While in Hungary there are certain places you should certainly visit if you have the chance. Eger Eger has been called the “Patriotic Town” for its resistance in 1552 against Turkish invaders who had a twenty-fold numerical superiority. Eger is one of Hungary‘s most attractive Baroque cities, a 1000-year-old Episcopal seat – today an Archepiscopal centre – with a glorious past and great historical monuments. Eger is also a town of medicinal baths and the home of fine wines: the famous Eger Bull's Blood can be tasted in the century-old cellars cut into the rock in the Valley of the Beautiful Lady. The Turkish Baths are a fascinating memorial to a bathing culture created under the Ottoman occupation (1596 – 1686). The waters are said to be particularly good for problems with mobility.
Szentendre, with a population of approximately 21,000, lies on the Danube, 20 kilometres north of Budapest. It is one of the most popular destinations for day excursions from the capital. It has narrow, winding streets, small squares, Serbian and Greek Orthodox churches, art collections, museums, restaurants, cafés and a riverside walk. Szentendre has become renowned as an artists’ village: many of them have chosen to settle in this most picturesque place, making Szentendre the Montmartre of Hungary. Visegrad lies north of Szentendre at the centre of the Danube Bend, where the river swings north for a short distance. This small riverside village was once the site of one of the most sumptuous royal palaces ever built in Hungary. There had been a Roman fort here which was still in use in the 10th century. King Charles Robert set up his royal household at Visegrad in 1316, and commenced the construction of the royal palace. Charles' successors, Louis the Great and Sigismund of Luxembourg, continued building the palace, even though the Court had moved back to the Royal Palace of Buda. The splendour of Matthias' Palace never ceased to amaze visitors. The papal legate, Cardinal Castelli, in 1483 called it an "earthly paradise", and the Italian Bonfini wrote of a large number of magnificent and spacious halls, porticoes with snow-white casings, and beautiful windows, as well as a terraced garden and splashing fountains with ornate red marble and bronze basins. The Royal Palace of Godollo is one of the largest baroque palaces in Hungary. It boasts a colourful historical past, and is renowned for its trendsetting architecture. In the 19th century Empress Elisabeth, the much-admired, beautiful Sisi, famed for her modern thinking, spent 2000 nights here, more than at Schönbrunn. In disrepair during much of the 20th century, the central wings of the palace were restored to their former splendour in 1996. There are 26 completely renovated rooms, providing a unique introduction to the interior decor of royal suites in Hungary. These were the beautiful surroundings in which Emperor Francis Joseph and Empress Elisabeth would pass the autumn and spring. The more recently renovated rooms introduce and commemorate the builder and first owner of the palace, Count Antal Grassalkovich I. They represent the baroque period of the building. The surrounding park has also been undergoing gradual renovation, and, with the completion of the front gardens, the 26-hectare park is beginning to regain its former glory. Groups visiting the palace generally combine their visit to the palace with a dinner and horse show in the palace park.
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