Transdanubia – Part 2

Southern Transdanubia >

Southern Transdanubia

Bordered to the south by Croatia and to the north by Balaton, Southern Transdanubia is less built-up and more rural than the other Transdanubian regions and also, bar a couple of isolated hilly areas, much flatter, and, not surprisingly, largely agricultural. The outstanding draw is Pécs, the region’s attractive capital, whose many museums, fabulous nightlife and festivals can easily detain you for a few days. The hilly region south of Pécs should also appeal, particularly to wine lovers, with the marvellous Villány–Siklós wine road yielding some superlative reds, whilst just west of Pécs is Szigetvár, renowned for its castle and Turkish ruins. Although the Völgység, the valley region between Lake Balaton and the Mecsek Hills, is pretty to drive through, none of the towns is really worth stopping for. Travelling from Balaton by train, however, you could take in the sights of Kaposvár while changing trains. Express trains from Budapest to Pécs usually run via Dombóvár, while intercity buses are routed through Szekszárd, the most appealing small town in the region, within reach of the lovely Forest of Gemenc, part of the Duna-Drava National Park. In stark contrast, the steel town of Dunaújváros will undoubtedly appeal to devotees of 1950s Socialist-Realist aesthetics.

Kaposvár and around

Capital of Somogy county, the industrial town of KAPOSVÁR, just 53km south of Lake Balaton, lies between the hilly slopes of the Zselic region and the valley of the River Kapos. The town is blessed with a fabulous stock of museums and, with an elegant centre stuffed with numerous Art Nouveau and Neoclassical buildings, it’s well worth a visit. Apart from being famous for its theatre and as the birthplace of József Rippl-Rónai, father of Hungarian Art Nouveau, Kaposvár is a stepping stone for walks in the Zselic nature conservation area. With frequent direct trains to Fonyód, there’s easy access to Lake Balaton.

Arrival and information

Kaposvár’s stations are close to each other, with local buses next to the train station on Budai Nagy Antal utca and long-distance services across the road on Petőfi Sándor tér. The centre of town, essentially the east-west axis of Fő utca, is a couple of blocks to the north. Here, you can get information from the helpful Tourinform office at no. 8 (mid-June to mid-Sept Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 9am–2pm; mid-Sept to mid-June Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–2pm; 82/512-921, www.tourinformkaposvar.hu). There’s one free internet terminal here, plus others at X-Café, Teleki utca 8 (actually on Varósház utca; Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–1pm) and InterCafé, Dosza György utca 18 (Mon–Fri 7.30am–8pm). The post office is at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca 15 (Mon–Fri 8am–7pm, Sat 8am–noon).

Accommodation

There’s a good choice of accommodation in town. Ibusz, at Széchenyi tér 8 (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 8am–noon; 82/512-300, kaposvar@ibusz.hu), can arrange a room in one of the centrally located colleges, notably the Kaposvári Képzési Központ Kollegium at Szent Imre utca 14B (82/527-720, szallas@etk.pte.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), or private rooms (€16–25/4001–6500Ft) in the town and in the villages of the Zselic Hills; and Siotour, in the Csokonai Fogadó Panzió at Fő utca 1 (Mon–Fri 8am–4.30pm; 82/320-537), can also arrange private accommodation in town. The nearest reliably open campsite is Kaland Park, 12km southwest, beyond Szenna, at Fő utca 28 in Patca (82/484-023, www.kalandpark.hu).

Csokonai Fogadó Panzió Fő utca 1 82/312-011, 316-716. In the renovated eighteenth-century Dorottya Ház on the main street, but rather run-down. Rooms come with or without shower, although the ubiquitous brown decor is a bit wearing. Breakfast not included. €16–35/6501–9000Ft

Diófa Panzió József Attila utca 24 82/422-504, www.diofapanzio.hu. Up the hill from Kossuth tér, this cheap pension has rooms with TV, phone and minibar but is ultimately rather bland. €26–35/6501–9000Ft

Hotel Dorottya Széchenyi tér 8 82/418-055, www.hoteldorottya.hu. Kaposvár’s most characterful hotel, built in the nineteenth century, retains many of its original features, including a nice old lift and thick wooden beams in most of the rooms. €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft

Fogadó a Bárányhoz Városház utca 4 82/527-600, http://fogadoabaranyhoz.internettudakozo.hu. A new hotel, restaurant and café run by catering students, right in the centre of town; there are seven a/c rooms – good if with smallish bathrooms – a lift, disabled rooms and free internet. €26–35/6501–9000Ft

Hotel Kapos Ady Endre utca 2 82/316-022, www.kaposhotel.hu. From the outside this seems less than promising, but the variously sized rooms are reasonably modern, spacious and well equipped. Also has a coffee house. €36–45/9001–11,500Ft

Pálma Panzió Széchenyi tér 6 &82/420-227. Small, private pension just up from the Dorottya, with standard rooms and bathrooms. €26–35/6501–9000Ft

Tenisz Club Panzió Iszák utca 37 82/411-832 or 20/969-0640, samflo@hu.inter.net. West of the stations and across the river, this good-value place has satisfying cucumber green-and-black coloured rooms, all neatly furnished and some with balcony; there’s a restaurant-bar. €26–35/6501–9000Ft

The Town

Most of Kaposvár’s attractions are located along or just off the pretty, pedestrianized main street, Fő utca, and around Kossuth tér, the main square, dominated by the Neoclassical church of Our Lady of the Assumption, built in 1885–86. At Fő utca 12, the Vaszary Art Gallery (Vaszary Képtár; Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–noon; 1500Ft) hosts temporary shows plus a permanent exhibition on the Kaspovár-born photographer Juan Gyenes (Gyenes János; 1912–95), who made his name in Spain with Dalí and his circle. Other galleries showing often excellent temporary art shows can be found in the County Hall (Csokonai köz 3; Mon–Fri 8am–4pm), the City Cultural Centre (Csokonai utca 1; daily 10am–8pm) and the County Cultural Centre (Somssich utca 18; Mon–Fri 8am–4pm).

At Fő utca 10, the former town hall, opened in 1832, houses the Somogy County Museum (Somogy Megyei Múzeum; Tues–Sun: April–Oct 10am–4pm; Nov–March 10am–3pm; 375Ft), which contains the usual mix of local ethnographic and historical material. It’s best to head straight to the top floor and the gallery of contemporary art, where you’ll find works by prominent Hungarians such as Egry, Kmetty and Vaszvary (see below). The museum is also known as the Rippl-Rónai Museum – not for the artist Jószef Rippl-Ronai (born on this street at no. 19 above the Golden Lion Pharmacy) but for his lesser-known brother, Ödön, who donated his entire collection to the city. Indeed, the gallery doesn’t contain any of Jószef’s paintings; instead, you’ll find these at the Rippl-Rónai Villa on Fodor József utca, in the suburb of Rómahegy (Rome Hill), 3km southeast of the centre (Emlekmúzeum; Tues–Sun: April–Oct 10am–6pm; Nov–March 10am–4pm; 300Ft); take bus #15 from the bus station. Born in 1861, Rippl-Rónai first studied in Munich and then under the academic painter Munkácsy before refining his own style in Paris, influenced by Postimpressionism and Art Nouveau. His return home in 1902 marked the end of his “black period”, when some of his best-known works such as Lady with a Black Veil were produced, and the start of a “sunlit” one reflecting “the colours that surround me in my new house and garden”. In his later years he abandoned oils and turned to crayon. The villa contains pictures from each phase, plus furniture, glassware and ceramics.

A couple of minutes’ walk north of Kossuth tér past the Hotel Kapos is the Somogy Sports Museum at Kontrássy utca 3 (Somogyi Sportmúzeum; Tues, Thurs & Fri 10am–5pm, Sun 9am–1pm; 300Ft), stuffed with memorabilia from every sport imaginable; naturally enough, the displays of trophies, photographs and sporting equipment focus on Hungarian sporting achievement, and a fair chunk of the museum is given over to Olympic mementoes, including uniforms for the opening ceremonies. Five minutes up the road, at Zarda utca 9, the Vaszvary Memorial House (Tues–Sun: Oct–March 10am–4pm; April–Sept 10am–6pm; free) has been converted into a lovely little gallery featuring paintings and sketches by János Vaszvary, born in this house in 1867. Down in the cellar at Fő utca 31 is the Terrárium (Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–noon, Sun 2–5pm; 450Ft), housing a collection of rare and exotic reptiles such as the Madagascar boa and Cuvier dwarf caiman.

One attraction not to be missed is the fabulous Steiner Collection, five minutes’ walk east of Rákóczi tér at Gróf Apponyi utca 29 (Steiner Gyűjtemény; Mon–Fri 5–8pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm or by appointment, call 82/311-327; free), a private collection of cast-iron articles and ornaments from the nineteenth century. The owner, József Steiner, started his unique collection in 1989 after purchasing an old iron stove, which inspired him to search for ever more unusual cast-iron objects. The collection now consists of an entire cellar of stoves and baths, a garden full of cast-iron grave markers and a house crammed with everything from kitchen utensils, table clocks and lamps, to chandeliers and a bust of Lajos Kossuth from 1848.

Eating and drinking

Kaposvár has a handful of pretty good restaurants, the best being the Corner House Restaurant and Pub at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca 2, a thoroughly modern outfit offering superb meat dishes including boar, deer and rabbit. Further along the same street at no. 54, El Gecco is a colourful, cosy Mexican place also serving up steaks and grills, and, if you don’t mind dreadful kitsch, the film-themed Mozivilág at Dózsa György utca 3 has a particularly good steak menu. Simpler snacks are available at Beluga, a tiny pizzeria and grill café at Noszlopy utca 10, and Ham-Piz, at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca 13, serving pizzas, burgers, roasted meats and salads. Szicilia, above the Beluga at Noszlopy utca 6, serves pizza and the like plus daily specials.

A delightful, out-of-the-way coffee shop is the Múzsa Kávéház at Szent Imre utca 21 – a serene, old-style place also serving teas, beers and cocktails. In summer, cafés and bars spill out onto the pedestrianized stretch of Fő utca, but for more tub-thumping entertainment year-round, head to Central Park at Szent Imre 29, a stereotypical disco with a glitzy bar which really cranks it up at the weekend.

Entertainment

Kaposvár’s distinctive Csiky Gergely Theatre, on Rákóczi tér, is one of the best in Hungary and has gained kudos abroad with its staging of Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita; tickets are available from the ticket office (Színház Jegypéntzár), alongside Tourinform at Fő utca 8 (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–2pm). To celebrate Mihály Csokonai’s comic literary epic Dorottya, the first Saturday of February each year is given over to the Dorottya Napok Fesztival (Dorothy Day Festival), a day of carnival festivities and folk games along Fő utca. The day concludes with a mass ball at the Hotel Dorottya on Széchenyi tér, which is where most of the action in the book takes place. Especially during the town’s Spring Festival (Tavaszi Fesztíval; mid-March to mid-April), there are concerts in the Liszt Concert Hall at Kossuth utca 21. There’s also a cinema on the corner of Noszlopy utca and Városház utca.

Those with children, or just tired of hot weather, should head for the hot baths just southeast of the train station at Csík Ferenc sétány 1 (Virágfürdő; Tues–Sun 9am–7pm; 2550Ft; open-air pool daily in summer 9am–8pm; 900Ft), with 25- and 50-metre pools and a spa bath plus the new Adventure Baths, with slides, waterfalls, water curtains, and even a piranha chamber.

The Zselic region

Nature lovers will enjoy walking in the Zselic region south of Kaposvár, with its water meadows, woods and rolling hills. Maps (Á Zselic; 1:60,000) are available from Tourinform and bookshops in Kaposvár, showing marked trails; you can follow one from the village of SZENNA, 8km southwest (buses from stand 9 of Kaposvár’s bus terminal). Opposite the village’s main bus stop, at Rákóczi utca 2, is one of Hungary’s smallest skanzen (Szabadtéri Néprajzi Gyűjtemény; Tues–Sun: April–Oct 10am–6pm; Nov–March 10am–4pm; 450Ft), just five houses, complete with furnishings and personal belongings, three cellars and a Calvinist church, built in 1785 in a folk-Baroque style with an interesting cassette ceiling, all transplanted from elsewhere in the region. Village tourism is thriving here and you’ll have little problem finding a room (either directly or through Ibusz in Kaposvár). One recommended place is the Ágnes-Vendégház at Kossuth utca 1 (82/712-273; €16–25/4001–6500Ft), which can also provide hot meals upon request.

Szigetvár

SZIGETVÁR, 41km south of Kaposvár through the Mecsek hills, and 33km west of Pécs, rivals Kőszeg for its heroic resistance to the invading Turks. Every Hungarian child is taught the story, which is enshrined in poetry and music, and in a colossal painting in the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. Although a striking new community centre designed by Imre Makovecz has aroused some attention, and the local thermal baths are as agreeable as any, it is the castle and relics of the Turkish occupation that are still the main attractions of this dusty town.

