Eger: castle, baths and wine cellars

Why go

Eger packs a lot into a walkable centre. You can climb a castle, stand at the top of the northernmost Ottoman minaret in Europe, soak in a Turkish bath and spend an evening tasting wine in cellars dug into a hillside, all within a mile. It feels lived in rather than touristy, with students, families and local winemakers filling the squares.

Eger Castle

**Eger Castle** sits above the old town and tells the story of the 1552 siege, when Captain István Dobó and a small garrison, helped by the town's women, held off the Ottoman army. Every Hungarian child reads about it in Géza Gárdonyi's novel *Eclipse of the Crescent Moon*. The castle has museums, casemates under the walls and fine views over the rooftops. Expect a few school groups in term time.

The old town

**Dobó István Square** is the heart of town, with the twin towered **Minorite Church**. The huge neoclassical **Eger Basilica** is the second largest church in Hungary and hosts short organ concerts. Next to it, the **Lyceum** holds a historic library with a painted ceiling and an old observatory tower with a working camera obscura that projects the town onto a table. Close by, the slim **Minaret** survives from the Ottoman period, with a narrow staircase to the top for those not afraid of tight spaces.

Baths

Eger sits on warm springs. The **Turkish Bath** is a restored Ottoman bath with modern pools around it, and the larger **Eger Thermal Bath** complex in the park next door has outdoor pools that are good for families. Just outside town at **Egerszalók**, mineral water has built up white travertine terraces that look like a small Pamukkale, next to a spa hotel.

Wine and the Valley of the Beautiful Women

Eger's most famous wine is **Egri Bikavér**, or Bull's Blood, a blended red with a legend linking it to the siege. The region also makes a white blend, **Egri Csillag**. A short walk or taxi ride from the centre, the **Szépasszony völgy** (Valley of the Beautiful Women) is a horseshoe of wine cellars cut into the soft rock, many with tables outside, where you can taste by the glass and eat simple food. It is busiest on summer evenings and lovely during the autumn harvest.

Around Eger

The **Bükk National Park** rises to the north, with forest walks and limestone caves. The village of **Szilvásvárad** is home to the Lipizzaner horses of the state stud and the **Szalajka valley**, with a forest railway and a pretty veil waterfall. Further east, the **Tokaj** wine region, a UNESCO listed landscape known for its sweet Aszú wine, is a good next stop.

Getting there

Direct trains run from Budapest Keleti station to Eger in about two hours, and buses leave from Stadion bus station. The centre is compact, so you rarely need transport within town apart from a short ride out to the valley at night if you prefer not to walk back.

Practical tips

Cellars in the valley keep varied hours, and many close early outside summer, so go late afternoon. Drink plenty of water between tastings. Book a room early for the harvest weekend in September and around the Bull's Blood festival in summer.