Hungary is one of those particularly unique countries in Europe – despite being landlocked and sharing borders with seven other countries, it’s developed and maintained a quite distinct language and culture. Hungarian is well-known to be one of the most difficult languages in Europe, but fortunately plenty of Hungarians speak a little English and you don’t need to learn the language to enjoy a trip there. I found it a particularly welcoming country with friendly, helpful locals, and would love to go back there again in the future.If you’re considering a trip, here are our travel tips for what to do in Hungary

Admire Lake Balaton

When I lived in Slovakia, many of my local friends told me I should take a trip to Lake Balaton, one of their most popular holiday destinations. Lake Balaton is the biggest lake in Central Europe and there are numerous villages on its edges catering to tourists – tiny Tihany with its lovely Benedictine Abbey was one of my favourites.

Lake Balaton on a stormy day by Amanda Kendle

Enjoy History in Pécs

Down towards the Croatian border, the town of Pecs is a popular destination in Hungary for its cultural and historical sites – it was even elected one of Europe’s Capitals of Culture for 2010.

Explore the Danube in Budapest

One of the highlights of Budapest and its surrounds is taking a cruise on the Danube River. You can even start way up in Germany and cruise down to Hungary if you want. Andy recommended the cruise along the Danube as a unique way to see the most beautiful spots of Budapest.

River Danube, Budapest by Amanda Kendle

Be Scared at the House of Terror, Budapest

One of the most popular museums in Hungary, the House of Terror in Budapest has exhibits explaining the various occupations of Hungary over the years and an explanation of the fascist and communist times the country has experienced.

Hike in Hungary

Many visitors to Hungary go there to follow some of the good hiking trails through the mountains. There’s no one best place, but some of the popular mountain ranges include the Mátra, Zemplén, and Bükk ranges, particularly in the summer season of course.

Sopron

Sopron in the west of Hungary is full of heritage buildings from the medieval era and onwards, and some of its highlights are the  Firewatch Tower, Storno House and the Gothic Goat Church.

Sopron by Emmanuel Dyan

Keszthely

Keszthely is one of the major resort towns near Lake Balaton and I personally found it the calmest and nicest. It includes a large palace but seems to have a relaxed atmosphere and good access to the lake and lake-based activities.

Take a Dip in the Heviz Baths

One of my personal highlights of Hungary was swimming at the Heviz Baths in the north-west. The thermally-heated water is warm all year round and apparently the fact that it’s slightly radioactive is good for our health? I’m not sure how that works but the setting is gorgeous so I highly recommend it!

Heviz Baths by Amanda Kendle

Dance to traditional music in Resck

Vineyards and wine are popular tourist attractions in Hungary, and Jeremy recommends the small town of Resck for a spot of wine tasting and in particular the Kohari Prince winery where there’s also musical entertainment and dancing offer.

Violinist at the Kohari Prince winery in Resck by Jeremy Branham

Party at Siofok

One of the resort towns around Lake Balaton, Siofok is famous as a summer destination for young people because it’s home to numerous nightclubs. I haven’t been there myself but have heard from party-loving friends that it’s heaps of fun!

Explore Baradla Cave

The Baradla Cave (and several more caves) in the Aggtelek National Park in northeastern Hungary is a great destination for travellers. These are World Heritage listed caves and the Baradla Cave is famous for being the largest stalactite cave in Europe.

Baradla Cave by rover0

Get regal at Godollo Castle

The Godollo Castle is an easy half-day trip from Budapest, and it’s become famous because it was once the summer residence of the famous Sisi! It features an impressive Empress Elisabeth exhibition devoted to her and is also a beautiful building in its own right.

Get into the groove at the Sziget Festival

One of Europe’s largest music festivals is the Sziget Festival, held every August in Budapest, on an island in the Danube. It runs for an entire week and at least half of the festival attendees come from outside Hungary; in the past the line-up has included famous singers and bands including Prince, Iron Maiden, REM and Lily Allen.

See Double at Komarom

If you travel between Bratislava and Budapest by train, then you are bound to stop in the twin towns of Komarno (on the Slovak side) and Komarom (on the Hungarian side). I enjoyed a day trip here and thoroughly recommend both sides of the border for an interesting cultural comparison.

Komarno by Amanda Kendle

Sample Wine in Resck

Wine tasting is an essential part of your trip to Hungary and the country has a long history of wine making following particular Hungarian traditions. Whichever part of the country you visit you will probably stumble across a wine making region (there are two dozen of them) but if you’re keen, try the areas around Sopron, Eger and in particular Tokaj.

 Szeged

If you’re keen on checking out the cities of Hungary then you’ll need to add its second-largest city, Szeged, to your list. It’s an interesting university town (there are three different universities there) and because it was destroyed by a flood in 1879 it was completely replanned and rebuilt.

