Lake Balaton, from Tihany to Hévíz

Around the lake

Balaton stretches for 78 kilometres, and its two shores are not alike. In the north, Route 71 runs past vineyard slopes and villages of press houses. In the south, Route 7 follows a flat shore, with its beaches and seaside resorts.

On the Tihany peninsula, the abbey looks down on the lake, above fields of lavender that flower in early summer. Heading west, you go up Badacsony for the wine and the view, climb to the ruins of Szigliget, then swim in the warm water of the thermal lake at Hévíz. In Tapolca, you take a boat round an underground lake, beneath the town centre.

At the western tip, the Kis-Balaton is a large reed marsh, with its herons and water buffalo. On the south shore, the water is so shallow that you walk a long way before you are out of your depth: this is the shore for families. On the way back, the M7 crosses the Kőröshegy Viaduct, the longest bridge in Hungary.

On Badacsony, the Kisfaludy-ház is the old press house of the poet Sándor Kisfaludy, now a restaurant. Close by, a flat stone bears his wife’s name: the Rózsakő. Legend has it that a couple who sit on it with their backs to the lake, holding hands, will be married within the year.

The Tihany peninsula is volcanic too. Its inner lake fills an old crater, 25 metres higher than Balaton, and old hot springs have left more than a hundred geyser cones on the peninsula.

Tihany Abbey and the castles of the lake

Tihany Abbey was founded in 1055 by King Andrew I. Its founding charter, in Latin, contains a few words of Hungarian: “feheruuaru rea meneh hodu utu rea”, “on the military road that leads to Fehérvár”. They are the oldest Hungarian words preserved in an original document. Andrew I lies in the crypt, often described as the only intact medieval royal tomb in Hungary.

The Benedictines of Pannonhalma built Szigliget castle between 1260 and 1262. In the 16th century, the Ottomans pushed as far as the lake, and Szigliget became a border fortress. In 1697, lightning blew up its powder store, and the emperor had the castle demolished in 1702. In Keszthely, Festetics Palace, begun in 1745, is one of the largest palaces in Hungary.

What not to miss

1. 1Tihany AbbeyThe crypt of King Andrew I and the view over the lake.
2. 2The thermal lake at HévízThe largest thermal lake in Europe, where you swim among the water lilies.
3. 3Festetics PalaceThe great palace of Keszthely and its Helikon Library.
4. 4The Kis-BalatonKányavár island, its wooden footbridge, and the buffalo of Kápolnapuszta.
5. 5The ruins of SzigligetThe lake on both sides and Badacsony opposite.
6. 6VeszprémThe “city of queens”, whose bishop crowned the queens of Hungary.

Lake Balaton in pictures

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The thermal lake at Hévíz and its bathhouse on stilts, among the trees.

The Balaton table

The lake’s most famous fish is the fogas: the name for zander once it weighs more than 1.5 kilos. It is often served as fillets, grilled or fried. On the beaches, people eat lángos, a fried flatbread topped with garlic, sour cream and cheese.

The north shore is white wine country. On Badacsony, you drink olaszrizling, szürkebarát (the Hungarian name for pinot gris) and kéknyelű, an old Hungarian grape. Near Veszprém, the Herend manufactory, founded in 1826, makes hand-painted porcelain.