Bicycling is an exciting way to explore Budapest, and while numerous tour companies offer enjoyable guided rides around the main attractions of Hungary’s capital, a few excursions present opportunities for visitors to discover hidden highlights beyond the city’s more prominent landmarks. Join a buzzing journey around downtown Pest’s best new-wave coffee bars, cycle to historic riverside Szentendre on a bike boosted with an electric engine, or pedal to a sunset garden party in the Buda Hills to share goulash with locals – you can do all this and more with these five Budapest bike tours.

Third Wave Coffee & Market Bike Tour by Budapest Bike

Coffeehouse culture and bicycling culture both have a fascinating history in Hungary’s capital stretching from the mid-1800s to the modern day. This tour welcomes visitors to experience them together, just like many locals still do every morning. Drink in Budapest’s beauty while touring the city center and stopping at three of the city’s most impressive new-wave cafés to try their carefully concocted coffee, ranging from creatively poured cappuccinos to trendy flat-white brews. This tour also highlights Budapest’s diverse market halls – many of them being ornately built architectural monuments – that continually bustle with tasteful commerce.

Starting point: Budapest Bike shop (Budapest 1077, Wesselényi utca 13)

Price: 12,000 forints per person (minimum 2 people) More details

Adventure Sightseeing Tour by Bike & Relax

See all of Hungary’s capital from street level to the peak of Buda’s highest hilltop with this fun excursion taking bikers to explore the city’s urban streets and peaceful forests within a few hours. The tour begins on stately Andrássy Avenue to pass the Opera House, Basilica, and Parliament before crossing Margaret Bridge toward Városmajor Park, where riders board Buda’s historic Cogwheel Railway, with plenty of room for their bikes aboard. This runs to the top of Szechényi Hill, where the panoramic Normafa parkland and Elizabeth Lookout Tower are just a short ride away. From here, cyclists can coast back downhill to downtown along leafy lanes.

Starting point: Bike & Relax HQ (Budapest 1061, Andrássy út 7)

Price: 9,990 forints per person (minimum 4 people) More details

Goulash Bike Tour by Budabike Tours

Now here’s a cycling safari that truly captures the Hungarian spirit: after meeting in central Pest at 4pm, the group visits Szabadság Square and Kossuth Square to admire the Parliament building before pedaling across the Danube and biking amid the Buda Hills. Here the two-wheelers stop at a charming local restaurant for a traditional garden party surrounding a big pot of goulash cooking over an open fire, while guests are welcome to enjoy glassfuls of domestic beer, wine, or pálinka brandy while enjoying the sunset colors and conversation with locals. The tipsy tour concludes with a nighttime ride returning downtown along the Buda riverbank.

Starting point: in front of the Basilica (Budapest 1051, Szent István tér 4)

Price: 79 euros per person (minimum 4 people); group discounts available More details

Family Bike Tours by Budapest Bike Breeze

Cycling is a splendid family activity, but for those unfamiliar with Budapest, it’s stressful to navigate the busy city streets while making sure that the little ones don’t veer off into traffic. Fortunately, the avid bikers who lead this tour know all of the city’s best routes for riders of all ages – their special offer for families with kids aged six to ten covers many of Budapest’s monumental sights while only traversing traffic-free side streets that are safe for everyone, while the company’s Easy Breezy Bike Tour is recommended for families with children aged ten to 16. Customers can select kid-size bikes or adult ones with child seats attached atop the back wheel.

Starting point: stairs of yellow Lutheran Church directly at Deák Square (Budapest 1052, Deák Ferenc tér 4)

Price: depends on tour and number of visitors. Easy Breezy Bike Tour is 6,500 forints per adult and 6,000 forints per student More details

Private E-bike Tour to Szentendre by Best Bike Tours Budapest

Nestled by the Danube bank about 20 kilometers north of Budapest, the charming settlement of Szentendre is a historic artists’ enclave of winding cobblestoned roads lined with galleries, museums and cute cafés. A long bicycle path takes riders from the heart of Hungary’s capital to this bucolic community, and with this tour visitors can ease the journey by using an E-bike boosted with a small electric motor providing extra power along the way. The standard version of this tour takes excursionists through downtown Pest to traverse Margaret Island before heading upriver, but bikes can also be delivered to your hotel to begin the tour there.

Starting point: Best Bike Tours Budapest HQ (Budapest 1052, Semmelweis utca 14)

Price: 20,000 forints per person More details