Where to Stay and What to Do | Travel + Leisure

Where to Stay and What to Do

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When to Go

Central Hungary has a prototypical Continental climate, untempered by ocean breezes. July and August on Lake Balaton are steamy and crowded, and winter is chilly and forlorn, but the months from March to June are mild, and fall is magnificent. Each September, the Hungarian Viniculture Foundation sponsors a wine festival in Budapest, with tastings of wines from Lake Balaton and beyond. www.winefestival.hu.

Getting There

From March through October, Malév Hungarian Airlines flies a daily nonstop out of New York's JFK airport to Budapest, which is some 70 miles northeast of Balaton and linked to it by a well-paved highway. Delta also has JFK–Budapest nonstops five days a week. And, beginning this month, low-fare carrier Ryanair will fly directly to Lake Balaton from London's Stansted Airport.

Where to Stay

Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest
The best hotel in Hungary and perhaps all of Eastern Europe: a soaring Art Nouveau masterpiece, less than two hours from the vines. Perfect for a first or last night. 5–6 Roosevelt Square; 800/332-3442 or 36-1/268-6000; www.fourseasons.com; doubles from $417.

Betekints Hotel
Located in Veszprém, 15 miles northeast of the Tihany Peninsula at the east end of the lake, this conference center with resort amenities offers spacious rooms and is the top alternative to the faceless accommodations closer to the shore. 4 Veszprémvölgyi St.; 36-88/579-280; www.betekints.hu; doubles from $105.

Where to Eat

Hotel Bacchus
The local cuisine (grilled perch, pickled cabbage salad, potato dumplings) in this subterranean hotel dining room ranks among the best in western Balaton, though the wine selection is disappointing, considering a wine museum is attached. 18 Erzsébet Királyné St., Keszthely; 36-83/510-450; www.bacchushotel.hu; dinner for two $40.

Oliva
A true find in the charming historic center of Veszprém, with nouveau versions of traditional Hungarian dishes such as pork loaf and pig's knuckles. Extensive list of Hungarian wines. 14–16 Buhim St.; 36-88/561-900; www.oliva.hu; dinner for two $80.

Szent-Orbán Borház
Huba Szeremley's somewhat sanitized version of a typical area restaurant is the only place to try meat from the local "gray" cows he has rescued from near extinction. 5 Kisfaludy St., Badacsony; 36-87/431-382; dinner for two $60.

Where to Sip

With a few exceptions, wine tourism in the Balaton region is anchored in the 19th century. Winery phones usually go unanswered, probably because the majority of Hungarians these days carry cell phones—with unlisted numbers. Your best bet is to find an English speaker at a wineshop or restaurant and ask for winery recommendations and help with communicating, and then let one producer lead you to the next. It can be frustrating, but in this age of bus tours and tasting rooms as cottage industries in nearly every major wine region around the planet, such a wantonly disorganized approach is part of the thrill.

Szeremley Estate
The most tourist-oriented of the Balaton wineries, but also one of the most scenic places to try Hungaricum. 51–53 Fö St., Badacsonytomaj; 36-87/571-210.

Figula Wines
A modern winery on an ancient site, making Rieslings and other white wines with zing. 44B Siske St., Balatonfüred; 36-87/343-557; www.figula.hu.

What to Read

Beyond the rudimentary data in guidebooks, English-language information on the Balaton is scanty. To get a sense of life in post-Communism Hungary, and a nice, if brief, evocation of the overtouristed side of the region, read the chapter on the country in Eva Hoffman's Exit Into History (Penguin, 1993). For a rich picture of local wine making (and drinking) in the early Communist years, and of country life during that period, check out Zsuzsa Bánk's novel The Swimmer (Harcourt, 2005).

T+L Tip

Hungarians list last names first; Mihály Figula would announce himself as "Figula Mihály."

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