The traffic in 1860s Budapest was so bad that the National Assembly decided to build a central railway station. In the World Wars, Keleti was a prime target for enemy attacks, and was mostly destroyed, then rebuilt. Still, it’s retained its original character: giant and imposing, it will remind you of any Victorian station in the UK.

The word Keleti means “eastern”. This one may look impressive enough to be a central or main station, but its nationalisation in the 1890s made the old “central” tenet irrelevant. But it remains Hungary’s busiest, with over 400 trains passing through it every day.

While the station was being rebuilt yet again in the late 20th century, it got a brand new, highly impressive interior. This was also when a metro station was built underneath.

Fun fact: a swimming pool used to stand directly in front of the over-ground station. No, not for leisure. It was used for air defence in wartime. Don’t ask us how that would work.

Address: 

1027 Budapest, Baross tér

Opening hours:

Monday – Sunday: 03.00 – 00.00