World’s Steepest Funiculars You Can Ride for Under €5

Modern cable cars routinely charge Swiss-Alps prices, but you don’t need deep pockets to feel

that stomach-fluttering moment when a carriage tips skyward and gravity eases.
Across Europe—and a bonus stop in Asia—several vertiginous funiculars still serve commuters
and sightseers for the price of a croissant. This guide assembles **nine railways** where
gradients hit 30 percent and beyond yet a ticket costs under €5.

Why Funiculars Exist (A Short History)

In the late 19th century iron rails finally conquered slopes too steep for horse trams.
Engineers ran two counterbalanced cars on a single cable: one ascends while the other
descends, making gravity the main engine and steam (later electricity) merely a governor.
The design meant simple machinery, modest energy draw, and tiny footprints in tight urban
spaces—ideal for hilltop basilicas, fortress towns, and seaside cliffs.

How Steep Is Too Steep?

Mainline rail avoids gradients above 3 percent; rack-and-pinion mountain trains manage 25 percent.
Funiculars break that ceiling because the cable does the traction.
In everyday terms a 50 percent grade means the track rises one metre for every two metres
forward: steep enough that walking would have you leaning at ankle-stressing angles.

1. Zagreb Funicular – Croatia (52 %)

Side-on view showing steep 52 percent gradient of Zagreb funicular track

Length: 66 m • Ride time: 64 s • Fare: €0.66
Nicknamed “the world’s shortest public-transport funicular,” this 1890 relic
still moves 750 000 passengers per year between Zagreb’s café-dense Lower Town
and its medieval Upper Town. Original wooden cars were swapped for blue steel
in 1974, but the creaking timber guide rails remain beneath the track.

Buy a ticket at the lower kiosk, board every 10 minutes, then watch tiled
rooftops drop away like an elevator made of views.

2. Elevador da Bica – Lisbon, Portugal (45 %)

Yellow historic tram-style funicular climbs narrow Bica street in Lisbon

Length: 245 m • Built: 1892 • Fare: €3.80
Technically a funicular, visually a tram, the twin cars
navigate Lisbon’s postcard-steep Rua da Bica. Motor power today is electric, but the
system still uses two cars sharing a single counterweight cable.
A Lisbon Viva Viagem day card covers the ride, so pair it with the famous
Elevador da Glória (also 44 percent) two hills over.

3. Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway – England (57 %)

Water-balanced car climbs wooded cliff on Lynton and Lynmouth Railway

Length: 263 m • Power: Victorian water-balance
Fare: £3.50 ≈ €4.10 return
Two cliff-hanging wooden cars still rely on seawater ballast: the top car fills
its tank with 3 000 litres, becomes heavier, and pulls the lower car uphill.
Views open across Exmoor’s jagged coastline as you crest the cliff into
candy-coloured Lynton.

4. Funiculaire de Fourvière – Lyon, France (34 %)

Modern red and white funicular car approaching Fourvière upper station

Length: 431 m • Ride time: 2 min
Fare: €2.20 (standard metro ticket)
Lyon once had five “ficelles” (little strings); two remain. The Fourvière line
whisks you to a basilica sentinel over the Saône River. From the upper station
descend on foot through Roman theatres and traboule alleyways to sample
bouchon cuisine—sausages and praline tart wait at the bottom.

5. Ascensor del Monte Igueldo – San Sebastián, Spain (48 %)

Red wooden funicular car climbs Monte Igueldo with ocean behind

Length: 320 m • Built: 1912
Fare: €3.75 single, €6.75 return (includes theme-park access)
A varnished mahogany carriage climbs cliffs that frame the shell-shaped bay of
La Concha. At the summit children ride century-old roller coasters, while
photographers chase sunset over the Atlantic.

6. Funicular de Gelida – Catalonia, Spain (42 %)

Two yellow funicular cars of Gelida passing vineyards in Catalonia

Length: 888 m • Fare: €2.10 (ATM ticket zone 3)
Weekends only, the vintage 1924 line links a tiny Penedès wine town with its
RENFE train station eight hundred metres below. After tasting Xarel-lo sparkling wine,
ride back downhill in an open-window wooden car redolent of oak barrels.

7. Tünel – Istanbul, Turkey (12 %, but world’s 2nd-oldest)

Historic Tünel funicular car in brick tunnel, Istanbul

Length: 573 m • Opened: 1875
Fare: 15 TRY ≈ €0.50
Though not the steepest here, Tünel merits inclusion for heritage and price.
Stone portals bracket a short tunnel that spares calves the climb to buzzing
Istiklal Avenue. Board before 09:30 to beat commuter queues.

8. Hungerburgbahn (Lower Section) – Innsbruck, Austria (36 %)

Futuristic glass funicular car of Innsbruck Hungerburgbahn at steepest point

Length: 1 838 m total; steepest 450 m at 36 %
Fare: €4.80 to Alpenzoo stop (under our limit)
Designed by Zaha Hadid, the lower segment functions as a funicular
with tilting cabins to keep floors level while roofs angle dramatically.
Riders bound for the alpine zoo pay €4.80; continuing to the Nordkette
cable car costs more, so hop off early to stay budget-pure.

9. Carmelit – Haifa, Israel (26 %)

Car of Haifa’s Carmelit underground funicular at steep station platform

Length: 1.8 km • Stations: 6
Fare: ₪5.90 ≈ €1.45 single
Built in 1959, Carmelit is both metro and funicular: a single sloping tube
where platforms are staircases and trains are cable-hauled rakes of two cars.
Use it to beat Haifa’s dizzying Mount Carmel gradients on humid summer days.

Tips for Riding Steep Funiculars on a Budget

Stand sideways and bend knees; docking jolts are gentler that way.
Many lines accept city transport passes—Lyon TCL, Lisbon Viva Viagem, Istanbul Istanbulkart. Swipe once.
Off-peak slots (10:00 – 12:00 and 15:00 – 17:00) mean no lines and clearer mid-track photo ops.
Some heritage cars still have wooden seats—bring a small cloth if you’re sensitive to splinters.

Final Thought

Funiculars shrink steep hills into postcard moments, and they do it on coins you’d
lose in a sofa. Next time your itinerary lists a mountain viewpoint, check whether
a rattling cable car offers the same panorama—and keeps you solvent for the café
at the top.