The best cities to visit in Hungary (that aren’t Budapest)

Hungary’s most recommendable city break is Pécs, and not just because of its proximity to the major wine region of Villány. Lively and arty, Pécs is centrepieced by the Ottoman-built Mosque of Pasha Qasim; nearby you’ll find another historic landmark in the Early Christian Necropolis, a Roman cemetery from the fourth century AD. Major Hungarian artists, Post-Impressionist Csontváry and op-artist Vasarely, both have their own dedicated museums here. But the highlight is the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter, a museum complex set around the Zsolnay ceramics factory where tiles for the signature roofs of major Budapest landmarks were produced.

Think of Szeged and you might think of the paprika that goes into its signature fiery fish soup, best devoured at a traditional restaurant overlooking the river Tisza. The city’s relationship with its broad waterway hasn’t always been so benign. A terrible flood in 1879 swept away most of the town, allowing it to be remodelled with elegant avenues and Art Nouveau villas, the subject of themed local walking tours. Wherever you wander, you’ll see the twin spires of the Votive Church pricking up over the skyline, the backdrop for summer’s cultural festival that takes place on the main square of Dóm tér.

Hungary’s most popular provincial getaway owes its allure to the myths surrounding the brave defence of its castle from Ottoman forces. Bull’s blood added to red wine fortified Hungarian resistance during a sixteenth-century siege, or so the Turks were led to believe. The castle still dominates the city centre and wine still drives the tourist industry, particularly in the autumn, when the cellars lining the Valley of Beautiful Women just outside town are stocked with the new vintage. It’s not all wine and ramparts – there’s a surprisingly comprehensive Beatles Museum to peruse and spas to explore.

Many choose this former artists’ colony for their day out from Budapest, partly because it’s easily accessible by boat, bicycle or a 40-minute train hop ride alongside the Danube, partly because it’s all cobbled streets and galleries, with few apparent sightseeing duties to follow. But before artists discovered this enclave a century ago, Szentendre had been built by Serbs fleeing the Ottomans further south. Their Orthodox churches, some with magnificent icons, still stand today, all facing east, giving the quaint town centre a haphazard, Balkan feel. Terraces line the riverfront, with seasonal open-air bar Kacsakő most true to Szentendre’s bohemian heritage.

Some 20 resorts line Lake Balaton, coast-free Hungary’s great summer getaway. Many Hungarian families have summer houses here, but few beaches are free to enter, most now privatised by Hungary’s elite. Admission fees are the norm. Generally speaking, the north shore is for sensible wine drinkers, the south for hedonists – major summer music fest Balaton Sound, for example, takes place at Zamárdi. Lake Balaton’s biggest city is Siófok, abuzz with bars and clubs, plus a historic water tower and ferris wheel for panoramic views. If sensible wine drinking is preferred, tranquil Badacsony is built on the volcanic soil responsible for what’s in your glass.

In the Socialist era, this industrial hub was Hungary’s second city, its sprawling ironworks inspiring underground, metal and punk bands by the bucketload. What remains from this savage drinking culture is Hungary’s liveliest provincial bar scene along the main street, given over to a huge flea market on the first Sunday of every month. Beckoning beyond, accessible by public transport, is Lillafüred, whose pretty lake is surrounded by the greenery of the Bükk. A national park of dense forest extending to Eger, this haunt of wild boars and, occasionally, bears is crossed by a narrow-gauge railway that runs year-round.

Hungary’s second largest city, home to the country’s only other main airport, Debrecen is the gateway to the Hortobágy National Park, a dark-sky preserve known for its rare bird life and Hungarian grey cattle, once near extinct. A major university city, Debrecen has received considerable investment in recent years, though the $5.7 million paid by the Hungarian State to complete the purchase of Mihály Munkácsy’s large-scale Trilogy, a religious epic hanging in the Déri Museum, was probably the wisest buy. It sits behind Debrecen’s main landmark, the Reformed Great Church, which towers over the terrace cafés of the relaxed city centre.