Experience the Gellert Baths

Thermal baths are a fantastic part of visiting Hungary and while you’re in Budapest, you shouldn’t miss the Gellert Baths. Guide books sometimes liken this to swimming in a cathedral and I had a great experience there and must agree!

Gellert Baths by Amanda Kendle

Eger

Eger is another fantastic Hungarian city and it’s a good place to visit if you’re keen on historical monuments – its most famous being a 14-sided minaret.

Take time to reflect at the Gulag labor camps and Resck memorial

To explore one of the more sombre times in Hungarian history, Jeremy suggests the Gulag labor camps and Resck memorial are worth a visit. This area was home to some of the harshest camps operated by Stalin.

Take a Dip at the Szechenyi Bath

On a lighter note, another well-known thermal bath and set of pools can be found at the Szechenyi Baths in Budapest. I’ve not made it there yet but I have been keen to go ever since I owned a guidebook with a picture of men playing chess while in the water at these baths – looks like great relaxing fun!

Szechenyi Baths by PharPhoto

 See the Great Plains at Puszta

In the eastern half of Hungary, the Great Plains (centred around the Hortobágy National Park) is a World Heritage-listed area and is quite different to other parts of Hungary. It’s a place worth exploring for its unique folklore and scenery, especially in the national park where the steppe is relatively untouched.

Try Hungarian paprika

If you have even vaguely foodie interests, then you will be impressed by the paprika of Hungary. In Hungary paprika means not just the ground spice we use in cooking but the actual capsicum or pepper it’s obtained from and you will find them everywhere!

Paprika near Lake Balaton by Amanda Kendle

Visit the former capital of Esztergom

Not too far north of Budapest, the city of Esztergom was once the capital of Hungary and today boasts several interesting attractions including the largest cathedral in the country and a particularly extensive Museum of Christian Art.

Warm up at Fisherman’s Bastion

In Budapest, overlooking the Danube, the Fisherman’s Bastion is a wonderful spot on the “Buda” side of the city. You can walk along the top of the walls (it joins seven towers) or if you’re like me, enjoy a hot drink inside the Bastion.

Fisherman’s Bastion by Amanda Kendle

Go back to WW2 at the Hospital in the Rock

Relatively newly opened to the public, the Hospital in the Rock is part of the caves of Castle Hill in Budapest, and you can now enter some of the areas used during the siege of Budapest during the second World War.

Your Hungary tips

Have you been to Hungary, or heard of a great place to visit there? Please let us know your tips for what to do in Hungary in the comments.

Bulgaria is a beautiful country in Eastern Europe full of art, culture, history, and fun. Prehistoric cultures in the area date all the way back to the Neolithic Period, and some of that history can still be seen today. There are also various UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the area, helping to make it a must-see destination on anyone’s travel bucket list. To help you plan your trip, here are my travel tips for what to do in Bulgaria.

Visit the Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

This UNESCO World Heritage Site was discovered in 1982 outside the village of Sveshtari. It dates back to the 3rd Century BC and contains unique decor architecture, with murals and half-human and half-vegetable female figures carved into the walls,  the only of its kind known in the Thracian region. A visit to this site will give you insight into the ancient Getae tribes, a group of Thracian people believed to be in contact with the Hellenistic and Hyperborean of the ancient world.

Thracian Tomb by Klearchos Kapoutsis

Explore the Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo

Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Rock-Hewn churches reside in the village of Ivanovo and in the valley of the Roussenenski Lom River. A visit here will give you the chance to explore an entire community of rock-hewn churches, monasteries, chapels, and cells. From the 1220′s to the 17th century, monks inhabited the caves around the area, and were actually the ones to create this amazing site. At one time, there existed about 40 churches and over 300 other religious rock-hewn buildings. Today, there are five churches for you to enjoy, all with impressive frescoes and unbelievable history.

Rock-Hewn Churches by Klearchos Kapoutsis

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If you want to beat airline hand luggage restrictions, then wearing a Rufus Roo jacket could be the solution. While the six-pocket jacket isn’t going to win any fashion awards, the manufacturers say it can hold up to 10kg of luggage. Presently many airlines have a maximum size for hand luggage and a 1okg weight restriction (except easyJet who have no weight limit). If you want to take a bit more swag but not pay up for hold luggage, then pocket stuffing a Rufus Roo jacket could allow you to take more items for free.

Me taking a beach towel from a Rufus Roo jacket pocket

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I’ll be visiting Portugal for the first time at the end of March 2012. I was spurned into finally getting to Portugal when I spotted a £38 ticket on the easyJet Edinburgh to Lisbon route.

Museum of the Discoveries in Lisbon by Jeremy Branham

I decided to split my seven days between Lisbon and Faro. I found a Ryanair flight from Faro back to Edinburgh for around £40.