The Town

Szigetvár can easily be explored on foot. From the train station the castle is signposted up Rákóczi utca, but you might prefer to cut across to the right through the adjacent bus station and cross Istyadoffy Miklós utca to the sixteenth-century Turkish House at Bástya utca 3 (Török Ház; May–Sept daily 10am–noon & 1–3pm; 300Ft), a simple brick building across the road from the market. Originally a caravanserai, it now displays a modest collection of Turkish artefacts.

Heading a couple of hundred metres back along Szecsődi Máté utca, you’ll reach Rákóczi utca at a splendid Secessionist school; turning right, you soon come to Zrínyi tér, where what was built as the Mosque of Ali Pasha in 1596 was converted in the late eighteenth century into a Baroque church (daily 8am–noon); only the Turkish-style windows betray its origins. The altar painting and a fresco inside the dome of the siege were painted by Dorfmeister in 1788. A block to the east on Horváth Márk tér, the Franciscan church was built in 1688 and remodelled in Baroque style in 1731. At this point your eyes will be drawn by the twin towers of Makovecz’s Cultural Centre at József Attila utca 9, a typically bizarre structure by the eccentric Hungarian architect, resembling an alien spacecraft come to earth. During its construction the town council ran out of money and refused to trim other budgets to fulfil Makovecz’s conception of the project, to his outrage, resulting in the auditorium remaining a flexible open space with temporary seating.

Returning to Zrinyi tér and turning right past a snarling lion statue on to Vár utca, it’s a straight, 200-metre walk up the road to the castle.

The Castle

As the town’s name, Island Castle, suggests, this quadrilateral fortress (Tues–Sun: April & Oct 9am–5pm; May–Sept 9am–6pm; Nov–March 9am–4pm; 600Ft) was once surrounded by lakes and marshes. Under local strong man Bálint Török, it resisted sieges by the Turks in 1541 and 1554, but its finest hour came in 1566, when 2400 soldiers under Miklós Zrínyi, governor of Croatia, resisted the onslaught of 100,000 Turks for 33 days. Enraged by the loss of 20,000 troops and the failure of his seventh attempt to march on Vienna, Sultan Süleyman died of apoplexy before the siege finally wore down the defenders. Spurning offers of surrender, Zrínyi donned his court dress before leading a final suicidal sally when they could no longer hold out.

Beyond a giant stone thumb, erected to mark the millennium, as well as a plaque in Hungarian and Cyrillic which replaced the ugly Soviet war memorial in 2000, you enter by a gateway through the massive, low red-brick ramparts to the park-like interior, with a small yellow mansion in the middle. Once the summer residence of Count Andrássy, this now holds a museum (Vár Zrínyi Miklós Múzeum) in which coloured miniatures of Turkish life are counterpointed by praise for Magyar heroism. Reproductions of engravings of the siege show that Sziget really was a series of islands. Copies of the epic Szózat (Appeal) are on display, penned by Zrínyi’s grandson, himself a general. A cry for liberty and a call for endurance, this seventeenth-century poem was adapted as a chorale by Kodály in 1956. Its single performance at the Budapest Academy turned into an emotional symbolic protest against the Rákosi regime. Chanting crowds took up the refrain, Ne Bántsd a Magyart! (“Let the Magyars alone!”), causing government members to walk out.

The museum is now linked to a mosque (Szulejmán Szultán Dzsámija) immediately on its north side; built after the castle’s capture, its minaret has been decapitated but the interior survives, complete with ornamental grilles, Koranic inscriptions and frescoes depicting the deaths of Zrínyi and Süleyman (added later by the Hungarians). At no time, however, was the sultan buried here – though his viscera once reposed in another mosque nearby.

The Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park

One of those ideas that appeal to politicians but leave the public cold, the Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park (Magyar-Török Barátság Emlékpark) was opened in 1994 by Turkey’s prime minister, as a token apology and symbol of reconciliation. While a memorial to Süleyman on the spot where his tent once stood (and he presumably expired) was acceptable, local people objected to a larger-than-life statue of the sultan until the Turks commissioned one of Zrínyi, whereupon it was agreed to place them side by side rather than confronting one another.

For the record, Süleyman’s heart and innards were buried in a mosque built nearby shortly after his death, and taken back to Constantinople when campaigning ceased. After the Turks were finally driven out, the mosque was turned into a church, though its past was acknowledged by a plaque.

The park is 3km north of Szigetvár on the left-hand side of the road to Kaposvár, so it’s easily accessible by bus, while the mosque, which is 3km east down a dead-end road, is served only by the eight daily buses to Zsibót (far fewer at weekends).

Practicalities

Szigetvár’s bus and train stations are about 500m down Rákóczi utca from the main square, Zrínyi tér. There’s a tourist office in the Cultural Centre (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–2pm). For comfort, price and location, by far the best place to stay is the new and very smart Szeráj Panzió at Kossuth tér 3 (73/414-145, www.szerajpanzio.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft). The three other places are much of a muchness: the Kumilla Hotel at Olay Lajos utca 6, behind the Makovecz building (73/510-248, www.hotelkumilla.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), is just about the best, with a sauna and free use of the thermal baths 150m away at Tinódi Sebestyén utca 23 (Gyógy Fürdő; daily 8.30am–7pm daily; 2250Ft, 1500Ft after 2pm, or outdoor pools 1500/1050Ft; sauna, jacuzzi 600Ft/475Ft extra); the Hotel Oroszlán at Zrínyi tér 2 (73/310-116, mexbor@t-online.hu; €26–35/6501–9000Ft), whose rooms are better than the grim building and welcome suggest; and Lenzls Panzió, at József Attila utca 63 (73/413-045, www.lenzls.de; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), which has fairly cluttered rooms but is otherwise fine. There’s hostel accommodation from September to mid-June at the Zrinyi Miklós Gimnázium és Kollégium, Szent István Lakótelep 3 (73/312-927; dorm bed 1800Ft), and camping from May to September at the nearby Thermal Motel & Camping (73/510-147, szviz@szigetviz.hu). There’s the better, Dutch-run Camping Idyll (73/546-612, www.campingidyll.hu) off the road to Pécs – head east for 10km then go 3km north to Nagyváty.

The Szeráj Panzió also has the best restaurant in town (closed Sun), or, beyond the Lenzl Panzió on József Attila utca, which offers Bavarian food and beer, there’s the Kisváros, at no. 81, and the Florián, opposite at no. 58 – both serve stock Hungarian fare. The post office is at József Attila utca 27–31 (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 8–11am).

Pécs and the Mecsek Hills

After Budapest, PÉCS (pronounced “paych”), 65km southeast of Kaposvár, is probably the finest town in Hungary. Its red-and-orange-tiled rooftops nestle against the slopes of the Mecsek Hills, and the sprawling Communist-era housing estates can easily be forgotten once you are inside the old town. Pécs has a reputation for art and culture, boasting many excellent art galleries and museums, some fine examples of Islamic architecture, and the biggest market in western Hungary. Furthermore, it has one of the most diverse festival programmes in the country. As Transdanubia’s leading centre of education, its population of 160,000 includes a high proportion of students, giving Pécs a youthful profile. The city is overlooked by the Mecsek Hills, where the Turks planted fig trees that still flourish, and where, until recently, uranium was mined.

Though prehistoric settlements existed here, the first town was Sopianae, settled first by the Celts and later by the Romans, who raised it to be the capital of the new province of Pannonia Valeria. Made an episcopal see by King Stephen, the town, known as Quinque Ecclesiae or Fünfkirchen (Five Churches), became a university centre in the Middle Ages. Under Turkish occupation (1543–1686) its character changed radically, its Magyar/German population being replaced by Turks and their Balkan subjects. Devastated during its “liberation”, the city slowly recovered, thanks to viticulture and the discovery of coal in the mid-eighteenth century, although both the coal and uranium mines are now closed.

Arrival and information

From the train station on Indóház tér, it’s not far to the centre, reached by buses #30, #32 and #33. From the bus station on Zólyom utca you can walk to Széchenyi tér in ten minutes. Most city buses pass on one side or the other of the Árkád mall, which is effectively the main interchange; tickets cost 300Ft. The motorway from Budapest will open in 2009 or 2010.Pécs’s airport is 9km south on the Harkány road; cars can be rented from Hertz here (072/526-667; Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat & Sun by arrangement). Mistral Intercity Airport Shuttle (72/570-186, www.mistral-minibus.hu) operates minibuses to Pécs, Budapest and Balaton airports.

At Széchenyi tér 9 – marked by spectacular Zsolnay tiles – the large and very busy Tourinform office (May to mid-Oct Mon–Fri 8am–5.30pm, mid-June to Sept also Sat 9am–2pm; mid-Oct to April Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; 72/213-315, www.visitpecs.hu) has a staggering amount of information to hand, and although it doesn’t make bookings it can arm you with a comprehensive list of all accommodation in the region. You can also leave luggage here. There’s very cheap internet access in the same office (same times). A separate office next door at Széchenyi tér 7 (Mon–Fri 2–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–8pm) gives out information on Pécs’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2010.

There are post offices at Jókai Mór utca 10 (Mon–Fri 7am–7pm, Sat 8am–noon); just west of the train station (Mon–Fri 8am–7pm, Sat 8am–noon); in the Árkád mall (Mon–Fri 8am–7pm, Sat 8am–3pm); and at Pécs Plaza, Megyeri utca 76 (Mon–Fri 10am–8pm, Sat 10am–7pm, Sun 10am–2pm). The MAV office at the corner of Jókai utca and Zrinyi utca (Mon–Fri 8.30am–5pm) can provide information and make reservations for trains, and sells daily bus passes. With so many museums to choose from you’d do well to invest in a day ticket (napijegy; 2100Ft), which admits you to the majority of them; these are available from any museum.

Accommodation

There are plentiful hotels and pensions in town, in addition to stacks of cheap beds in the many college halls of residence; some are open at weekends throughout term time, others only in the summer vacation (late June to late Aug). These can be approached directly or booked through Ibusz at Király utca 11 (Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–1pm; 72/212-157, pecs@ibusz.hu). Ibusz can also book private rooms (€16–25/4001–6500Ft), as can Mecsek Tours at Ferencesek utca 41, around the corner towards the mosque (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; 72/513-306, utir@mecsektours.hu).

Hotels and pensions

Aranyhajó Fogadó Király utca 3 72/310-263, www.aranyhajo.hu. In a listed building, the “Golden Ship” claims to be one of Hungary’s oldest hotels, and although the rooms are a little dated they retain a certain character. €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft

Berg Toboz Panzió Fenyves sor 5 72/510-555, www.tobozpanzio.hu. A quiet pension high above the city, with views of the woods and small comfy rooms with minibar and TV. Take bus #34 or #35 from the train station or the Barbakán to the Kikelet stop. €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft

Centrum Hotel Szepesy Ignác utca 4 &72/311-707. This ageing hotel has glum, old-fashioned rooms, though its price and location compensate somewhat. You could also try next door at no. 6, which often has beds advertised. €16–25/4001–6500Ft

Diana Hotel Timár utca 4a 72/328-954, www.hoteldiana.hu. Sweet, pension-type place opposite the synagogue with appealing a/c rooms with fridge and shower, but avoid those facing noisy Rákócziút. €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft

Főnix Hotel Hunyadi út 2 72/311-680, www.fonixhotel.hu. Rooms with and without shower in this reasonably modern, if a little colourless, place just off Széchenyi tér. €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft

Hotel Mediterrán Hidegvölgyi utca 1 72/514-119, www.mediterranhotel.hu. An ex-hostel gone upmarket, with comfortable rooms, and a view of the hills dominated by a quarry; take bus #35 from the train station or the Barbakán to the end of the line, and follow signs downhill for 300m. €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft

Hotel Millennium Kálvária utca 58 72/512-222, www.hotelmillennium.hu. A modern hotel on the south side of Calvary Hill, just beyond the town walls (with free parking); the rooms are immaculate, while those on the top floor offer splendid views across town. €71–85/18,501–22,500Ft

Hotel Palatinus Király utca 5 72/889-400, www.danubiusgroup.com/palatinus. Renovated Secession pile right in the centre, with a magnificent lobby but rather ordinary rooms, though some are a/c; there's wi-fi in the business centre. €71–100/22,501–26,000Ft

Hotel Pátria Rákóczi út 3 72/889-500, www.danubiusgroup.com/patria. Sister hotel of the Palatinus, with a mix of older and newer rooms; it’s worth paying the extra for the latter, with tea- and coffee-making facilities. €71–85/18,501–22,500Ft

Víg Apát Hotel Mártirok utca 14 72/313-340, www.vigapathotel.hu. Just 200m west of the train station, this well-run hotel has colourful, refreshing rooms and good service. €36–45/9001–11,500Ft

Campsites, hostels and colleges

Familia Camping Gyöngyösi utca 6 72/327-034. This year-round campsite, in an orchard 2km east of the centre, also has rooms (€16–25/4001–6500Ft). Take bus #2/2A or #21 from Árkád; #31 or #43 from the train station; or #60 from the bus station, as far as the Gyárváros church – from here it’s a short walk north, behind the Lidl store (7am–9pm), good for breakfast provisions.

