Bicycle tours in Hungary - Why cycling in Hungary? - TradNatura Sport

WHY IT IS WORTH TAKING A BIKE TOUR IN HUNGARY

Why is it worth cycling in Hungary?

It would be hard to explain this in one sentence, because you can find such an incredible variety of interesting sights here. Hungary is a wonderful country, which has still preserved its original charm and natural beauty, it’s in the heart of Europe, where all roads meet, so it’s easy to travel here.
Hungary is rather flat with gently undulating hills, and we have several very quiet roads and paths in our unspoiled areas, so this is an ideal place for cycling tours! The local people are sincerely hospitable and friendly, and this is a safe country.

Probably you have heard about our capital Budapest, Lake Balaton, or the Blue Danube, but there are numberless other treasures that make Hungary specially beautiful and colourful: the varied and picturesque landscapes of the countryside, untouched forests and meadows with beautiful flowers, our national parks, rivers and lakes with plenty of birds, healing thermal spas, the delicious Hungarian cuisine and our excellent wines, our historic wine regions, antique towns and castle hotels with unique atmosphere, medieval castles and churches, charming villages, our folk art traditions, and our World Heritage Sites, which all represent our 1000 years old history and rich culture.

Let’s introduce some of the nicest attractions of Hungary which you can enjoy on our bike tours:

NATIONAL PARKS - NATURE RESERVES

Lake Balaton

This is the most popular holiday resort of Hungary, and the biggest lake in Middle Europe, as we call it: “The Hungarian Sea”. It’s shallow, pleasantly warm and very clear water, huge surface, abundance of fish, the nice beaches and cycle paths all around, the picturesque volcanic hills of the famous Badacsony wine region, the Káli Basin with its charming villages and unique formations of basalt “organ pipes” or “sea of stones”, and Tihany Peninsula with its thatched village houses and the Benedictine Abbey, all make Balaton an ideal place for summer holidays. Swimming, sailing or windsurfing, cycling and fishing are all very popular activities here, not to mention tasting the famous pike-perch with some good wine in one of the lovely restaurants. The view of the lake with its beautiful colours and the surrounding hills, or the sunsets reflecting on the water (the locals call this “golden bridge”) are hard to compare with anything else...

The Danube Bend

This is one of the most scenic areas of Hungary, where the most international river of Europe turns from east-western direction towards south. The region begins at Esztergom, where the centre of the Hungarian Catholic Church, and the biggest cathedral of Hungary can be found. The small city used to be our first capital, where our first king St Stephen was born and crowned. The most spectacular place of the area is Visegrád, with the ruins of one of the most beautiful Renaissance royal palaces of Europe, and the 13th century Citadel on the top of the hills, where the panorama is simply breathtaking. Szentendre, a colourful little Baroque town, with several Serbian-Orthodox churches, and plenty of museums, souvenir shops and restaurants, is also a significant part of this extensive resort area.

Szigetköz

A beautiful and rather big island of the Danube in North-West Hungary, with a labyrinth of idyllic small river branches, tiny islands and oxbow lakes. This is a paradise for fishing or bird watching. Few of the oldest trees of Hungary, lovely thermal baths, a wonderful 400 years old castle, and nice old towns (Győr) can be found here. The best way to discover the beauties of Szigetköz is riding a bicycle or taking a canoe tour.

Danube-Dráva National Park

A rather unknown and unspoiled region in South Hungary with beautiful backwater forests along the River Dráva and Danube. A wonderful area with one of the richest habitats in Europe of deers, and rare birds, such as the kingfisher, black stork, saker or white tailed eagle. It is also worth taking a canoe tour here along the small arms of the Danube.

WORLD HERITAGE SITES

Lake Fertő / Neusiedler See

This is the westernmost Eurasian steppe lake, one of the most significant water habitats, and the largest alkaline lake of Europe. It lies both in Austria and Hungary, and belongs to the Fertő-Hanság National Park. This relatively small area is an interesting meeting point of a sub-Mediterranean, a sub-Alpine, and a continental climate. The rather shallow water, and the huge parts of the lake that are covered by reeds, provide a home for more than 200 kinds of nesting birds, and numerous rare plant species. The vineyards on the slopes produce excellent wines, and an unusual quarry from the Roman times with enormous halls offers special acoustics for opera performances, and an unparalleled view of the lake. The small town Sopron, one of the richest in historic buildings of Hungary, and the magnificent Esterházy palace where Joseph Haydn was the court musician, or the castle of István Széchenyi, the “Greatest Hungarian” also belong to the numerous sights here. The lake is a wonderful place for windsurfing, sailing, swimming, and for bike trips, as it is surrounded by very nice cycle paths.

