The Libegő: Budapest's secret chairlift and the hills most tourists never see

Most people who visit Budapest spend their entire trip on the Pest side. The Parliament, the ruin bars, the Great Market Hall — all flat, all walkable, all on the same bank of the Danube. They never cross over to look at what the Buda hills actually are.

The Buda hills are a proper forest. Deer, wild boar, marked hiking trails, viewpoints with no crowds. And somewhere in those hills, bolted to a slope above the Zugliget valley, is a chairlift that's been running since 1970. Budapest locals call it the Libegő. Most tourists have never heard of it.

What exactly is the Libegő and why does it exist?

The word libegő means "hovering" or "floating" in Hungarian — which is exactly what it feels like. You sit in an open two-person chair, your feet dangling, and the cable pulls you slowly up the side of János Hill through the treetops. The journey takes about 15 minutes each way.

At the bottom is Zugliget, a quiet residential neighbourhood on the western edge of the city. At the top is the summit of János Hill — 527 metres above sea level, the highest point in Budapest — with the Erzsébet Lookout Tower, forest trails, and a café.

Budapest is the only European capital with a chairlift inside its city limits. Most Budapestians know this. Almost no tourists do.

The chairlift is operated by BKK, the same company that runs the trams and metro. It's genuine public transport, not a tourist attraction. That's part of what makes it special — on weekends you'll ride up next to families with small children, elderly locals going for their Sunday walk, teenagers with bikes. It's a window into a completely different side of city life.

How do you get to the Libegő from the city centre?

Take bus 291 from Nyugati station or Margit híd (budai hídfő) to the final stop — Zugliget, Libegő. The bus ride takes about 26 minutes. The lower station of the chairlift is right at the bus stop — you can't miss it.

From central Pest it's around 40 minutes door to door. If you're coming by Bolt or taxi it's about 20 minutes from the city centre. If you're cycling, the Buda hills roads are beautiful but steep — most people take the bus up and cycle back down through the forest roads.

What is there to do at the top of János Hill?

More than most people expect. The summit area has been recently renovated — a new leisure park with pavilions, a wheelchair-accessible lookout terrace, and a café where you can sit with a coffee and look out over the city below.

The Erzsébet Lookout Tower is the main attraction at the top. It was built in 1910 and from the top you can see Parliament, the Danube, Buda Castle, and on a clear day, the Pilis mountains beyond the city. It costs a small entrance fee and takes about 10 minutes to climb. Go on a clear morning — midday haze ruins the views.

From the upper station you can also walk to the Children's Railway (Gyermekvasút) at Jánoshegy station — a narrow-gauge railway staffed almost entirely by children aged 10–14 that runs through the Buda hills to Széchenyi-hegy. It's one of the more surreal and charming things in Budapest and takes you to a completely different part of the hills.

The Children's Railway has been running since 1948. The train drivers and conductors are primary school students. The only adults are the engineers. It is completely real and completely wonderful.

If you want to hike, there are marked trails from the summit going in multiple directions. The most popular is the descent back toward Zugliget through the forest — about 45 minutes of easy downhill walking. You can take the chairlift one way and hike the other, which is what most locals do.

Is the Libegő worth it for a half-day trip?

Yes — and it's one of the best half-day trips you can do in Budapest without leaving the city. The combination of chairlift up, Erzsébet Tower, coffee at the top, and a walk or Children's Railway down fills a comfortable 3–4 hours. It costs almost nothing. And almost nobody from your hotel will be doing the same thing that day.

The best time to go is a weekday morning in good weather. Weekends get busier with local families — which is charming but means queues at the chairlift. Avoid rainy days not because the ride is unpleasant but because the views from the tower are pointless in cloud.

One practical note: the chairlift closes on alternating Mondays throughout the year for maintenance. In 2026, upcoming maintenance days include May 26, June 8 and 22, July 6 and 20. Always check the official BKK website at bkk.hu before making the trip — arriving at a closed chairlift station is a long bus ride for nothing.

What do locals actually do up there?

Mostly walk. The Buda hills are where Budapest residents go when they need to breathe. Families with dogs, retired couples doing their regular Sunday circuit, runners on the forest trails. There's a calm up there that's completely different from the city ten kilometres away.

Normafa, a meadow and recreation area about a 20-minute walk from the summit, is the traditional picnic and sledding spot for Budapest families. In winter it fills with children. In summer it's a quiet clearing with food stalls, a playground, and people lying in the grass. It doesn't feature in any guidebook but every local knows it.

If you want to understand what Budapest life actually looks like — not the tourist version but the ordinary Sunday version — take the Libegő on a clear morning, walk to Normafa, eat something from the stalls, and watch the city breathe. This is what Dwello hosts would take you to see.