Hunyadi Mátyás Kollégium Széchenyi tér 11 72/310-875. A boys’ hall of residence run by Cistercian monks. Open all summer and weekends during term time. €15/4000Ft and under

JPTE Kollégium Damjanich utca 30 72/310-055. University hall of residence with four-bed rooms. Open June–Aug. €15/4000Ft and under

Kodály Zoltán Kollégium Kodály Zoltán utca 20A 72/326-968. College hostel located 500m west of the basilica. Open July & Aug. €15/4000Ft and under

Laterum Hotel/Youth Hostel Hajnóczy utca 37 72/252-113, www.laterum.hu. A decently revamped workers’ hostel opposite the Uránváros bus terminal, a few kilometres west on the road to Szigetvár; take bus #2/2A, #4, #24 or #27. Open all year. €36–45/9001–11,500Ft

Mandulás Camping Ángyán János utca 2 72/515-655, 515-657. Campsite in the woods below the TV tower. Rooms with showers and toilets (€16–35/6501–9000Ft). Bus #34 from the train station or the Barbakán stops outside. Open mid-April to mid-Oct.

Pollack Mihály Kollégium Jókai Mór utca 8 72/315-846. Brilliantly located college close to the main post office. Open all summer and weekends during term time. €15/4000Ft and under

Szántó Kovács Janós Kollégium Szántó Kovács Janós utca 1C 72/251-462, www.pannonlargo.hu. The largest college hostel in town, with three- to five-bed rooms with private showers available all year, also two-bed rooms with shared bathrooms in July/Aug; entry from Stadion utca, just off Route 6 to the west. €15/4000Ft and under

Around the Belváros

Most of Pécs’ sights lie within the historic Belváros, encircled by a road marking the extent of the medieval town walls, and centred on Széchenyi tér. Passing Kossuth tér en route to the centre, don’t miss one of the city’s finest monuments, an elegant synagogue built in 1865 (Zsinagóga; May–Sept Mon–Fri & Sun 10am–5pm; 300Ft). Its carved and stuccoed interior is beautiful but haunting, emptied by the murder of over four thousand Jews now listed in a Book of Remembrance – ten times the number living in Pécs today. Thanks to local efforts, state support and contributions from abroad, this was one of the first synagogues in Hungary to be restored, in the 1980s.

Further uphill, as Irgalmasok utcája nears Széchenyi tér, you’ll spot the Zsolnay Fountain in front of a church to your right; the bulls’ heads on the fountain are modelled on a gold drinking vessel from the “Treasure of Attila”.

Before entering Széchenyi tér, take a look at pedestrianized Király utca, traditionally the korzó where townsfolk promenade. Among the buildings worth noting here are the Art Nouveau Hotel Palatinus; the Nendtvich House at no. 8, with its ceramic ornamentation; the National Theatre, surmounted by a statue of Genius; and the Vasváry House at no. 19, with its allegorical figurines.

Széchenyi tér

With its art galleries and tourist offices, modern-day Széchenyi tér is centuries removed from its Turkish predecessor, a dusty square crowded with “caravans of camels laden with merchandise from India and the Yemen”. At its top end stands the Belváros church, with ornate window grilles and scalloped niches that denote its origins as the Mosque of Gazi Kasim Pasha (Belvárosi templom; April 15–Oct 15 Mon–Sat 10am–4pm, Sun 11.30am–4pm; Oct 16–April 14 Mon–Sat 10am–noon, Sun 11.30am–2pm; donations acccepted), which the Turks built from the stones of a medieval Gothic church. The dome was painted in 1883 and an extension was added on the north side (with a fine organ) in 1939, but otherwise the mosque is unspoilt, its vaulted interior and Islamic prayer niche (mihrab) decorated with Arabic calligraphy.

Behind the mosque on the north side of the square, the Archeological Museum (Régészeti Múzeum; May–April Tues–Sun 10am–4pm; Nov–March Tues–Sat 10am–3pm; 450Ft) covers the history of the region from Neolithic times to the Magyar conquest, but pales in comparison to the real Roman tombs a few streets over on Apáca utca. Heading down the square, you’ll find a selection of contemporary artwork in the Pécs Gallery at no. 10 (Mon & Wed–Sat noon–6pm, Sun noon–6pm; 300Ft) – it’s worth a quick look in case there’s anything remarkable, but with so many art collections in Pécs it pays to be selective.

A few paces further down, just past the Tourinform office at Apáca utca 1, look into the nineteenth-century Szerecsen Pharmacy (Múzeumpatika; Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–1pm; free), whose gorgeous wood-carved furnishings are inlaid with ceramic tiles from the Zsolnay factory, which is where the drinking fountain with the sculpture of the Black Saracen was also made. At this point, you have the option of three routes to the basilica – along Káptalan, Janus Pannonius or Apáca utca – via a clutch of museums.

Káptalan utca

Káptalan utca has no fewer than five museums virtually next to each other. The Zsolnay Museum at no. 2 (Zsolnay Kerámia Kiállítás; Tues–Sun: April–Oct Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, closes 4pm Sun; Nov–March 10am–4pm; 900Ft) is a must for its vases, plaques and figurines from the Zsolnay Porcelain Factory, founded in 1853 by Vilmos Zsolnay and the chemist Vince Wartrha, the inventor of the iridescent eosin glaze. Some pieces are exquisite, others totally kitsch. In the basement are sculptures by Amerigo Tot, whose Erdély Family with its clamped grave-posts symbolizes the plight of the ethnic Hungarians of Romania. This is the oldest known dwelling in Pécs, built by 1324, and the niche seats in the gateway date from the fourteenth century. The “Zsolnay Cultural Quarter” is to be the heart of Pécs’s offerings as European Capital of Culture in 2010; the museums and gardens of Káptalan utca are to be renovated, with an open-air theatre, and the Zsolnay factory, east of the city centre, will also be refurbished for cultural activities.

Across the road at no. 3, the Vasarely Museum (Tues–Sun: May–Oct 10am–6pm, closes 4pm Sun; Nov–April 10am–4pm; 900Ft) exhibits lurid Op-Art canvases by Viktor Vasarely, who was born in this house in 1908, but made his name in Paris and New York. In the same building, the Central Museum of Mining in Mecsek (Mecseki Bányászati Kiállitások; Tues–Sun: April–Oct 10am–6pm; Nov–March 10am–4pm; 600Ft) includes an underground replica mine. The Magyar Modern Art Gallery, next door to the Zsolnay Museum at no. 4 (Modern Magyar Képtár; Tues–Sun: May–Oct 10am–6pm, closes at 4pm Sun; Nov–April 10am–4pm; 600Ft), presents a tour d’horizon of Hungarian art since the School of Szentendre (1890–1955), with sections devoted to constructivist evocations of proletarian struggle by Béla Uitz (1887–1972), who lived for fifty years in the Soviet Union, and abstract works by Ferenc Martyn (1899–1986), whose great-grandfather emigrated from Ireland to Hungary by 1804. Outside are striking sculptures by Péter Székely (1923–2001); the separate museums devoted to Martyn and Székely (who both spent their careers in Paris) are now closed. At no. 5 (Tues–Fri: May–Oct 10am–4pm; Nov–April 10am–3pm; 450Ft, tickets from the Magyar Modern Art Gallery) is a curious exhibit by Erzsébet Schaár (1908–75); entitled Utca (“Street”), this enormous sculpted piece of work, featuring a series of delineating walls with rigid, haunting figures peering through doors and windows, is widely regarded as her finest work.

Zsolnay

The Zsolnay Porcelain Factory was founded in 1853 by Miklós Zsolnay, succeeded by his son Vilmos, who in 1886 introduced the frost-resistant ornamental pyrogranite tiles that were widely used by Secession architects such as Miklós Ybl and Ödön Lechner in buildings including the Matthias Church, the Hungarian Parliament, the Museum of Applied Art, the Covered Market, the Geological Institute and the Gellért Baths, all in Budapest, and the post office here on Jókai utca. This was followed in 1893 by the distinctively iridescent eosin glaze, which became a great favourite of artists such as József Rippl Rónay.

The company was very successful until World War I, when it was converted to producing insulators and then tableware; it was nationalized in 1948, but regained its independence, and the Zsolnay name, in 1982; privately owned since 1991, it is once again very successful, and the factory, east of the city centre at Zsolnay utca 37, is busy again. You can see, and buy, the company’s wares at the Zsolnay Márkábolt shops at the factory (Mon–Fri 7.30am–3.30pm, Sat 9am–1pm; 72/313-636, www.zsolnay.hu), and also at Jókai tér 4 (Mon–Fri 9am–5.30pm, Sat 9am–1pm). There are also tours, in English or German (Mon–Fri 9am–noon, or by appointment on 72/507-652).

The Csontváry Museum

If you only visit one place in Pécs, make it the Csontváry Museum at Janus Pannonius utca 11–13 (Tues–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–4pm; 900Ft). Kosztka Tivadar Csontváry (1853–1919) was born in Slovakia in the same year as Van Gogh, and his artistic career was similarly affected by madness and the pursuit of “the path of the sun”. His fascination with Hebrew lore and the Holy Land was expressed in huge canvases – Baalbek, Mary’s Well at Nazareth and Pilgrimage – while his hallucinatory vision of nature produced Tatra, Storm on the Great Hortobágy and Solitary Cedar. One of his most poignant pieces of work is Híd Mostárban (1903), a gorgeous, richly coloured painting of the elegant Mostar Bridge in Bosnia – destroyed during the Bosnian war in 1993 and since rebuilt. By 1910, his psychosis had well and truly set in, as evinced by the series of schizoid drawings and sketches in the last room.

After his death, these works came close to being sold as canvas, but at the last moment were purchased by an architect. When Picasso later saw an exhibition of Csontváry’s work in Paris, he supposedly described him as the “other great painter in our century besides me”, and later told Chagall, “There you are, old master, I bet even you could not paint something like this” – though it’s hard to believe he wasn’t being ironic.

Dóm tér and around

Looming to the north on the large, cobbled main square is the huge, four-towered St Peter and St Paul Basilica (Székesegyház; April–Oct Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 1–5pm; Nov–March Mon–Sat 10am–4pm, Sun 1–4pm; 900Ft, tour 3000Ft), which has been endlessly rebuilt since the first basilica was founded here in the eleventh century. Though an eleventh-century crypt and fourteenth-century side chapels have been incorporated, its present incarnation (1882–91) is neo-Romanesque, replacing a Baroque design by Mihály Pollack. Its lavish blue and gold murals are by Lotz, Székely and other historicist painters of the 1890s.

The neo-Renaissance Bishop’s Palace (Püspöki Palota; June–Sept Thurs only, 1hr tour 2pm, 3pm & 4pm; 1800Ft) to the west of the square is embellished with a modern statue of Liszt waving from a balcony, which might have amused its former bishops, Janus Pannonius, also a humanist poet, and György Klimó, founder of its library, who told borrowers: “You don’t have to pay for anything. Depart enriched. Return more frequently.” Around the corner to the south, a circular barbican tower punctuates the old town walls, giving access to Klimó György utca. Just off the northwestern corner of the basilica, the remains of the first Hungarian university (founded in 1367) and its chapel (1355), containing the tomb of Bishop William, the first chancellor of the university, are now being reconstructed. Continuing west from here, you’ll exit through the city walls north of the barbican.

At the eastern end of the basilica a modern building houses the Cathedral Museum (Dommúzeum; April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov–March Tues–Sat 10am–4pm; 300/380Ft), home to the cathedral’s miscellaneous treasures. Beneath Szent István tér, the lower, park-like extension of Dóm tér, and the surrounding buildings, are various ancient burial chambers, now collectively known as the Sopianae Early Christian Cemetery World Heritage Site (Tues–Sun: May–Oct 10am–6pm; Nov–April 10am–4pm; www.pecsorokseg.hu; 1200/1600Ft). In all there are sixteen chambers and several hundred tombs; just in 2000 a unique octagonal burial chamber was discovered. The fourth-century Early Christian Mausoleum (Ókeresztény Mauzoleum), found under the square in 1975 during the demolition of a fountain, is now visible through a reinforced glass floor; it’s decorated with frescoes of the Fall, Daniel in the Lions’ Den and a scene of Adam and Eve. It also contains a white marble sarcophagus dating from the third century and some skeletal remains. The Peter-Paul burial chamber, on the east side of the square, under the steps to the building facing the Bishop’s Palace, was discovered in 1782; it’s decorated with biblical scenes featuring the eponymous saints. Also hidden away on the eastern side of the square is the so-called Wine Pitcher Burial Chamber (Korsos Sirkamra), with its almost complete fresco of a jug – perhaps the Holy Sacrament – hidden in a small niche.

The necropolis of Sopianae lay more or less beneath Apáca utca (Nun Street), southeast from Szent István tér, where several other tombs decorated with scenes of the Gates of Paradise have been excavated in the courtyard of no. 8. After the Romans went home and waves of migrating tribes swept across Hungary, the tombs were used as refuges and modified accordingly. At no. 14 are the remains of an Early Christian Burial Chapel (Témetőkápolna Okeresztény), likewise dating from the third or fourth century AD.

