Destination: Hungary

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: In the wake of the lake

ONE WEEK

This 545km trip has something for everyone: castles, historic churches, palaces, thermal spas, rolling hills and Hungary’s biggest lake. For the most part it’s an easy drive, and you could do it in a few days. But with so much to see and time to recharge on the Balaton, we’d recommend at least a week.



Combining the highlights of Transdanubia and the Lake Balaton regions will give you a taste of Hungary’s historical wealth and natural beauty. From Budapest make your way through the rolling Pilis Hills and turn off for Esztergom, Hungary’s holiest city. The road continues west along the Danube to Gyor, an industrial city surprisingly rich in historical buildings and monuments. From here you can detour south to Pannonhalma, whose awesome abbey is on Unesco’s World Heritage List, or carry on westwards via Hungary’s own ‘Versailles’ at Fertod to delightful Sopron. Next head south to Koszeg, so pretty it’s called the nation’s jewellery box, and then make your way southeast via Sárvár, where Hungary’s ‘Dracula’ had her nip and suck, to Sümeg and its dramatic castle.

Lake Balaton is just 20km south; follow the scenic northern coast road past the costal settlements of Badacsony, Tihany and Balatonfüred to Veszprém, the ‘city of queens’. From here you can make your way back to Budapest and, to be fair, stop at Székesfehérvár, the ‘city of kings’.