Hortobágy National Park with Lake Tisza

“It is an island on the continent. Island, because it is surrounded by the sea of the civilized world.” said Mór Jókai, a famous Hungarian writer.

Hortobágy is the largest continuous natural grassland in Europe, formed by natural habitats, alkaline grasslands, meadows, and smaller or bigger marshes enclosed between them. The marshes and fishponds are significant bird habitats and resting places of Europe. More than 340 bird species are registered in Hortobágy, and about 150 of them nest here. The mirage, the gorgeous sunsets with flying flocks of birds, the grazing herds of traditional Hungarian domestic animals: grey-cattle, racka sheep, mangalica pigs, and herds of gallopping horses belong to the outstanding landscape features of Hortobágy, as well as the sweep-pole wells, which are symbols of the Hungarian grasslands. Taking a horse carriage ride here you can enjoy all these sights, a spectacular horse show, and an insight into the life and skills of the local herdsmen.

Lake Tisza is a fantastic bird paradise and water-world, a reservoir made on the River Tisza in the 1970’s. Its different parts with lovely beaches, huge open water surfaces, idyllic small channels among reeds and woods, with wonderful white and yellow water-lily carpets, all offer perfect possibilities for swimming windsurfing, canoeing, bird watching, fishing, or just enjoying the peacefulness of the untouched nature. It is worth taking a small boat tour, or cycling around the lake to enjoy the colourful and unique landscape.

Budapest, the capital of Hungary

Most of our visitors say that Budapest is one of the nicest and most beautifully situated cities of the world. It is called “The pearl of the Danube”. The powerful current of the river divides it into two parts, the hilly Buda side with nice villas and woods, and the flat Pest side with the downtown. The Danube, flowing through the centre of the city, the nice hills of Buda, and the beautiful architecture reflecting various periods of our history, all offer one of the uniquely beautiful panoramas of the world. The medieval Castle District with the former Royal Palace, the Gothic Matthias Church with the Fishermen’s Bastion, the Gellért Hill with the Liberty Statue and the Citadel, the Gellért Bath on Buda side, the Chain Bridge which is one of the symbols of Budapest, and one of the most beautiful parliament buildings of the world with the holy crown of the Hungarian kings, the Hungarian Academy of Science, the Gresham Palace, and the famous Andrássy Avenue with the Neorenaissance Opera House, the first underground on the continent, and the Heroes’ Square on Pest, belong to the World Heritage. But it’s also worth visiting the St Stephen Cathedral, Margaret Island, which is one of the nicest parks in Europe, the healing thermal baths, the Central Markethall, or few of the old restaurants and cafés such as the famous Gerbeaud, or just walking along the bank of the river, or along the Váci street, the pedestrian area, and watching the amazing buildings and views, is also a good idea.

The Historic Wine Region of Tokaj

The name Tokaj is identified with wine all over the world. This beautiful area in north-eastern Hungary among the hills of Tokaj includes 27 small towns. Owing to the exceptional microclimate, the characteristic volcanic soil, the protected southern exposure of the gentle slopes, the autumn mists rising from the River Bodrog and Tisza, the special treatment in casks made of local oak trees, the ancient cellars covered by noble mould, and the local expertise and respect for tradition, all play important role in creating the noblest sweetwine of the world with its unique bouquet and golden colour: the Tokaj Aszú. The wellknown French King Louis XIV called it “the wine of the kings and the king of the wines”. Of course the other Tokaj wines: Szamorodni, Furmint, Hárslevelű and Muskotály are also widely well known. They started to make Aszú wine here already in the 17th century, and the nice mansions and castles from this time, and the picturesque vineyards make the atmosphere of the region even more unique.

Stalactite caves of the Aggtelek Karst

“During the whole of my trip to Europe I gained my deepest and most lasting impressions in your stalactite cave of Aggtelek...your small country possesses, in this cave, a unique underground treasure...which deserves to be well-known and admired by the whole world...The stalactite cave of Aggtelek deserves to be mentioned alongside the most magnificient geografical phenomena of the world, the Grand canyon of Colorado, or the Niagara Falls...” said Lloyd Trevor, a Canadian geographer.

