Budapest has taken away its parking machines. Since 1 July 2026 there are no street meters left, and the district offices put it in one line: parking can only be paid by mobile — app, text or call. Arrive without a working way to pay by phone and you have no legal way to park on the kerb.
The other number comes before the city: the motorway e-vignette. A day for a car is 5,550 Ft, ten days 6,900 Ft, and the state operator warns that a vignette bought for today counts from the moment of purchase, not retroactively. Driving without one costs a 27,790 Ft supplementary fee.
Two towns across one river, and the hill in the middle
On an autumn morning the Buda side often sits in mist while the Pest boulevards are already warm and loud. The Danube does the orienting for you: the castle and the hills on the Buda bank, the Parliament and the flat grid of streets on the Pest side. Drivers look patient until a tram rings behind them.
Driving up Castle Hill, and the day vignette bought too late
I would not drive up into the Castle District. A visitor may enter without a permit only if the destination is inside the protected zone, and entry to exit is 15 minutes; stay longer and you pay the protected-zone tariff, one and a half times it from the first full hour. Come in by Palota út or Hunyadi János út and you must leave by Palota út. The garage under the palace is the way up.
The second trap is the day vignette: 5,550 Ft, only 1,350 Ft less than ten days. For a long weekend buy the ten-day, before the slip road. A news report mentions a 60-minute window after joining; I would not test it.
Rákóczi tér, where District VIII does its shopping
The Rákóczi tér Market Hall is where the neighbourhood shops, not the coach tours: Monday 06:00–16:00, Tuesday to Friday until 18:00, Saturday until 13:00, closed Sunday. Budapest Közút runs a 98-space garage under and in front of it, open 24 hours, a minute from trams 4 and 6; the tariff is on the board, not online. I go on a weekday morning.
Set up Hungarian phone parking before you cross the border
The rule: have a working way to pay by phone before you arrive. There is no machine and no cash on the street any more. Payment runs through the national mobile payment system — app, SMS or call — with the zone code on the sign: 0501 in District V. The convenience fee was abolished on 16 March 2026, so you pay only the tariff.
Whether a foreign SIM works for SMS and calls is not published. Install the state's app, Nemzeti Mobilfizetési Rendszer, at home and test it.
Parking in Budapest: 800 Ft in District V, three hours at most, and a garage under the palace
Budapest prices the kerb by district. District V, Parliament and inner city, is zone A: 800 Ft an hour, working days 08:00–22:00, maximum three hours. District VII charges 800 Ft until 22:00 in its central zones and 600 Ft until 20:00 in the outer one. Not paying in District V costs 13,600 Ft within 15 days, 32,800 Ft after.
Garages have no three-hour limit. Várgarázs 3, opened in July 2025 under the western side of Castle Hill, is 1,000 Ft an hour and 12,000 Ft for 24 hours, 250 spaces, lifts to the palace. At WestEnd, beside Nyugati station, the underground garage is 600 Ft an hour (500 Ft with the WestEnd app) but open only 08:00–23:00; the open-air lot runs round the clock at 4,000 Ft for 24 hours. Arena Mall by Keleti station charges 200 Ft for the first hour, then 400 Ft an hour.
My pick for a day in Pest is the WestEnd open-air lot: five hours of kerb money, no limit.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Várgarázs 3 (Castle garage)Entrance on Palota út, under the western side of Castle Hill; lifts up to the palace | 1,000 Ft an hour, 12,000 Ft for 24 hours since 1 July 2026. 250 spaces on four levels, opened July 2025. | Charging points on site; price not published. |
| WestEnd City CenterVáci út 1-3, beside Nyugati station | Underground garage 600 Ft an hour (500 Ft with the WestEnd app), open 08:00–23:00 only. The open-air lot is open 24 hours: 2,500 Ft for 12 hours, 4,000 Ft for 24 hours. | AC and DC chargers advertised; price not published. |
| Arena MallKerepesi út 9, by Keleti station | 200 Ft for the first hour, then 400 Ft for each started hour from 1 July 2026. 2,800 spaces; entry 05:00–24:00, exit round the clock. No daily cap published. | Chargers suspended for technical reasons at the time of writing. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Etele P2 P+R, Kelenföld | 500 Ft ≈ €1.4 | 500 Ft covers 06:00–22:00; at night it is 300 Ft an hour. BKK says most larger P+R car parks are free, so this is the paid end. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | WestEnd City Center | 1200 Ft ≈ €3.3 | garage 08:00–23:00; 4,000 Ft is the open-air lot's 24 hours |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, District V (zone A) | 1600 Ft ≈ €4.4 | Phone payment only since 1 July 2026, zone code 0501. Three hours at most. Not paying is 13,600 Ft within 15 days, 32,800 Ft after. Free at weekends and on public holidays. |
| A full day (10 h) | Etele P2 P+R, Kelenföld | 500 Ft ≈ €1.4 | 500 Ft covers 06:00–22:00; at night it is 300 Ft an hour. BKK says most larger P+R car parks are free, so this is the paid end. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | WestEnd City Center | 4000 Ft ≈ €10.9 | garage 08:00–23:00; 4,000 Ft is the open-air lot's 24 hours |
| 24 hours | WestEnd City Center | 4000 Ft ≈ €10.9 | garage 08:00–23:00; 4,000 Ft is the open-air lot's 24 hours |
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Towed in Budapest: No central pound: Budapest tows district by district
There is no single pound: each district tows to its own yard or a contractor's, so first work out which district you were in. District II's contractor, Szira Károly, keeps cars at Harmat utca 224: +36 1 260 3919, dispatcher +36 1 346 5645. Óbuda, District III, uses its own guarded yard at Pók utca 1 or a partner yard in Csömör, and answers +36 1 453 2618 around the clock.
