🇫🇷 Cross-border drive · France → Hungary 🇭🇺
Driving from Lyon to Budapest
- Drive time
- 14h 42m
- Distance
- 1,390 km
- Same day?
- Split it
- 12 h+, plan a stop
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €204
- petrol · diesel ≈ €177
- Tolls
- ≈ €103
- mixed
- EV charging
- Plenty fast
- 25 of 99 ≥50 kW
On this page
Route map
Route options
Other paths OSRM found between the two cities — handy when traffic, tolls, or scenery matter more than raw speed.
Avoids motorways
+8h 22m- Distance:
- 1,441 km (+51 km)
- Duration:
- 23h 4m
Via: B 16 · 1 · M85 · B 311
How else can you make this trip?
Driving is the focus of this guide; here's how cycling, coach, and (soon) train and plane stack up for the same pair.
14h 42m
1.390 km · €204 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
1.390 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
20h 31m
FlixBus-eu
See details ↓
18h 11m
SNCF VOYAGEURS · RER
See details ↓
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Overnight recommended
Too long for a single-driver day. Plan on 1 overnight stop(s) to do this trip right.
A natural overnight stop near the halfway point: San Stino di Livenza (it).
- Distance:
- 1,390 km
- Duration:
- 14h 42m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne 🇫🇷 fr
≈174 km≈ 5.1 km detour from the main route
-
Santhià 🇮🇹 it
≈347 km≈ 4.8 km detour from the main route
-
Brescia 🇮🇹 it
≈521 km≈ 2.7 km detour from the main route
-
Zero Branco 🇮🇹 it
≈695 km≈ 2.6 km detour from the main route
-
Postojna 🇸🇮 si
≈869 km≈ 14.7 km detour from the main route
-
Maribor 🇸🇮 si
≈1,042 km≈ 10.9 km detour from the main route
-
Marcali 🇭🇺 hu
≈1,216 km≈ 13.9 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Multi-country chain · FR → IT → SI → HR → HU
You'll cross 5 countries on this drive — each with its own toll system, fuel pricing, and motorway rules. Skim the must-know section below before you set off, and have your registration plus insurance card in the door pocket for any roadside check.
Tolls on motorways in FR / IT / HR
Budget for motorway tolls — France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal charge per-km, Croatia and Greece by section. Contactless cards work almost everywhere; have one loaded.
Vignette required in SI / HU
Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Romania require a sticker or e-vignette for motorway use. Buy at the border — missing one is a heavy on-the-spot fine.
Long rural stretch on T4 Autostrada del Frejus
Plan for about 33 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Long rural stretch on RA13
Plan for about 16 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Must-know before you go
The things a driver from another country wouldn't think to ask about — fines, stickers, payment cards, opening hours.
City access & emission zones
Order your Crit'Air sticker before the trip
Must knowParis, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Toulouse and a growing list of cities require a Crit'Air air-quality sticker visible on your windscreen — even for a single drive-through. It's €4.51 from the official site and ships by post (allow 2–6 weeks abroad). Without it, expect on-the-spot fines from €68. Your registration document tells the issuer your emission class.
ZTL cameras read your plate from any country
Must knowItalian historic centres (Florence, Rome, Milan, Bologna, Pisa, Siena, Verona, Naples, Turin, Palermo and dozens more) are ringed by automatic Zona Traffico Limitato cameras. Driving in without a permit triggers €80–120 per crossing, and the fine reaches your home address up to a year later via cross-border collection. Treat any city centre as off-limits unless you've confirmed your hotel offers a permit, and ask the hotel to register your plate the day you arrive.
Lyon ZFE — Crit'Air 4 banned year-round, 3 banned in winter
Must knowLyon
Lyon's low-emission zone is stricter than Paris in some respects: Crit'Air 4 vehicles are banned 24/7, and from 2026 Crit'Air 3 (most pre-2011 diesels) joins the year-round ban. Sticker required, even for transit. Foreign plates: order via the official Crit'Air site at least 6 weeks ahead.
Whole inner city is paid parking, weekdays 8:00–22:00
UsefulBudapest
Districts I–IX (the touristic core) charge HUF 600–725/hour (~€1.50–1.80). Pay at the (often cash-only) parking meters or via the Mobilfizetés app. Saturdays often free. Sundays free citywide. The fine for non-payment is HUF 8,800 (~€22) — affordable but check your ticket before walking off.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
Hungarian vignette tied to plate AND vehicle category
Must knowHungarian e-vignette costs depend on category — D1 covers most passenger cars (HUF 5,150 / ~€13 for 10 days). Buy on autopalya.hu or at any major fuel station. The system is plate-linked, no sticker. Critical detail: a roof box that pushes you over 2m height triggers category D2 — pay the higher rate or risk a fine.
You'll hit three different toll systems on this trip
Must knowThis route crosses countries with mismatched toll mechanics — France's ticket-and-pay, vignette stickers, electronic-only stretches. There's no single transponder that works everywhere, but a Telepass EU device covers FR/IT/ES/PT and a Bip&Go covers the same plus a few more. For a one-off trip, contactless cards plus a Swiss vignette and Austrian e-vignette is the simplest mix.
