Places of Interest
Top 4 Architectural Sights
- Palace of Arts, Budapest
- Castle of Eger
- Castle of Diósgyőr, Miskolc
- Festetics Palace, Keszthely
Located in a former industrial district on the River Danube Embankment is the Palace of Arts. Also known as MUPA, it is an enormous cultural complex which is the musical and cultural hub of Budapest. In Eger, a historic, northeastern town famous for its wines and therapeutic waters you can find the revered Castle of Eger. The castle memorializes the place where a small, defiant Hungarian garrison defeated a huge Turkish army in 1552. Surrounded by the modern city of Miskolc, the medieval Castle of Diósgyőr hosts the Kalaka Folk Festival each July. The festival showcases theatric performances reviving the Middle Ages and key historical events. Built in 1745, the baroque Festetics Palace in Keszthely houses the largest aristocratic private library in Hungary.
Top 4 Natural Sights
- Hortobágy National Park, eastern Hungary
- Pálvölgyi Stalactite Cave, Budapest
- Lake Hévíz near Keszthely
- Lake Cave of Tapolca
The 300 square miles of the Hortobágy National Park in eastern Hungary is a perfectly intact cultural landscape of traditional pastoral farming which has been in use for more than two millennia. The beautiful Pálvölgyi Cave in Budapest stretches more than four miles through a multi-level labyrinth of amazing rock formations formed by thermal waters over millions of years. Near the western end of Lake Balaton, Lake Hévíz is the largest thermal lake in the world. Bathers can take a dip in the 90 degree hot springs fed waters which are rich in sulfur, radium and minerals. The Lake Cave of Tapolca is a three mile system of Miocene limestone layered caves, which are electrically illuminated over a blue lake that placidly wanders directly under the town of Tapolca.