Hungary Travel Guide

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Top Things to See

• Visit Budapest (website: www.budapestinfo.hu). Explore Buda’s elevated cobbled streets and soak up spectacular views from the Fisherman’s Bastion. In Pest admire the Hungarian Parliament, Vajdahunyad Castle and Museum of Applied Arts, or unearth the treasures at the Hungarian National Museum. Take a trip out of town to the socialist statue graveyard, Statue Park.

• Follow the Danube Bend to the historic towns of Szentendre (website: www.szentendre.hu), Visegrád and Esztergom (website: www.esztergom.hu). Szentendre boasts a large artist’s colony and a plethora of church spires, the ruins of a 15th-century palace and castle reside at Visegrád, and Esztergom is home to Hungary’s largest basilica.

• Visit the delightful medieval hearts of Sopron (website: www.sopron.hu) and Kőszeg in the west of the country. Sopron boasts 240 listed buildings, including the Firewatch Tower, Storno House and the Gothic Goat Church, while Kőszeg’s Jurisics tér contains a treasure-trove of baroque, renaissance and gothic architecture.

• Travel back in time at Hollókő, a World Heritage-listed site with around 60 wattle and daub houses and the substantial remnants of a 13th-century castle.

• Discover the country’s remote northeast, home to tiny medieval churches and one of the country’s most beautiful cathedrals, the Greek Catholic Cathedral of Máriapócs, where the iconic Black Madonna resides.

• Explore the northern shores of Lake Balaton (website: www.balaton-tourism.hu). Discover Tihany’s Benedictine Abbey, Veszprém’s celebrated Castle Hill and cobbled streets, 10km (6 miles) north of the lake, and Sümeg’s imposing hilltop castle and frescoed Church of Ascension.

• Visit the vibrant university town of Szeged, an economic and cultural hub that is also home to Hungary’s finest Greek Orthodox church (website: www.szegedportal.hu). Take a side trip to Kecskemét (website: www.kecskemet.hu), a center for Hungarian art nouveau architecture.

• See the fifth-oldest university in Europe (1367) and the finest Hungarian examples of Ottoman architecture from Turkish occupancy (1543-1686) in Pécs (website: www.pecs.hu). Visit the Cathedral, the Mosque of Gazi Kasim Pasha and the Archaeological Museum.

• Head to Eger (website: www.eger.hu), one of the country’s oldest and most colorful cities, which boasts around 200 historical monuments, including its 14-sided Minaret.

• Take in the spectacular ‘five-in-hand’ horseshow at the Kiskunság National Park, where riders perform incredible feats on horseback.

Top Things to Do

•Hike in Hungary’s mountains. The Zemplén, Bükk and Mátra ranges northest of Budapest are popular, with the latter containing Hungary’s highest peak, Kékestetö (1,015m/3,329ft). For less strenuous walks head to the hills north and south of Lake Balaton.

• Spend hours wine tasting at the vineyards of the Szépasszony Valley, where visitors can sample the famous Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) wine. Due east is Tokaj (website: www.tokaj.hu), the equivalent of Champagne as a wine-producing area. Alternatively, sample some of the country’s best reds in and around Villány (website: www.villany.hu).

• Go horse riding on the Great Plain, which is home to several famous stud farms and stages regular horse shows. Take lessons or go on an excursion with riding schools all over the country.

• Relax in Budapest’s thermal springs (website: www.spasbudapest.com) (there are over 100 in the city) and medicinal baths. Visit Király Medicinal Baths, which date from the Middle Ages, the historic Rudas Medicinal Baths or the splendid outdoor pools of Széchenyi Baths.

• Soak away the stress in the large thermal lake at Hévíz (website: www.heviz.hu) near Lake Balaton. The soothing waters rarely drop below 33ºC (91ºF).

• Fish in the River Tisza, widely regarded as one of Europe’s premier angling spots. Accommodation for anglers is readily available, and guides can be hired if required. Species such as carp, bream, pike, trout and tench are abundant.

• Sunbathe on the popular sandy beaches (strands), or take a dip in the famously shallow waters of Lake Balaton. Take a boat trip and explore the many towns that border the lake shore.

• Follow the tourist trails in Kiskunság National Park (website: www.knp.hu), which preserves parts of the Danube Tisza Floodplain of Central Hungary in seven disconnected areas. Learn about swamps, migratory birds, alkali plateau and lakes in this biosphere reserve.

• Visit the caves at the Aggtelek National Park, part of the Gömör Torna Karst area of cave systems which extends into the Slovak Republic.

• Watch the birds circle, prance and play in the Hortobágy National Park (website: www.hnp.hu). Around 350 species have been spotted here, including storks, warblers, eagles and herons. A guide is required for visits to some parts of the park, and motor vehicles are not permitted.