Best Places to Eat

¨ Jókai Bisztró (p578)

¨ Erhardt (p573)

¨ Kisbuda Gyöngye (p568)

¨ Fő Tér (p581)

Best Places to Stay

¨ Hotel Palazzo Zichy (p568)

¨ Club Hotel Füred (p575)

¨ Bacchus (p576)

¨ Hotel Senator-Ház (p581)

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

When to Go

May Spring is in full swing, meaning reliable weather, cool temperatures and flowers.

Jul & Aug Sunny but often very hot; decamp to the hills or Lake Balaton (book ahead).

Sep & Oct Blue skies, mild temper-atures and grape harvests – perhaps the best time to visit.

F DNOSAJJMAMJ

Budapest°C/°F Temp Rainfall inches/mm

0

6/150

4/100

2/50

-10/14

0/32

20/68

30/86

10/50

HungaryWhy Go?Hungary is just the place to kick off a European adventure. Lying virtually in the centre of the continent, this land of Franz Liszt and Béla Bartók, paprika-lashed dishes, superb wines and the romantic Danube River continues to enchant visitors. The allure of Budapest, once an imperial city, is im-mediate at first sight, and it also boasts the hottest nightlife in the region. Other cities, too, like Pécs, the warm heart of the south, and Eger, the wine capital of the north, have much to offer travellers, as does the sprawling countryside, particularly the Great Plain, where cowboys ride and cat-tle roam. And where else can you laze about in an open-air thermal spa while snow patches glisten around you? That’s at Hévíz at the western edge of Lake Balaton, continental Europe’s largest lake and Hungary’s ‘inland sea’, which of-fers innumerable opportunities for rest and recreation. In Hungary you’ll find all the excitement and fun of Western Europe – at half the cost.

Includes ¨Budapest .................... 562Szentendre ................. 572Visegrád ..................... 572Esztergom .................. 572Sopron ....................... 573Balatonfüred ...............574Keszthely ................... 575Pécs ............................ 577Szeged ....................... 578Eger ............................580

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BUDAPEST%1 / POP 1.75 MILLION

There’s no other city in Hungary like Buda-pest. Home to almost 20% of the national population, Hungary’s capital (főváros; ‘main city’) is the nation’s administrative, business and cultural centre.

But it’s the beauty of Budapest – both nat-ural and man-made – that makes it unique. Straddling a gentle curve in the Danube, the city is flanked by the Buda Hills on the west bank and the beginnings of the Great Plain to the east. Architecturally it is a gem, with enough baroque, neoclassical and art nou-veau elements to satisfy everyone.

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UKRAINE

SLOVAKIA

SERBIA

CZECHREPUBLIC

AUSTRIA

CROATIA

SLOVENIA

ROMANIA

BOSNIA & HERCEGOVINA

KiskunságNational Park

Dráva

Danube

Tisza

Tisa

Sió

LakeFertő

Harkány

Balatonfüred

KeszthelyTihany

Békéscsaba

Békés

Salgótarján

Mosonmagyaróvár Vác

Ózd

Kecskemét

Barcs

Törökszentmiklós

Veszprém

Tokaj

Mezőtúr

HódmezővásárhelyLenti

Sopron

Szombathely

Nyíregyháza

Esztergom

Nagykanizsa

Orosháza

Siófok

Szekszárd

Tiszaújváros

Győr

BajaMohács

CeglédSzékesfehérvár

Makő

Gyula

KarcagTatabánya

Dabas

Szentes

Szeged

Debrecen

Uzhgorod

Novi SadOsijek

Miskolc

Arad

Zalaegerszeg

Timişoara

BRATISLAVAVIENNA

BELGRADE

ZAGREB

Brno

#1 Budapest

#2Eger

#4Pécs

#5Lake

Balaton

#\SzentendreVisegrád #7

#6Hévíz #÷#3

0 100 km0 50 miles#e

1 Lose yourself in Europe’s best nightlife – the ‘ruin pubs’ and ‘garden clubs’ of Budapest.

2 Learn about the bravery of Eger (p580) when it was under turkish attack, and sample the region’s famed Bull’s Blood wine.

3 Watch cowboys ride at Bugac in Kiskunság

National Park (p579), the heart of the Great Plain.

4 absorb the Mediterranean-like climate and historic architecture of Pécs (p577), including its iconic Mosque Church.

5 take a pleasure cruise across Lake Balaton (p574), Central Europe’s largest body of fresh water.

6 Ease your aching muscles in the warm waters of the thermal lake in Hévíz (p577).

7 Mill about with artists, freethinkers and day trippers at the too-cute-for-words town of Szentendre (p572).

Hungary Highlights