Balaton for Seniors - 3 days

Start your trip to Lake Balaton with a visit to the abbey, which was founded almost 1,000 years ago, and is the world-famous symbol of the Tihany Peninsula. The famous wall paintings of the monastery founded by (Saint) Andrew I of Hungary were painted by Lajos Deák-Ébner, Károly Lotz and Bertalan Székely, while the beautiful wooden statues and the wooden altars were made by Sebestyén Stulhoff. The founding king was buried in the undercroft, making this the only Hungarian royal burial place from the era of the Árpád Dynasty that is still intact.

Start your second day in Keszthely with the discovery of one of the most beautiful palaces in Hungary. Construction of the Baroque-style castle began in the 18th century, reaching its current size by the 1880s. The colourful park is the most important example of landscaping in Central Europe, while the Helikon Palace Museum is an exhibition that gives visitors a picture of what life was like for aristocrats and the luxurious life of the Festetics family. The palace is home to the only intact aristocratic private library remaining in Hungary, which escaped the ravages of World War II in an astonishing turn of events worthy of the silver screen. Certain scenes of the movie Kincsem were also filmed in the castle.

The Castle District in Veszprém towers above the medieval, crooked little streets of the town, with a profusion of museums, palaces, galleries and churches, from the Fire Tower to the north peak of the castle, where the statues of Saint Stephen and Blessed Gisela watch over the town. Visit the Dubniczay Palace, the Saint Michael Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace and the Gisela Chapel, but make sure you also have time for the Salesianum, located in the recently renovated Bíró-Giczey House, which was built in the 18th century. It is definitely worth a visit for its halls decorated with Baroque wall paintings, a liturgical exhibition and a violin maker’s demonstration workshop.