Around the periphery

From the barbican tower, just off Dóm tér, you can head uphill and on to Aradi Vértanuk utca to a section of the old town walls, a massive crenellated rampart 5500 paces long, buttressed by 87 bastions, that was erected after the Mongol invasion of the thirteenth century. Above the tunnel, 300m along, is a small garden with a small Calvary Chapel, offering a fine view south over the Belváros; built in 1812–17, this was one of the earliest Neoclassical round churches in Hungary.

Alternatively, head downhill around the peripheral boulevard – henceforth Rákóczi út – to find the inconspicuous Jakovali Hassan Mosque (Jakováli Haszán Dzsámija; April–Sept Wed–Sun 9.30am–5.30pm; 600Ft). Unlike its counterparts at Szigetvár and Eger, this sixteenth-century mosque is still intact (though its minaret is closed), bearing traces of friezes and arabesque carving. The attractive minbar pulpit and kilims adorning its cool white interior are gifts from the Turkish Ministry of Culture. Around the corner on Ferencesek utca, you can see the ruins of a Turkish bath outside the Minaret restaurant.

At Rákóczi út 15, a small Ethnographic Museum (Néprajzi Kiállitás; May–Oct Tues–Sat 10am–4pm; Nov–April Mon–Fri 11am–3pm; 450Ft) contains numerous folk costumes, ceramic vases and other household goods from the Baranya region, as well as a great set of masks, such as those worn at Mohács during the Busójárás Carnival. A few doors along at Rákóczi út 11 a beautifully restored town house is home to the Art Gallery of Pécs (Városi Képtár Pécs; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; 600Ft), showing temporary shows and a collection mostly of Hungarian postimpressionists. On the way back to the centre you can see the surprisingly dull Zsolnay Monument, with an image of the factory’s founder gazing benevolently over the junction with Szabadság utca; and the Romantic-style post office on Jókai utca, roofed with Zsolnay tiles. After digesting all these fine museums you may wish to turn your gaze to something more relaxing, in which case you should head for the Aquarium-Terrarium at Munkácsy utca 31 (daily: May–Sept 9am–6pm; Oct–April 9am–5pm; 1050Ft), whose sticky cellars house a colourful and substantial display of reptiles and fish.

Out of the centre

For a fresh perspective on Pécs, catch bus #33 from Kossuth tér up to the Tettye plateau, 2km from the centre, where a ruined sixteenth-century palace, later used as a Dervish monastery, stands in a park. Higher up and a further kilometre away, Misina Hill (534m) is crowned by a TV tower with an observation platform (TV Torony; daily 9am–7pm; 600Ft), and a café with a retro 1970s ambience, accessible by bus #35 from the train station and the Barbakán; after 5.30pm you’ll need a taxi back to town. Should you care to walk back from the plateau, the Niké szobor is a Soviet war memorial just below the Kőbánya bus stop, with fine views and a picnic area amid pine woods, and Havihegyi utca offers a succession of views as it winds around the hillside, with several picturesque backstreets slinking down past the All Saints’ Church, whose pastor supplements his income by selling poultry.

All kinds of livestock and farming paraphernalia appear at the monthly Pécs Market, a huge country fair held 3km southwest of the Belváros on the first Sunday of each month; take bus #3 or #50 from outside the Konzum store on Rákóczi út and ask to be dropped off at the Vásártér market on Megyeri út. On other Sundays, there’s a lively flea market on the same site. The main food market by the bus station is open Monday to Friday from 5am to 5pm, and on Saturdays from 5am to 2pm.

Eating and drinking

Pécs is one of the most sociable cities in Hungary, and with its tremendous array of fine restaurants, cafés and bars to choose from, you’re almost guaranteed a good night out.

Restaurants

Aranykacsa Teréz utca 4. The upscale “Golden Duck” has goose, duck and turkey as the mainstays of its menu, plus good set menus (including cheaper vegetarian versions). Expensive. Closed Mon & from 3.30pm Sun.

Arizona Ranch Király utca 21. Better than average American steak house, with a super grill garden; the only place to come for a cooked breakfast (until 11am).

Az Elefántos Jókai tér 6. Informally stylish, and reasonably priced, pizzeria restaurant, with a particularly good selection of pasta dishes.

Cellárium Hunyadi út 2. Vast cellar restaurant under the Főnix Hotel; the menu – written like a newspaper – takes some digesting, but once you’ve got past that, you’ll enjoy the food and the atmosphere. Live music at weekends. Closed Sun.

Dóm Étterem Király utca 3. You can choose to eat in the magnificently decorated section to the rear, or the cosy, vaulted section at the front; specialities include terrific fish and venison as well as pizza, and it’s the best place in town for vegetarians.

Pezsgőház Szent István tér 12. Easily the classiest outfit in town, this beautifully lit, vaulted cellar offers an international menu of the highest quality, and a fine champagne and wine list. Closes 3pm Sun.

Tex-Mex Teréz utca 10. Decent Mexican just along from the Aranykacsa, with the requisite enchiladas, burritos and tacos; it’s rather a party-oriented place, with lots of daily deals on cocktails. Tues–Sat 5–11pm.

Cafés, bars and cellars

With stacks of places to drink you’ll have little problem in tracking down a place to suit you. Two of the most popular places for an evening beverage are the hip Caffein at Széchenyi tér 9, and the hectic Replay Café and Bar at Király utca 4 – both also offer a decent food menu, although the Replay is more burger-oriented. A couple of more low-key, but more characterful, places are the splendidly relaxed Café Dante, in the same building as the Csontváry Museum at Janus Pannonius utca 11, which has wi-fi plus live jazz on Friday and Saturday evenings; and Café Zacc, at Mátyás Király utca 2, a lovely, contemplative drinking hole offering teas, cocktails and beers.

For location and range of coffees, the classy, relaxing and no-smoking Kávézó Az Elefántos restaurant on Jókai tér has no peers, although the Virág Cukrászda, on the peaceful Csészényi tér, does offer irresistible cakes. An excellent café offering internet access, including wi-fi, is the cool, orange-walled Matrix Café, in a courtyard at Király utca 15 (closed Sun morning).

The Pécs Brewery (Pécsi Sörfőzde; www.pecsisor.hu), just off Rókusalja utca, produces some of Hungary’s best beers – Szalonsör, Gilde, Goldfassl and the brown version of Szalon. As the brewery doesn’t run tours, the Rókus beer cellar at Rókusalja utca 15 or the homely Kiskorsó restaurant on the same street at no. 3 are the nearest you can get to the source. One place that does run tours is the Pannonia Champagne House (Pannonia Pezsgőhaz; Mon–Sat noon–8pm) at Szent István tér 12, which has been producing sparkling wines since 1859; one-hour cellar tours, including tasting of five wines, are for groups only, but you should be hooked up if you call in advance (72/214-490; 1950Ft).

Entertainment and festivals

Pécs’s opera and ballet companies are highly regarded, and tickets (1200–2400Ft) for performances at the National Theatre on Szinház tér, set back from Király utca, can be scarce – ask about cancellations at the box office, on the west side of the theatre, an hour before the show starts (Tues–Fri 10am–7pm, Sat & Sun 1hr before performance). Tickets for the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra can be obtained from the box office just across from the theatre at Király utca 19 (Filharmónia Jegyiroda; 72/310-539, www.pfz.hu; Mon–Thurs 9am–4pm, Fri 9am–3pm; open on performance days until the beginning of the performance). The Pécs Cultural Centre (Pécsi Kulturális Központ; Mon–Fri 8am–10pm; 72/336-622), at Széchenyi tér 1, is a source of information and tickets for cultural events all over the city. Throughout the year there are concerts in many of the city’s churches, including organ concerts in the basilica. Pécs will be European Capital of Culture in 2010, and information is available now at Széchenyi tér 7 (Mon–Fri 2–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–8pm).

For children (and adults), the Bóbita puppet theatre is at Mária utca 18. Films are shown at Uránia Mozi, Hungária utca 19; and Cinema City Pécs Plaza, Megyeri utca 76 (www.pecsplaza.net).

The highlights of a packed festival programme are the Spring Festival, a two-week programme of classical concerts, dance and film from mid- to late March (www.pecsitavaszifesztival.hu); and the Pécs Weeks of Art and Gastronomy in mid-June and early July, three weeks of joyously eclectic open-air musical, theatrical and literary events – essentially mini-festivals such as the International Romany Music Festival, the International Adult Puppet Festival and Festival of Fine Arts. In addition, many of the town’s restaurants have tasting sessions on the main squares. The Wine-Song Festival in September incorporates a male-voice choir festival and a wine procession.

The Mecsek Hills

The karstic Mecsek Hills north of Pécs offer panoramic views and trails fanning out from the television tower through groves of sweet chestnuts and almond trees. If you fancy some hiking, buy a 1:40,000 map of the hills, available from most bookshops or tourist offices in town. Alternatively, you can catch a bus from the regional terminal (every 1hr–1hr 30min; also picking up at the Vig Apát Hotel and the Uránvárós bus terminal) out to Orfű or Abaliget, two popular resorts forty minutes’ ride from town, where accommodation can be pre-booked through Mecsek Tours in Pécs.

The widely dispersed village of ORFŰ, 16km northwest of Pécs, features four artificial lakes surrounded by sports facilities, restaurants and accommodation, with an antique mill (Malommúzeum; Tues–Sun May–Sept 10am–5pm; Oct–April by appointment; www.orfuivizimalom.hu; 600Ft) in the Szolohegy quarter, to the east of Kis-tó, the smallest lake. The complex actually comprises two mills – a horse-driven mill and oil press, and a watermill, both built in the nineteenth century and closed by 1950, and renovated in the 1970s. On the main road nearby, there’s a pool and climbing wall at the Kis-tó Strand & Étterem. At Széchenyi tér 12, the main square in the Mecsekrákos quarter, at the southeastern corner of the largest lake, Pécsi-tó, there’s an open-air folk museum with kilns, dovecotes and beehives, alongside a nice little church with the priest’s quarters at the east end. Information can be obtained from the small Tourinform office in the town hall block at Széchenyi tér 1 (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm; 72/598-116, orfu@tourinform.hu). There’s loads of accommodation in Orfű, including private rooms, mostly in Szolohegy, and pensions clustered around Széchenyi tér; three good ones are the very comfortable Árkádos Panzió, by the bus stop at no. 4 (72/598-020, www.arkados.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft); the similar Atrium Panzió at no. 17 (72/498-288, orfupanzio@t-online.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), with sauna, table-tennis, restaurant, bar and an ATM; and the Molnár Panzió, at no. 18 (72/498-363, www.molnarpanzio.hu; €16–25/4001–6500Ft). There’s also the large Panoráma campsite, 1km up the west shore of Pécsi-tó at Dollár utca 1 (72/378-501, www.panoramacamping.hu; May–Oct), with bungalows with baths (€26–35/6501–9000Ft), and bikes and windsurfing boards for rent. Across the road are swimming pools with waterslides. The best restaurant in the resort is the Muskátli, at Széchenyi tér 13 (daily 11.30am–10pm). Various hiking trails lead northeast through the Mecsek hills to the much larger town of Komló, from where buses head back to Pécs at least every half-hour.

The larger settlement of ABALIGET, a few kilometres further west and 18km from Pécs, has an outdoor thermal pool and a 640-metre-long stalactite cave (Cseppkő barlang; Tues–Sun: April–Sept 9am–6pm; Oct–March 10am–3pm; 900Ft) beside a lake with a newly repaved path around it plus pedaloes and rowing boats. The cave, whose main branch was discovered in 1819, has relatively few stalactites and stalagmites but does have a series of interesting rock formations, due largely to the active brook within and frequent flooding. The cave is inhabited by blind crabs and also in winter by a large colony of greater horseshoe bats, one of three species that can be found in the Western Mecsek region – there’s a curious little exhibition on bats, including lots of dead ones, in the Bat Museum (Denevér Múzeum; same times; 450Ft), in the chalet just across from the cave. Should you wish to stay, try the Hotel Abaliget (30/994-3790, hotelabaliget@freemail.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), by the car park 300m from the cave; the adjacent Abaliget Barlang campsite (72/517-700, 327-928; mid-April to mid-Oct), with a pension (€26–35/6501–9000Ft), a motel (€16–25/4001–6500Ft), chalets (€16–25/4001–6500Ft) and a restaurant; the Cseppkó Panzió at Kossuth utca 107A (72/498-636; €16–25/4001–6500Ft) right at the junction to the cave; or one of the other rooms for rent on Kossuth utca.

Harkány, Villány and Siklós

The area south of Pécs offers several attractions. Those in search of a therapeutic wallow in yet another thermal bath should visit Harkány, but perhaps a greater draw is the thirty-kilometre-long Villány-Siklós wine road, Hungary’s first wine route. Siklós, a short ride east of Harkány and Hungary’s southernmost town, is the white-wine centre of the region and also boasts a fabulous fifteenth-century castle. Villány is an absolute must for the wine aficionado, with its extensive vineyards and cellars producing some of the country’s finest red wines.

