eger-tokaj wine region

The highest hills in Hungary stretch across the northern part of the country from the Danube to the Tisza. UNESCO has registered the stalactite caves starting at Aggtelek and reaching through the Slovakian border, the old village of Hollókő and the Tokaj vineyards as a World Heritage site. Palóc embroidery and Matyó costumes are especially rich. The thermal waters supplying the baths in Bogács, Bükkszék, Eger, Egerszalók, Mezőkövesd and Miskolctapolca are recommended as therapy for locomotor disabilities, rheumatism and other complaints.

Top attractions:

Hollókő

Secluded among the ridges of the Cserhát Hills, Hollókő was the first village to be declared a World Heritage site. The medieval structure of the village is unique. The visitor centre of the Bükk National Park is dedicated to the Hollókő wildlife, the culture of the Palóc community and the life of farmers. The 13th-century castle atop the hill offers a splendid view of the landscape and the old village.

The Mátra Hills

Hungary's highest point is Kékestető, the 1,014-m summit of the Mátra. The 38-m lookout on top of a 187-m television tower gives a superb panorama. Winter sport facilities include ski slopes 300 and 2,400 m long, a ski-jump and lifts. The high number of sunshine days makes it a perfect place for a climatic health resort.

Parádfürdő

Its thermal waters with arsenic, iron and alum content have been known since the 17th century and are especially recommended for gynaecological ailments.

The Bükk National Park

The huge chalk mass of the Bükk Hills include the Bükk Plateau at a height of 900 m and the rocks Istállóskő, Tar kő, Őr kő, Három kő, Magos kő and Örvény kő rising around it. Archaeological finds are at display at the Szeleta, Istállóskő and Subalyuk caves.
One of the country's most beautiful resorts, Lillafüred on Lake Hámori can be reached by a narrowgauge railway from Miskolc. The fabulous Palace Hotel only adds to the romantic ambience. Two caves offer special experiences to nature lovers: Anna Cave with its unrivalled calcic turf formations and the St. Stephen Cave with its stalactites and therapeutic air.
In the summer, a narrow-gauge railway service departing from Szilvásvárad runs across the splendid 5-km Szalajka Valley, where the Szalajka stream is vaporised into spray as it cascades down the 17-m steps of the Fátyol Waterfall. The Forest Museum reveals the life of charcoal burners. The bones of a tundra deer, cave bears, a prehistoric bison, buffaloes and mammoths were found in a nearby cave of primitive man. The Lippizaner stud farm of the Viennese Spanish Riding School has its pasture in the neighbouring village Csipkéskút, where an exhibition of the History of Lippizaner Horse Breeding (8 Park utca) can also be seen.

Eger

This one thousand years old Episcopal and archiepiscopal seat is one of the most beautiful Baroque cities in Hungary. The Prison Museum, the Waxworks Museum, the Mint evoke historical memories, while the gallery exhibits paintings by European masters from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The Classicist Cathedral at Esterházy tér is Hungary's second largest church with the largest organ in the country. The town also offers a wide selection of full-bodied red wines. In the century-old wine-tasting cellars honeycombing the volcanic soils of the hillsides of Szépasszony völgye ('Pretty Lady Valley') you can taste the famed Bull's Blood. A natural hot spring on the outskirts of nearby Egerszalók is worth a visit.

Mezőkövesd

The inhabitants of Mezőkövesd, Tard and Szentistván, which make 'Matyóföld' (Land of the Matyó), are famous for two things: their Roman Catholic belief preserved in a Protestant environment and their particularly colourful folk costumes. Embroidery is made, folk furniture is carved, honey cake is baked, glass is engraved and pottery is made at every house in Hadas.

The Aggtelek National Park

One of the world's most incredible geographical phenomena and Europe's largest stalactite caves, the Baradla Cave in Aggtelek is a World Heritage site. Its Hungarian section is 17 km long, and has an underground stream.

Miskolc

Miskolc is Hungary's third largest city, known for its lively cultural life, natural heritage and monuments.

Tokaj
The historic Tokaj wine region, another World Heritage site, has been producing 'the king of wines and the wine of kings' for 450 years. Crowned heads of states, including Russian tsars, Polish kings and the Pope of Rome, were among regular customers of the wines made from grapes which ripen on the sunny hills until late autumn giving them a high sugar content.

Sárospatak

This small town used to be the favourite estate of Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II, who fought for Hungarian liberty against the Hapsburgs. The oldest parts of the Rákóczi Castle (19 Szent Erzsébet utca), rich in Gothic and Renaissance details, include the Red Tower, the late-Renaissance Lorántffy Loggia and the Prince's Palace, housing the Rákóczi Museum.

Sátoraljaújhely

Lying at the foot of hills, Sátoraljaújhely, is the country's northernmost town with an atmospheric Baroque centre.

The Zemplén Hills

The starting point of a network of 2,000-km of hiking trails crossing the country, the 894-m high Nagy Milic is the summit of a 3-million-year-old range of volcanic hills. The line of the state frontier winds along its highest peaks at a height of 600 to 800 m. 2,400 hectares of the 25,000-hectare Zemplén Protected Landscape Area is strictly protected. Its fauna includes the imperial and the golden eagles, lynxes and wolves, and among its flora are various kinds of orchids. Other unusual sights are rocks up to the size of a room, remnants of ice-age stone oceans (Boldogkőújfalu).