Budapest on a budget

Budapest is already cheaper than Vienna or Prague for food, drink and a bed. The gap widens considerably if you avoid a handful of specific traps and know what is free.

What costs nothing

More than in most capitals. Heroes' Square. The Danube promenade after dark, when the Parliament, the Chain Bridge and the Castle are all lit. The Shoes on the Danube memorial. Walking across the Chain Bridge. All of Margaret Island. The ground floor of the Great Market Hall. And the climb up Gellért Hill, which delivers the single best view in the city for the price of the walk.

The M1 metro costs a normal fare and is a UNESCO World Heritage site you happen to be riding in.

Where the money leaks

The exchange rate. Paying in euros, using a tourist-street exchange booth, or accepting a card terminal's offer to bill you in your own currency each cost a few per cent, and they compound over a week.

The service charge. Tipping on top of an already-added 12–15% is the most common single overpayment here.

Single transport tickets. A 24- or 72-hour travelcard costs less than a handful of them.

Eating cheaply and well

Lunch is where the value is. Many restaurants run a napi menü — a fixed-price daily lunch, two or three courses, aimed at people who work nearby. It is often a third of what the same kitchen charges in the evening.

Beyond that: market hall lunch counters, a lángos eaten standing up, and the neighbourhood places in Districts VIII, IX and XIII rather than V.

Sleeping cheaply

District VII is the cheapest of the central options and has the best hostels. District XIII gives you noticeably more room for the money and is ten minutes from the centre by tram. Avoid the Christmas market weeks and the Formula 1 weekend, when central prices spike hard.

Is the Budapest Card worth it?

Only if you are genuinely going to enter three or more paid museums a day. It includes public transport, which is where most of its value sits. For a trip built around baths, walking and eating, it is not.