Harkány

Twenty-five kilometres south of Pécs, HARKÁNY’s main draws are its enormous open-air thermal baths (Gyógyfürdő; daily 9am–6pm; 2700Ft, after 2pm 1890Ft) and outdoor pools (Strandfürdő; June–Aug daily 9am–10pm; Sept–May Mon–Thurs & Sun 9am–6pm, Fri & Sat 9am–8pm; 1290Ft, after 2pm 900Ft; www.harkanyfurdo.hu), with a section for wallowing in hot mud, therapeutically rich in sulphur and fluoride. The open-air strand can be entered from Kossuth utca, the main thoroughfare, to the west or Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca to the east, while the entrance to the indoor spa is on Zsigmond sétány on the south side of the compound, in the middle of town. Aside from this, there’s little to visit except a small market near the bus station and an early nineteenth-century Calvinist Church at Kossuth utca 66.

The bus station is at the southern end of Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca, beyond the baths. Information is available from Tourinform in the small cultural house at Kossuth utca 2 (June–Sept Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat & Sun 9am–5pm; Oct–May Mon–Fri 9am–4pm; 72/479-624, harkany@tourinform.hu), and private rooms (€16–25/4001–6500Ft) can be arranged here or through Mecsek Tours at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca 2, by the pools’ entrance (May–Sept Mon–Fri 8am–6.30pm, Sat 8.30am–noon; Oct–April Mon–Wed & Fri 8.30am–4.30pm, Thurs 8.30am–6.30pm; 72/480-322, harkany@mecsektours.hu). Harkány is swarming with hotels, the best of which are on Kossuth utca, including the very classy Xavin at no. 43 (72/580-158, www.xavin.hu; €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft), with its own lovely indoor pool, jacuzzi and sauna, and the smaller but equally fine Atrium, 500m further along at no. 10 (72/580-880, www.atriumharkany.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft). More modestly, there’s the Kokó Panzió, just off Kossuth utca at Arany János utca 7b (Easter to mid-Nov; 72/480-326, www.kokopanzio.hu; €26–45/9001–11,500Ft). Of the hotels by the baths, the only one of any real quality is the immaculately modernized Bauhaus-style Korona at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca 3 (72/480-049, www.harkanyhotelek.hu; €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft). The Thermal campsite, at the north end of Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca (72/480-117, www.mecsektours.hu; mid-April to mid-Oct), also has a basic hotel (€16–25/4001–6500Ft), motel (€15/4000Ft and under) and four-bed chalets (€26–45/9001–11,500Ft). The excellent restaurants in the Atrium, Xavin and Korona hotels aside, there is a string of pizzerias and pubs along Kossuth utca and a good wine shop at no. 44 (Mon–Fri 10am–1pm & 2–6pm, Sat 10am–1pm). Across the main road from the bus station is a small lake lined by restaurants with waterside terraces. The post office is opposite the Calvinist church at Kossuth utca 57 (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm).

Siklós

From Harkány frequent buses continue 5km east across the dusty plain (with a parallel cycle track) to SIKLÓS, a compact town huddled around a medieval castle – the town’s star attraction. It’s also a favoured destination for shoppers from Croatia, where goods are much more expensive due to high tariffs and VAT; as a result the local market is a cornucopia of goods, and some shops advertise their wares in Croatian.

From the bus station on Szent István tér, follow the main street, Felszabadulás utca, past the post office on Flórián tér and on up to Kossuth tér just below the castle, which is located on Vajda János tér. Opposite the bright peach-coloured Baroque town hall on Kossuth tér, no. 12 was the birthplace of George Mikes, the émigré writer known for his parodies of British life in the 1960s. A couple of steps down the road to the east stands the sixteenth-century Malkocs Bej Mosque (Malkocs Bej dzsámija; mid-April to mid-Oct Tues–Sun 9am–noon & 2–6pm; mid-Oct to mid-April Sat & Sun 9am–4pm; 300Ft), recently restored and stuffed with Turkish carpets and other knick-knacks. Behind the houses facing the mosque is a Serbian Orthodox church, a standard-issue ochre Baroque structure, while there’s a fifteenth-century Franciscan church near the castle car park, still largely Gothic, with old frescoes in the choir.

Siklós Castle (mid-April to mid-Oct daily 9am–6pm; mid-Oct to mid-April Tues–Sun 9am–4pm; 900Ft) remained in private hands from its foundation in the fifteenth century up until 1943, when it was confiscated by the state. Bastions and rondellas girdle an impressive platform on which now sits a mansion once occupied by the enlightened Casimir Batthyány, who freed his serfs in 1847, the year before serfdom was abolished. His tomb is in the Gothic chapel, located (with no sense of incongruity according to medieval values) within whipping distance of a dungeon filled with instruments of torture. Next to the dungeon, a small museum contains cabinets stuffed with gloves, fans and umbrellas, illustrating the period between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when these manufacturing industries were thriving – indeed, the factories of Pécs were renowned throughout Europe for the quality of their gloves. The museum cellar holds archeological remains and some rather large cannonballs. From the ramparts – where you’ll also find a small coffee shop and rose garden – you can enjoy tremendous views of the adjacent Villány Hills. The Castle Festival takes place in the last weekend in June, with international brass bands performing in the courtyard as its highlight. You can return to the bus station and town by a gravel path around the rear of the castle and through the outer bailey.

Siklós’s Tourinform office is at Felszabadulás utca 3 (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; 72/579-090, siklos@tourinform.hu), just a few steps away from the town’s sole hotel, the run-down Központi, in a nice Secession building at Kossuth Lajos tér 5 (72/352-513, www.kozponti.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), which also has a very ordinary restaurant and a cellar wine-bar. Hostel accommodation is available all year at the Kanizsai Dorottya Iskola Diákszálló, Iskola utca 25 (72/496-219, szallas@kanizsai-iskola@sulinet.hu; €15/4000Ft and under).

Alternatively, you can book a local room through Tourinform in Harkány or Pécs. There’s excellent strudel at the oddly named Hamburger Cukrászda by the entrance to the market at Felszabadulás utca 22 (daily 6am–6pm).

Villány

Fifteen kilometres east of Siklós, acres of vineyards lap the slopes of Szársomlyó hill (442m), producing red wine under the appellation Villányi. The village of VILLÁNY is of Swabian (German) origin, as you might guess from its neatness and uniformity, with pots of geraniums outside all the houses and everything signposted for the benefit of visitors.

Exiting left from the train station, walk for ten minutes past the new winery built by Budapest banker Sándor Csányi, who bought the state winery (founded in 1861 by the Teleki family, renowned for their Phylloxera-resistant hybrids). Taking the second turning to the right (following signs for Siklós), you’re on the village’s main street, Baross Gábor utca, passing almost at once a small Serbian Orthodox church behind which is the Wine Route information centre at Deák Ferenc utca 22 (Borűt Iroda; Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; 72/492-181, iroda@borut.hu), which can advise on visiting cellars in the region. Just beyond, after the town hall, bus stops and post office (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm), you’ll find the Wine Museum, at Bem József utca 8, just off Baross utca (Bormúzeum; Tues–Sun 9am–5pm; free). The local viticultural tradition goes back two thousand years, though you won’t find anything that ancient here; there are photos and photocopied documents on the ground floor, and barrels and equipment in the 200-year-old cellar, with German and English captions.

You can sample local wine at cellars on Diófas tér and beyond it on Baross Gábor utca, and on Batthyány utca – the names to look out for are Gere and Bock, whose wines have an international reputation; both charge around 1050Ft for three wines, 1800Ft for five wines, or 2400Ft for seven wines, including snacks. Bock’s are labelled Jammertal (German for “Valley of Lamentation”), after a battle in 1687 where the Turks were cut down in the Drava bogs. Wine lovers should also investigate the Polgár, Blum and Tiffán cellars in Villánykövesd, 2.5km to the right from Villány station.

The Oportó Panzió at Baross Gábor utca 33 (72/492-582, www.oporto.hu; €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft) has first-class rooms with polished wooden flooring and pretty pictures gracing the walls. Otherwise, there is the very comfortable, smoke-free Gere Panzió at Diófás tér 4 (72/492-195, www.gere.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), which has a lovely Mediterranean-style garden and the finest wine cellar in the village; or the Bock Panzió at Batthyány utca 15 (72/492-919, www.bock.hu; €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft), where József Bock has his cellar. There are also many houses in the village advertising beds (falusi szálláshely). The best meals in the village, featuring Swabian as well as Hungarian cuisine, are served in these three pensions, and the Júlia Vendéglő at Baross Gábor utca 41, while if you’re heading towards Villánykövesd stop off at the peaceful Fülemüle Csárda. In Villánykövesd itself, the tasteful Hotel Cabernet stands by the station at Petöfi utca 29 (72/493-200, www.hotelcabernet.hu; €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft).

The Villány-Siklós wine road

Running along the sunny southern slopes of the Villány Hills, the Villány-Siklós wine road was the first wine route to be set up in Hungary, in 1994. Named after the villages of Villány and Siklós, located 13km apart, the thirty-kilometre-long route winds past eleven settlements and vineyards, through one of the largest concentrations of cellars in the country. However, tasting takes place mainly in Villány, where wineries have outlets for tourists.

It is believed that wine making in the region started during Roman times and continued through the Middle Ages. The industry collapsed as the Ottoman Empire swept all before it, leaving many villages abandoned, but production quickly resumed following their retreat. From 1723 German colonists introduced the Kékfrankos grape, followed in the next century by the Tramina, Rizling and Oporto varieties. However, it is only since the end of Communism that the wider world has been alerted to the region’s top-quality wines.

Thanks to its favourable geographical location and Mediterranean climate and soil, the region consistently yields a superb range of red and white wines. Generally speaking, white wines emanate from the more westerly district around Siklós, whilst the more famous reds are produced in Villány and surrounding vineyards.

Some local vintners, such as Attila Gere and József Bock (see above), are internationally renowned and have recently produced some of the country’s most distinctive and finest reds. Villány’s hotels and restaurants were among the first in Hungary to be privatized, creating a demand for good local wine. Most recently, an appelation scheme has been introduced, with labels bearing the letters DHC (Districtus Hungaricus Controllatus), in classic and premium categories.

Other tourist initiatives include the extension of the Danube cycle route south from Budapest to Croatia (by 2010) and the linked Three Rivers Cycle Route (Három Folyó Kerékpáros Túraútvonal; www.kerekparut.com/?q=en), following the Mura, Drava and Danube along the Croatian border from Austria to Mohács.

Mohács

The small town of MOHÁCS, 41km east of Pécs by the River Danube, is a synonym for defeat. As a consequence of a single battle here in 1526, Hungary was divided and war-torn for 150 years and lost its independence for centuries thereafter. The state was tottering before Mohács, however: its treasury depleted, and with an indecisive teenager on the throne. Only when Süleyman “the Magnificent” was nearing the Drava did the Hungarians muster an army, which headed south and engaged the Turks without waiting for reinforcements from Transylvania. The battle was an utter disaster for Hungary, with the king and perhaps twenty thousand other Hungarians killed, including most of the governing elite, leaving the country unable to organize resistance as the Turks advanced on Buda.

The battlefield and town

The battle of 1526 occurred 7km south of Mohács, at a site thenceforth known as Sátorhely (Place of the Tent), which in 1976 was declared a memorial park (Mohácsi Történelmi Emlékpark; April–Oct daily 9am–6pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 10am–4pm; 750Ft) to mark the 450th anniversary of the battle. Though easily reached by Route 56 (buses from Mohács towards Nagynyárád, Majs, Lippó, Bezedek or Magyarbóly run past), there’s little to see but a bunker-like edifice containing maps of each side’s deployments and endless texts in Hungarian – bar a wreath-laying ceremony on Mohács Memorial Day (August 29).

In Mohács itself there are some bizarrely misconceived buildings, notably on Széchenyi tér, where the impressively ugly Votive Church, built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the battle, stands near the town hall, built at the same time with oriental motifs including the Sultan’s calligraphic signature engraved on a window. To the rear of the town hall at Városház utca 1, the Kanizsai Dorottya Museum (April–Oct Tues–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 10am–noon & 2–4pm; Nov–March Tues–Sat 10am–3pm; 300Ft) has little to say on the battle, but does show ceramics, painted furniture and a few carnival masks, in addition to an exhibition on the diverse ethnic groups that repopulated Mohács in the late seventeenth century, with national costumes from the Croatian, Serbian and Slovenian communities. The town’s only other sight is the eighteenth-century Serbian Orthodox Church, down towards the river at Szerb utca 2, whose magnificent iconostasis was painted by the Hungarian Csóka Mór.

Each spring, exactly seven weeks before Easter, the streets of Mohács come alive with the annual Busójárás Carnival. At night the carnival assumes a macabre appearance, with a procession of grotesquely masked figures waving flaming torches, who cross the River Danube – which rolls through the town disconcertingly near street level – in wooden boats to chase away the winter. Originally, it was probably a spring ritual intended to appease the gods, but over time participants also began to practise ritualistic abomination of the Turks to magically draw the sting of reality. Similar carnivals are held in Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia, where many of the revellers at Mohács travel from.

