Your Ultimate Bucket List in Hungary Awaits

Step out of the conventional European tourist attractions and check out unique activities around the country
Lake Balaton

Hungary is a must-see destination with endless hidden gems awaiting first-time and returning visitors. Attractions include the “Hungarian Sea,” and exploring its UNESCO World Heritage Site, and more. Below is a bucket list of unique activities throughout Hungary, including hidden gems and lesser-known local secrets off-the-beaten-path.

Lake Balaton: Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe stretching over 50 miles on the western coastline of Hungary and is known as the Hungarian Sea. The north city along the river is Balatonfüred, which offers a serene environment for those looking for a lakeside getaway. Badacsony, another town along the lake, is known for its vineyards and wine hotels, where visitors can taste various Hungarian wines, such as the local specialty, Olaszrizling. Further south of the lake is Siófok, which is a popular and easily accessible beach destination with a long boardwalk along the lakeshore that comes alive at night with various clubs and restaurants for partygoers.

Where: Lake Balaton, central Hungary. The lake is about 50 miles southwest of the country’s capital city, Budapest. There are daily trains that take you directly from Budapest to the north-side stop of the lake (Balatonfüred) and the south-side stop of the lake (Siófok).

Artful Scavenger Hunt: Street art is trendy around Budapest, and if you want to have a fun, little treasure hunt in the city center, you should check out the mini statues scattered around the city made by the famous guerrilla-art sculptor Mihály Kolodko. These mini sculptures depict various themes from important figures in Hungarian history to cute cartooned animals. There are guided walking tours available to discover the art and life of the artist Kolodko.

Where: Scattered around Downtown Budapest.

Trekking in Aggtelek National Park and the Baradla Cave: Aggtelek National Park is the only nature site recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country thus far. This national park covers an area of over 75 miles filled with wilderness, wildlife castles, forts, and caves. Aggtelek is home to over 280 caves below the park, including the incredible Baradla Cave, a vast cave system that crosses into Slovakia. The caves go for a little over 15 miles and have some caverns that are up to 26 feet high.

Where: Northern part of Hungary, along the border of Slovakia. It takes three hours to drive from Budapest to the park.

About Visit Hungary

The Hungarian Tourism Agency operates in international markets under the brand name Visit Hungary. Visit Hungary performs domestic and international sales and marketing communication tasks related to tourism, manages International Tourism Representation, executes image and product campaigns both in Hungary and abroad, produces tourism and image publications, conducts research and analysis in support of marketing communication activities, and participates in fairs and tourism trade fairs to promote domestic and foreign tourism. For more information, visit https://visithungary.com/.

Source: Visit Hungary