The best day trips from Budapest

You can get a lot more out of a visit to beautiful Budapest than the top sights in architecturally wonderful Buda and fun-filled Pest – there are even more delights beyond the city limits.

The countryside is just a short journey away, where wine cellars, historic towns and arty outposts by the Danube await. The area around Budapest is gorgeous all through the year, and once you've had your fill, you can retreat back to Budapest's elegant thermal baths to soak in lavish style before supper.

These day trips from Budapest are easy by bus, train, car or even boat – pack your walking shoes and start exploring.

1. Wander the cobblestone streets of arty Szentendre

Travel time: 40 minutes
How to travel: by train

As you stroll along Szentendre’s cobblestone streets, with the 18th-century tower of Blagoveštenska Church peering above the wine-red and sunset-yellow colored houses, you'll immediately understand why this handsome country town is the most popular day trip from Budapest. Szentendre sees visitors year-round, but aim to avoid weekends in high summer, when the town can get really busy.

Szentendre had a thriving Serbian community back in the 18th century, and it became better known as an artists colony in the late 1920s. The town is still dotted with galleries, including the Margit Kovács Ceramic Collection and Serbian Ecclesiastical Art Collection. More cultural encounters await at the open-air ethnographic museum on the outskirts of town and the National Wine Museum, which traces the development of wine making in Hungary from its earliest days and offers a tour with tastings.

How to get to Szentendre from Budapest:

Szentendre is about a 40-minute drive north of Budapest, but it's just as fast to come by train. The H5 suburban train line runs here from Batthyány tér station in the center of Budapest. In the summer months, boat services also run up the Danube to Szentendre.

2. Experience extravagance at the graceful Gödöllő Royal Palace

Travel time: 40 minutes
How to travel: by train

Once the summer residence of Emperor Franz Josef and his wife, Elizabeth, Gödöllő Royal Palace carries all the hallmarks of Habsburg extravagance. In the small town of Gödöllő, this many-winged baroque palace, accented with flecks of gold on the facade, houses a network of rooms decked out with upholstered silk in burgundy, turquoise, indigo and lavender. Too much? Not for the Habsburgs.

Golden chandeliers drip from stuccoed ceilings above velvet-covered chairs, Caucasian knotted carpets muffle the floors, and painted ceramic stoves are a reminder of how this lavish palace stayed warm during the icy Hungarian winter. The grounds stretch out into lawns surrounded by an arboretum of orderly trees, statues and botanical curiosities. Don’t miss the Baroque Theater for a glimpse behind the scenes of a working 18th-century playhouse.

How to get to Gödöllő from Budapest:

Gödöllő lies east of Budapest, 45 minutes away by car. Alternatively, take a direct train (40 minutes) from Budapest-Keleti station in the east of the city.

3. Delve into Hungarian history over a glass of wine in Eger

Travel time: 90 minutes
How to travel: by car

Northeast of Budapest, Eger Castle is legendary as the bastion that held out against the Turkish invasion, but the relics of the town's eventual Ottoman conquest, including a 40m-high minaret and Turkish baths, still adorn Eger’s baroque streets.

Apart from the legacy of the siege, Eger is known for its wine – most notably Egri Bikavér (Bull’s Blood), which the Turks believed gave the Hungarians superhuman power in battle. Today, you can try Eger wines straight from the barrel in the Valley of Beautiful Women (Szépasszony-völgy Hétvége) on the outskirts of town, where wine cellars are carved into the bedrock of the surrounding hills.

If you have time, pay a visit to the city’s historic Lyceum, with its wood-clad baroque library and its tower, housing an astronomy museum filled with vintage instruments as well as a camera obscura overlooking the city.

How to get to Eger from Budapest:

It takes 90 minutes to reach Eger from Budapest by car. Alternatively, trains run from Budapest-Keleti station to Eger station, taking around 2 hours.

4. Feel the spiritual vibe of holy Esztergom

Travel time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
How to travel: by train

Esztergom is Hungary’s most sacred city. The town’s enormous basilica, rising high above the town and the Danube River, is a striking sight, appearing unexpectedly in a stretch of green countryside. You might have to pinch yourself to be sure you're not imagining it.

But Esztergom’s appeal goes beyond its domed church; there's also a former royal palace (now a museum) to explore and, despite this being the seat of Roman Catholicism in Hungary for more than 1000 years, a 400-year-old mosque (also now a museum).

For lunch or an afternoon coffee, Esztergom has a handful of great cafes – try the dramatic courtyard at Padlizsán or inventive Prímás Pince, in the cellars beneath the basilica. The town also boasts a dusting of good hotels and campsites, should you wish to stay the night.

How to get to Esztergom from Budapest:

Esztergom is northwest of Budapest. It takes about an hour to arrive by car and 1 hour 20 minutes on the direct trains from Budapest-Nyugati station.

5. Spend the day at the lake in Balatonfüred

Travel time: 90 minutes
How to travel: by car

In summer, Lake Balaton (the largest lake in central Europe) is the go-to destination for locals seeking a break from the city hustle. The elegant resort town of Balatonfüred is an ideal taste of lake life.

The town was once frequented by artists, writers and scientists – you’ll find the names of illustrious past visitors inscribed on the placards embedded into the wall of the Pantheon. It overlooks Gyógy tér, a leafy square with a natural spring at its center, dispensing slightly sulphuric but drinkable thermal water.

Balatonfüred remains beloved for its lakeside promenade, which meanders past yachts docked in the small marina with hazy views over to the Tihany peninsula in the distance. Make sure you take a boat trip around the lake from the jetty for the best views.

How to get to Balatonfüred from Budapest:

Balatonfüred is southwest of Budapest, about 90 minutes away by car. Alternatively, some direct trains run from Kelenföld station in the south of Budapest to Balatonfüred in around 2 hours, or go to Lepsény (1 hour), where you can catch a direct bus to Balatonfüred (1 hour).

6. Hike the trail up to Visegrád Castle

Travel time: 1 hour
How to travel: by boat

Visegrád is a small town on the Danube Bend famous for its big views. An intense hike on a rocky woodland trail will take you up to the 13th-century citadel above town for dizzying views over this scenic kink in the river, with the Börzsöny Hills beyond. If hiking isn’t your thing, you can also take the City-Bus taxi service from the ferry pier up to the castle.

In Visegrád town, ramble around the romantic ruins of the handsome Renaissance palace, the former seat of King Matthias, who ruled Hungary in the 15th century. Afterward, learn about how Hungary’s famous pálinka (fruit brandy) is made – and how it tastes – in Visegrád’s small pálinka museum.

How to get to Visegrád from Budapest:

Visegrád is north of Budapest, just over an hour away by car. While you can come by bus from Újpest-Városkapu train station in Budapest (1 hour and 15 minutes), it’s much more romantic to travel by boat up the Danube (1 hour by hydrofoil or 3 hours and 20 minutes by slow boat) from April to September. Another option is to take the train from Budapest-Nyugati station to Nagymaros-Visegrád (1 hour), then the hourly ferry across the river.