Arcade Museum Budapest: 100+ Playable Cabinets and Pinball Tables on One Ticket
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A two-player pinball table called Bronco left the Chicago Coin factory in November 1963, and at Arcade Museum Budapest you can still play it without dropping a single coin. The museum opened in late September 2026 at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 37, three minutes on foot from Nyugati station, with more than 100 original arcade cabinets and pinball tables that all switch on for one ticket: 5,900 HUF (about $18), every day from 12:00 to 22:00.
Come here to grab the joystick of a 1980 Pac-Man, settle a grudge on Street Fighter II, drop into the driver’s seat of Out Run or Daytona USA, and work the flippers of a Big Lebowski pinball prototype with its own little bowling lane. Every cabinet runs on its original board, with a plaque beside it naming the maker, the year and why it mattered. It is central enough to slot in after the Basilica or before dinner in District VI, and it suits families as much as anyone who once spent pocket money on a cabinet. The catch: The Big Lebowski table is played in limited sessions, so don’t count on a long run on that one.
📋 Arcade Museum Budapest at a Glance
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Where | Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 37, 1065 Budapest (District VI) |
| Getting there | 3-minute walk from Nyugati station: M3 metro, trams 4 and 6 |
| Open | Every day, 12:00-22:00 |
| Adult ticket | 5,900 HUF (about $18) |
| Students and seniors | 5,000 HUF (about $15) |
| Child up to 14, with a full-price adult | 4,000 HUF (about $12) per child |
| Per-game cost | None; the coin slots are covered |
| Skip if | You want flippers only: the Pinball Museum across Nyugati has more of them |
What you can play
The museum says plainly that it is not an arcade hall but an interactive museum of arcade history, and the difference shows in the plaques: each machine is catalogued, and its sign gives the manufacturer, the year of release, the technical details and its place in gaming history. Then you are allowed to play it, which no glass case has ever let anyone do.
The early classics. Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979), Pac-Man (1980), Donkey Kong (1981) and Galaga (1981) stand among the machines that took arcades mainstream. Start here if you want to see how little a game needed to be impossible to put down.
The fighting years. Street Fighter II (1991) and Mortal Kombat (1992) share the floor with Tekken 2, Tekken 3, Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken 5. Bring a friend; these were built for two.
Sit-down racers and light guns. Out Run (1986), Chase H.Q. (1988), Daytona USA (1994), Sega Rally 2 and the Ferrari F355 Challenge (1999) are the cockpit machines, and the light-gun shooters run from Operation Wolf (1987) to Virtua Cop and House of the Dead. If you came for one photo, it is probably in a driver’s seat here.
Music and dance. Dance Dance Revolution (1998) and Guitar Hero Arcade (2008) are the ones to try if you would rather move than sit.
The pinball tables. The Bronco from the opening line is a two-player electromechanical table from 1963, run by relays and score reels instead of a computer, with rodeo artwork by Roy Parker and a central “Corral” kick-out that keeps the ball moving. At the other end of the timeline, the Dutch Pinball prototype of The Big Lebowski packs a miniature bowling lane with moving pins and more than two hundred quotes from the film. Between them stand tables like Bally’s Elektra (1981) and Williams’ Star Wars Episode I (1999).
Tickets and opening hours
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | 5,900 HUF (about $18) |
| Discounted, for students and seniors | 5,000 HUF (about $15) |
| Family child ticket, up to age 14, with at least one full-price adult ticket | 4,000 HUF (about $12) per child |
Prices are in HUF, which is what you pay at the museum. Converted at 1 USD = 324 HUF, the ECB rate on 19 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the dollar figures as indicative.
The ticket is the only thing you pay for the machines: once you are in, every working cabinet and table is free to try. The museum takes no coins or tokens at all; the coin acceptors are switched off and the slots are covered. It sells no alcohol and has nothing to do with gambling or slot machines, which is worth knowing if you are bringing children.
The doors are open every day of the week from 12:00 to 22:00, so it works both as a rainy afternoon and as something to do after dinner. The museum also says it may run themed programs, community evenings and tournaments from time to time; watch its own site for dates.
Source: address, hours, ticket prices, the family-ticket rule, the coin-free play, the plaques, the alcohol policy and the walk from Nyugati from Arcade Museum Budapest; the machine list from its collection page; the opening and The Big Lebowski prototype from its posts of 20 September and 28 September 2026; the Bronco details from its Bronco post; all read on 20 October 2026.
Arcade Museum or Pinball Museum?
Budapest now has two places where the machines are the exhibits, one on each side of Nyugati station. They are separate museums with separate tickets.
| Arcade Museum Budapest | Budapest Pinball Museum | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 37 (District VI) | Radnóti Miklós utca 18 (District XIII) |
| Open | Daily 12:00-22:00 | Wed-Fri 16:00-24:00, Sat 13:00-24:00, Sun 11:00-22:00, closed Mon-Tue |
| Adult ticket | 5,900 HUF (about $18) | 5,500 HUF (about $17) |
| Discounted ticket | 5,000 HUF (about $15), students and seniors | 4,000 HUF (about $12), under 26 and over 62 |
| Leans toward | Video cabinets, racers, fighters | Pinball |
If you are here on a Monday or Tuesday, the choice makes itself: only the arcade museum is open. If flippers are the whole point, read our Budapest Pinball Museum guide first.
Source: Pinball Museum hours and prices from flippermuzeum.hu, read on 20 October 2026.
Getting there
The museum is at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 37 in District VI. From Nyugati pályaudvar (M3 metro, trams 4 and 6) it is about a 3-minute walk south along Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út; the museum tells you to look for the bright pink neon sign.
Who it suits
It suits anyone who grew up feeding coins into these exact cabinets, kids who have only seen them in films, and groups of friends who need somewhere to settle a score that isn’t a bar. Because it opens at noon and closes at 22:00 every day, it is one of the easier indoor plans on our rainy day in Budapest list. For another compact, hands-on hour nearby, look at the Museum of Illusions or the magic-themed House of Houdini, and for the bigger picture, our guide to which Budapest museums are worth your time.
The verdict
A 1963 pinball table you can still play is the whole argument for this place, and the other hundred machines only make it stronger. Buy one ticket, leave the coins at home, and start with whatever cabinet you once begged your parents to let you play.
More things to do around the city are on our attractions page.
Good to know
How much is a ticket to Arcade Museum Budapest?
An adult ticket is 5,900 HUF (about $18) and the discounted ticket for students and seniors is 5,000 HUF (about $15). Children up to 14 pay 4,000 HUF (about $12) each when at least one full-price adult ticket is bought with them.
Do you pay per game at Arcade Museum Budapest?
No. Once you have a ticket, the working machines are free to play at no extra charge. The museum does not accept coins or tokens: the coin acceptors are switched off and the slots are covered.
What are the opening hours of Arcade Museum Budapest?
It is open every day of the week from 12:00 to 22:00.
Is Arcade Museum Budapest the same as the Budapest Pinball Museum?
No. Arcade Museum Budapest opened in September 2026 at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 37. The Budapest Pinball Museum (Flippermúzeum) is a separate, older museum at Radnóti Miklós utca 18, with its own tickets and hours.
Is Arcade Museum Budapest good for kids?
Yes. The museum describes itself as family- and child-friendly, sells no alcohol, and offers a 4,000 HUF family child ticket for children up to 14 who come with a full-price adult.
Book it, skip the counter
Prices checked 2026-10-19. Booking through these links supports the site at no extra cost to you. How this works.