'''Eger''' [http://www.egeronline.com/index.php?lang=en] is an historic town in northern Hungary, capital of Heves county, and situated between Matra and Bukk mountains.
Understand
Eger is mainly known for its castle, thermal baths, historic buildings (including the northernmost Turkish minaret) and, above all else, the best Hungarian red wines. When you plan your trip, it looks like a small town for which half a day is more than enough, but 3 days may not even be enough to enjoy it fully, even in the winter.
Tourist mix
The majority of travelers come for a single day (mostly Slovakians), not staying overnight. Ukrainians and Russians frequent the Castle, along with many Italians. Around the town you may run into many German-speaking travelers as well.
Get in
By train
Trains leave the Budapest Keleti station twice each hour. Some are direct but most require you to change trains in Fuzesabony. Most of these trains are ''gyors'' (fast) trains and will take about two hours and 20 minutes to arrive. Several of these trains are IC and will take you directly to Fuzesabony, cutting the total travel time to just under two hours, but a reservation is required.
If you come from Miskolc your options are similar, except there is no direct service and you will have to change trains in Fuzesabony. IC trains take just under an hour to arrive.
By bus
Buses leave Budapest's Stadionok station for Eger roughly once or twice an hour and the trip takes roughly two hours. Most major cities in Hungary also have direct bus connections to Eger.
By car
The easiest way to arrive is to take the M3 as far as Fuzesabony, then continue north on route 25. For a more scenic route from Miskolc you can drive through the windy roads of the Bukk mountains.
Get around
The train station is located about a ten minute walk from the downtown area and most attractions. Walk over to Deak Ferenc ut and walk north until you reach the Basilica. You can also take buses #10, 11, or 12. If you arrived by bus, the town bus station is located downtown directly behind the basilica.
Once downtown, the city is small and best walked on '''foot'''. You won't need alpine boots, but high-heeled shoes are still not good as there is much cobblestone pavement downtown.
However, the town has a '''taxi''' service which is especially useful if you arrive by train or if your hotel is outside of the town center. (phones: 555-555; 333-333).
Also, if you go for some outdoor activities near the town there are some '''buses''' connecting the town with the suburbs. Check at the main bus station for schedules.
Do
Relax in thermal baths.
Enjoy a glass of wine in a wine cellar.
"Valley of the Beautiful Women" - see #Drink section.
In the suburbs:
Motor (and non-motor?) paragliding (Eger Aero Club and others)
Paintball [http://www.paintballeger.hu/]
Others:
Gardonyi Geza Theater. atvani kapu ter, 4. 10-026. Probably the only theater in town, quite modern and comfortable; attracts cream of the city, especially on holiday concerts.
:There's a non-crowded cloakroom on the 2nd floor.
Every summer there is a small acrobatics workshop-week in Mikofalva, a village not far north from Eger [http://www.contact-teambuilding.nl/] (click on Mikofalva)
''See also: New Year holidays in Hungary.''
Horseback riding
Matyus Udvarhaz. etro Tanya. minutes by taxi from center of Eger. 36(36)517-937. nfo@matyusudvarhaz.hu. ttp://www.matyusudvarhaz.hu/start.html. <span id="Matyus_Udvar_Haz.
Zay-Lo Tanya. ttp://www.equinfo.hu/cd/index.asp?page=reszletes&id=313. Seems to be partner/friends with Matyus Udvar Haz; located not far away from them.
See
Egri Var (Castle)
There's a map of sights inside the castle [http://www.egeronline.com/sights/castle/castle_en.php]: in Hungarian and German right near the entrance; the map in English is available inside, near the Minting Museum.
The entry ticket (which seems to be free in the off season - true in early March 2008) will grant you entrance to the main exhibits.
The '''Gothic Palace''' houses an excellent exhibit on the history of the castle, the Turkish siege, and aftermath.
The '''Art Gallery''' contains artwork from different Hungarian artists, most notably Munkacsy.
Finally there is a tour of the '''Underground Passageways'''. The tour will take you first to the Heroes' Hall, with a replica of the tomb of Istvan Dobo. The passages themselves contain several different examples of archaeological finds, as well as reenactments of events from the Turkish siege (a cannon being fired, an underground explosion, and a makeshift motion detector that uses peas). The passages can only be visited by tour, which are available in English at an extra cost.
The castle has several other attractions which are not included on the main ticket. Specifically, you will have to pay extra for:
'''Panopticum''' exhibits of a dozen wax figures based on characters from the book "Eclipse of the Crescent Moon" by Geza Gardonyi. Winter time: open 9am-3pm. Entrance 350ft adult; 250ft children/students/retired.
'''Weapon exhibition''' on Dobo bastion contains weapons from all around the world.
'''Minting museum''' displays coins of ancient origin.
Beyond historic sights there are excellent views of the entire city as well as several hobbyhorses inside the yard that even adult tourists enjoy playing with/on.