The battles of Mohács

After the Ottoman Turks captured Belgrade in 1521 and continued to advance towards Budapest and Vienna, Hungary’s King Louis II, then just 16, married Mary of Habsburg in a bid to secure Habsburg support in the inevitable war. However, this merely provoked the Turks, who determined to prevent the alliance taking effect. As they advanced, the apathetic Hungarian leaders gathered their armies too slowly and in the wrong places; after retreating north from the Drava they chose to stand and fight, on August 29, 1526, in the unsuitable site of a swampy plain outside Mohács.

Legend has it that an olive tree planted two hundred years earlier by Louis the Great suddenly became barren on that day, while the royal scribe records how the young king gave orders for the care of his hounds before riding out to meet his fate. The initial Turkish assault was repelled and a counterattack had some success before the Magyars broke ranks to loot the fallen, exposing themselves to a crushing counterattack by Turkish janissaries and cavalry, which caused a rout. Louis fled but fell while fording a stream and, due to the weight of his armour, was unable to escape being crushed to death by his horse.

The Sultan Süleyman ordered that the prisoners should be killed: perhaps a thousand Hungarian nobles, bishops and commanders died, and 14,000 or more soldiers in all. Although the Turks entered Buda and sacked it, they did not stay long; however, the city’s eventual occupation in 1541 was inevitable from this point, as no one was left to organize resistance. Hungary itself became a battleground, contested by the Turks and Habsburgs for close to two centuries.

The second battle of Mohács (in fact another 15km or so to the southwest) in 1687 was part of the slow process by which the by then moribund Ottoman empire was gradually driven back to the southeast. On this occasion a larger Turkish force was defeated by an Austrian army under Charles of Lorraine, and their commander Suleiman Pasha killed. The Turkish army mutinied and Sultan Mehmet V was deposed, leaving the Ottoman empire in paralysis for a year, while the Habsburgs continued to push into the Balkans.

Practicalities

While the train station is half an hour’s walk north of the centre, the bus station is on Rákóczi utca, close to Szabadság utca, the main street running eastwards across Széchenyi tér and on to the Danube ferry landing stage on Szent Mihály tér. From here the car ferry (600Ft for a car, plus 150Ft for each passenger, 300Ft for a bike) crosses the river to the residential area of Újmohács (and the Great Plain) every half-hour between 5.20am and 7pm (to 8pm May–Aug), with further crossings at 4am, 5am, 8.30pm, 9.30pm, 10.30pm and 11.50pm all year round. The Duna-Drava National Park has created a 1.5-kilometre study trail on the Újmohács bank, with six information boards; you can also take a boat to the Nagyrét meadow from Mohács (30/377-3409). Information is available from Tourinform in the town hall at Széchenyi tér 1 (mid-June to mid-Sept Mon–Fri 7.30am–5pm, Sat 10am–3pm; mid-Sept to mid-June Mon–Fri 7.30am–4pm; 69/505-515, mohacs@tourinform.hu), while the post office is next door (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 8–11am). At Szabadság utca 19 a bike shop sells parts and undertakes repairs for tourists tackling the Danube cycle route south from Budapest to Croatia and the linked Three Rivers Cycle Route, following the Mura, Drava and Danube along the Croatian border to Austria.

There’s a limited choice of accommodation, and it’s essential to reserve at carnival time. Your best options are two places either side of the landing stage: the bargain-value Révkapu Panzió (69/322-228, www.mohacsvgv.hu; €26–35/6501–9000Ft), now with air conditioning and wi-fi; and the excellent new Hotel Szent János at Szent Mihály tér 6–7 (69/511-010, www.hotel-szentjanos.hu; €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft) which has lovely air-conditioned rooms, including disabled facilities, a rooftop restaurant, sauna and solarium; guests have free use of the gym and free internet access. Also fairly new is the Pannon Hotel, east of the centre at Dózsa György utca 17 (30/500-8285), a pleasant, smallish mid-range place. Smaller places include the Duna Panzió, at Felső Dunasor 14 (69/302-450, 20/980-5733, vinodent@freemail.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), by the Danube a few minutes from the centre; and the Korona Panzió, Jókai utca 2 (69/311-480; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft). Alternatively, there’s the year-round Aréna Camping at Dunaszekcső, 12km north along Route 56 (69/335-161, arenacamp@freemail.hu), which has a small menagerie, lovely views of the river, a restaurant, rooms (€16–25/4001–6500Ft) and bungalows (€16–25/4001–6500Ft). This is an attractive village where there are also rooms to rent.

For eating, you can choose between the Hotel Szent János’s Mediterranean-style restaurant, or the Veli Aga Vendéglő at Szentháromság utca 7, a block north of the modern monument at the bottom of the pedestrian section of Szabadság utca, whose cuisine has a distinct Serbian and Turkish flavour.

Moving on, there are buses to Pécs and Budapest, and to Baja and Kecskemét or Szeged on the Great Plain; the railway is useful only to reach Villány, from where occasional trains cross into Croatia. By road, there is a border crossing into Croatia at Udvar, 11km south of town. There are quite a few buses from both Mohács and Szekszárd to Baja, but to get from one to the other you may have to change at Bátaszék, on the Dombovár-Baja railway line – arriving at the station, head left/east to the main road from Szekszárd and then south towards the big red church.

Szekszárd and the Forest of Gemenc

The chance to sample red wine produced in vineyards dating from Roman times and to buy inexpensive black pottery makes SZEKSZÁRD the prime stopover between Pécs and Budapest. Baroque squares, leafy streets and ancient wine cellars make this an ideal base to explore the wild, marshy Forest of Gemenc – while various festivals are held in early June, early August and mid-September.

Arrival and information

Arriving at the bus or train station on Pollack Mihály utca, it’s a ten-minute walk up pedestrianized Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca to the centre, passing the museum and the synagogue. Information can be obtained from Tourinform at Béla tér 7 (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–2pm; 74/511-263, szekszard@tourinform.hu), where you can also book beds in school dorms (see below). The main post office is at Széchenyi utca 11 (Mon–Fri 8am–7pm, Sat 8am–noon), and internet access is available at Internet Klub, Garay tér 12 (Mon–Sat 2–6pm).

Accommodation

The cheapest accommodation is at the Illyés Gyula Pedagógiai Főiskolai Kollégium (74/528-327, hamarics@igyfk.pte.hu; €15/4000Ft and under) ten minutes’ walk north of the centre at Mátyás kiröly utca 3; and the Rósza Kollegium (€15/4000Ft and under) at Kadarká utca 29 (bus #9), where Tourinform can usually find a single bed even midweek; or private rooms bookable through Ibusz at Szent István tér 3 (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 8am–noon; 74/319-822, szekszard@ibusz.hu). The best of the few hotels here is the Zodiaco at Szent László utca 19, five minutes’ walk north of Béla tér (74/511-150, www.hotelzodiaco.hu; €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft), a bizarre-looking place with minimally but coolly furnished air-conditioned rooms, each named after a star sign or planet. Other accommodation options boil down to the horrible 1970s Hotel Gemenc, behind the Wosinsky Museum at Mészáros Lázár utca 4 (74/311-722, www.hotels.hu/gemenc; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), which has small, stuffy rooms; and the Alisca Hotel at Kálvária utca 1, up a steep path above Béla tér (&74/311-242; €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft), which has fine views over town, but little else to commend it. If all else fails, the Alfa-Megacentrum (74/511-060, 511-061; €26–35/6501–9000Ft) offers cheap rooms at Tartsay utca 8, near the Shell garage heading south from the station. There’s a campsite (April–Oct) 6km east of the town at the Gemenci Kiránduló Központ (Gemenc Leisure Centre; 74/312-552, www.hotels.hu/gemenc-kirandulo-kozpont), the entrance to the Forest of Gemenc; in addition to tent space, there are Finnish-style wooden cabins (€26–35/6501–9000Ft).

The Town

Szekszárd is centred on the intersection of two main axes: the busy Széchenyi utca, and, crossing it at right angles, the park-like Szent István tér that eventually leads uphill to Béla tér, via cobbled Garay tér. In a neo-Renaissance pile at the eastern end of Szent István tér, the Wosinsky Museum (Wosinsky Mór Megyei Múzeum; April–Sept Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; Oct–March Tues–Sat 10am–4pm; 600Ft, free on Sat) has, on its ground floor, a rich, but wearily presented, collection of Roman artefacts and peasants’ costumes, and, upstairs, much better new displays, with English captions, covering the Christian era to the mid-nineteenth century. Behind the museum, the former synagogue (Tues–Sat 9am–5pm; 150Ft) has been beautifully and tastefully restored inside and out. Outside, the Triumphal Arch is supported by a modern concrete frame. The synagogue is now used as a concert hall and a venue for temporary art exhibitions.

The final uphill stretch beyond Széchenyi utca leads to Béla tér, where porticoed buildings tilt perceptibly around a column marking the plague of 1730. In the centre of the square, the late Baroque Roman Catholic church, completed in 1805, is the largest single-nave church in Central Europe. The Neoclassical Old County Hall, on the east side of the square, was built in 1828–36 by Mihály Pollack, on the site of a Benedictine abbey founded in 1061 – the foundations (well cased in concrete) are visible in the courtyard, as is a well that spouts wine at festival time. Of the various small museums inside, the best is the Liszt Memorial Exhibition (Liszt Emlék kiallitás; April–Sept Tues–Sun 9am–5pm; Oct–March Tues–Sat 9am–3pm; 300Ft), which commemorates Liszt’s four visits to Szekszárd, and displays the piano that he played and a few of his scrawls.

At the top end of the square, Babits utca leads towards the House of Mihály Babits, across the bridge at no. 13 (Babits Mihály Emlékház; April–Sept Tues–Sun 9am–5pm; Oct–March Tues–Sat 9am–4pm; 450Ft), a homely residence exhibiting photos and manuscripts related to the journal Nyugat (West). This avant-garde publication was edited by Babits and included the Village Explorers’ exposés of rural life in interwar Hungary, launching the literary careers of Endre Ady and Gyula Illyés. Alas for Attila József, the finest poet of that era, Babits refused to publish his work in Nyugat, earning József’s eternal hostility. Babits went to his graveside to ask his forgiveness.

Szekszárd’s dark, rich “ox-blood” wine (Szekszárdi Vörös) was exported as far afield as Britain and Turkey in the 1700s, and Franz Liszt, Pope Pius IX and Emperor Haile Selassie are all said to have been admirers. Today, wine lovers can visit the numerous surrounding vineyards, or several excellent private vintners in town such as the Vesztergombi family, which has a shop at Béla tér 7 (Mon–Fri 10am–noon & 1–5pm, Sat 9am–noon) selling Vida and Sárosdi, as well as its own wines, and a cellar on Kadarka utca, uphill behind the square. The Garay Winery (Garay Pince; summer Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 8am–5pm; winter Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–2pm; around 1500Ft for tour and tasting), just below the Old County Hall at Béla tér 1, offers wine and cheese tasting in its cellar (used by the Benedictine abbey from the thirteenth century to store wine paid as a tithe). Many other private cellars open their doors during the Alisca Wine Days (Bornapok) at the start of June.

Eating, drinking and entertainment

Though Szekszárd’s gastronomic efforts are less remarkable than its wine, it does have a fair range of choices. The best restaurant is the Arany Kulacs kisvendéglő at Nefelejcs köz 1, which has a non-smoking room, a terrace, and a list of premium pálinkas. You can also take in a hugely enjoyable meal at the Szász Söröző, Garay tér 18, a medieval-themed place with particularly delicious soups and some fantastic vegetarian options – it’s equally great for a beer. The Főispán, tucked away to the left of the town hall at Béla tér 1, is a more polished restaurant with seductive, overhanging lamps under which you can enjoy fine Hungarian cuisine, while the Gilde Söröző at Kossuth Lajos utca 16, just off Szent László utca, has a reasonably varied, if rather beef-heavy, menu (closes 4pm Sun). Cheap, hot lunches can be washed down with good wine at Papa’s Winehouse (Papa Borozója; Mon–Fri 9am–8pm, Sat 7am–8pm, Sun 9am–6pm), at the bottom of Garay tér at no. 6. For coffee, cakes and ice cream head to the Belvárosi Kávéház next to the Szász Söröző, with a pleasant terrace looking down the square.

For entertainment, check out the theatre in the modern Babits Mihály Művelődézi Ház (Mihály Babits Cultural Centre), and the Panorama Cinema at its rear. German-speakers should check out the Deutsche Bühne (German Theatre; www.deutschebuehne.hu) – in a lovely Art Nouveau buiding at Garay tér 4, it’s the country’s own German-language theatre and thus a major cultural centre for the community.

