Are there any free parking spots in Budapest?
Are there any free parking spots in Budapest?Thank you for the question! This is a good question and, at times a tricky question. The local government has removed more and more of the 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 just to know if this is valid for where you would like to park your card as well.
General advice is to never to leave values 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
Some parking spots are free all the time, and these are some of them.
1) Etele tér P+R
You can type this name into Google Maps and it will lead you to a free 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
This is located close to the first parking lot mentioned (Etele tĂ©r 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
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 price for parking between 06.00 and 22.00 is 350 HUF (in total). It is free to park your car in the mall at night.
4) Arena Plaza parking lot
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 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.
Hello,
I would like to ask You, if I can leave a car in Arena Plaza also at night (when shopping mall is closed).
Thanks for your response!
Hello,
as far as we know, that should be possible, meaning that you can park in Arena Plaza, also at night.
Update: It can not be left there during the night, only during the opening hours of the plaza itself!
It is only possible to park in Arena Plaza during the opening times for the mall itself. Most stores close at 20.00, but the cinema is open until approximately 24.00 every day. In other words, you can not park in the mall at night.
Is it possible that the parking at 56-osok tere is not free any longer? Parked there 2 days ago for 1 night (round about 20 hours) and got fined for 20000 HUF (65 Euro). Every car had at least one fine (some even up to 7 fines), but when i parked my car the night before not one single car had one. Kind of mysterious. What do you think?
Is it possible that that`s a fake?
Thanks for your Response!
Hello, as far as I know, you know need to pay for your parking at the 56-osok tere (360 HUF per hour), so it might be a real fine you got. I must say that the fine was extremely high (compared to the parking fines you get elsewhere in the city), but maybe it is some special system for such fines in that area.
The parking place at Hosok ter is unfortunately not free anymore.
This tutorial is useless. You can’t find this names despite Plaza in Google Maps
I just searched for both Bikas park and Arena Plaza in Google Maps, and could easily find them both! Make sure to write Budapest as well after either Bikas Park or Arena Plaza!
So, at Arena Plaza you can park your car for free? Thanks a lot!
Yes 🙂
Is it free to park your car in Budapest on Saturday and Sunday?
In general, yes – but not everywhere, so you better check for sure at the location you would like to park before you leave your car there.
If i arrived at the plaza after they closed can i still park? Thank u!
Hello,
you can not park your car in the plaza when the mall is closed. It is only possible to park there during the opening times of the plaza (which is from approximately 6.00 in the morning until midnight)… The Tesco store inside is the first to open in the morning, and the cinema is the last to close in the evening.
So let me check if I got this write. If you park in Arena Plaza, first 3 hours are free and if you stay more would it be one or five hours you will pay 300 Huf ?
Hello,
you will pay 300 HUF for every single hour exceeding the 3 hour free limit. So, if you park for 5 hours you will pay 600 HUF.
5h of course if you stay 5h. Because you pick up the ticket at 10:00 and if you stay untill 15:00 you will pay whole time spent.
I want to make sure if it’s free to park in this street Városligeti fasor? Or in Budapest Park parkoló?
Thanks
Varosligeti fasor is not free for parking on weekdays… The Budapest Park parking lot (which is far from the city center) is far outside the center, so not ideal… when it comes to price, I am not sure.
Westend, külső parkoló 1.000Ft/day
Very good price (IMHO).
From there you can have Bolt taxy to center at about 2.000Ft.
I parked for 4 days there all day & night and it was all good.
Unfortunatelly, last year+ this is not the case. You can leave it there only 2 hours for free.
Hello, does every parkolo have same price of 1000 huf/h?
Thank you
Hello, any update on this for the year 2022 for Etele tér P+R and Örmezö? Is it still free?
It is still free, and hopefully, it will not change in 2023!
Hi,
All the best i New Year, is it safe to leave the car for 72hours at Etele tér P+R or Örmezö P+R (it is not expensive car)
I’d say yes, at least just as secure as parking your car elsewhere in Budapest. But, of course, you shouldn’t leave values at visible locations in the car etc…
Hi there, is parking at Etele tér P+R still free?
Yes, it is still free, but it is now harder to find a free spot since the street in the vicinity has turned into areas where you need to pay. But if you are lucky enough to find a free spot, you can park there without paying.
Thanks a lot. Is there any recommendation for other free parting, if that is unavailable?
It depends on whether you plan to stay for a long time or just a few hours. The parking at the Bikas park (nearby) “only” costs 300 HUF per hour, meaning that you can stay there for 3-4 hours and only pay 3 Euro in total. Be aware that there is a maximum time for parking there, meaning that you cannot leave your car there for the full day because you can only pay for a few hours at the same time.
You could consider going to Savoya Park (2km away from Etele P+R) and then travel from there with the tram 17 or 48 towards the city center. Tram 48 takes you all the way to Deak ter (city center), while tram 17 takes you to Moricz Zsigmond Korter where you can change to metro line 4 or other trams or buses taking you to the city center.
This is a big mall area with a big grocery store and other stores, and there are always lots of free parking lots available. They do not have cameras etc, so might not be the best place to leave a beautiful car for days, but in general, it works well as parking.