Other Attractions
'''Minaret''' the northernmost minaret in Europe and the tallest in Hungary (the other two are in Pecs and Erd) the minaret is a 42 meter high symbol of the Turkish occupation. It is 97 steps to the top, but be warned, the climb up is in an incredibly enclosed space on uneven and slippery steps and there is little room to move around up top so those who are afraid of heights or tight places should just enjoy it from the outside. Open for visitors from April to November.
'''Ractemplom''' (Serbian church) on Vitkovics Mihaly u. 30. features baroque and rococo architecture and the iconostasis painted by Miklos Jankovich.
The '''wine museum''', not very big but pleasant
'''Basilica''' on Pyrker ter 1. is the third largest in Hungary (the other two are in Esztergom and Budapest).
'''Lyceum''' is the baroque building opposite the Basilica and currently functions as a college. The ''Archbishop's Library'' inside is home to various frescoes, including one of the Council of Trent, as well as the only handwritten letter by Mozart in Hungary. The ''Observatory'' in the tower features a mirror telescope, a cannon sun dial which announces midday with a small explosion, and a camera obscura which projects an image of the city skyline on the wall.
'''Szechenyi Street''' is the main pedestrian shopping street which features a variety of shops and restaurants.
Buy
Definitely a good place for wine shopping. You can buy directly from the makers.
Other places for shopping:
'''Agria Park'''[http://www.agriapark.hu] is a modern shopping mall which opened in March 2008.
Eat
Plenty of restaurants all over the town.
Visit some ''csarda''s in Valley of Beautiful Women (Szepasszony-volgy). Some of them are constantly overcrowded as tourists are brought there by buses of partner agencies.
One of the specialties are pancake balls.
Cafes and Confectioneries
Dobos Cukraszda. zechenyi utca 6. 36(36)413-335. 36(36)420-310. :30am-8pm. ttp://www.doboscukraszda.hu/. Very good choice of artistic (and custom-made?) cakes and marcipans of every size. In non-summer time, don't take seriously plastic seats you see right after entrance--there is a large hall with old-school furniture behind the counter (as shown on panorama on the web site). Serves only Lipton tea, but Segafredo coffee. For the New Year season, a Christmas tree is decorated with real sweets and marshmallows. It has been in operation since 1966 and the interior seems to have remained the same since then.
Marjan Cukraszda. ossuth u. 28. n your way down from the Castle; just next door with Dorner restaurant. 36(36)312-784. ay-Sep: 9am-10pm; Oct-Apr: 9am-7pm. Much more modern compared to Dobos, still quite luxurious interior with striped chairs and marble tables. Be careful with the cacao--really large cups.
Restaurants
Palacsintavar. obo u. 9. 36(36)413-980. 2-23. ttp://www.palacsintavar.hu. All main dishes are served in pancakes, are mostly under 1.500ft, and are very large. Good selection of wines. Regulars seem to come here for desserts--and look really enthusiastic about them. Artistic interior feels like inspired by Andy Warhol. Located a bit off the beaten path.
:''Onion soup'' is disappointedly non-traditional, but still good. ''Conqueror's soup'' is served in bread, and definitely worth tasting. Be careful with ''Sombrero''--extremely hot, which is not indicated in menu.
Senator Haz. obo ter 11. inter: till 10pm. ttp://www.senatorhaz.hu/etterem-eng.php. Decent place to eat if you stay near Dobo ter. Owned and managed by the same people as Senator Haz hotel. Before 11am, part of the restaurant is used for breakfast for guests staying at Senator Haz hotel. During the daytime, it attracts many non-residents even in winter time.
White Deer Hunters Inn. eher Szarvas Vadasztanya. lapka ut 8.. ownstairs next to Hotel Park. 36(36)411-129. zarvas@feherszarvasetterem.hu. 36(36)516-129. 2pm-12am. ains 1500-3500ft. ttp://www.feherszarvasetterem.hu/. Offers excellent game dishes. Not the cheapest in town, but the meals are excellent and the atmosphere is unique--although locals are rare here, compared to tourists. Interior is full of mounted animals--which not everyone may like. Menu in English, Finnish, French, Italian, Polish, Russian (translations may vary in minor aspects). ''Saddle of venison'' (3.150ft, cooked with truffles) is very tender, absolutely recommended. ''The hunter's favourite'' (2.680ft) is amazing in matching four sauces to four kinds of meat. ''Goose Ragout Soup'' (680ft) is quite interesting, and served in a bread.
Drink
Wine
Eger is the centre of one of the top wine regions in Europe.
Wines
''Egri Bikaver'' is most famous cuvee here, but there are several others definitely worth a sip.
<!-- NOTE TO EDITORS: Below is a primary description for "EGRI BIKAVER". When you edit it here, please consider to update summary for it in Hungary#Drink. -->
'''Egri Bikaver''' (Bull's Blood) is a strong red Hungarian wine which supposedly saved a clever Hungarian girl from her fate with a Turkish sultan. During the time of the Turkish occupation, it is said a young girl was summoned to become a member of the local sultan's harem. Not wanting this fate for his daughter, her father gave her a bottle of Egri Bikaver to take to the sultan. He told her to tell the ruler it was bull's blood, and would make him invincible. The sultan, being Muslim, was unaccustomed to alcohol, and proceeded to pass out, leaving the daughter unharmed. That's a legend -- but in real life, also be careful with Egri Bikaver. It's excellent, but strong stuff!