Faro by mickpix

Mary Goudie of Your Lisbon Guide has very kindly offered to pick me up at Lisbon airport to take me on a tour of Lisbon on my day of arrival. The following day she will take me to Tomar, where we’ll visit the Convent of Christ.

I’ll be staying at one of the Heritage boutique hotels in Lisbon.

We already have some posts for what to do in Portugal and a collation of the best of Lisbon travel tips on Europe a la Carte. If you have travel tips for the destinations I’ll visit, please leave a comment.

Belgium, located in western Europe, is well-known as being the host of the European Union’s headquarters. Along with being a political hub, the country also is home to many cultural, historical, and fun things to do. Here are my travel tips for what to do in Belgium, excluding the capital capitcal city of Brussels.

Visit Mechelen, the former capital of Belgium

Mechelen is a small city in Belgium that  used to be the capital from 1506 to 1530. The area may be tiny, but it is filled with history and activities. Visit the late-medieval Saint Rumbold’s Tower, with its unique wood carvings and 15th, 16th, and 17th century religious artwork. Boat tours and brewery tastings are also a popular option, and a stop at the Brewery Het Anker will give you the option to taste beer chocolates. Moreover, a walk around the main square of town will give you the chance to see eight beautiful churches.

Michelen by Clayirving

Make a stop in Durbuy, the world’s smallest city

Durbuy, which claims to be the world’s smallest city, is a traditional Belgian town in the French speaking part of the country. Simply wandering around the tiny city and its quaint streets can make for a relaxing day, and stopping at a local cafe for a strong brew can make the day even better. Begin your tour of Durbuy at the Chateau des Comtes de Marchin, where you will be given stunning views of the river Muse and also delicious Belgian waffles in their cafe. Next, move on to the Grotto de Han, a cave that has been offering tours since the 1800′s. Long stretches of tunnels and a natural cathedral are all part of the experience.

Durbuy by pickinjim

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Croatia Week will be running on Europe a la Carte from 15 – 21  January 2012. On Europe a la Carte we’ve put together 25 ideas on what to do in Croatia and city guides to Dubrovnik and Zagreb.

Krka Waterfalls

I’ve been to Croatia a couple of times; to Zadar and to the Istrian peninsula. I’d love to go back again to explore more of the country.

The Colosseum in Pula

Throughout the week I’ll be sharing our Croatian posts on things to do in Croatia on the Europe a la Carte Facebook page and in my Twitter stream using the hashtag #croatiatips.

easyJet just lost their “we’re the friendly face of budget airlines” image by ditching fee free payment by Visa Electron and introducing a flat fee admin charge of £9 on all bookings.

Now while this may not be as bad as Ryanair charges of £6 per person per flight (unless you pay with Ryanair’s fee riddled own brand Mastercard prepaid debit card) it’s still bad news for UK travellers who are sick fed up of money grabbing tactics such as increases in APD (Airport Passenger Duty) and airport drop off charges, pushing up the price of their travels.

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While Rome, Venice and Florence are the big crowd pullers in Italy, there are plenty of other great destinations to visit. Here are our 25 travel tips on what to do in Italy.

Lake Iseo

Lake Iseo, lies between the better known Como and Garda lakes. There are many ways to make the most of Lake Iseo, such as walking a few kilometers up to see Pyramids of Zone (naturally-formed pillar formations), taking the ferry to the island in the lake, Monte Isola, visting the Palazzo Tadini art gallery in Lovere and sampling some Franciacorta, the locally produced sparkling wine.

Click here for availability on Iseo Town hotels

Pisa

Pisa is one of the first destinations that comes to mind when you are thinking about Italy. But Pisa features a lot more than just its extremely famous leaning tower. You can visit Palazzo Gambacorti, lots of churches including Santa Maria della Spina, explore the gardens (especially Giardino di Scotto), and stroll along the banks of the Arno River. You might also want to take a tour inside of University of Pisa, one of Italy’s oldest universities.

Click here for availability on Pisa hotels

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When I reviewed the Silver Travel Advisor site recently, I concluded that I wasn’t convinced that older travellers really needed a specific travel site for most issues. However, I did pick up on the issue that travel insurance is one area that can become tricky for mature travellers.

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London is home to some of the best museums in Europe and on top of that it’s free to get into UK state museums, although there can be charges for special exhibitions. So here are seven great London museums.

Victoria & Albert (V&A)

The Victoria and Albert Museum is probably my favourite London museum. On my most recent visit there I spent most of my time in the glass exhibition. I enjoyed the jewellery and costume exhibits on previous visits.

Glass exhibits at the V&A

You can take a picnic to eat out in their lovely garden.

Garden at the V&A
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