Things to do in Southeastern Hungary
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Ferenc Móra Museum
Oskola utca, one of the city's oldest streets, leads from Dóm tér to Roosevelt tér and the Palace of Education (1896) at No 1-3, which now houses the Ferenc Móra Museum. The museum's strength lies in its colourful collection of folk art from Csongrád County, bearing intelligent descriptions in several languages.
The unique exhibit of 7th-century Avar finds of delicate gold work and other art pieces showcases the sophistication and art appreciation of these often forgotten people while another room is given over to an even more obscure group, the Sarmatians. Originating in present-day Iran, these people moved to the plain as allies of the Romans; construction of the n…
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New Synagogue
For many people, Szeged's most compelling sight is the Hungarian Art Nouveau New Synagogue, which was designed by Lipót Baumhorn in 1903. It is the most beautiful Jewish house of worship in Hungary and still very much in use.
If the grace and enormous size of the exterior don't impress you, the blue-and-gold interior will. The cupola, decorated with stars and flowers (representing Infinity and Faith), appears to float skyward, and the tabernacle of carved acacia wood and metal fittings is a masterpiece.
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Hungarian Museum of Naive Artists
Arguably the city's most interesting museum and one of the few of its kind in Europe, the Hungarian Museum of Naive Artists is in the Stork House (1730), surrounded by a high white wall, just off Petőfi Sándor utca. Lots of predictable themes here, but the warmth and craft of Rozália Albert Juhászné's work, the drug-like visions of Dezső Mokry-Mészáros and the paintings of András Süli (Hungary's answer to Henri Rousseau) will hold your attention.
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Attila József Science University
Further south of the city centre, Kárász utca meets Dugonics tér, site of the Attila József Science University, named after its most famous alumnus. József (1905-37), a much loved poet, was actually expelled from here in 1924 for writing the verse 'I have no father and I have no mother/I have no God and I have no country' during the ultraconservative rule of Admiral Miklós Horthy. A music fountain in the square plays at irregular intervals throughout the day.
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National Pantheon
Dóm tér contains Szeged's most important monuments and is the centre of events during the annual summer festival. The National Pantheon - statues and reliefs of 80 notables running along an arcade around three sides of the square - is a crash course in Hungarian art, literature, culture and history. Even the Scotsman Adam Clark, who supervised the building of Budapest's Chain Bridge, wins accolades, but you'll look forever for any sign of a woman.
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Kecskemét Gallery
One of the buildings in the square is among the city's finest. The Art Nouveau Ornamental Palace (Cifrapalota), which dates from 1902 and is covered in multicoloured majolica tiles, now contains the Kecskemét Gallery. Don't go in so much for the art; climb the steps to the aptly named Decorative Hall (Díszterem) to see the amazing stucco peacock, bizarre windows and more tiles.
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Great Church
Kecskemét's main square is dominated by the Catholic Great Church built in 1806. The big tablets on the front honour (from left to right) a mounted regiment of Hussars that served in WWI; citizens who died in the 1848-49 War of Independence; and the Kecskemét victims of WWII. From June to August its tower can be climbed for views of the city's sun-bleached rooftops.
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Toy Museum & Workshop
The Toy Museum & Workshop has a small collection of 19th- and early-20th-century dolls, wooden trains, board games and so on, dumped haphazardly in glass cases. But the museum spends most of its time and money on organising events and classes for kids. Much is made of Ernő Rubik, the Hungarian inventor of that infuriating Rubik's Cube from the 1970s.
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Town Hall
Széchenyi tér, a square so large it's a park, houses the neobaroque town hall. With its graceful tower and colourful tiled roof, the town hall dominates the square, while statues of Lajos Tisza, István Széchenyi and the kubikosok (navvies) who helped regulate the Tisza River take pride of place under the chestnut trees.
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Heroes' Gate
Heroes' Gate was erected in 1936 in honour of Horthy's White Guards, who were responsible for 'cleansing' the nation of 'Reds' after the ill-fated Republic of Councils in 1919. The fascistic murals have disappeared (replaced with some 'nice' but amateurish ones), but the brutish sculptures are still a sight to behold.
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Hungarian Folk Craft Museum
The Hungarian Folk Craft Museum, the granddaddy of all museums in Kecskemét, is further southwest and a block in from Dózsa György út. Some 10 rooms of an old farm complex are crammed with embroidery, woodcarving, furniture, agricultural tools and textiles, so don't try to see everything at once.
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Pick & Paprika Museum
If you'd like to know more about the making of Szeged's famed salami - from hoof to shrink-wrap - the Pick & Paprika Museum can oblige, and if that doesn't satisfy your taste buds, there's plenty of paprika to burn them into submission. Pick salami can be purchased from the Pick shop next to the museum.
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Votive Church
The twin-towered Votive Church is a disproportionate brown brick monstrosity that was pledged after the flood in 1879 but not completed until 1930. The interior borders on gaudy but it's still an impressive achievement; the huge nave and gigantic organ (11,500 pipes in all) dominate the entire scene.
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Calvinist Church
Walking northeast into Szabadság tér, you'll pass the 17th-century Calvinist Church and the Calvinist New College (Református újkollégium) from 1912, a later version of the Hungarian Romantic style that looks like a Transylvanian castle and is now a music school.
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Régi Hídhoz
Some believe Hídhoz serves comparable fish dishes to its neighbour Halászcsárda, a Szeged institution that knows how to prepare the best fish in town, which is saying something. The atmosphere here is, however, more relaxed and family-orientated.
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Virág
A café since 1922, Virág serves possibly the best ice cream in town, and its cakes aren't bad either. Take a seat in its traditional booths outside on large Klauzál tér, or directly opposite in its modern counterpart, Kis Virág.
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Calvinist New College
Walking northeast into Szabadság tér, you'll pass the 17th-century Calvinist Church and the Calvinist New College from 1912, a later version of the Hungarian Romantic style that looks like a Transylvanian castle and is now a music school.
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Aqua and Water-Slide Park
Kecskeméts main summer attraction is its Aqua and Water-Slide Park which, as the name suggests, is a swimming complex loaded with fun things for the kids, but it's also equipped with three spas to soothe any aches and pains.
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Halászcsárda
Halászcsárda is a Szeged institution that knows how to prepare the best fish in town, including szegedi halászlé. On hot summer days its large terrace near the Tisza is thankfully tree-shaded.
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Soda Salt Lake
About 10km west of town in the suburb of Sziksósfürdő is the thermal Soda Salt Lake. Alongside a conventional strand, swimming pool and rowing boats, it also has a nudist beach and camp site.
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Kiskőrösy
Housed in a traditional fisherman's cottage on the banks of the Tisza a few kilometres east of the centre, this excellent fish restaurant is an atmospheric place to dine. Check with Tourinform on its opening times.
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Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox church in Dóm tér, dating from 1778, has a fantastic iconostasis: a central gold 'tree', with 60 icons hanging from its 'branches'. You'll find the key at Somogyi utca 3 (flat I/5).
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Zoltán Kodály Institute of Music Education
The Zoltán Kodály Institute of Music Education occupies the baroque monastery behind Kossuth tér to the east. Inside, one of the corridors has been devoted to the institute's composer-namesake.
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Fodor
This pink ice-cream and cake shop not only serves some of the finest confections in Kecskemét, but - with its position right on the main square - also has one of the best spots in which to consume them.
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Reök Palace
The Reök Palace is a mind-blowing green and lilac Art Nouveau structure built in 1907 that looks like an aquarium decoration. Sadly, it's been left to the elements and is coming off second-best.
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