Bük - Sárvár for Explorers - 5 days

The construction of the Nádasdy Castle in Sárvár only began in the late 13th century but it saw its heyday when it was owned by the Nádasdy family in the 16th and 17th centuries. This long history provides the basis for diverse exhibitions: you can see famous works of glass art at the glass exhibition, there is an exhibition presenting the everyday life of the most Hungarian of military units, the Hussars, and you can also discover how furniture styles changed over the centuries and even see the Nádasdy clock, the only work of art belonging to the family that once owned the castle. The ceremonial hall is perhaps the most impressive sight: it is one of the most imposing Hungarian Baroque interiors in the country with its dazzling murals and stuccos. If you are interested in Renaissance history, you can immerse yourself in it here. 

Visit the Parish Church of St. Clement in Bük, where you can admire fabulous Roman, Gothic and Baroque details. The construction of the church began in the 13th century, and you can see fragments of murals from these times inside. The rest of the wall paintings date from around the 1700s, when almost the entire building was remodelled in Baroque style. This captivating sacred site is a single-nave, side-chapel building, and you can also admire the spectacular main altarpiece made by Ferenc Storno Sr. Did you know that the eponym of this parish church, the martyr St. Clement, is one of the earliest saints of the Church? 

The István Bechtold Nature Conservation Visitor Centre was built on a concept unlike any other in Hungary: learn about the unparalleled wildlife at the meeting point of the Carpathian Basin and the Alps. While on the institution’s ground floor you can learn about the plants and wildlife of the Kőszeg Mountains, the gallery flies you into the world of birds, where you can also learn, for example, how to prevent bird accidents. The permanent and temporary exhibitions at the centre draw your attention to the beauties of nature, while also trying to encourage an environmentally conscious lifestyle. Come and visit the adventure trail running around the imposing building, where you can get closer to nature in a playful way.  

One of the most special sights of the Kőszeg Mountains is located in this small village at the foot of the Alps: you will surely be enchanted by the protected, small, thatched roofed wine cellars of Cák that recall the days of yore. In the cellar row, which is now a small open-air museum, you can get a first-hand insight into the world of viticulture and winemaking: in the open-air ethnographic museum you can see grape presses and other wine-making tools, and even an interesting cooperage exhibition. Most of these cellars, which are covered with clay, were built from oak and chestnut beams in the early 19th century, and some of them also have huge, painted presses and fruit racks.  

You will drop into a real urban oasis if you choose to visit the Kámon Arboretum: this place is a miracle in itself. More than 3,200 plants provide a stunningly harmonious cavalcade of colours and scents here. You can admire the dazzling spectacle of fabulous peonies, ornamental fruit trees, evergreen and deciduous magnolias, bamboos and Japanese maples. As you walk, take a look at the renovated Saághy Palace, the Dendrokolor Rock Garden and the bubbling waterfall. And if you arrive in May, you can see the bloom of rhododendrons, the memory of which will surely stay with you forever. Did you know that this arboretum has the largest collection of hydrangeas in Hungary?  

Walking in the Vas Museum Village, you can get a true-to-life picture of village life from the 18th to the 20th centuries: in the open-air ethnographic museum you can look into a small corner of the past, experience what it was like to live in a peasant house, a middle-class home and a noble house. You can admire the original furnishings and the historical changes of fireplaces in the rooms and kitchens. Take a look at the farmyards of the time, the late baroque chapel, the wooden belfry, the free chimney smithy or the Slovenian smoke house, which is the oldest type of house on view. Meet the native Hungarian domestic animals raised in the open-air museum and get to know the plants used in folk medicine. If you enjoy crowds, come here during the St. Martin's Day Fair.