Hollywood Comes to Budapest: Schwarzenegger and Stone Are Filming on the Metro

Budapest has quietly become one of Europe’s favorite film locations, and this weekend it’s hosting one of its biggest productions yet. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone are currently in the Hungarian capital shooting an American action film called The Kelly’s, and the production is about to cause a very real disruption for anyone planning to use the city’s metro on the weekend of June 20–21. If you’re visiting Budapest this weekend, here’s everything you need to know to get around without a headache.

Lights, Camera, Closed Metro

According to Budapest’s Centre for Public Transport (BKK), Metro Line M2 will not run between Deák Ferenc Square and Örs vezér Square from the start of service on Saturday, June 20, through to the end of service on Sunday, June 21. The reason? The tunnel section of the Stadionok station — one of the stops along this stretch — has been taken over by a film crew shooting scenes for The Kelly’s, and the production cannot be carried out while trains are running. That means the busiest half of the M2 line, which cuts across the heart of the city from the downtown transport hub at Deák Ferenc Square all the way east toward Keleti Railway Station and beyond, will be out of action for the entire weekend.

Endre Bíró, the head of the Metróért (For the Metro) Association, didn’t mince words when speaking to Hungarian media, describing the two-day shutdown of the line’s most heavily used section as excessive. The closure is expected to affect around 100,000 passengers per day — a significant number, particularly on a weekend when the city will also be hosting Museum Night (Múzeumok Éjszakája), one of Budapest’s biggest annual cultural events, which draws huge crowds to venues across the city.

How to Get Around

The good news is that Budapest’s public transport network is extensive, and there are several solid alternatives to keep you moving. BKK is running replacement buses on the affected M2 section throughout the closure. If you’re heading into the city center, you can board these buses at the Fehér Road bus terminal at Örs vezér Square, or along the inbound side of Kerepesi Road just past Örs vezér Square. From the Deák Ferenc Square end, the replacement service departs from the bus stop for the number 9 bus in the direction of Kőbánya.

Beyond the replacement buses, BKK recommends several alternative bus routes for reaching the city center: the 7, 7E, 8E, 110, 112, and 133E buses all offer useful connections. If you’re already on Tram 1, you can transfer to onward buses at Zugló Railway Station; if you’re on Tram 3, the transfer point is Bosnyák Square. It’s worth building a little extra time into any journey this weekend, as the replacement services will naturally be busier than usual.

Where to Spot Schwarzenegger in the City

Even if the metro disruption is a minor inconvenience, there’s something undeniably exciting about sharing a city with two of Hollywood’s biggest icons. Schwarzenegger has been spotted around Budapest several times in recent weeks, and locals have been delighted to run into him in some very everyday settings. He’s been seen cycling around the Buda side of the city, and was recently photographed in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica, one of Budapest’s most iconic landmarks, on the Pest side of the Danube.

Those with sharp eyes have also reported spotting him at a gym on Márvány Street in Buda, which appears to be his preferred training spot during the shoot. Interestingly, Liam Hemsworth has also been seen at the same gym — the two are co-starring in The Kelly’s, which makes Budapest one of the most star-studded film locations in Europe right now.

Budapest as a Film Capital

This is far from the first time Budapest has stood in for locations around the world on the big screen. The city’s grand architecture, its atmospheric underground metro — the M1 line, built in 1896, is the oldest on the European continent — and its relatively affordable production costs have made it a magnet for major international productions for decades. Films and series including Blade Runner 2049, Spy, and numerous others have been shot here, and the city has well-developed studio infrastructure to support large-scale shoots.

The fact that a production of this scale is using the actual, operational Stadionok metro station tunnel as a set — rather than a purpose-built replica — speaks to the kind of access Budapest is willing to offer film crews, even if it does come at a cost to commuters and visitors for a couple of days.

Plan Ahead for a Busy Weekend

With Museum Night drawing visitors to dozens of cultural institutions across the city on the evening of June 20, and the metro disruption adding pressure to surface transport, the practical advice is simple: give yourself more time than usual for any journey crossing the affected M2 corridor, consider walking or cycling where distances allow — Budapest’s flat Pest side is very bike-friendly — and keep the BKK journey planner app handy for real-time route suggestions.

The disruption is a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of a Budapest weekend, and there’s even a certain thrill to knowing that while you’re navigating the replacement buses, a Hollywood legend is somewhere beneath the city streets, filming his next blockbuster.