The largest cave system of Central Europe, with more than 200 caves can be found here in the Aggtelek National Park. The longest one, the Baradla cave is about 25 km. This is a magical world of wonderful dripstone formations with various sizes, colours, and extraordinary shapes. Some of them got even special names, such as Mother in Law’s Tonque, Dragon Head, or the Hall of Giants, where you can listen to some of the wellknown melodies with unbelievable acoustics. This unique experience cannot be missed, as well as a tour along the beautiful small streams, tarns, woods and tiny villages of this hidden and untouched area of north-eastern Hungary.

Benedictine Monastery of Pannonhalma

The history of this Abbey is as old as the history of Hungary itself. Soon after the pagan Hungarian tribes occupied the Carpathian Basin, Prince Géza, and his son St Stephen, our first king and the founder of our state, recognised that the Hungarian people could survive in Europe only if they created a solid feudal state, and adopted Christianity. In 996 Géza settled Benedictine monks on the Sacred Hill of Pannonia, and the monastery overtook the task of propagating Christian religion and European culture in Hungary. There are about fifty monks in the Archabbey who follow the rules of St Benedict, and the community makes its living by their work. They run one of the best schools of the country for more than 300 students, and they make fine wines and various herbal products. The building, with some of the nicest masterpieces of the Hungarian architecture, a late Romanesque - early Gothic basilica, a late Gothic cloister from the time of King Matthias, and a Neoclassical library, is open for visitors. They have excellent guided tours to introduce their life and their treasures from various times of our history.

Early Christian Cemetery in Pécs

Pécs (Sopianae) is a significant cultural centre of the country with its theaters, museums and festivals. The town is situated in South Hungary, at the foot of the Mecsek mountains, with a real Mediterranean atmosphere owing to its climate, and narrow streets. Sopianae was founded by the Romans in the 2nd century, and became a provincial capital and centre of early Christianity by the 4th century. Our first king St Stephen founded an episcopate here in 1009, and the first university of Hungary started to operate here in 1367. The most interesting sights are here the beautiful cathedral, the remains of the early Christian tombs and small chapels, Turkish mosques from the 150 years Turkish occupation, the museum of the famous Zsolnay Porcelain Factory, and exibitions of wellknown Hungarian painters, Victor Vasarely or Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka, are also worth visiting.

THERMAL BATHS, LAKES AND RIVERS

Hungary has such an outstanding thermal water reserve, which is unique throughout Europe. Most of the mineral and medicinal waters are very rich in minerals and have a rather good healing effect. There are more than 1000 springs in Hungary, which provide medicinal and hot water with a temperature above 30 ºC. We have about 150 thermal baths, and 36 of them have a rather special therapeutic water. The only cave bath of Europe is situated in north-eastern Hungary, and near Lake Balaton, the second biggest natural thermal lake of the world can be found in Hévíz. The lake, in a wonderful park with its dark green water and lovely water lilies, is a uniquely beautiful sight, and this is one of the most famous cure resorts of Europe. With about 30 thermal baths, Budapest is the spa-capital of the world. It is worth visiting some of the nicest ones: the elegant Gellért Bath with its secessionist pomp, or the Széchenyi Bath in the Citypark. Already the Romans discovered the mineral water springs here, and we still have some of the Turkish baths that were built in the middle ages, and are in function even now.

Hungary is the land of waters. Wherever you go, you can find small and charming thermal baths, or big “aquaparks” with several swimming pools and cure possibilities, more and more lovely “wellness” hotels with refreshing swimming pools are waiting for the tourists, and we have plenty of beautiful smaller or bigger lakes and rivers with nice beaches, offering a lot of possibilities for water sports. Swimming, sailing, windsurfing, and fishing, taking canoe tours on our peaceful and picturesque rivers, all are very popular activities here, and we have many swimmers, kayakers, and a water-polo team, who are not just accidentally several times world and olympic champions....

HUNGARIAN CUISINE

One of the easiest ways to get acquainted with a nation is through their cuisine. The famous Hungarian cuisine represents our traditions and culture very well. Maybe the first thing which comes to your mind when you think of the Hungarian cuisine, is goulash. Actually “Gulyás” is a masterfully cooked rich soup made of beef, potatoes, vegetables, and with red paprika, which is a popular spice that we use in our several delicious meals, such as the fish soup, or the various kinds of stew (venison for instance), and (catfish or chicken) “paprikás”. However, we have plenty of other gourmet and regional specialities which are highly recommended to taste. Just a few of the most famous ones: goose liver, roasted pike-perch or trout with almonds, our salami, Hortobágy pancake (stuffed with meet), the Gundel pancake (filled with walnuts and covered by chocolate sauce), Somló sponge cake, our poppy-seed and other strudels, the Gerbeaud or Dobos cakes, cold fruit soup, and further numberless traditional Hungarian specialities that are much nicer and easier to taste, than to explain what their Hungarian names mean exactly in English... And of course, it is also worth tasting the fine flavour of our lovely fruits and vegetables...

