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On the road in Hungary

The most beautiful sights in Hungary

From Lake Balaton to a 1,000-year-old abbey: Hungary has far more to offer than just Budapest. All of Hungary's motorways radiate outward from the capital in a star pattern, which makes these highlights easy to combine by car. With your e-matrica on your number plate, they're all within easy reach.

5 featured sights Easy to combine with a road trip from NL/BE E-matrica mandatory on Hungarian motorways
Photo: Tihany on Lake Balaton · Takkk · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

From Lake Balaton to Pannonhalma: these are five highlights of Hungary that combine well with a road trip via the M1, M5 or M7: the M7 is the main route to Lake Balaton, the M1 connects Budapest to Győr and the Austrian border, and the M5 runs south-east to Kecskemét and Szeged.

Tihany Peninsula & Abbey

A peninsula in the middle of Lake Balaton with an 18th-century baroque abbey church, beautiful ceiling frescoes and views across the entire lake from the hill.

📍Take the M7 to the Balatonfüred/Aszófő exit and follow the signs to Tihany. Popular at sunset.

Festetics Castle in Keszthely

An impressive baroque palace at the western tip of Lake Balaton, home to one of Hungary's largest historic libraries and lush gardens.

📍Keszthely lies at the end of the M7 route around the lake. Combine with a visit to the nearby thermal Lake Hévíz.

Budapest, historic city centre

The Parliament Building, the Chain Bridge and Buda Castle on opposite banks of the Danube form one of Europe's most beautiful capital-city river panoramas.

📍Central hub of the M1, M5 and M7, a logical start or finish to your trip through Hungary.

Pannonhalma Abbey

One of Hungary's oldest monasteries (founded 996), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a basilica, a monumental library of 400,000 books and its own winery that has been producing wine for over 1,000 years.

📍About 20 km south-west of Győr, just off the M1 between Budapest and the Austrian border.

Lake Hévíz thermal lake

The world's largest natural thermal lake suitable for swimming, with water temperatures above 30°C and water lilies covering the entire surface.

📍Just outside Keszthely at the end of the M7, a relaxing way to round off a day exploring Lake Balaton.

This selection is just a starting point. Combine it with the prices and validity periods of the Hungarian vignette to complete your route.

Sight photos (all Wikimedia Commons, commercially reusable): Tihany Abbey: Globetrotter19 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Festetics Castle Keszthely: Civertan Grafikai Stúdió (CC BY-SA 2.5) · Chain Bridge Budapest: Alfio (public domain) · Pannonhalma Abbey: Sztudva Gyöngyi (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Lake Hévíz thermal lake: HTME (CC BY-SA 3.0)