Contactless works at every autoroute booth
UsefulFrench autoroutes use a ticket system: take a card on entry, pay on exit. Every barrier accepts contactless tap-to-pay — pull into the "CB / bank card" lane (orange "t" logo means Liber-T transponder only, avoid those). For frequent EU travellers a Bip&Go transponder pays itself off in two trips by skipping the queue.
Telepass saves you the toll-booth queue
UsefulItalian autostrade work like France: ticket on entry, pay on exit. Contactless cards work at most modern lanes (look for "Carte" — avoid yellow "Telepass" lanes without the device). For long routes, a Telepass EU transponder works in IT/FR/ES/PT and pays for itself across two days; at minimum, keep your insurance card and registration in the door pocket — booth attendants occasionally ask.
What your car must carry
Hi-vis vest in the cabin, triangle in the boot
Must knowA reflective vest must be reachable without leaving the vehicle (in the door pocket or under your seat — boot is too late). One warning triangle is also mandatory. The 2012 breathalyzer rule was scrapped in 2020 but is still nice to keep. No spare-bulb requirement.
Hi-vis vest mandatory before stepping out
Must knowItalian law requires you to wear a reflective vest before exiting the vehicle on a motorway shoulder, day or night. One warning triangle in the boot is also required. Both items are typically €15 at any Autogrill or fuel station — don't arrive without them.
Driving rules & habits
Priorité à droite still applies in towns
UsefulOn urban streets without signs, traffic from your right has priority — even from a side street that looks subordinate. Outside cities the rule is mostly retired, but in residential French villages it survives. Slow at every right-hand junction unless a yellow diamond on your road tells you you're on the priority road.
Plan your stops, not just your finish time
UsefulOSRM gives you free-flow drive time. Realistic add: 10% on motorway-heavy routes, 25% if you're crossing two cities. Eat at off-peak hours (11:30 lunch, 18:00 dinner) — service-area queues at noon kill 20 minutes. EU fatigue research is consistent: 15-minute break every 2 hours, full 45-minute break before 6 hours. The drive between hours 7 and 9 is where avoidable accidents cluster.
Avoid Margaret Bridge between 16:00–19:00
TipBudapest
Budapest crossings between Buda and Pest pile up in late afternoon. Margaret Bridge (Margit híd) is the worst — single lane each way once you account for the tram-only middle section. Liberty Bridge (Szabadság híd) and the Lágymányosi/Rákóczi bridges flow better. Adjust your sat-nav arrival time to match.
The Fourvière tunnel is the bottleneck
TipLyon
A6/A7 traffic through Lyon converges into the Tunnel de Fourvière — 1.8 km, two lanes each direction, no overtaking. Friday afternoon and Sunday evening it backs up onto the motorway by 30+ minutes. The "TEO" (Tronçon Est de l'Ouest) ring road skips it for €2.50 — worth taking if you're bypassing the city.
Rules, fees, and thresholds change. Always verify against the official source the day before you drive — this page is a checklist, not a legal reference.
Main roads
The highways this route spends the most kilometres on.
-
A4 Autostrada Serenissima518 km
-
M70 —247 km
-
A1 —186 km
-
A 43 Autoroute de la Maurienne186 km
-
A5 —78 km
-
A32 Autostrada del Frejus - Viadotto Passeggeri39 km
-
T4 Traforo Stradale del Frejus39 km
-
A55 Tangenziale Nord18 km
-
RA13 —16 km
-
A3 —12 km
-
H3 Severna obvoznica10 km
-
N 543 —7 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 93%
- Secondary
- 1%
- Other / rural
- 6%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Demanding
Tough drive — multiple complicating factors compound fatigue. Strongly recommend splitting across days.
- Long drive: 14h 42m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
- Cross-border: fr → hu. Keep documents accessible and check border rules.
Elevation profile
Highs, lows, and the total climb / descent along the route.
- Lowest point
- 3 m
- Highest point
- 945 m
- Total ascent
- ↑ 1,615 m
- Total descent
- ↓ 1,678 m
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €204
104.2 L × €1.96 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €177
83.4 L × €2.13 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €126
243 kWh × €0.52 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €103
- FR — €0.10/km on the motorway network (≈ 354 km in-country ≈ €35)
- IT — €0.08/km on the motorway network (≈ 430 km in-country ≈ €32)
- SI — Vignette (motorway sticker / e-vignette) — €16.00 for 7 days Annual vignette is €117.50 if you drive often
- HR — €0.08/km on the motorway network (≈ 51 km in-country ≈ €4)
- HU — Vignette (motorway sticker / e-vignette) — €15.00 for 10 days Annual vignette is €130.00 if you drive often
Prices last refreshed 2026-10-12.
Fuel and EV charging along the route
Stations within a few kilometres of the road, sampled at evenly-spaced waypoints.
EV charging
25 at 50 kW or above (fast / ultra-fast).
