The official travel guideB2B
Budapest 6 °C
Magyar Magyar
Arts and Culture
Religious Sights
Thermal Baths & Spas
Winter Wonders at Lake Balaton Waiting to be Discovered
Must-see sights in Hungary
Destinations
Food & Wine
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Hungary
Itineraries day by day
How to get to Hungary
Weather
Free travel guides & maps
The historical cafés of Budapest
6 Hungarikums to place in your shopping basket for a true taste of Hungary
Contemporary art galleries in Hungary
3+1 thermal baths that are also unique natural formations
Budapest, the Queen of bathing cities
Budapest: 3 days trip
The highs and lows, the biggest and smallest of Budapest
Budapest’s best urban art
B2B
Budapest 6 °C
Magyar Magyar

Balaton region

The volcanic hill and Lake BalatonBadacsonyBalaton

Central Europe’s largest lake offers unmissable experiences all-year-round. Every summer, the nearly 200-km2 lake warms up easily, with its gradual depth attractive to those wishing to splash around.

Experiences not to be missed around Balaton

From spring to autumn, the unique atmosphere of the Balaton Uplands region – a prospective World Heritage Site rimmed with volcanic mountains – is guaranteed by its favourable microclimate, castles that invite conquest, cloister ruins and lookout towers.

Family experiences on the water and the beach

Thanks to its favourable attributes, Lake Balaton is an ideal travel destination for those who enjoy active and passive relaxation, for young people, people with small children, large families and members of older generations alike.

The playful side of lake Balaton

If you need some excitement after exploring the natural wonders, it is time to head to the nearest adventure park! In Zamárdi or Zánka, the entire family can compare their skills at rope and adventure courses of varying levels of difficulty.

Adventures on mountaintops and in the caves

The volcanic hills towering over Lake Balaton provide the perfect terrain for on-foot discovery of local attractions; however, the region also offers numerous opportunities for people to view the landmarks of the Balaton Uplands National Park on bicycle and even horseback.

Balaton’s gastronomic revolution

The region is also an excellent destination for fans of refined culinary pleasures: besides food delicacies, it is also worth sampling the regional wines of family wineries built upon two thousand years of viticulture, on sunlit, trellised wine terraces with a Mediterranean atmosphere.

Roaming through history of a thousand years

The Balaton region’s thousand-year history is reminiscent of the meeting of cultures. If you are interested in history, a long list of museums, abbeys, fortresses and castles await discovery in the area!

#wowhungary

Share your photos by using #wowhungary

You May Also Like

Places to go
Religious Sights
From churches to cathedrals, synagogues and abbeys – Hungary is home to hundreds of beautiful religious locations and sights. These buildings take visitors back to different ages in history, and carry the marks of events such as the foundation of the Hungarian state, coronations, the Reformation and the era of the Ottoman rule.
Read more
Plan your trip
Theatres
All the World's a stage. Whether you want to see something light, something musical or something more serious, you’ll definitely find what you are looking for. Theatre buildings in Budapest are symbols of the immortality of art and music. The walls of some of these buildings could tell you many a tale about times of sadness and happiness.
Read more
Places to go
Hidden treasures
We are surrounded by natural phenomena or built heritage that needs to be seen and visited. The beauty of the Káli basin, the Egerszalók salt hill or the library of the Cistercian Abbey of Zirc are all unique places. People have long worked and shaped the Megyer‑hegy Tarn, an extraordinary natural wonder near Sárospatak: what you will find here is the amazing union of a former millstone mine and nature itself. The brightly shining limestone cones of the Egerszalók salt hill have been created by the thermal water that breaks through here from the ground. Káli basin and the sea of rocks: amazing peace surrounds you on the wonderful land lying at the foot of the monadnocks in this area. From Köveskál to Mindszentkálla, Kővágóörs – off you go! The Reformed Stone Church in Csaroda is a wonder built in the 13th century, standing in the middle of the village surrounded by the Csaroda stream. The unique library of the Cistercian Abbey in Zirc contains a collection of almost 65,000 books.
Read more
Things to do
Bath
There are plenty of baths and spas both in Budapest and all over the country, for anyone who wants to heal and relax. Gellért Thermal Bath is the most famous, and is a listed protected monument that opened in Buda at the beginning of the 20th century. Széchenyi Thermal Bath is one of the largest bath complexes in Europe: its thermal water comes from the second-deepest well in Budapest. Rudas Thermal Bath is a Turkish bath in Budapest from the times of the Ottoman rule. Its rooftop pool is amazing and not to be missed. Hévíz Lake Bath is the largest warm water lake with medicinal water in Europe. It is open all around the year, and in the summer is covered with beautiful water lilies. The cave bath in Miskolctapolca is simply an indoor pool created by nature: you can swim in thermal water surging from the depth of the hill while you enjoy the crystal-clear air.
Read more