The best day trips from Budapest

Cobbled, twisty-turny streets make Szentendre a major tourist draw, but don’t that put you off. Its heritage as a Serbian enclave in the late 1600s and an artists’ colony a century or so ago means that it has enough atmospheric Orthodox churches and charming galleries to go round. Restaurants line the Danube embankment, where you’ll find the expansive open-air bar and live venue, the Kacsakő Bisztró, closed from late October to April.

How far? Head north from Budapest for 21km (13 miles)

How to get there: Frequent HÉV trains from Batthyány tér and Buda-side Margaret Bridge reach Szentendre station in 40 minutes – maps there show the 15-minute walk to the historic centre. Mahart boats from Vigádó tér in central Budapest drop you right by the riverside restaurants after a 90-minute glide up the Danube

The limit of a comfortable day trip at two hours away by train, Eger makes any journey worthwhile – with overnight stays an easy option. Bull’s Blood and its origin story encapsulate the attraction of this wine hub, the deep red stuff that feisty Magyars guzzled to fight off their Ottoman foe. Vineyards, cellars and castle remain, the city’s key landmark overlooking the main square of Dobó tér, named after the hero of the 1552 siege. Explore further and you’ll find a surprisingly comprehensive Beatles Museum, a dome-topped Basilica, and all kinds of towers, gates and lookouts once you scale those storied fortifications.

How far? Head north-east of Budapest for 135km (84 miles)

How to get there: Hourly trains run from Budapest Keleti, journey time just under two hours

Hungary’s favourite summer getaway, Lake Balaton also beckons in autumn thanks to its thriving wine industry, mainly centred on its north coast, specifically Badacsony. Here, producers offer wine tours and cellar visits, Laposa also featuring a panoramic terrace and top-notch restaurant. Nearby Tihany Abbey, founded a millennium ago, is the most notable historic attraction, with a stunning view to match. The south shore you’ll be gazing at comes alive from May onwards, when the scores of resorts attract a younger crowd of partygoers from all over Hungary. The lake itself is shallow, ideal for kids, but note that most beaches either require paid admission or are attached to hotels.

How far? Tihany is 135km (84 miles) west of Budapest, Badacsony 162km (100 miles). Siófok (south coast) is 105km (65 miles)

How to get there: Trains take two hours from Budapest Déli to Balatonfüred, the nearest main stop for Tihany a ten-minute taxi ride away. At three hours, Badacsony is too far for a day trip from Budapest by train, although only a two-hour drive. The main south-coast resort of Siófok is only one hour, 20 minutes from Budapest, but if you’re driving there, note that traffic crawls back to the capital on summer Sunday evenings

See where two countries meet on the shores of the Danube at Esztergom: a Hungarian city connected to the Slovakian town of Štúrovo by the Maria Valeria Bridge. The Basilica, however, remains the greatest local attraction, one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, towering over the great span of water before the river twists and turns towards Budapest and the Black Sea beyond. It’s a dramatic sight. Esztergom has enough other attractions – a Castle Museum with ninth-century treasure, a Danube Museum detailing the history of navigation and the creation of soda water – to easily fill a day. A plentiful array of restaurants caters to the many tourists, while an alternative crowd gathers at Kaleidoskóp for live music, exhibitions and cultural happenings, or just for a drink in ruin-bar surroundings. Open from 4pm daily.

How far is it? It’s only 50km (31 miles) as the crow flies, north towards Slovakia.

How to get there: A half-hourly train from Budapest Nyugati takes an hour to reach Esztergom station on Bem tér, a 15-minute walk from the city centre

Alongside Gödöllő HÉV station, the Royal Waiting Room (Wed-Sun 10am-4.30pm) seems itself to be waiting for the royal couple to waltz in. Here, today’s visitor is quickly aware of the reverence in which the Hungarian-speaking Habsburg Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria – aka Sisi – is held. Unhappy in Vienna, the young wife of stern Franz Joseph would spend as much of her time as she could at the Royal Palace, gliding through its Baroque interior of 136 rooms and riding her horse around its gorgeous grounds.

As well as a memorial exhibition within, Elisabeth features in the Habsburg Gallery but for non-Sisi initiates, perhaps the most fascinating exhibition is the one dedicated to the fate of the palace after the fall of the Habsburgs. Hungary’s pre-war leader Admiral Horthy was holed up here, before the Soviets converted it into a barracks. Look out for events here around summer and Christmastime, concerts, presentations and family-friendly Advent celebrations.

How far is it? Gödöllő is 35km (22 miles) north-east of Budapest

How to get there: It’s 45 minutes by HÉV suburban train from Örs vezér tere in Budapest, terminus of the red M2 metro line, to Gödöllő, the last stop on the H8 service. The Royal Palace is a clearly signposted ten-minute walk from there – but do peek into the Royal Waiting Room by the HÉV stop before you make your way

The medieval citadel of Visegrád comprises two main sites, the upper fortification a regular source of delight to archaeologists. A Habsburg helmet, probably from the late 1500s, was the most recent exciting discovery, in December 2024. Built after the Mongol invasions of the 1200s, Visegrád became the seat of the Angevin dynasty. Gargantuan volumes of wine were sunk during Charles I’s two-month congress here in 1335, the meeting of Hungarian, Polish and Czech royalty inspiring the creation of the Visegrád Four in 1991.

