Sopron (B4) At every step you are aware that you are walking on the soil of Pannonia, a former Roman province, even without looking for ancient monuments in Sopron’s well-stocked museums. All you need do to meet the distant past is set out on a walk along the organised tourist paths of the Lövérek, the hill which rises over the city. A signpost between the trees warns that now you are crossing the Roman Amber Road, the main north-south road of the Empire, which linked Savaria (Szombathely) with Scarbantia (Sopron).
In this city of sub-Alpine climate, the millennia have built, one above the other, the Forum of Roman times, the medieval city wall, the Baroque and Renaissance buildings for the middle classes, Gothic and Baroque churches, medieval synagogues and nineteenth-century palaces. In terms of historical buildings, Sopron is one of the richest of cities.
The symbol of Sopron is the Fire Tower. Naturally, a fire watchman no longer serves there, and the tower houses exhibitions. Fragments of statues and stones from the Roman forum can be seen here. The building, however, is far more famous for the group of statues placed on its facade: Hungaria gathers round herself the faithful citizens of the town. The work reminds us that in the distribution of land after the First World War, the people of Sopron held a referendum to decide whether to belong to Austria or Hungary, and they chose Hungary.
It is said that Sopron is "a museum city, and a city of museums". Those who see the old buildings and palaces built for the middle-class “burghers” not only from the outside, but take up the invitation displayed on the main doors, will see a great variety of exhibitions: an apothecary’s museum, a mining and forestry museum in palaces of the nobility, a pastry museum in a former baker’s house, and a Lutheran museum and a Catholic church history collection in the churches – not to mention the numerous art galleries. The most famous wine of the city, Kékfrankos, can be tasted in the cellars within the city limits. The region around the city, the Sopron Hills, the Balfi Hills, the vineyards, the thermal baths and the excellent swimming pool in Balf (B4), and the concert halls of the former quarry in Fertőrákos all indicate that Sopron is not to be passed by, but lived in a little.

Lake Fertő This resort zone, close to Sopron, lies on the territory of the Fertő–Hanság National Park, and the greater part of it falls on Austrian territory. The Fertő landscape is part of UNESCO World Heritage. The lake is the third-largest body of still water in Central Europe. The water has a high salt content. In its reeds 300 species of nesting or migrating birds can be observed, and around thirty types of fish live in the lake. It is made popular by its sandy beach and pleasant water, but it is also possible to go rowing, yachting and, in the winter, skating. For cycling enthusiasts there is a cycle path that goes round the lake.

Nagycenk (B4) This settlement was one of the family estates of the world famous Hungarian politician and statesman Count István Széchenyi, who amongst other activities, built the first bridge in Budapest, founded the Academy of Sciences, started steam boats on the Danube and initiated professional horse-breeding. This stately home, built in the 1700s, was converted by the Count in 1838, with the introduction of gas lighting and running water. It was then that the building acquired its baroque, classicist form. On the ground floor the István Széchenyi Memorial Museum can now be found. These rooms, with their nineteenth-century furniture, contain documents relating to Széchenyi’s work. An attraction famed far and wide is the line of lime trees leading from the mansion to the family mausoleum. Even American textbooks refer to it as a horticultural wonder. The 645 small-leafed lime trees, planted in 1754, stretch along a 2600-metre road. The trees are today 16 metres tall, and their trunks are more than a metre in diameter.

Fertőd (C4) This baroque palace, the largest and most beautiful in the country, is known as the “Hungarian Versailles” because of its splendid Baroque-Rococo French garden. Duke Esterházy, who built it, showed off his new home to the Viennese aristocracy in 1770. Joseph Haydn, the world-famous composer lived and composed here for over ten years, conducting the orchestra in the stately home.
Today the Fertőd mansion is open to the public as a museum.

Bük (B5) The Bükfürdő (B5) spa baths, part of the village, are known all over Europe. In 1957 while drilling for oil at a depth of over 1200 metres, medicinal waters at a temperature of 58 °C broke through to the surface. The baths opened five years later. The medicinal waters at Bük are recommended for the treatment of diseases of the motor organs, disorders of the digestive system, and circulatory disorders. It is here that the best golf course in Hungary is to be found, and the stately home in the village of Bük is a fine example of Hungarian baroque.