The real story is an important piece of Hungarian history:
the "bull's blood" made there - is a cuvee (two type red wine mixed) - this name was given
by the Turkish horde trying to conquer Eger - and than proceed towards Austria...etc
But failed!...there were approx. 2000 Hungarians inside Eger, and 200,000 Turks outside.
They had always seen the Hungarians drinking red wine, but they did not know what it was,
and they assumed this must be bull's blood which makes these warriors so strong and fearless.
Wine shops
Wine shop. t Dr. Hibay Karoly u., just across Senator Haz. ine,wine_tasting,cheese. Nice place to taste and try wines. Walls and windows are all packed with wine bottles, there are even some mounted in the floor. Offers selection of wine-tasting menu, with full range of cheese and snacks.
Valley of Beautiful Women (Szepasszony-volgy)
Valley of Beautiful Women (Szepasszony-volgy) is the main place to go for winetasting in the town. Many small wine cellars that sell local wines with very good prices. Within about 15-20 minutes walk from centre of town, and easy to get to. Just follow the street signs with the English text "Beautiful Woman Valley". Vendors will fill whatever container you have with you, so bring along some extra pop bottles.
Biro Borozo. Elderly women are great hosts, outgoing but not annoying, with good English and a sense of humor. Some wine is poured from a barrel through a decanter--it's a nice show, ask for a demonstration. Some is provided from bottles.
Helyben Fogyasztas. Some hosts speak English well, others not so well. Most wines are poured from barrels, not from bottles.
Sleep
Several camp sites are available along with plenty of small and larger hotels and private rooms all over the town. You will not have a problem finding accommodation there.
'''Arany Trofea''' Hotel [http://www.aranytrofea.hu/en/bemutatkozas.html], at the feet of the Bukk National Park. All the rooms are equipped with a private bathroom, a color TV, telephone and minibar.
'''Hunguest''' Hotel '''Flora''' [http://www.hunguesthotels.hu/information.php?hotel_id=9&nyelv=en], at the centre of thermal springs, among hundred-year-old trees.
'''Korona''' Hotel, [http://www.koronahotel.hu/en/fooldal.php] is situated in the most quiet green area of the baroque city centre, near the pedestrian street.
'''Romantik''' Hotel, [http://www.romantikhotel.hu/] The family-oriented cozy 11-roomed hotel is located in the centre of Eger, only 100 meters from Eger's main pedestrian street.
Hotel Senator Haz. obo ter 11. 36(36)320-466 (tel/fax). enator@enternet.hu. ttp://www.senatorhaz.hu/. Has a restaurant in the same building; breakfasts are served there also. Breakfast include a hot meal which changes every day; home-made jams; fruit salad; variety of Pickwick teas. Owner: Andras Cseh--very helpful in person, which is not obvious from emails until you arrive. Website says horseriding at Matyus Udvar Haz can be arranged, but don't expect much help from Senator--you'll need to contact them directly.
:*'''Senator Haz''' itself is an old building right at Dobo ter, the main square of Eger--so prepare to enjoy sounds of the town's main clock tower every quarter. Reception area is full of small antiques.
:Senator Haz is in a great location, very central. Back patio is directly against the castle wall, which makes for a great setting to watch the sunset and drink Bikaver.
:* <sleep name="Patria Panzio" address="Szunyog koz 3" price="?80/room(cca. 125$/20,000HUF)">Is a new building (as of Jan 2007) of Senator Haz, just 30 meters away. Overall, it is very good for its 3-star rating--feeling even better than it looks on the website photos. A small patio with a shared table and several two-room apartments with balconies facing the hotel's private patio all make it perfect place for a company of 3..6 people spending much time together (judging by how it looks in winter--ask if table & patio are used in some way in summer). Apartments are one double-bed room plus a salon room with a balcony and a couch that can accommodate 1 or 2 people, all sharing same bathroom. Apartments are visited by maid every day; they have a good internet cable connection (ask if it applies to your apartment; LAN cable is not provided; bedroom maybe not connected while living room is), modern windows and balcony doors; bathrooms are fully equipped with Grohe and brand-name basin and bathtub, have heated floor, a bidet built into a toilet--even automatic light switches in the corridors of the panzio. In winter time, Patria Panzio shares Senator Haz reception and place for breakfast--and every room is given a key to lock the common gate for a night time. ''See also New Year holidays in Hungary.''</sleep>
'''Villa Volgy''' Hotel, [http://www.hotelvillavolgy.hu/] is a 3-star and located in the Valley of Beautiful Women, famous for its wine cellars. The hotel can be found next to a hundred-year old chapel and a delightful park.
Get out
Visit castles in Sirok and Kisnana
Bathe and have a glass of wine in Egerszalok
Visit the open air museum in Mez?kovesd
Hike in Bukk mountains
See the romanesque abbey in Belapatfalva