WHERE TO TRAVEL - WHAT TO DO
The dates in the picture refer to the 2021 Danube circle lines!
VISEGRÁD
Visegrád is a small town located at the most beautiful point of the Danube Bend, the medieval cradle of cooperation among the Visegrád countries. Its tourism website is www.visitvisegrad.hu.
While visiting Visegrád, a must-see program is a visit to the Zugfőzde Pálinkamúzeum, where, in addition to tasting fantastic pálinka (fruit brandy), you can choose from Hungarian-style, meat-cheese samplers, accompanied by mixed platters. As part of the pálinka tour, you can learn about the history of pálinka distillation and Hungary's famous fruit-growing regions. www.palinkamuzeumvisegrad.hu/.
For culinary adventures, we recommend a visit to the authentically designed Renaissance Restaurant, where the atmosphere of former princely feasts comes to life in both the dishes and the setting. If you time your visit well, you can even enjoy the performance of a lute player alongside the exquisite delicacies. . www.renvisegrad.hu.
Located in the heart of the city, directly on the bank of the Danube, near the central parking area, you will find the Palotaház, where you can not only receive tourist information and accommodation offers but also get an insight into local artisan workshops or even start your visit with a pleasant meal at Étkek Háza (House of Flavors). The Palotaház offers the following services:
• Infoház - Information Office
• Mesterségek udvara - Courtyard of Crafts
• Piactér és Vinotéka - Market Square and Vinoteca
• Étkek háza - Show Kitchen Restaurant
At the Mesterségek udvara (Courtyard of Crafts), guests can observe demonstrations of ancient crafts. Skilled hands practically showcase various traditional crafts, and the masters invite visitors to actively participate. In the courtyard, you can see a stonemason workshop, a blacksmith workshop, a ceramics workshop, and a papermaking workshop. The "Étkek Háza" is a uniquely designed two-story restaurant with a show kitchen, where traditional Hungarian dishes, meat cooked on a hot plate, various flatbreads, and homemade pastries await visitors.
The Palotaház market square offers gifts and souvenirs related to the medieval history and culture of the city. The Palotaház Vinotéka offers tastings of quality wines from historical Hungarian wine regions to the visitors. www.palotahaz.hu/
Matthias King Playground ❯❯ In the front garden of the Royal Palace in Visegrád, a fairytale garden and activity house await guests who are eager to play. You can step straight into the world of Matthias' tales through the magnificent gateway, guarded by two mighty Hungarian and Turkish warriors, keeping watch over those who don't believe in fairytales. The installations in the playground are unique works of art made from natural materials, playfully blending into their historical surroundings.
Mogyóróhegy Tourist Center ❯❯ Nowadays, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Visegrád Mountains. It is particularly ideal for families, as the facilities cater to both children and adults, offering opportunities for enjoyable leisure time. Mogyoróhegy can be approached from various directions. On foot, you can reach it from Visegrád through the Salamon Tower, following the blue cross trail, or from Visegrád - Szentgyörgypuszta through the picturesque Áprily Valley, following the blue square-marked tourist path.
The most visited attractions in the Mogyóróhegy Tourist Center are the forest playgrounds: the Mogyoróhegy Folk Playground and the Exhibition Playground. The natural values of the area are presented in the Mogyoróhegy Nature Trail, established in 2002, where you can explore the flora and fauna of the forest and meadow, as well as the role of the forest in human life. The accompanying guidebook for the nature trail can be purchased at the Forest Cultural Center. www.parkerdo.hu/mogyoro_hegy
Bertényi Miklós Botanical Garden ❯❯ Along the road leading from Visegrád to Telgárthy Meadow, there are many sights to see. Following the Apátkúti Creek, passing by the Devil's Mill Waterfall and the Magdolna Spring, you will arrive at the meadow, where you can find the entrance to the Bertényi Miklós Botanical Garden. The garden presents a completely different landscape and a unique microclimate compared to the surrounding hills. In the late 1960s, they replaced the existing hornbeam, locust, and sessile oak stands with larch, Douglas fir, beech, and Norway spruce stands. The garden displays a different picture in every season. With the arrival of spring, the mass blooming of golden currants signals the beginning of leafing, and the forest resounds with the songs of birds. In summer, the foliage of the trees reaches its fullness, and millions of insects buzz everywhere. Opening hours: Thursday to Sunday, between 10:00 and 20:00, during the opening hours of the Ördögmalom Restaurant. http://www.parkerdo.hu/bertenyi_miklos_fuveszkert
Spartacus Trail ❯❯ In the autumn of 2015, the Spartacus Trail became a designated hiking trail in the Visegrád Mountains. The approximately 5 km long trail winds between Pilisszentlászló and Visegrád. Many consider this trail to be the most beautiful route in the Danube Bend, and for good reason: from various points along the trail, there are unparalleled views of the Pilis Mountains. Moreover, it can be completed without much effort by experienced hikers.
ESZTERGOM
The Esztergom Basilica is the third largest church in Europe, after the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome and St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Its upper treasury can be reached by climbing 60 stairs, the Panorama Hall by climbing 120 stairs, and the magnificent Dome Lookout by conquering 400 spiral stairs.