The town’s two major wine-related events are the Alisca Wine Days (Bornapok) at the start of June, with tastings and craft fairs climaxing in a fish-soup making competition by the Danube, and the Grape and Wine Harvest, a three-day festival in the third week of September, where visitors are welcome to help pick and press the grapes, and to enjoy the music, wine and song. Another event worth attending is the folklore festival at Decs at the beginning of August. Though only 8km south of Szekszárd, this village was traditionally isolated by marshes yet remained au courant, as its menfolk worked as bargees, bringing home the latest news and fabrics from Budapest. Their wives wore beribboned silk skirts and cambric blouses with lace inserts, and later acquired a taste for lime green and yellow metallic thread, making their costumes as lurid as rave attire. Some can be seen in the Decs Folk-house (Tájház) at Kossuth utca 32 (Mon–Fri 8am–5pm).

The Forest of Gemenc

Part of the Duna-Drava National Park (http://ddnp.nemzetipark.gov.hu) since 1996, the Forest of Gemenc, east of Szekszárd, is a remnant of the wilderness of woods, reeds and mudland that once covered the Danube’s shifting, flood-prone banks. Only at the beginning of the twentieth century was the river tamed and shortened by 60km, thus helping to stem the annual flooding of its backwaters and the Sárköz (Mud Region). However, marshes and ponds remained to provide habitats for boar, wildcats, otters, red deer, ospreys, falcons, white-tailed eagles, black storks and other wildlife. Nowadays, the forest is a nature reserve of sorts, although the deer and wild boar are fair game for Western hunters.

The gateway to the forest is the Gemenc Leisure Centre (May–Oct daily 9.30–11am & noon–4pm; 72/312-552) in Bárányfok, a popular recreation spot 6km from Szekszárd on the northwestern edge of the forest; to get there, take any bus heading for Keselyűs (4–5 daily). A short walk from the entrance, the Life in the Floodplain exhibition (mid-March to late Oct Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; late Oct to mid-March by appointment, call 30/255-7866; 600Ft) is housed in the larchwood Trophy House, built in 1896 for the Millennium Exhibition in Budapest and later used to house Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s hunting trophies. It now houses exhibits on the forest’s flora and fauna and displays on the difficulties that the park’s inhabitants have traditionally faced, such as in 1956, when a major flood forced the evacuation of some forty settlements and more than five thousand homes were destroyed. Nearby is the Trófea restaurant, a typically rustic csárda serving predominantly game and fish (daily till 9pm). The Bárányfok study path, with six information boards, takes around an hour, lingering to watch deer, grey herons or great white egrets.

From here the forest train runs all year (steam locomotives hauling open carriages from May to October and diesels with heated ones in winter) through the forest to Pörböly, 30km to the south on the road and railway between Bátaszék and Baja; there are only three trains a day (leaving Bárányfok at 10.30am, 1.30pm & 3.30pm; Pörböly at 8am, 9.20am & 1.15pm; 750Ft single, 1050Ft return). The Pörböly Ecotourism Centre (74/491-483, www.gemencrt.hu) consists of a reception building, housing a souvenir shop, buffet and a ticket office for the forest train, and across the track a museum, with displays on ethnography, forestry, red deer and bee-keeping. Paths lead from here to an arboretum and to observation towers, while south of the highway forest paths lead 1km south to the Nyék-Duna backwater, where there’s another observation tower. It’s also possible to get off the train at Malomtelelő, 8km north of Pörböly, and take a forest path to an observation tower.

It’s possible to hike from north to south through the forest, but the only feasible cycle route is on the dyke alongside the Danube; bikes can be rented at the Gemenc Leisure Centre, and the trains will carry them back to your starting point. Boat trips set off for the forest’s backwaters from the Karoly IV quay, by the Danube bridge (300m from Tesco) in Baja, 10km east of Pörböly (see above).

Szekszárd to Budapest

The road and train line between Szekszárd and Budapest pass through unexciting countryside punctuated by three towns that, although not worth a special visit in themselves, might tempt you to a stopover – Paks, Dunaföldvár and Dunaújváros. If not, and you’re driving, consider a scenic detour along minor roads through the pretty villages of Högyész, Gyonk and Cece, before rejoining the trunk route at Dunaföldvár. In addition to the bridges over the Danube at Baja and Dunaföldvar, motorway-standard bridges have recently been built at Szekszárd and Dunaújváros, and a motorway from Pécs, Mohács and Szekszárd to Budapest will open in 2010.

Paks

PAKS, 30km north of Szekszárd, is the site of Hungary’s only nuclear power station, four Soviet-designed pressurized water reactors which supply up to forty percent of the country’s electricity. Bar some anxiety in the aftermath of Chernobyl, the issue of nuclear power has never aroused much public concern in Hungary except among communities living near the site of proposed nuclear waste dumps, and in Paks itself people are quick to point out that the plant, a good 5km south of town, gets good marks from international safety inspectors.

Around 30,000 people a year visit the power station, though most only stop at the Visitor Centre (Mon–Fri 9am–3pm, Sat 9am–1pm), which features a striking statue of several leading scientists – among them Leo Szilárd, John Neumann and Edward Teller – in weighty discussion, an aquarium of Danube fish, displays on local history and nuclear power worldwide, plus interactive exhibits and cameras trained on the reactor hall and control room. There’s also a viewing tower and a post office, offering free cards, pens and stamps. Over-16s can also take an hour-long tour (Mon–Fri only; 75/508-833, uzemalatogatas@npp.hu), viewing the reactor hall and control room through glazed galleries, and walking into the turbine hall.

From the main train station south of downtown Paks, bus #1 takes you past the remarkable Catholic Church, two blocks west of Tolnai utca on Hősök tere, built by Imre Makovecz in 1989. A strikingly organic structure made of wood, its separate bell-tower has three spires topped by a cross, a crescent and a sun sign – which provoked letters to the press condemning the “Satanic forces” behind it, despite Makovecz’s claim that they were early Christian symbols. You can get the key to the church at Hősök tere 19.

The remaining sights are on Szent István tér, the main square in the north of town, where a small City Museum (Városi Múzeum; Tues 10am–4pm, Wed–Sun 10am–6pm; 450Ft) displays finds from Roman Lussonium, just north, sundry Bronze Age, Celtic and Magyar artefacts, plus a table used by the statesman Deák. Nearby, the Catholic church has a barn-like neo-Romanesque interior with a cassette roof. Across the road at Szent István tér 4, a grand classical building that was only the third casino in the country when it was built in 1844 is being converted into a hotel; with luck, the Paks Gallery (Páksi Képtár; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; free), previously housed here, will reappear. Set up by local artist Károly Halász, it showed a stimulating exhibition of contemporary Hungarian works.

If you’re arriving by train it’s better to get off at the Paks Duna-part station near Szent István tér rather than the main station over 1km south of the centre, where the bus station is located near the Danube at the bottom of Tancsics Mihály utca. Both are connected to the centre by regular buses. Until the Erszébet Szálloda reopens, the only accommodation is the well-refurbished Communist-era Duna Hotel at Dózsa György út 75 (75/310-891, www.dunahotelpaks.hu; €46–55/11,501–14,500Ft).

The Halászcsárda fish restaurant at Dunaföldvár utca 5a, fifteen minutes’ walk upriver from the main square, has a terrace with fine views of the river, and a good reputation, the reactors being well downstream.

Dunaföldvár

DUNAFÖLDVÁR, 24km north of Paks, is by far the prettiest and smallest of the three towns en route to Budapest. Arriving by bus, it’s a minute’s walk north to the main square, Béke tér, while the train station is 2km southwest of town on Vasút utca. The town’s name derives from the sixteenth-century fortress that was hastily erected to guard the Danube after Belgrade fell to Süleyman’s army, of which only the keep – known as the Turkish Tower – has survived. To reach it, continue north from Béke tér and take Rákóczi utca, the first on the right. The tower now houses a small museum (Vár Múzeum; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; 300Ft) containing bits and bobs from the twelfth century, and an assortment of items representing various local trades such as blue-dyers and bootmakers. A better reason to visit is for the fantastic views of the Danube below and the puffing chimneys of the Dunaújváros ironworks away in the distance. Across the courtyard, the Fafaragó Gallery (same ticket and times) has paintings and handiwork by local artists and a curious small ethnographic collection in which the school section seems to have been taken over by real school projects. After the Turks were finally driven out, the town was repopulated by outsiders, as its Baroque Serbian Orthodox Church, just north of Béke tér at Kossuth Lajos utca 7, attests; the small, white church is likely to remain closed for some time whilst its icons undergo restoration in Szentendre. Besides some elegant Art Nouveau buildings in the centre, it’s possible to inspect craft workshops such as that of the blue-dyer (kékfestő) Vadász Istvánné (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm), at Duna utca 6, beyond the new approach to the Danube bridge.

Visits can be arranged through Tourinform, opposite the Turkish tower at Rátkai köz 2 (June to mid-Sept Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–1pm; mid-Sept to May Mon–Fri 9am–5pm; 75/341-176, dunafoldvar@tourinform.hu), which can provide other information and book private rooms (€16–25/4001–6500Ft) if required. Two central, and good-value, pensions close to each other are the Prajda Panzió, Kossuth Lajos utca 22 (75/342-182), and the Varró Panzió, Petőfi utca 20 (75/341-810; €16–25/4001–6500Ft), which has cooking facilities. The Kék-Duna campsite, at Hősök tere 23, on a wonderful grassy spot on the river bank (75/541-107, postmaster@camping-gyogyfurdo.axelero.hu), also has rooms in chalets (€15/4000Ft and under). It’s open all year, but out of season you should check in at the thermal baths, immediately south (daily 8am–4pm; 1050Ft).

For eating, the red-and-black rustically styled Vár Étterem, up by the Turkish Tower, is worth a visit as much for the views as for the food, while the Halászcsárda fish restaurant, between the baths and campsite on Hősök tere, also has resplendent views across the Danube – the Földvári fish soup is highly recommended. The Centrum Étterem, on the north side of Béke tér, is a small, friendly eatery with a good choice of salads and pasta plus Transylvanian-style pork dishes. There’s good coffee, cakes and ices at the quaint Marcipán Cukrászda at Béke tér 3 (daily 9am–6pm).

Dunaújváros

In total contrast, DUNAÚJVÁROS (Danube New Town), 20km upriver, is a monument to Stalinist economics, created around a vast ironworks which the Party saw as the lynchpin of its industrialization strategy for the 1950s. The construction of Sztálinváros (as the town was originally called) was trumpeted as a feat by Stakhanovites, though much of the heavy work was performed by peasants and “reformed” prostitutes living under appalling conditions. Yet, at the same time, it embodied a striving for a brighter future for the working classes – a paradox that has assumed a new form today, as this incarnation of the planned economy has weathered the transition to capitalism better than “traditional” industrial towns such as Ózd in northeastern Hungary. In addition, the planted trees are now mature, hiding the worst of the architecture.

The town’s appeal lies in its utopian Bauhaus and Socialist-Realist aesthetic, though its uniform rows of blocks make orientation difficult. The tall redbrick town hall on Városháza tér serves as the main landmark in the centre, whence Vasmű utca runs south to the Dunaferr Iron Works. Across the road at Városháza tér 4, the former Party headquarters now houses the Intercisa Museum (Tues–Sun 2–6pm; 600Ft), which relates the history of this site from Roman times – mainly in the form of urns and grave goods – before leaping to the twentieth century and the Stalinist era. The latter is epitomized by a book of 14,800 signatures presented to Party Secretary Rákosi “demanding” that Sztálinváros be built – although it doesn’t go into much detail about the suffering involved. A few minutes’ walk east brings you to a sculpture park of rusting iron supplied by the works.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, just round the corner at Vasmű utca 12 (Kontárs Művészeti Intézet; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; free), is worth a visit for its temporary exhibitions of Hungarian and foreign works, and also has a pleasant little coffee bar. Further along Vasmű utca, Babits utca leads west to Bartók tér, featuring a store with mosaics depicting workers and peasants building the town. On the same square, the Bartók Cultural Centre combines Neoclassical and Bauhaus motifs, while through the arcade a school of the same era has separate doors for boys and girls, topped by reliefs of idealized children at study. Leading south from the square is Majus 1 utca, one of the first streets to be built in 1950, and a must for lovers of the Bauhaus style. For real fanatics, the tourist office gives out a free leaflet detailing a two-hour walk around the town’s many other Socialist monuments.

Continuing along Vasmű utca you’ll pass a statue of a foundry worker relaxing, which Party officials complained should show the worker working, not resting, and was consequently not erected until 1961. Another twenty minutes’ walk, past the football stadium, brings you to the entrance of the Iron Works, like something out of a Cecil B. De Mille set, with an abstract relief of joyous workers above a Neoclassical portico. The works cover a huge area, almost as big as the town itself, and employ some eight thousand people, both from the town and the region; buses from the south stop here, before passing the wooded cordon sanitaire to the town itself.

