In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Ruin bars are drinking venues in the old courtyards of District VII, the Jewish Quarter. Instant-Fogas (Akácfa utca 49-51) is open daily 18:00 to 06:00 with free entry, and Füge Udvar (Klauzál utca 19-21) daily 16:00 to 05:00, also free to enter. Szimpla Kert, at Kazinczy utca 14, is the best known, and its programme is on its own concerts page. A crawl is listed from £4.25, usually about £8.50, for a guide, queue-skipping entry and free shots over five to six hours; drinks after that are extra. Drinking in the street is illegal, and the crawls are for adults only. Time Out says weekend nights mob the streets between Dob and Dohány utca. Or book a crawl: the Pub Crawl and Ruin Bar Tourad is from £4.25 (4.9 stars from 3,057 reviews, 5 to 5.5 hours).
The crawls, compared
All three crawls are run by a different operator, start in central Budapest from a meeting point that depends on the option booked, and are for adults only. GetYourGuide shows the lowest “from” price, which is a marked-down price, with the usual price in brackets.
| Crawl | Price | Venues | Length | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pub Crawl and Ruin Bar Tour, Free Shots and VIP Entryad, RuinBarCrawlBudapest | From £4.25 (usually about £8.50) | 4 to 5 venues, with VIP entry to Instant-Fogas, Füge Udvar, La Siesta and Humbak | 5 to 5.5 hours | 4.9 from 3,057 reviews |
| Strangers-to-Friends Ruin Pub Crawlad, Party Deck | From £4.25 (usually about £8.49) | 5 to 6 bars and clubs from a pool of over 10, including Instant-Fogas | 5 to 6 hours | 4.8 from 2,455 reviews |
| Ruin Bars Pub Crawl with Free Shots and VIP Entryad, Budapest Nightlife tours | From £4.19 (usually about £8.38) | 3 to 4 bars, then a club with skip-the-line entry | 5 hours | 5.0 from 1,238 reviews |
- What the price buys: a guide, queue-skipping entry and free shots; the listings do not include a drinks package, so you pay for drinks at each bar. A walking tour of the ruin bars, street art and the Jewish Quarter is a different product, from £52.83ad (4.9 stars from 15 reviews).
- The rules the operators print: the Party Deck listing says it is forbidden to drink in the street or to make noise, with fines of up to 400 euros, and that you will not be allowed to join if you arrive visibly drunk. RuinBarCrawlBudapest says drinking in public is illegal and that its crawl is not suitable for under-18s. Bring a passport or ID card.
- Alone, what a drink costs, according to Time Out: a beer of about HUF 1,600 at Instant-Fogas and HUF 2,000 at Szimpla Kert, and cocktails of HUF 2,500 to 3,000 at Instant-Fogas.
Tours worth paying for
The three crawls above are the ones with real reviews. The pick depends on the evening you want.
The most-reviewed crawl, ending at a club
From £4.25, usually about £8.50 · 4.9 stars from 3,057 reviews · 5 to 5.5 hours
Pub Crawl and Ruin Bar Tourad is run by RuinBarCrawlBudapest. You meet your guide at a central starting point, then move through four or five pubs, ruin pubs and clubs, with free welcome shots at every venue and skip-the-line entry to Instant-Fogas, Füge Udvar, La Siesta and Humbak. Digital photos are included. Under-18s are not allowed. Free cancellation.
A longer crawl with games
From £4.25, usually about £8.49 · 4.8 stars from 2,455 reviews · 5 to 6 hours
Strangers-to-Friends Ruin Pub Crawlad is run by Party Deck. The route covers five or six venues chosen from a pool of over ten on the night, according to opening times and crowds, with two or three drinking games at the first bar and free shots through the evening. The guide takes photos. Free cancellation.
The shortest crawl
From £4.19, usually about £8.38 · 5.0 stars from 1,238 reviews · 5 hours
Ruin Bars Pub Crawl with Free Shots and VIP Entryad is run by Budapest Nightlife tours. It visits three or four bars and finishes at a club with VIP skip-the-line entry and free shots. Free cancellation.
What to see
Time Out describes the original ruin bar as a neglected District VII courtyard, surrounded by empty flats, dressed with fairy lights, mismatched found furniture and odd artefacts, with a bar counter added. The bars below are all in or beside the quarter behind the Great Synagogue. The Dohány Street Synagogue and the Jewish Quarter is the daytime visit that goes with them.
The street front of Szimpla Kert on Kazinczy utca. Photo: Yelkrokoyade, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Szimpla Kert
Kazinczy utca 14 · nine bars · concerts · Szimpla
The bar Time Out calls the king of the ruin-bar scene: a big interior hung with random décor over two floors, with nine bars and over 400 drinks, and live shows and other entertainment as a regular thing. Time Out adds a farmers’ market on Sundays in the central courtyard. The operator’s site lists concerts, a drinks and food menu and a design shop.
