Balaton Central Europe’s largest lake and an important tourist centre for Hungarians and foreigners alike. The lake, with its opalescent, yellowgreen coloured soft water, is one of the country’s most valued natural assets. It is 77 km long and varies between 1.5 and 14 kilometres wide. The most visited holiday resort area in Hungary offers much more besides bathing, sailing and boat trips. You can seek out a whole series of old villages and settlements of historic importance along the shore of the lake. You will find museums with rich collections, palaces, ruined castles, hunting areas, old-established reed beds, golf courses and famous thermal baths, such as Hévíz (C6), which is renowned across the globe.
The lake is one of the best places for fishing in the whole of Europe. For those on two wheels, there is a cycle path around Lake Balaton for which maps are also available. And serious walkers can explore the countryside by means of well-marked footpaths. Gourmands choose wisely when they come here for a holiday. There are famous wine growing areas in the region – Badacsony, Balatonfüred-Csopak, Balatonmelléke, the Upper Balaton and South Balaton – and home-style Balaton fish dishes can be enjoyed in the roadside eateries, wine cellars and restaurants.
Nor will you be bored if you are on the lookout for culture. There are a number of summer programmes in the towns and villages around the lake: the operetta gala at Siófok (E6), organ concerts and open-air performances at Tihany (D6), and the summer and autumn festivals with classical music concerts at Keszthely (C6). And one of the most popular summer happenings for young people, at Kapolcs – with drama performances, classical and rock concerts, exhibitions and market stalls – links the tiny villages of the Upland area. The two shores of the lake are as unlike in character as the banks of the Danube in Budapest. The northern shore is hilly, whilst the southern is flat and even. In the north, the lake deepens sharply; in the south you have much further to wade if you want to swim – the shallow water here makes it a perfect place for a summer holiday with small children.

Keszthely (C6) This is the oldest of the towns around Lake Balaton. Its development and culture were for decades led by the Festetics family, one of the wealthiest Hungarian aristocratic families. Their magnificent Baroque palace, which today functions as a museum, is one of the most beautiful listed buildings in the Balaton region. Its park and naturally light rooms are home to weekly concerts in the summer months. The Balaton Museum is also splendid, its dioramas and display cases depicting the formation of the lake, its flora and fauna, archaeological discoveries, ethnography and bathing culture. The nave of the Roman Catholic church dates back to the Middle Ages, and its frescoes are considered to be among the finest works of Hungarian Gothic.

Tihany (D6) The community of Tihany, which is conspicuous for miles thanks to its twin-towered church, has existed for nearly a thousand years. The deed of foundation of the Benedictine monastery, which was established in 1055, is the oldest surviving written Hungarian text. Of the original building only the Romanesque crypt survives, and above it stands the beautiful Baroque monastery church in which organ concerts can be heard in the summer.

Balatonfüred (D6) This is where, in the 17th century, Lake Balaton’s bathing culture was born. Füred is a town of “firsts” in many other respects. In 1846 the first steam ship was constructed and sent off on its maiden voyage here; later, the first sailing yachts were built here; and long ago it was home to the first theatre cut into the rock where plays were performed in Hungarian. A good place to start your stroll through Füred is at the famous well in the 200-year-old Gyógy tér (“Healing Square”), from where you can walk through the park, which is more than a hundred years old, and along the Tagore path beside the lake. This will lead you to one of the most beautiful harbours on Lake Balaton.

Balatonföldvár (D6) This was planned as a holiday resort at the end of the 19th century. Its splendid parks and perfectly laid out streets and paths do credit both to the taste of one of the most progressively-minded Hungarian aristocratic families, the Széchenyi family, and to the skill of the planner. The town is also ideally situated: on a clear day the whole of the 200-km-long Balaton shoreline can be seen from Földvár.

Siófok (E6) This is one of the busiest tourist centres on Lake Balaton. Its most famous son is the renowned operetta composer Imre Kálmán, whose house of birth is now a museum to the composer. In the spirit of the Kálmán “cult”, operetta galas are held here every week for two months in the summer. With its huge discos and pubbing & clubbing culture, Siófok is a true place of pilgrimage for young people.