When you talk about wine to Hungarians, they are quick to point out that you simply must explore Eger, also known as “The Baroque Pearl” of Europe. And that’s exactly what ‘Travel and Home’ did.
This charming city is one of the travel bucket list destinations of Hungary. You’ll know you’re nearby when out of nowhere, the vineyards start popping up on the outskirts of the city. Indeed, a beautiful sight in the summer with juicy grapes hanging from the vines, ready to be turned into wine.
You’ll enjoy warm sunny days between June to August, generally ranging from the upper 20’s to around the mid-’30s. The humidity in July/early-August can be quite high, sometimes exceeding your comfort level. (We visited Eger in August – re photos and video material.)
In autumn (September to November) you have the warm autumn-colored leaves (especially around end-October / mid-November), putting on a spectacular display.
Winter is most definitely not a season for tourism in Hungary. Days are grey, there’s little sunshine, daylight hours are short, and it is cold. In addition, most noteworthy attractions close during the winter months.
Eger is known for superior wines (both reds, and whites), healing and family-friendly thermal baths (dating back to 1932), noteworthy monuments and sightseeing, and beautiful baroque buildings. For instance, the County Hall, with its fine wrought-iron gate, and Minorite Church (constructed in 1771) dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua.
It’s also known for its 4-kilometer underground cellar system, The City Under The City. Keep reading…
First, let me clarify the how-to-get-there part. It’s about a half hour’s walk from Dobó István Square. Alternatively, catch a taxi or take the sightseeing train that leaves every 15 minutes from Egeségház Utca 4. Whatever you do, don’t drive there if you intend to do some wine-tasting. Hungary has a very firm zero-tolerance policy as far as drink and drive is concerned.
There are several cellars where you can do a wine tasting. If you’ve done wine tasting in South Africa or Napa Valley in California, don’t expect the same. Instead of visiting a single wine estate at a time, here you have several cellars in quaint cave-like little hides. Here, instead of pub crawling, you so cellar crawling.
At this point, you must know that should a Hungarian find out you were here, the first question will most probably be: “So how did you find our famous Bull’s Blood?” Therefore, make a point of tasting Egri Bikavér, with a rich history going back to the 16th century.
In addition to the cellars, there are a wide variety of street cafes.
And if you were wondering about the language factor? At this valley, they’re keen to explain which wine is which.
The stone culture refers to the installations that the population here made out of stone or carved into stone: cave homes, wine cellars, pens for hundreds of sheep. The most intriguing ones are the hive-stones: man-made niches of an unknown purpose, which are under natural and archaeological protection.
Our meeting point will be at the central bus station of Eger, where we will catch the bus that will take us to the starting point of our hiking activity about 20km away. From there we will walk and climb the highest peaks in the Bükk area to check observation points with the most stunning views in the country. The excursion will be 16km long with 700m elevation. The route is moderately difficult, not recommended for people without previous hiking experience. At the end of the trip we will arrive to the village of Szilvásvárad where participants will have a chance to have a meal at the local restaurants. Afterwards we will catch the bus back to the central bus station of Eger.
#TravelAndHome recommendation: Before you embark on a road trip to any one of the below sites, first click on the links to find out what you can expect.
It was a toss-up to stay between the two hotels featured below. Hotel Eger & Park won in the end (and with no regrets, at all), so the next booking will be at the equally highly recommended Hunguest Hotel Flora.
When you look for places to stay, keep in mind that Hotellook compares prices including that of Booking.com . So you really get the best deal.
Budapest is the nearest airport to Eger.
From Budapest by car, it will take you about 1h30m to get to Eger (132 km, via the M3).
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