Sights · 37 of the best in Budapest
The Millennium Underground: Continental Europe’s first metro
The back story
About The Millennium Underground: Continental Europe’s first metro
In 1896, Hungary celebrated the thousandth anniversary of the arrival of the Magyars with a great Millennium exhibition in City Park. To carry visitors there, Budapest built an underground railway beneath Andrássy Avenue, the first on the European continent.
Built for the Millennium
The Millennium celebrations of 1896 brought Heroes’ Square, a great exhibition in City Park and the underground, built in less than two years by the cut-and-cover method just under the street.
A World Heritage line
The line, with its little stations faced in tiles and wood, runs from Vörösmarty Square to beyond City Park. Together with Andrássy Avenue it is part of the Budapest UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The M1 was running under Andrássy Avenue before Paris had a metro.
Our advice: ride the M1 from Vörösmarty tér to Hősök tere (Heroes’ Square) with an ordinary ticket, then walk back down Andrássy Avenue past the Opera.
Why it's on our list
- Built for the Millennium
- The first on the Continent
- A UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Riding it today
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The Millennium Underground: Continental Europe’s first metro before you go.