NOBLE WINES, HISTORIC WINE REGIONS

As they say, good food requires a good wine, especially the excellent ones that are made in the historic wine regions of Hungary. Making wine is a thousand years long tradition here, so Hungary is the home of grape and wine. The specific climate, the protected exposure of the vineyards, the characteristic volcanic or lime stone soil, the special knowledge and enthusiasm of the wine makers result outstanding wines in our historic wine regions of Tokaj, Villány, Sopron, Eger, Badacsony, Somló, as well as in many other small areas. There are several wellknown wines (Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Savignon, or Merlot, or the cuvée “Bulls blood”) and the ancient Hungarian wine sorts are getting to be more and more popular again, such as the red wine Kékfrankos, Kadarka or Kékoportó, or the white Furmint, Kéknyelű, Juhfark, Leányka, Hárslevelű, and many others... Several gold medals of international wine competitions and exhibitions were won in Bordeaux, London or New York by the excellent Hungarian wines in the last years. It is worth sampling them!
Talking about drinks, we must mention here our excellent Pálinka (schnapps) made of our various and delicious fruits, and our Unicum, a very special schnapps, made of many herbs, and the plenty kinds of our refreshing mineral water! (Some of them have also won world championships...) Many of these original Hungarian products are called nowadays “Hungaricum”.

CASTLE HOTELS, MEDIEVAL CASTLES

Throughout the 1000-year history of Hungary there were plenty of famous fortifications, castles or splendid palaces built all around our country. Many of them have been renovated very nicely, and they are valuable representatives of the Hungarian architecture from different times. Many of the medieval castles are situated on the top of the hills in picturesque areas, and you can enjoy a breathtaking view from them (at Visegrád, Sümeg or Füzér), and many of them have interesting stories and museums (Eger, Kőszeg, Tata, or Sárospatak). It is also worth visiting the wonderful Baroque palaces of our prominent noble families, such as the Eszterházy, Festetics, Rákóczi, and Széchenyi, with their interesting exhibitions. You can learn a lot about the famous Hungarian inventions in one of them... (Did you know that the first carburettor, electric dynamo, ball-point pen, computer, telephone-centre, hologram, and plenty of other things were invented by Hungarian people? Some of them, like Albert Szentgyörgyi, for the vitamin C, have won the Noble price!)
There are also many beautiful small castle hotels and mansions with a rather unique and antique atmosphere, surrounded by wonderful parks. Often it is a question whether the ancient trees in their park, or the castle is older... We stay in many of these lovely places on our tours...

ANCIENT TOWNS

There are lot of beautiful historic towns in Hungary, where are worth taking a walk to enjoy their narrow streets with their colourful Baroque houses which all have their story, and their lovely restaurants and cafés or souvenir shops...
Just a few of the nicest ones: Budapest - our capital - “the pearl of the Danube”, Győr - “the town of waters” at the confluence of three rivers, Sopron with the Roman citywalls, Kőszeg - “a jewel-box at the foothills of the Alps”, Eger - “the town of Baroque”, Sárospatak - a headquarter of the medieval education of Hungary with a famous castle, Pécs - a capital of culture, or Szentendre with its Mediterranean atmosphere.

Museums

The palette where you can learn about our history, traditions, culture and the life of the local people, or the flora and fauna - is rather colourful. The world famous Herend Porcelain Manufacture, crystal workshops, potteries with their wonderful hand-made products, collections of the beautiful Hungarian folk art hand-embroidery, the Benedictine Monasteries of Pannonhalma and Tihany, where you can see the oldest written documents with Hungarian words from 1055, our Romanesque churches, wonderfully decorated cathedrals, or small village churches, with the first Bible printed in Hungarian in one of them from 1590, 300 years old watermills, village museums in traditional old village houses, a horse carriage, an iron-curtain, or a white stork museum... the list is rather long...

But it would be hard to describe all the beautiful sights of Hungary here... You can find futher information at our Tour Details as well, ...but the best way you can enjoy them, if you come and see them with your own eyes!

We look forward to showing them to you!

Marietta and Peter