Óbuda is the one district I found that prints prices: 17,250 Ft to tow, 1,200 Ft per started day, 11,500 Ft for a clamp, paid at its office at Mozaik utca 7 in business hours. District V's office is on +36 1 872 7593; its towing page would not load, so its yard and price are not given here. No district lists documents; I would bring passport, registration and key.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- There is no central pound. Each district's public-space supervision (közterület-felügyelet) tows to its own yard or a contractor's — for obstruction, blocking public transport, the whole pavement, a hidden sign, or unpaid parking in a paid zone
- Phone
- Óbuda-Békásmegyer (District III) public-space supervision, 24 hours: +36 1 453 2618
District II towing contractor, Szira Károly: +36 1 260 3919
District II dispatcher centre: +36 1 346 5645
District V public-space supervision (towing page not published online): +36 1 872 7593 - Collect it at
- Depends on the district. District III: OBKF yard, Pók utca 1 or a partner yard in Csömör. District II: Szira Károly's yard, Harmat utca 224. District V's yard is not published.
- Hours
- District III answers its phone 24 hours; you pay at its office, Mozaik utca 7, in business hours, which it does not list. Other districts' hours are not published.
- What it costs
- District III publishes 17,250 Ft to tow, 1,200 Ft per started day of storage, 11,500 Ft for a wheel clamp, and 50% of the tow fee if the tow is stopped. Cars are kept up to six months. Other districts publish no price I could read.
- Bring
- No district lists documents. I would bring passport, registration document and key; for a hire car, ring the rental company first.
EV charging in Budapest: MOL Plugee at the filling stations, chargers under the Castle
MOL Plugee runs the chargers at MOL stations. Its price page would not load for me; a Hungarian EV drivers' site, in a table last updated January 2025, lists 219 Ft per kWh AC, 269 Ft DC up to 99 kW and 289 Ft from 100 kW. Check the app before you plug in.
Várgarázs 3 has charging points and WestEnd advertises AC and DC chargers; neither prints a price. Arena Mall's chargers are suspended at the time of writing.
Where to charge
- MOL Plugee — 219 Ft/kWh AC in a January 2025 table — Chargers at MOL filling stations across Budapest. MOL's own price page would not load. villanyautosok.hu, a Hungarian EV drivers' site, lists 219 Ft per kWh AC, 269 Ft DC up to 99 kW and 289 Ft from 100 kW, last updated January 2025. Check the app for today's price
- Várgarázs 3 — chargers under the Castle — Várgarázs 3, entrance on Palota út. Charging points in the new garage; price not published. Parking is 1,000 Ft an hour, 12,000 Ft for 24 hours. My pick for a Castle visit
- WestEnd — AC and DC by Nyugati — WestEnd City Center. AC and DC chargers advertised; price not published. The garage closes at 23:00
Free parking in Budapest: Free weekends in District V, and a P+R for the price of a ticket
District V charges on working days only, so Saturday, Sunday and public holidays are free — the one time you park by the Parliament for nothing. Elsewhere read the sign; a parking-guide site says most zones are free on Saturday, not all.
On weekdays, park and ride. BKK, the city's transport authority, says most larger P+R car parks are free, about 3,800 spaces, Kelenföld on metro M4 the biggest at around 1,500. The paid ones are cheap: Etele P2 at Kelenföld is 500 Ft for the day, 06:00–22:00, then 300 Ft an hour at night, cash, card or the Parkl app. In 2025 the city set that day rate at one ticket, 450 Ft; the operator now shows 500 Ft, and I follow the operator.
Free or nearly-free spots
District V's kerb on weekends and holidays
District V charges 800 Ft an hour on working days 08:00–22:00 only, so on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays the kerb by the Parliament is free. Elsewhere read the sign: a parking-guide site says most zones are free on Saturday, but not all.
Most larger P+R car parks are free
BKK says most of the larger park-and-ride car parks are free, about 3,800 spaces in all; Kelenföld on metro M4 has around 1,500. The paid ones charge one ticket's worth for the day: Etele P2 is 500 Ft from 06:00 to 22:00, then 300 Ft an hour at night.
Arena Mall: 200 Ft for the first hour
By Keleti station, 2,800 spaces, 200 Ft for the first hour and 400 Ft an hour after — half the District V kerb, and metro M2 and M4 at Keleti.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- Since 1 July 2026 there are no parking machines and no cash: pay by app, SMS or call with the zone code on the sign. Whether a foreign SIM works for SMS or calls is not published.
- District V: 800 Ft an hour, working days 08:00–22:00, three hours at most. Not paying costs 13,600 Ft within 15 days, 32,800 Ft after.
- Castle District: a visitor may drive in without a permit only to a destination inside, and entry to exit is 15 minutes; longer is charged at the protected-zone rate, 1.5 times from the first full hour.
- Motorway e-vignette for a car: 5,550 Ft a day, 6,900 Ft for ten days, 11,170 Ft a month. A same-day vignette is valid from the moment of purchase, not retroactively. Supplementary fee 27,790 Ft within 60 days, 95,730 Ft after.
- Towing is district by district, with no central pound. District III charges 17,250 Ft plus 1,200 Ft a day; other districts publish no price I could read.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.