100% customisable travel idea
Budapest and Lake Balaton Experience Hungary as it is today
Hungary - Budapest - Lake Balaton
100% customisable travel idea
Hungary - Budapest - Lake Balaton
100% customisable for you
Transfer. Stay for three nights in Pest, the lower town, in the central district of Terézváros. Between St. Stephen's Basilica (Jozsef Hild and Miklos Ybl, 1851-1906) and the opera house (Miklos Ybl, 1884), the 18th-century building has an interior courtyard covered with Virginia creeper. Galleries run from floor to floor. That said, the spirit of the hotel is very contemporary, from its environmental policies to its ultra-graphic decor. The rooms are divided into four themes: Classic, Cool, Natural and Heaven. Increasingly intangible, yet always very comfortable. A tasty breakfast is served on site, in a bistro setting. The bar, which offers a glamorous take on the ruin concept, attracts a loyal clientele of young professionals, thanks to its optical art and well-made cocktails. The sauna and gym make the cellars an unexpected well-being space.
Already on your itinerary - The Pest Plain and the Parliament. The Hungarian Parliament - designed by Imre Steindl, 1885-1904 - with its flamboyant neo-Gothic façade on the Danube, comes to mind when anyone thinks of Budapest. And understandably because the building is truly majestic. Visitors can explore the halls and ceremonial rooms, which are astonishing in their grandeur. The great glass artist Miksa Roth (1865-1944) created many Art Nouveau stained glass windows for the building. Accompanied by a private guide, you will also visit the central market halls for Budapest’s best cuisine. More Art Nouveau architecture, this time designed by Samu Pecz in 1896, and an abundance of food: everything Hungary uses in its cuisine awaits on the stalls, such as apricots, beef trachea, foie gras, paprika, parsley root and much, much more. Vaci utca, the chic shopping street, is lined with designer boutiques and elegant cafes. Although Count Istvan Széchenyi initiated the project, two subjects of the Queen of Great Britain completed the Chain Bridge (1839-1849). Before becoming the symbol of the capital, this engineering feat was first and foremost a technical tour de force.
Optional - Private cruise on the Danube.
Already on your itinerary - Trendy Budapest. There is the Budapest you find in travel brochures; the Budapest that is becoming more institutionalised, with its ruin bars - still great fun - and the creative Budapest. It is the latter that is of interest to you today. You’ll unlock its cryptic geography with a knowledgeable private guide. The FlatLAB boutique has cutting-edge stylists and is perched on the 3rd floor. The Puskin cinema broke new ground in 1929 with the introduction of sound films; today, still at the forefront, it shows uncompromisingly mainstream films. For a range of kitchenware and sustainable fabrics, made by small independent workshops: Printa. In Telep, you'll find young enthusiasts of design, fashion, music, graphic design, photography, etc. gathered around the bar. And the street art of the Danube is both interesting and vibrant. A lively outing that invites you to seek out something different from the main highlights. For example, the beautiful tomb of Gül Baba, a dervish and contemporary poet of Suleiman the Magnificent, or the Kiraly baths, which are still steeped in Ottoman tradition.
Pick up your rental car and head to Lake Balaton. Stay for three nights in a beautifully designed guest house, set back a little from the lake shore. It is a recent construction, but respectful of the regional style. The rooms are bright and clean. White and red are alternated on the walls and beds. Parquet flooring, small and practical furnishings, discreet decorative touches. Spotless bathrooms. Breakfast is a delightful mix of traditional ingredients (sausages, honey, cheese) and international pastries. In summer, a kitchen with a barbecue is available for guests to use. Perfect for spending long, pleasant evenings in the garden.
Alongside the lake, whose northern shore is more thermal and southern shore more suitable for bathing, the region's vineyards are its most obvious attraction. The plots cover the hills of the Káli basin. Twelve miles (20 km) to the west, the Badacsony mountain with its 50-metre basalt columns, delights nature lovers. A little further east is Veszprém, a charming and harmonious architectural gem. In the centre of Veszprém is St. Michael's Cathedral, which was restored in the early 20th century to its 14th-century Gothic best. A few miles to the north-west, lovers of delicate and fragile objects will be enchanted by the porcelain from the Herend Porcelain Manufactory. This esteemed factory supplied Queen Victoria and Emperor Franz Joseph, and consequently the great European bourgeois families of the time. It was about having the same dinner sets as the Schönbrunn Palace, even if it was just 12 place settings compared to the palace’s 120. Next why not visit the thermal lake of Hévíz: natural hot waters, whose healing effects were already recognised by the Romans. While soaking in this rejuvenating bath, you can delight in the Belle Époque pavilions and the water lilies. It's also interesting that the beautiful Benedictine monastery in Tihany on the shores of Lake Balaton - what a blue sky up there! - is dedicated to Saint Aignan of Orléans, who defended the city against the Huns in 451.
Already on your itinerary - Lake Balaton like a local. You will meet Peter, a Hungarian and altruist. No set itinerary, but an opportunity to make use of this young person’s in-depth knowledge of their country to fulfil your desires and interests. We are sure that an itinerary will be put together quickly, with all the necessary precision and flexibility. You can use our suggestions from the previous paragraph, or you can let yourselves be carried away by the inspiration of the moment, the weather or the guide's suggestions: a fisherman friend, a cheese maker, a beekeeper, a winegrower, etc. The inland lake.
Drive to Budapest. Return the car. Return journey.
This suggested itinerary can be customisable down to the smallest detail, including duration, stops and content. An à la carte menu of experiences is also available to create a journey that reflects who you are.
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