Getting Around Győr
Győr sits halfway between Budapest and Vienna, on one of Central Europe's important road corridors, and its most interesting sights are concentrated in and around the centre. That makes the city pleasantly easy to explore on foot, with public transport and taxis filling in the gaps for longer hops or for reaching the station and outlying districts.
On Foot
Walking is the most practical way to see Győr. The main tourist attractions are in or around the city centre, which is walkable, and most streets of the old town are pedestrianised — including the square that periodically hosts the flower market. The historic core clusters around Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers (the Mosoni-Danube, Rába and Rábca), so a stroll between the cathedral, the bishop's residence at Püspökvár and the surrounding squares is the natural way to orient yourself.
Several bridges tie the centre to the districts across the water, and they are easy to cross on foot. The Rába Bridge connects the city centre at Bécsi kapu tér to Radó Island and onward to the Újváros district; the Petőfi Bridge links Petőfi square in Újváros with the East Downtown; the Béke Bridge joins Szent István road in the Downtown with the southern part of Újváros; and the Ifjúság (Youth) Bridge is a footbridge linking the north end of Radó Island with the beach entrance. Over the Moson-Danube, the Jedlik Ányos bridge connects the Sziget with the Révfalu quarter and carries pedestrians and cyclists alongside road traffic, while the Kossuth Bridge links Duna kapu square in the Downtown with Kálóczy square in Révfalu — worth crossing for the view where the Mosoni-Danube and the Rába meet.
Public Transport
Győr has no metro or tram network; local public transport is provided by buses, operated by the Kisalföld Volán Transport Company. Buses are the practical option for covering longer distances within the city, for example between the centre and the railway station or the university area.
One useful feature for visitors is the Free City Bus, which can be used by everyone to get anywhere in the Downtown Area. For the rest of the network, tickets and passes are available in the usual way from the operator; if you are arriving by train, note that the railway station itself has an e-ticket acceptance point and staffed ticket sales, so it is a convenient place to sort out onward travel.
Arriving by Train or Bus
Győr's railway station (Vasútállomás) is on Révai Miklós utca in the city centre, with domestic cash ticket sales daily and facilities including luggage lockers, lifts for disabled travellers, and a city and intercity bus stop. There is an ATM on the nearby Révai Miklós utca. Paying for tickets by card is usually possible, and you can often pay in euro (small bills are best), with change given in forints.
The bus station (Autóbuszállomás Győr) sits on Hunyadi utca, just south of the railway station, with an ATM inside available during opening hours. Having the two stations side by side makes transfers between bus and rail straightforward.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are a convenient fallback for trips that are awkward on foot or by bus, such as reaching the station with luggage or crossing to a district outside the centre.
Getting There from the Airport
Győr's own airport, Pér Airport (QGY), sees only private aviation traffic with the occasional holiday charter flight, so using it as an entry point essentially means arriving by your own or a chartered plane. For most visitors, the practical approach is to fly into one of the larger international airports in the wider region and continue overland.
- Bratislava (BTS), Slovakia — the closest option, mainly served by budget carriers such as Ryanair and Norwegian. It is about a 75-minute drive to Győr, or roughly two hours by bus.
- Vienna International Airport (VIE) and Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD) — almost equidistant from Győr and both offer a broad range of international and intercontinental connections. Travel time from either airport to Győr is under two hours by road. Eurolines runs a twice-daily service from Vienna International Airport to Győr.
By train, Győr has a fast connection with Budapest, with InterCity and RailJet services on the route, and it is also easily reachable from Austria, including direct trains from Vienna. From Bratislava you can get there by train but must change at least once. By bus, services run from Budapest's Népliget central bus station roughly hourly, and there is at least one bus a day from Vienna and from Bratislava; the Vienna bus leaves in the morning and the single return runs in the afternoon, with the journey taking a little over two hours. There is also a direct bus to Vienna Airport. If you are driving, the M1 motorway passes next to Győr and is the best choice from Budapest or Vienna, while from the south (for example the Lake Balaton area) you can reach the city via main roads No. 81 or No. 82.
Practical Tips
- Base yourself in or near the centre — most sights are within walking distance and much of the old town is pedestrianised.
- Use the Free City Bus for hops within the Downtown Area.
- Use the local bus network (Kisalföld Volán) for longer trips across the city.
- Buy rail tickets at the station, where card payment and euro are usually accepted; keep small euro notes if paying in cash.
- Remember that the bus and railway stations are adjacent, making bus–rail connections easy.
- If you are flying in, plan on Bratislava, Vienna or Budapest rather than Győr's own airfield.