48.00° N · 19.59° E
A village of whitewashed Palóc houses, a World Heritage Site since 1987, with a medieval castle above it, an hour and a half from Budapest by car.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The white houses of the Palóc along two streets, a World Heritage Site since 1987 · 2 h on foot · Free, except at Easter
The medieval castle on a rock above the village, with views over the Cserhát hills · 1 h · From 3,000 Ft · In November, 10:00 to 15:30
The village museum, the spindle house, the school, the post museum, cheese, a bun and a leather workshop · Half a day · From 4,000 Ft
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 the castle on long hours and the workshops open. At Easter, the village's great festival, with costumes and an entrance fee. In winter the castle opens until mid-afternoon and many museums only at the weekend.
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.
Hollókő is in the Nógrád hills, about 100 km north-east of Budapest, and by car is the best way to get there: the M3 motorway and minor roads through woods. The old village is pedestrianised: leave the car in the car park at the entrance, next to the Küszöb office. The budget is per person per day, with accommodation, food and petrol.
Hollókő has no airport nearby: you fly to Budapest-Ferenc Liszt (BUD), with direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona, and from there the practical option is a hire car, about 110 km via the M0 and the M3 and Nógrád roads. By public transport the journey is long and with changes. With a night in the village you see the empty Ófalu at dusk.
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.
Hollókő works with children because it is small and hands-on: houses inside, a real castle above the village, leather workshops and a bakery on the Faluséta ticket.
With children up to the age of six, Hollókő is a car-free fairy-tale village: under-6s do not pay for the castle or the main museums, and distances are short.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A four-star hotel with wellness and an indoor pool above the World Heritage village, with a view of the hills and a pet room.
Why we like it: Peasant houses in the World Heritage old village converted into guesthouses, with traditional furniture, Palóc textiles and a tiled stove.
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 reinterpreted Palóc menu, with produce from the region.
What to order: The Palóc dishes on the menu: soups and stews from the Nógrád region.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
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Tips
The Faluséta ticket is only sold from Friday to Sunday, from 9:30 to 12:30.
In winter it closes in mid-afternoon.
None of them publishes opening hours: confirm a table, especially out of season.
A day trip from Budapest: Hollókő is in the Cserhát hills, in Nógrád county, about 100 km north-east of the capital, and is Hungary's picture-postcard village. Its two streets of white Palóc houses, with high roofs and wooden galleries, meet at a small church with a wooden tower, and above, on a rock, stand the walls of a medieval castle. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1987 as a living traditional village: people live here, and on festival days, above all at Easter, the village brings out its costumes.
From Spain, hire a car at Budapest airport and you arrive in a little under two hours.
Start with the old village, the Ófalu: Kossuth út as far as the church and back along Petőfi út, looking at the houses, the craftsmen's workshops and the shops. If it is a Friday, Saturday or Sunday morning, buy the Faluséta ticket at the Küszöb office: for 4,000 Ft you get into the village museum, the spindle house, the school and the post museum, and taste the village's cheese and bun.
Then climb up to the castle, a steep walk of about twenty minutes, for the views over the village and the hills. To come down, take one of the nature trails at the foot of the castle or through the orchards. For lunch, the Muskátli Vendéglő, a family eatery since 1987 on the main street, or the Mikszáth at the Castellum Hotel, with reinterpreted Palóc cooking.
Easter is the village's great festival: Palóc costumes, music and the Monday custom in which the boys sprinkle the girls with water. On those days the village charges admission and fills up. If you go, sleep there or arrive early.
It is worth it: when the day visitors leave, the Ófalu falls silent. The Hollóköves Vendégházak are peasant houses in the old village with traditional furniture and tiled stoves; the four-star Castellum Hotel is above the village, with wellness and an indoor pool, and accepts pets.
From April to October, with everything open. In winter the castle closes in mid-afternoon, at 15:30 in November, and the Faluséta ticket is only sold at the weekend: go from Friday to Sunday.
Questions
By car, about 100 km on the M3 and Nógrád roads, around an hour and a half. By public transport you have to change.
No, except during the Easter festival.
Because it preserves a living traditional Palóc village, with its houses, its landscape and its customs; UNESCO listed it in 1987.
3,000 Ft for adults and 2,000 Ft for students and pensioners; under-6s free.
Yes: a car-free village, a castle and small museums with workshops.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/hungary/holloko
