What to see in Hungary: 10 must-sees

Stroll through Hollókő and explore its 67 wooden houses from the 17th century, the best-preserved traditional Hungarian architecture in Northern Hungary. This village, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, shows how the Palóc community once lived: wooden roofs, whitewashed façades, and a church that shapes the village layout. The site stands as exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition that has vanished elsewhere. Every spring, local festivals revive Palóc costumes and customs.

Ride in a cart or on horseback across the Hortobágy puszta, the great steppe plain of eastern Hungary where Hungarian herders have kept the transhumant livestock tradition alive for 2,000 years. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, this cultural landscape includes the Nine-Arched Bridge over the Hortobágy River, the historic csárda inn, and herds of gray cattle, Nonius horses, and Racka sheep. Watch the cranes migrating in autumn and the csikós demonstrations—horsemen displaying their horsemanship on the endless grass.

Explore Budapest, divided by the Danube into two distinct halves: Buda, with its hilltop castles, and Pest, where the museums are concentrated. This metropolis of 1.7 million people was the capital of the Habsburg Empire for 400 years. Visit the Parliament Building, opened in 1904 and the largest in Europe with 691 rooms, and see the Hungarian royal crown inside. Walk across the Chain Bridge, browse the Great Market Hall, and try lángos from its stalls before ending the day at a historic thermal bath.

Relax in Europe's largest baths, where 18 pools, 15 saunas, and 38°C waters create a wellness oasis in the heart of Budapest. Built in 1913 in neo-baroque style. Enjoy adventure and entertainment activities where excitement, scenery, and fun come together to create a lasting memory. Adrenaline, fun, and memories to last a lifetime.

Explore Danube National Park, in Central Hungary, where the river forms river islands, sandbanks, and riparian forests that change with every flood. Follow the trails through reed beds and wet meadows as you listen for kingfishers and gray herons along the banks. Board a boat to navigate the meanders and reach spots inaccessible on foot. In spring, the floodplains fill with wading birds; in autumn, migration turns the sky into a bird highway. Bring binoculars and mud-proof footwear, and check the boat schedules, which vary with the season.

Step inside St. Stephen's Basilica, Budapest's largest church, and take the chance to see its most famous relic: the mummified right hand of King Saint Stephen, kept in a golden reliquary. Explore the marble and mosaic interior, note the high altar and, if you have the energy, climb the 364 steps—or take the elevator—to the dome. At the top awaits the best view of the city, with Parliament, the Danube, and the Chain Bridge tracing the Pest skyline.

Discover Europe's largest thermal lake, in Western Hungary, where the water stays at 33°C and you can bathe all year round, even while snow falls around you. Swim among water lilies over a peaty bottom as steam rises off the surface. At the Hévíz spa, therapeutic treatments coexist with trails through the nearby woods, ideal for walking and birdwatching between relaxation sessions. The lake's waters renew themselves completely in little more than a day, a fact that explains their fame among those seeking health and rest.

Drop by Siófok, the best-known shore of Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe with 78 km of beaches. Stroll along its waterfront promenade, rent a paddleboard or a pedal boat, and have fried fish at the pier-side restaurants. In the afternoon, the cafés and beach bars fill up and the music carries to the sand. The water is shallow and warm in summer, ideal for swimming without straying far from shore.