In the renovated Esztergom Castle Museum, you can admire the uncovered rooms of the royal palace, and the exhibitions introduce you to the history of the Esztergom Castle. Since 2014, the royal chapel and the Beatrix Hall are open for visitors, and the working room of Vitéz János, the Studiolo, is open periodically. www.varmegom.hu
Those who want to explore the history and present of Hungarian ecclesiastical culture should not miss the Christian Museum located in the Primate's Palace. Here, alongside late medieval winged altarpieces, you can marvel at ivory carvings, caskets, ceramic rarities, stained glass windows, and Eastern knotted carpets that delight the eye and the heart. At the foot of the Basilica, in the Primate's Cellar, the Carpathian Basin Wine Regions Tunnel has been opened, where you can get acquainted with characteristic grape varieties and winemaking techniques. Moreover, you have the opportunity to taste wines from around 22 Hungarian and Transylvanian regions. The Vinum Liturgicum, or "liturgy wine," commonly known as altar wine, can also be found in the cellar. www.primaspince.hu
Few people know that in Esztergom stands the restored architectural monument farthest northwest in the Ottoman Empire, the Özicseli Hadzsi Ibrahim Mosque. The building, which has become "merged" with the medieval walls of the Water Town of Esztergom, has the uniqueness of being two-story, which is unusual for a Muslim place of worship as the mosque is elevated above the gateway. Today, it serves as an exhibition space, and there is a café in the inner courtyard, where you can admire the beauty of the Danube from the terrace. In the city center, the Duna Museum, which presents the history of Hungarian water management in an interactive way, introduces us to the magical world of water and the functioning of wells, mills, and locks. In the museum's Splash Area, which is family and guest-friendly with its projection room, visitors can try out ancient water structures. For those who enjoy mountaineering, we recommend visiting the authentically furnished summer house of Mihály Babits, where the autograph wall bearing the names of about a hundred luminaries of 20th-century Hungarian literature and the splendid veranda with a magnificent view, which is the birthplace of many Babits poems, make it worth the trip.
Through the city's bike-sharing system, EBI, you can easily rent bicycles at several docking stations and explore the city with its museums, chestnut tree avenues, bridges, and historical atmosphere. http://esztergombicikli.hu/
Due to its proximity to Budapest, Esztergom is an ideal destination for a full-day trip, easily accessible by train, bus, car, or bike. However, we highly recommend taking a riverboat as it allows you time and opportunity to admire the unparalleled beauty of the landscape while cruising along the Danube from Budapest to Vác, through Visegrád, all the way to Esztergom.
Komárom, az erőd. - Komárom, the fortress.
Komárom is a cultural and tourist center with a population of 20,000, located halfway between Esztergom and Győr. Its modern rise began when, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the Vienna Court renovated the Komárom Fortress and decided to transform it into a fortress system capable of accommodating 200,000 soldiers. The construction of the fortress system was completed in the 1870s, with the construction of permanent bridges over the Danube and the Little Danube. Currently, on the Hungarian side of the divided city, three forts can be found (Monostori, Igmándi, and Csillagerőd), of which the first two are open to visitors. The Komárom Fortresses are the largest preserved modern fortresses in Central Europe and popular venues for various festivals, family days, and concerts. The unique character of the fortresses, the centuries-old walls, the castle moats, and the atmosphere of the casemates make the hours spent here special and exciting. The city's active tourism offerings are diverse: you can enjoy indoor go-karting on a 400-meter-long concrete track, try archery near the Monostori Fort, indulge in water sports at the WF Leisure Park, or rent bicycles at the Hét Vezér Apartment House. In Komárom, the walls of houses, the stones of the streets, the towers of churches, and the trees of courtyards keep ancient secrets, which can be discovered with the help of knowledgeable tour guides. The multilingual city tour starts from the Tourinform Office (2 Igmándi út, Komárom, 2900) every Wednesday and Saturday at 13:00. www.iranykomarom.hu/
Arriving by boat on the Danube, you can see the symbol of the city from afar, the tastefully restored Monostori Fortress, where you can visit a military history and Monarchy exhibition, a 19th-century cannon exhibition, exhibitions of Danube ships and crafts, a Soviet exhibition titled "Red Shades," the Bread Museum, and the Military Technology Park - all in one place! The exhibition "Duna, hajók, mesterségek" (Danube, Ships, Crafts), opened in 2015, features a 9-meter-long model of a barge, known from Mór Jókai's novel "The Golden Man." The exhibition provides insight into the warships of the monarchy, European cargo ships, and the world of crafts along the Danube. The fortress guides accompany groups with stories from the era during the "Fortress Tours" available for individual visitors as well. It's worth taking a walk or cycling to the Danube bastion, where a café awaits curious guests. www.fortmonostor.hu
The thermal bath in Komárom took its name from the neighboring Szőny, the site of the ancient Roman garrison center, Brigetio. The Brigetio Thermal Bath welcomes guests all year round: in winter for healing, recreation, and in the summer season for swimming. Their outdoor thermal pools, with temperatures of 30-33 and 36-38 degrees Celsius respectively, their 33-meter-long stretched water pool, indoor thermal water pool, and the jacuzzi opposite it are accessible throughout the year. During the summer season, the beach welcomes visitors with a stretched water surface family slide pool, children's pools with entertainment elements and a snake slide with temperatures of 27-30 degrees Celsius, and an outdoor swimming pool with a stretched water surface and temperatures of 22-25 degrees Celsius for those who want to swim, do sports, and have fun. www.komthermal.hu
In 2015, the sauna area of the spa was renovated and now offers three units (indoor sauna, log cabin sauna, and the surrounding sauna garden) to entice guests seeking relaxation. The complex also features a salt room and a steam cabin. Natural materials dominate everywhere (wood, stone, tile), and the ancient Roman atmosphere is reflected throughout. Sauna sessions held two to three times a week are increasingly popular among young visitors as well.
If you spend your leisure time in Komárom, you don't have to give up theater programs. The city is home to the Hungarian Equestrian Theater, which is based on a unique artistic expression that combines Man, Art, and Horse. In the 2016 season, the theater awaits guests with performances starting from the end of April, including the premiere of the rock opera "Hét vezér" (Seven Leaders). www.lovasszinhaz-komarom.hu