Szimpla Kert’s courtyard, with mismatched furniture and a car body used as a table. Photo: JoshuaCrawford, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Instant-Fogas
Akácfa utca 49-51 · open daily 18:00 to 06:00 · free entry · seven clubs on one site
The operator calls it a party complex with seven clubs on one site and six dance floors in seven styles: Instant, Fogas, Unterwelt, Liebling, Frame, Robot and Level. Entry is free from 18:00 to 06:00, and tables can be reserved online with a discounted drink package (Instant-Fogas). Time Out says Fogas and Instant merged on one 1,200 sq m site in 2017, and advises pacing yourself, because it opens until 06:00.
Füge Udvar
Klauzál utca 19-21 · open daily 16:00 to 05:00 · free entry · four dance floors
A bar built round games, on 1,200 sq m, with four dance floors, hundreds of seats and dozens of games, among them billiards, ping-pong, air hockey and arcade machines. The operator says entry and table reservations are free (Füge Udvar). Next door, UdvarROM shows sport on many screens, and Doboz is across the street, which makes the Klauzál utca row an easy bar-to-bar walk, according to Time Out.
Csendes
Ferenczy István utca 5 · near Astoria · closes at midnight
Time Out says Csendes has the same décor as the District VII bars but is by the park at Károlyi kert, near Astoria, and closes at midnight, listing Tuesday to Saturday from 18:00. It is two venues, a ruin-bar-style pub and a wine bar at the end of the street.
Kőleves Kert
Kazinczy utca 41 · a garden bar attached to a restaurant
A garden bar attached to the Kőleves restaurant. Time Out says it may well be the best Kazinczy utca venue for catching the summer sun, with Budapesters outnumbering visitors.
The order: start at Szimpla Kert or Kőleves Kert on Kazinczy utca, then walk to Klauzál utca for Doboz, UdvarROM and Füge Udvar, and end at Instant-Fogas, which is the one still open at 06:00. What to skip: the crawls add a guide, games and queue-skipping, and Instant-Fogas and Füge Udvar say entry is free without one.
Rules and the one thing that ruins a night
- Street noise and drinking are the trouble. Drinking in public is illegal, and the crawl operators warn of fines of up to 400 euros for noise in the street. Finish the drink before you step out.
- Crowds: Time Out says weekend nights fill the streets between Dob and Dohány utca, in the party zone near Klauzál tér.
- The age rule: the crawls are not suitable for under-18s, and the operators ask for a passport or ID card.
- Sleeping nearby: both Time Out and Rough Guides warn of weekend noise in District VII. Where to stay in Budapest says which hotels are on the quieter side of the Grand Boulevard.
- The tickets do not cover transport, and the metro stops for the night; tram 6 runs round the clock: see Budapest public transport.
For the rest of the evening, Danube river cruises compares the boats that leave in the evening, and the Széchenyi Baths guide covers the bath that is open until 22:00 on Fridays; Budapest’s thermal baths compared covers the rest. For what to book before you go, see what to book before you go in Budapest. 3 days in Budapest and Budapest in one day fit the evening into the plan, and where to eat in Budapest lists dinner first. Two of the walks in Budapest food tours compared start in the same Jewish Quarter. The Hungarian Parliament and the other sights are best kept for the day after.
Common questions
What is a ruin bar in Budapest?
A bar in a once-neglected courtyard or building in District VII, the Jewish Quarter, furnished with mismatched found furniture and odd objects. Time Out describes them as courtyards surrounded by empty flats that locals filled with fairy lights, skip-found furniture and a bar counter. Szimpla Kert, at Kazinczy utca 14, is the best known.
Is entry to Instant-Fogas free?
Yes: the operator's site says free entry from 18:00 to 06:00, and the complex is open every day from 18:00 to 06:00. It stands at Akácfa utca 49-51 and holds seven clubs on one site. Füge Udvar, at Klauzál utca 19-21, also says entry is free, and opens daily from 16:00 to 05:00.
How much is a ruin bar crawl in Budapest?
The three most-reviewed crawls on GetYourGuide are listed from £4.19 to £4.25, which is a marked-down price: their usual price is about £8.38 to £8.50. The listings include a guide, queue-skipping entry and free shots, for five to six hours, and drinks beyond that are paid at each bar.
Is it legal to drink in the street in Budapest?
The crawl operators' own listings say drinking in public is illegal, and one says noise in the street can bring fines of up to 400 euros. Crawls are for adults only: the listings say they are not suitable for under-18s and ask for ID.