Fastest first
- Ionity Freney — Freney 350 kW
- Ionity Celje — Žalec 350 kW
- TotalEnergies - Relais Garibaldi — Lyon 300 kW
- [IPlanet] San Martino Buon Albergo — San Martino Buon Albergo 300 kW
- Tesla Supercharger Outlet Village Palmanova — Aiello del Friuli 250 kW
- [Petrol] Mala Pirešica — Petrovče 250 kW
- Carrefour Energies - Lyon Part-Dieu — Lyon 150 kW
- Ewiva Garofoli — San Giovanni Lupatoto 150 kW
- BE CHARGE Via Antonini — San Martino Buon Albergo 110 kW
- BE CHARGE Via Federico Garofoli — San Giovanni Lupatoto 110 kW
- Be Charge AdS Gonars Nord — Gonars 100 kW
- SB e-Mobility AdS Gonars Sud 60 kW
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇫🇷 Lyon
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
8°
1°
|
10°
2°
|
14°
5°
|
16°
7°
|
21°
11°
|
27°
16°
|
28°
17°
|
29°
17°
|
23°
13°
|
18°
11°
|
11°
5°
|
8°
2°
|
| 65mm | 44mm | 110mm | 86mm | 99mm | 93mm | 87mm | 45mm | 131mm | 118mm | 88mm | 76mm |
hot mild cold
🇭🇺 Budapest
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
6°
-0°
|
8°
0°
|
14°
4°
|
17°
7°
|
21°
11°
|
27°
16°
|
29°
18°
|
30°
18°
|
24°
14°
|
17°
8°
|
9°
2°
|
5°
0°
|
| 51mm | 24mm | 58mm | 55mm | 95mm | 60mm | 58mm | 60mm | 57mm | 55mm | 68mm | 55mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Budapest
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Mon 26
☀️
12° / 6°
3.8mm
-
Tue 27
☀️
13° / 3°
—
-
Wed 28
⛅
15° / 5°
—
-
Thu 29
⛅
14° / 7°
—
-
Fri 30
⛅
12° / 5°
—
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 44 manoeuvres
- —
- Rue Garibaldi
- Avenue Berthelot 1 km
- (A 43) 87 km
- (A 43) 0.3 km
- — 0.6 km
- — 0.3 km
- Voie Rapide Urbaine de Chambéry (N 201) 2 km
- (A 43) 6 km
- (A 43) 3 km
- (A 43) 19 km
- (A 43) 52 km
- (A 43) 0.2 km
- Autoroute de la Maurienne (A 43) 18 km
- Autoroute de la Maurienne (A 43) 0.1 km
- (N 543) 7 km
- Traforo Stradale del Frejus (T4) 6 km
- Autostrada del Frejus (T4) 33 km
- Autostrada del Frejus - Viadotto Passeggeri (A32) 18 km
- Autostrada del Frejus - Viadotto Valeriano (A32) 21 km
- Tangenziale Nord (A55) 3 km
- Tangenziale Nord (A55) 6 km
- Tangenziale Nord (A55) 6 km
- Tangenziale Nord (A55) 4 km
- (A55) 1 km
- — 1 km
- Autostrada Serenissima (A4) 512 km
- Autostrada Serenissima (A4) 0.1 km
- Autostrada Serenissima (A4) 7 km
- (RA13) 16 km
- (A3) 12 km
- — 1 km
- (A1) 64 km
- — 0.8 km
- Zahodna obvoznica (A2) 3 km
- Severna obvoznica (H3) 10 km
- — 0.9 km
- (A1) 121 km
- (A5) 78 km
- (M70) 247 km
- (M1; M7) 2 km
- Budaörsi út 0.5 km
- Clark Ádám tér (2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 10) 0.1 km
- Clark Ádám tér (2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 10)
By coach from Lyon to Budapest
Indicative duration of the fastest direct long-distance coach found in the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus EU schedules.
- Travel time
- 20h 31m
- Direct
- Operator
- FlixBus-eu
- Departures / day
- ~1
- Approximate based on the published schedule.
Show coach corridor on map
Schedules sourced from the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus GTFS feeds via transport.data.gouv.fr. Times are indicative; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Booking link coming soon.
By train from Lyon to Budapest
Fastest cross-border rail itinerary from the public Transitous planner. Times reflect a typical Monday-morning departure on the next available service-day.
- Fastest journey
- 18h 11m
- 8 changes
- Lead operator
- SNCF VOYAGEURS
- + 7 more
- Alternatives
- 6
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- TGV INOUI 6616
- D
- ICE 9575
- ICE 599
All operators across alternatives
- SNCF VOYAGEURS
- RER
- DB Fernverkehr AG
- Bayerische Regiobahn
- OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice
- TRENITALIA
- Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB
- Schweizerische Bundesbahnen
Includes a high-speed rail leg (TGV, ICE, AVE, Frecciarossa-class).
Show route on map
Routing via the public Transitous OTP planner (community-run MOTIS instance). Cached 24 hours; verify on the operator's site before booking.
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, Open-Meteo for monthly climate normals, OpenTopoData SRTM 30m for elevation, EU Weekly Oil Bulletin for cross-border fuel-price bands, and Open Charge Map for EV charging stations. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.