Things to do in Lake Balaton, Hévíz & Pécs

On the Tihany peninsula, the Tihany Benedictine Abbey has looked over Lake Balaton for nearly 1,000 years, with one ticket covering the baroque abbey church, the tomb of its founder Andrew I and the abbey museum, while in Balatonfüred the Tagore Promenade runs for more than 1 km past memorial trees and a fountain of the town's carbonated mineral water. Around the lake, Festetics Palace in Keszthely recreates aristocratic life with its famous library, carriages and historic model railway, the Hévíz Thermal Lake Bath is open for bathing all year, and boats glide through the flooded passages of the Tapolca Lake Cave right beneath the town. Hilltop Szigliget Castle offers 3D animated films and replica weapons you can hold, Sümeg Castle is reached on foot by a cobbled serpentine path, the Kápolnapuszta Buffalo Reserve at Kis-Balaton runs jeep pasture tours and has a lookout tower, and the Mini Manufactory at the Herend Porcelanium Visitor Center lets you try shaping or painting porcelain yourself. In Pécs, the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter pairs its famous eosin-glazed pieces with the hands-on Labor science playhouse and a planetarium, and the Pécs Early Christian Necropolis opens World Heritage-listed 4th-century burial chambers from the Cella Septichora Visitor Center.

Good to knowTapolca Lake Cave tickets are sold for set times and can sell out early, so book online or arrive in the morning, and at Hévíz bathing is currently outdoors only, entered from the main entrance on the Schulhof promenade. The Herend Porcelanium closes for winter, the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter's exhibitions open Thursday to Sunday in winter, the Early Christian Necropolis is closed on Mondays, and Festetics Palace's closing days vary by season. Szigliget Castle keeps shorter winter hours with last entry 30 minutes before closing, and Sümeg Castle can be reached only on foot, with a steeper, narrower final stretch, so wear comfortable shoes.