Practicalities

There’s no sensible walking route from the train station, 2km west of town, but buses #16 and #17 run to the centre every fifteen minutes. The bus terminal, near the market on Béke tér, is a short enough walk south of the centre; most buses heading north, including to Budapest, pick up at Városháza tér. As you might expect, Dunaújváros is hardly geared up for tourists, though there is a Tourinform office at Vasmű utca 10a (Mon–Thurs 9am–4pm, Fri 8am–3pm; 25/500-148, dunaujvaros@tourinform.hu) dispensing information. Ibusz, just north of the cinema at Devecseri utca 8 (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 8am–noon; 25/409-960, dunaujvaros@ibusz.hu), can book private rooms (€16–25/4001–6500Ft) or beds in the nicely refurbished Kerpely Antal kollégium at Dózsa György utca 33 (25/551-237, http://kac.duf.hu/hostelkerpely; €16–25/4001–6500Ft; July & Aug). Hotel options are limited to the quite awful Dunaferr Hotel at Epítők utca 2, 400m east of the bus station (25/381-073, office.hotel@chello.hu; €36–45/9001–11,500Ft), and, set back behind it, the smart and business-like Klub Hotel (25/500-477, www.klubhotel.hu; €56–70/14,501–18,500Ft). There is also a campsite (25/310-285; May–Sept), with an open-air bathing area, on a small island 3km north of the centre, accessible by bus #24 or #26.

Dunaújváros has a few reasonably good eating options, the best of which are the Topo Pizzeria and Salad Bar, behind the cinema at Kőműves utca 5, and Geronimo, to the side of the cinema on Ságvári tér, which has juicy steaks and ribs plus some Mexican dishes thrown in for good measure. There’s also the Aranysárkány, a fairly authentic Chinese place at Vasmű utca 9–11. The City Café at Köműves utca 9, Corner Kávézó, Dósza György tér 2, and the Topo Pizzeria are the obvious choices for a daytime or evening drink, while the Művész Fészek Presszó, at the rear of the Bartók Cultural Centre, has a nice terrace. The Institute of Contemporary Art has a very stylish little coffee bar, and there are other cafés and bars in the student area, west of the centre on Dósza György utca. Internet access is available in the bar in the foyer of the Dunaferr Hotel.

Travel details

Trains

Fertőboz to: Nagycenk (April–Oct 5 departures Sat & Sun; 30min); Sopron (5 daily; 10min).

Dunaújváros to: Budapest (7 daily; 1hr 20min–2hr).

Győr to: Budapest (2 per hr; 1hr 30min–2hr); Mosonmagyaróvár (hourly; 30min); Pápa (12 daily; 40min–1hr); Sopron (9 daily; 1hr–1hr 30min); Szombathely (2 daily; 1hr 50min); Veszprém (6 daily; 2hr–2hr 30min).

Kaposvár to: Fonyód (10 daily; 1hr 10min–1hr 30min); Pécs (3 daily; 1hr 35min–2hr 15min).

Kőszeg to: Szombathely (every 1hr–1hr 30min; 30min).

Mohács to: Pécs (3 daily; 1hr 30min); Villány (6 daily; 30min).

Nagycenk to: Fertőboz (April–Oct 5 departures Sat & Sun; 30min).

Pécs to: Budapest (every 2hr; 3–4hr); Fonyód (3 daily; 2hr 50min–4hr); Kaposvár (4 daily; 1hr 35min); Mohács (6 daily; 1hr 30min); Szeged (1 daily; 6hr 10min); Szigetvár (10 daily; 30–50min); Szombathely (4 daily; 3hr 30min–7hr); Villány (8 daily; 35min).

Sopron to: Budapest (14 daily; 2hr 30min–3hr 30min); Győr (8 daily; 1hr 20min); Szombathely (12 daily; 1hr 10min).

Szekszárd to: Baja (8 daily 50min–1hr); Budapest (2 daily; 3hr: 12 daily with 1 change at Pusztaszabolcs 2hr 30min–3hr 10min); Szekesfehervar (2 daily; 2hr 30min).

Szombathely to: Budapest (5 daily; 2hr 45min–3hr 30min); Kőszeg (every 1hr–1hr 30min; 30min); Pécs (4 daily; 4hr 30min–7hr); Sárvár (every 40min–1hr; 15–25min); Sopron (6 daily; 1hr 30min); Székesfehérvár (7 daily; 2hr 15min–2hr 45min); Tapolca (4 daily; 1hr 45min–2hr 15min).

Szigetvár to: Pécs (11 daily; 45min); Szombathely (2 daily; 3hr); Nagykanisza (3 daily; 1hr 40min–2hr 30min).

Villány to: Mohács (6 daily; 30min); Pécs (8 daily; 32min).

Zalaegerszeg to: Budapest (3 daily; 3hr 30min); Szombathely (3 daily; 1hr 25min); Zalalövő (10 daily; 35min).

Zalalövő to: Körmend (6 daily; 35min); Őriszentpéter (8 daily; 15min); Zalaegerszeg (10 daily; 35min).

Buses

Dunafőldvár to: Baja (3 daily; 2hr); Budapest (2 per hr; 2hr); Dunaújváros (every 20–40min; 25min); Kecskemét (10 daily; 1hr 10min); Mohács (2 daily; 1hr 30min); Szeged (hourly; 2hr); Szekesfehérvar (hourly; 1hr); Szekszárd (hourly; 50min).

Dunaújváros to: Budapest (2 per hr; 1hr 30min); Dunafőldvár (every 20–40min; 25min); Győr (9 daily; 2hr 30min); Kecskemét (6 daily; 1hr 40min); Pécs (5 daily; 2hr 30min); Szeged (7 daily; 2hr 30min), Székesfehérvár (every 30min–1hr; 1hr).

Győr to: Balatonfüred (10 daily; 2hr); Budapest (hourly; 1hr 15min–2hr); Lébény (hourly; 40min); Pannonhalma Monastery (every 30min–1hr 30min; 30min); Pápa (every 1hr–1hr 30min; 50min); Sopron (every 40min; 1hr 30min); Sümeg (5 daily; 2hr 15min); Székesfehérvár (9 daily; 2hr); Szombathely (7 daily; 2hr 30min); Tapolca (5 daily; 4hr); Tata (3 daily; 1hr); Veszprém (7 daily; 2hr); Zalaegerszeg (7 daily; 4hr 30min).

Harkány to: Budapest (2 daily; 4hr 15min); Mohács (15 daily; 1hr 10min); Pécs (every 30–40min; 45min); Siklós (every 20–30min; 15min); Szekszárd (3 daily; 2hr 15min).

Ják to: Körmend (3 daily; 30min); Szombathely (hourly; 25min).

Kaposvár to: Hévíz (2 daily; 2hr 30min); Nagykanisza (8 daily; 1hr 25min); Pécs (every 1hr–1hr 30min; 2hr); Siófok (10 daily; 2hr); Szekszárd (4 daily; 2hr 15min); Szigetvár (5 daily; 45min); Szombathely (4 daily; 3hr 20min); Zalaegerszeg (2 daily; 3hr).

Komárom to: Budapest (3 daily; 2hr); Esztergom (3–5 daily; 1hr 30min); Győr (2–4 daily; 1hr); Sopron (1 daily; 2hr 45min); Tata (7 daily; 1hr).

Kőszeg to: Bozsok (10 daily; 45min); Cák (13 daily; 20min); Sárvár (6 daily; 1hr 10min); Sopron (6 daily; 1hr 15min); Szombathely (every 40min–1hr; 30min); Velem (11 daily; 30min); Zalaegerszeg (2 daily; 1hr 15min).

Mohács to: Baja (12 daily; 1hr 30min); Budapest (4 daily; 4hr); Harkany (15 daily; 1hr 10min); Kecskemét (3 daily; 4hr); Pécs (2 per hr; 1hr); Szeged (10 daily; 4hr); Szekszárd (6 daily; 1hr).

Őriszaentpéter to: Körmend (9 daily; 1hr 15min); Szalafő (4 daily; 15min); Velemér (9 daily; 30min); Zalaegerszeg (7 daily; 25min).

Paks to: Baja (2 daily; 1hr 30min); Budapest (hourly; 2hr); Harkány (2 daily; 3hr); Kesckemét (2 daily; 1hr 40min); Pécs (9 daily; 2hr); Szekszárd (every 30min; 40min).

Pécs to: Abaliget (8 daily; 1hr); Baja (hourly; 2hr); Budapest (5 daily; 4hr); Harkány (every 30min–1hr; 45min); Hévíz (2 daily; 4hr 30min); Kaposvár (every 1hr–1hr 30min; 2hr); Keszthely (4 daily; 4hr); Mohács (every 40min–1hr; 1hr 20min); Orfű (every 1hr–1hr 30min; 1hr); Siklós (every 30min–1hr; 1hr); Siófok (7 daily; 3hr); Szeged (every 1–2hr; 4hr); Székesfehérvár (6 daily; 4hr 30min); Szekszárd (every 1–2hr; 1hr 15min); Szigetvár (every 45min–1hr 30min; 1hr); Zalaegerszeg (8 daily; 4hr 15min).

Sárvár to: Győr (3 daily; 2hr); Kőszeg (every 2hr; 70min); Sopron (4 daily; 1hr 15min); Sümeg (2 daily; 1hr); Szombathely (7 daily; 1hr); Veszprém (2 daily; 2hr); Zalaegerszeg (3 daily; 2hr).

Siklós to: Budapest (1 daily; 5hr); Harkány (every 30–45min; 15min); Mohács (11 daily; 1hr 30min); Pécs (every 30–45min; 1hr); Szekszárd (5 daily; 2hr 30min); Szigetvár (4 daily; 2hr) Villány (every 30min–1hr; 30min).

Sopron to: Balatonfüred (2 daily; 4hr); Budapest (4 daily; 3hr 45min); Esztergom (1 daily; 4hr); Fertőd (every 30min–1hr; 35min); Fertőrákos (every 40min–1hr; 30min); Győr (hourly; 2hr); Hévíz (2 daily; 3hr); Keszthely (4 daily; 3hr 15min); Komárom (1 daily; 2hr 45min); Kőszeg (7 daily; 1hr 15min); Nagycenk (every 30–40min; 20min); Nagykanisza (3 daily; 2hr 30min); Pápa (5 daily; 2hr 30min); Sárvár (4 daily; 1hr 15min); Sümeg (3 daily; 2hr 15min); Szombathely (8 daily; 1hr 45min); Zalaegerszeg (3 daily; 3hr).

Szekszárd to: Baja (12 daily; 1hr); Budapest (hourly; 2hr 30min); Kaposvár (every 1–2hr; 3hr); Mohács (7 daily; 1hr); Paks (every 30min; 35min); Pécs (16 daily; 1hr 15min); Siófok (8 daily; 2hr); Szeged (3 daily; 3hr); Székesfehérvár (4 daily; 2hr); Veszprém (2 daily; 3hr 45min).

Szigetvár to: Kaposvár (8 daily; 45min); Pécs (every 1hr–1hr 30min; 30min–1hr 20min).

Szombathely to: Budapest (4 daily; 3hr 45min–5hr); Győr (5 daily; 2hr 30min); Ják (hourly; 25min); Kaposvár (2 daily; 1hr 40min); Keszthely (2 daily; 2hr 30min); Körmend (hourly; 30–55min); Kőszeg (every 40min–1hr; 35min); Pécs (3 daily; 4hr 40min); Sárvár (every 45min–1hr 30min; 45min); Sopron (5 daily; 1hr 45min); Zalaegerszeg (12 daily; 1hr 10min); Veszprém (3 daily; 2hr 10min–2hr 45min).

Tata to: Esztergom (hourly; 1hr 30min); Komárom (20 daily; 1hr).

Zalaegerszeg to: Budapest (8 daily; 4hr 45min); Győr (9 daily; 4hr 30min); Kaposvár (6 daily; 3hr); Keszthely (hourly; 1hr); Körmend (8 daily; 1hr); Őriszentpéter (7 daily; 25min); Pécs (7 daily; 4hr 15min); Sopron (3 daily; 3hr 15min); Sümeg (6 daily; 1hr 10min); Szombathely (14 daily; 1hr 20min).

International trains

Győr to: Vienna (hourly; 1hr 40min).

Pécs to: Vienna (1 daily; 6hr); Beli Monastir (Croatia) (2 daily; 1hr 15min–1hr 45min); Osijek (Croatia) (1 daily; 2hr 30min); Sarajevo (Bosnia) (1 daily; 9hr 30min).

Sopron to: Vienna (hourly; 1hr 15min).

Szombathely to: Graz (Austria) (4 daily; 2hr 40min–3hr 10min).

Villány to: Beli Monastir (Croatia) (3 daily; 40min); Osijek (Croatia) (1 daily; 1hr 40min); Sarajevo (Bosnia) (1 daily; 8hr 40min).

Zalalövő to: Ljubljana (Slovenia) (1 daily; 4hr 20min).

International buses

Sopron to: Frankfurt (1 weekly; 14hr); Munich (2 weekly; 7hr); Stuttgart (2 weekly; 10hr); Vienna (1 daily Mon–Fri; 2hr); Wiener Neustadt (1 daily; 1hr 15min).

Szombathely to: Vienna (1 weekly; 3hr 30min).

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