Budapest has proverbially good public transport which has become increasingly foreigner-friendly to use. Maps are to be found at more and more tram stops, ticket vending machines now tend to speak in several languages. If I were you, I would walk and walk and walk, before using the underground and tram lines. But at least they are never blocked by cars, which have multiplied insanely. Bus routes are more difficult to find out about. If you remember - apart from the three underground lines - Tram 2 (on the Pest riverfront) and Trams 4 and 6 on Grand Boulevard , you will be able to get to pretty much everywhere you are unwilling to walk to.

You are likely to find The Budapest Citymap for Tourists very useful; it is published by Budapest Transport Ltd, and available from ticket vendors in the larger underground passages. (There is a uniform tram and bus ticket now. You can buy a day ticket, a "tourist ticket" for 3 days or a week card. For the latter you don't need a photo, just an ID of your own.

The real Budapest patriots often use the underground and admire the lamps in the carriages on line 2 (the Red Line). These lamps reflect the thirties in Russia . Budapest citizens are not surprised if caught in a hurricane on one of the endlessly long escalators. (That's how the metro is ventilated.) And they are wary of pickpockets.