK.
If you are going to the UK, visit Norwegian.com and check if they might have the best prices available for you!
And if you are going to London, check out the London Guide for more information about the English capital.
Today is the day… the day when Metro 4 will open in Budapest. From 12.00 today, until Sunday evening it will be free to travel with the new metro line in Budapest, so if you are in town make sure to check it out!
The new metro line will travel from Kelenföld Városközpont to Keleti Pályaudvar, making eight stops in between the two stations. This will hopefully make it even easier to get from A to B in Budapest for tourists, because the metro system is easy to use and understand. To make everything easier, you can also find the new metro map for Budapest here! Enjoy!
Until know you have only been able to buy a very limited amount of public transportation tickets at Budapest Airport, but that is about to change.
Last week I noticed a temporary stand that has been placed in Terminal 2A where visitors can buy quite a lot of different public transportation tickets such as 1-day card, 3-day card, 7-day travel card, some group cards and single tickets. This is a great improvement, because earlier you had to buy single ticket at the airport and travel to Köhanya Kispest, and only there you could buy a one day pass, three day pass or a pass for one week.
At the moment this is a temporary stand, but as I asked them they said that in a while they will get a permanent stand looking nicer with an even larger amount of tickets for sale. So, if you want to travel from Budapest Airport using public transportation instead of a private airport transfer, then this makes it a whole lot easier.
There are lots of changes taking place in the taxi business in Budapest. The most visible change is that more and more taxis are turning yellow. Another change is that fares are going up.
Until now visitors coming to Budapest just jumping in a taxi at the airport would get a set fee based on what area of the city they were going to, at least if they used the official Airport Taxi company named Fő Taxi. Due to the changes this has now changed, and you will not be able to know the price of your ride to your Budapest hotel before you actually arrive, because how much you pay is based on the length of your ride in kilometer and in time. The fee you pay per kilometer and the initial fee for just jumping into a taxi has also been raised. The new initial fee is 450 HUF and the new kilometer fee is 280 HUF.
For you as a tourist this means that traveling with taxies in Budapest has gotten more expensive, but do not be afraid, it is still cheap (if you are not tricked). As you come to Budapest Airport your taxi towards the city center has also gotten more expensive, maybe with 1500-2000 HUF compared to earlier. This means again that our fares for prebooked and private airport transfers cost exactly the same as if you just jump into a taxi at the airport, however you will know the price beforehand and you do not have to fear that you are being tricked by a driver taking slow roads, standing in lines on purpose and so on.
The reason that I came up with the idea to write this article is as follows. Once a month I get visitors from the Netherlands (they are really curious about the city I fell in love with and of course they are also happy to see me) and my ‘’duty’’ is to show them around the city. When the first person came to visit me, I made a ‘’ Budapest Tour’’ and now I use this route for all my visitors. I would like to share this route with you, because it can be useful for you too maybe! The route shows all the great sightseeing attractions in Budapest and nice places to lunch or have a coffee along the way!
The starting point is Déak Ferenc Tér. If you come by subway take the exit that says Erszébet Tér and the first thing you will see is Starbucks. If you are still a little bit sleepy have a cup of coffee here. Otherwise, skip this place and go to the left to Fashion Street. At the end of this street is Vörösmarty tér (This weekend there is an Easter Fair!). If you go to the left you are in Váci Utca, the main shopping street. I do not recommend buying souvenirs here since they are quite expensive. If your visitors want to buy souvenirs I would like to recommend buying these in the Central Market Hall at the end of Váci Utca.
After visiting the Market Hall cross over the Liberty Bridge, enjoy the amazing view and make yourself ready to climb the Gellért Hill. If you have reached the top of the hill go down and walk along the river till you see the train, Sikló, that brings you to the Castle District. Halfway (when you pass the Palace), have lunch at the first café you see (on the corner of the street). They have nice sandwiches and Latte Macchiatto (or other coffees). After the lunch bring a visit to the Fisherman’s Bastion, the Matthias Church and walk through the narrow and cozy streets.
As you leave the Castle Hill walk down Ostrom street you will soon see Mammut shopping Mall (it’s up to you if you want to stop here to do some shopping or to go to Starbucks for example). You can walk to Elizabeth Bridge or you can take the tram 4 or 6 to Jászai Mari Tér. If you get off the tram go to the left (you will see the Parliament already). It’s nice to walk along the Danube to the Parliament. After visiting the Parliament show them the statue of Imre on the bridge and walk hand in hand with Ronald Reagan. Then walk further to the Basilica. After visiting the Basilica you are just only a few minutes away from Andrassy Út and that means time for a tea break in one of the cozy tea houses in Andrassy Út, the Book café in Alexandra Bookstore or you can go to for example La Delizia, the Chocobar or SUGAR. These are all close to Andrassy Út !
If you still have energy after an extensive walking day you can walk to City Park at the end of the street. My visitors and I do this always the next day (combining City Park with relaxing in Szechenyi Spa).
You can go for dinner in Nagymezö Utca (this street has many nice restaurants, for example Két Szerecsen) and have some drinks in the ruïn pub Instant (also in this street).
I will arrive to Budapest Airport around 23.30 and wonder how to get to the city center? When does the last public transportation bus leave from the airport?
Thank you for the question! The last bus (200E) that leaves from the airport to Köbánya Kispest (where you can change to the metro) leaves from Budapest Airport at 22.52 every night. That is quite early, but this is timed in such a way that you will get to Köbánya Kispest just in time to reach the last metro leaving from there at 23.15 (if the bus is a bit delayed you will though not reach the last metro).
In your case this means that you will not reach the last bus and be able to use public transportation with such a late arrival. You could therefore consider a private airport transfer, or the usage of the official Airport Taxi or a minibus shuttle at the airport. The usage of the minibus shuttle is probably the cheapest, but then you will not be able to leave the airport at once, but you will have to wait for a while for a group to come together, and only then you will leave the airport, which is not the best, at least not when you are tired and want to get to your hotel in a hurry!
I have seen on another website that Hungarian citizens and citizens of the European union over 65 years travel free of charges in the transportation network of Budapest? Is that truly so?
Thank you for the question. The answer to your question is yes. People aged 65 or more travel free of charge with the public transportation in Budapest as long as they have a passport confirming their age. But, it is not enough that the passport confirms their age, it also needs to show that the person traveling comes from an EU nation or an EEA nation. If your passport confirms your age above 65 and home country (within the EU or EEA), then you can use the public transportation system in Budapest for free.
This question was originally answered in 2012, but as of August 29th in 2017 the answer remains the same. Let us all hope the answer will not change in the near future.
Do pensioners travel free in Budapest with public transportation?
If you have further comments or questions related to this, please use the comment field beneath.
Are there any free parking spots in Budapest?
Until know you have only been able to buy a very limited amount of public transportation tickets at Budapest Airport, but that is about to change.
Thank you for the question! The last bus (200E) that leaves from the airport to Köbánya Kispest (where you can change to the metro) leaves from 
I have seen on another website that Hungarian citizens and citizens of the European union over 65 years travel free of charges in the transportation network of Budapest? Is that truly so?
