47.90° N · 20.38° E
A Baroque town two hours from Budapest: the castle that held out against the Ottomans, a minaret, cellars cut into the rock and thermal baths.
Part of Thermal getaways
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The fortress that held out against the Ottomans in 1552: walls, casemates, museum and cinema · 4,800 Ft · Exhibitions 9:00 to 16:30 in winter
13 pools in a 5-hectare park in the centre, with thermal water and a children's area · 4,600 Ft · Every day from 9:00 to 18:00
Dozens of cellars cut into the rock on the edge of Eger, where you taste Bikavér and Egri Csillag from the barrel · Afternoon · 20 min on foot from the centre
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to October, with terraces open at the cellars; in September and October, the grape harvest. In winter the castle and the baths open every day and the town is quiet.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Eger can be seen perfectly well without a car: the direct train arrives from Budapest in about two hours and the centre is small. The Valley of the Beautiful Woman is a 20-minute walk away, which also lets you taste wine without worrying about driving. The budget is per person per day, with accommodation, meals, tickets and train.
By car you reach Eger from Budapest in a little under two hours on the M3, with an electronic vignette. Leave the car at the hotel or in a car park outside the historic centre, which is largely pedestrianised, and get around on foot. If you are going to the cellars, don't take it. The budget is per person per day, with accommodation, food and petrol.
Eger has no airport with flights from Spain: you fly to Budapest-Ferenc Liszt (BUD), with direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona. From there it is about 140 km: by hire car, a little under two hours on the M3 motorway; without a car, the 100E bus to the centre and the train from Budapest-Keleti, about two hours.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Eger is a well-rounded trip with children: a real castle with a siege story, underground passages and a spa with children's pools five minutes away.
For teenagers, Eger has battle history, a minaret to climb and baths for the afternoon.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A four-star adults-only wellness hotel next to the Eger thermal baths, with a spa, the Borág restaurant and dinners with winemakers.
Why we like it: A three-star hotel at the foot of Eger Castle, in the pedestrian zone, with 15 rooms and apartments with kitchens and the Macok bistro on the ground floor.
Why we like it: A guesthouse of 11 rooms in a house almost 300 years old next to Dobó Square, reopened in 2024 after renovation, with a restaurant.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: The Flavours of Our Region menu with an Egri Bikavér from the wine list.
What to order: A 40 cm savoury pancake to share and a sweet one for dessert.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
48.00° N · 19.59° E
By carBy plane
47.60° N · 19.35° E
Car-freeBy planeBy car
47.78° N · 19.13° E
Car-freeBy plane
47.67° N · 19.08° E
Car-freeBy planeBy car
Tips
At weekends groups arrive from Budapest and the baths fill up.
Palacsintavár and many cellars in the valley do not take cards.
From Sunday to Thursday, from 19:00, the entrance costs 3,000 Ft.
Eger is about 140 km north-east of Budapest, in the foothills of the Bükk mountains, two hours away by train or a little less by car. It is a small Baroque town with three reasons to visit: the castle, where in 1552 a handful of defenders held off an Ottoman army; the wine, tasted in the cellars cut into the rock in the Valley of the Beautiful Woman; and the water, with a spa in a park and a Turkish bath from the early 17th century. It can be done as a long day trip from Budapest, but with one night you will enjoy it much more.
If you are coming from Spain, you fly to Budapest and can be in Eger in just over three hours, or hire a car at the airport.
Start at the castle at 9:00: watch the short film about 1552, go down into the casemates and walk the walls. Head down to Dobó Square, climb the minaret if narrow spaces don't bother you, and have lunch at Macok Bisztró, at the foot of the castle, or at Palacsintavár, with its 40 cm pancakes. In the afternoon, the basilica and the Lyceum with its camera obscura, facing each other. Finish in the water: the thermal baths with the afternoon ticket or the Turkish bath, which stays open until 21:00.
What you miss if you go back to Budapest the same day is the evening in the Valley of the Beautiful Woman, a 20-minute walk from the centre: dozens of cellars cut into the rock where you taste Egri Bikavér, Eger's red blend, and Egri Csillag, the white, straight from the barrel. Walk there and take a taxi back. To sleep, try the Imola Hotel Udvarház, at the foot of the castle, the Senator-Ház, on Dobó Square, or, if you have no children, the Imola Hotel Platán, next to the baths.
From April to October, when the terraces at the cellars are open, and especially in September and October, at harvest time. In winter, the castle and the baths open every day, the town is quiet and a hot bath at the end of the day is very welcome. On 24 and 25 December the castle is closed.
Questions
By train from Budapest-Keleti, about two hours, or by car on the M3, a little under two hours.
Yes, if you leave early: castle, centre and baths. For the valley of the cellars, it is better to stay the night.
4,800 Ft for adults; 2,800 Ft with a discount for EEA students and pensioners.
Egri Bikavér, a red blend, and Egri Csillag, a white.
Yes, a spa with 13 pools in a park and a Turkish bath from 1610–1617.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/hungary/eger