Visegrád is more a notion, a kind of Hungarian Camelot, whose existence would have been consigned to the history books but for an extensive series of digs first carried out in 1933. Today’s visitor can now scurry around the slopes, perusing what’s been excavated, perhaps taking in an exhibition or themed crowd-pleasing activities in the tourist season such as jousting and archery. There’s little else to Visegrád – apart from its dramatic appearance when you arrive by boat – which is why they opened a Pálinka Museum, detailing the history of Hungary’s revered clear fruit spirit.

How far is it? Visegrád is 38km (24 miles) north of Budapest

How to get there: The regular train from Budapest Nyugati takes 40 minutes to reach Nagymaros-Visegrád, where an hourly ferry chugs over the Danube for ten minutes with the citadel beckoning ahead

More prosaically, hourly buses run from Újpest-Városkapu on Budapest’s blue M3 metro line, delivering you to the ferry terminal at Visegrád in one hour, 45 minutes. The citadel is a steepish climb up from the Danube – local taxis tend to be minivans, handy if you’re a group, pricy for individual travellers

Noble dynasties helped shape the small town of Tata, building its 14th-century castle and 18th-century palace alongside, nature providing the gorgeous setting they overlook. The Old Lake not only reflects these historic landmarks in its shimmering waters, it also the most valuable bird habitat in the region. Visit during the migration season – usually the last week of November – to see as many as 50,000 waterfowl resting here on a daily basis.

The rest of the year, visitors are mainly drawn here for three notable reasons. First, there’s Tata Castle itself, whose exhibitions on local history are of limited interest to the non-Hungarian- speaking layman. Beside it, the Esterházy Palace is linked to the illustrious noble family of the same name, whose activities here, including horse-racing and theatre performances, are detailed in the many exhibition spaces and furnished rooms fully renovated in 2020. In the Habsburg days, the Esterházys lent Tata, located halfway between Budapest and Vienna a monarchical air.

This ambience gave celebrated contemporary designer Zoltán Varró the inspiration for the glittering décor of the Plátán restaurant sat between castle and palace. Bocuse d’Or-awarded chef István Pesti did the rest, devising a gourmet food offering that soon delivered two Michelin stars to Tata. He recently opened at outlet in the capital – specifically, Time Out Market Budapest. Booking is essential to sample his six- or ten-course tasting menu here by the lake.

How far is it? Tata is 70km (43 miles) north-west of Budapest

How to get there: There are two regular train services from Budapest to Tata, each taking about an hour, one from Déli and the other from Keleti

The picturesque village of Mátrafüred lies at the southern foot of the Mátra hills. It’s a lovely day trip, with great hiking trails through the surrounding woods. If you time your arrival right, you can also take the narrow-gauge train that runs to the nearest main town of Gyöngyös, a relaxing journey of 20 minutes – or stop off on the way to sample the regional whites and rosés for which the Mátra is also known. Cyclists can take the verdant route between the two communities, though those coming by bus from Budapest would have to hire wheels in situ – perhaps from High-Tech Sportok Bázisa 1 (+36 20 449 4444), part of the local tourism and events organisation, Four Seasons.

How far is it? Mátrafüred is 88km (55 miles) north-east of Budapest

How to get there: An hourly bus leaves Stadion station alongside the Puskás Ferenc Stadion stop on the red M2 metro line. It takes one hour and 25 minutes to reach Mátrafüred, autóbusz-váróterem, the de facto local bus station on the outskirts of the village.

An alternative would be to take the hourly train from Budapest Keleti to Gyöngyös, a journey of one hour and 25 minutes, and then change for the narrow-gauge train (see above) or a regular local bus to Mátrafüred, journey time 15 minutes

Nature not only granted the ‘Preaching Chair’ a commanding view of the Danube as it loops towards Budapest, but over prime hiking country, too. At 639 metres, this is the third highest point of the Visegrád hills, and is one of the most famous vantage points in all of Hungary. Marked trails and stellar views attract gaggles of hikers – most feeling the need to go even higher and scale the extra 12 metres to the lookout tower, an Ybl-prize-winning creation of slatted and criss-crossed wood. From up here in autumn, the colours of the landscape defy description.

Intrepid visitors can continue their journey to Rám-szakadék, a dramatic gorge just outside the nearest transport hub for the area, Dömös. Made up of volcanic rock walls dotted with magnificent waterfalls, the terrain makes for a perfect – albeit challenging – hike. The three-spring valley, which cuts into the block, is a particularly wild, scenic part of the experience.

How far is it? The setting-off point of Dömös is 43km (27 miles) north of Budapest

How to get there: As there is no direct service to Dömös, there are two options. Either take the HÉV suburban train to Szentendre (see above) from Batthyány tér 40 minutes away, then bus 880 from the concourse adjacent to Szentendre station to Dömös (one hour), or the train from Budapest Nyugati to Esztergom (see above) an hour away, then a 40-minute bus to Dömös. The local service leaves from alongside Esztergom station