©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd The Danube Bend & Western Transdanubia Includes ¨ Why Go? Szentendre .........166 The Danube Bend is a region of peaks and picturesque river Visegrád ............171 towns to the north of Budapest. The name is quite literal: Esztergom ..........173 this is where hills on both banks force the river to turn sharply and flow southward. It is the most beautiful stretch Sopron .............178 of the Danube along its entire course, where several histori- Őrség National Park ..186 cal towns vie for visitors’ attention. Szentendre has its roots in Serbian culture and became an important centre for art early in the 20th century. Round the bend is tiny Viseg- rád, Hungary’s ‘Camelot’ in the 15th century and home to Best Places Renaissance-era palace ruins and a forbidding hilltop for- tress. Esztergom, once the pope’s ‘eyes and ears’ in Hungary, to Eat is now a sleepy town with the nation’s biggest cathedral. ¨ Sopronbánfalvi Pálos- The Danube meanders towards Western Transdanubia Karmelita Kolostor (p184) where you find Sopron, a historic city that’s been around ¨ Mjam (p170) since the Roman Empire. South of Sopron are the beautiful, remote forests and villages of Őrség National Park. ¨ Erhardt (p183) ¨ Koriander (p175) ¨ Kovács-kert (p173) When to Go Vac Best Places °C/°F Temp Rainfall inches/mm to Sleep 30/86 6/150 ¨ Pauline-Carmelite 20/68 Monastery of 4/100 Sopronbanfalva (p182) 10/50 2/50 ¨ Szent Kristóf Panzió 0/32 (p175) -10/14 0 ¨ Hotel Wollner (p182) J FDM A M J J A S O N ¨ Bükkös Hotel & Spa (p170) May A great time Jun Balmy Oct Get your fill to visit Őrség Na- weather makes of Hungary’s best ¨ Hotel Silvanus (p172) tional Park, with this the perfect wines in Sopron warm weather but time to explore be- after the grape few crowds. fore the summer harvest. crowds arrive. 164 Mosonmagyaróvár Lake Wiener Fertª Neustadt M1 Fertª-Hanság 1 National Park Sopron Fertª-Hanság 86 National Park Fertª-Hanság GY«R E65 M85 85 Fertªd National Park Csorna Nagycenk Kapuvár THE DANUBE DANUBE 83 AUSTRIA GY«R-MOSON- SOPRON 84 River B E65 Rába EN Irottkª Kªszeg D 86 B Nature Park & WES& EN Mt Írottkª (882m) D T Pápa & WES& ERN TRANS M86 Celldömölk Szombathely Sárvár 89 83 T ERN TRANS D ANUBIA 84 Ják 87 VESZPRÉM Da E66 E65 8 N E66 ube ube Ajka D VAS ANUBIA 86 b e Vasvár nd Körmend & Wester & Szentgotthárd Z Sümeg Balaton 74 a Kondorfa la Uplands «rség River 84 National Park National N Szalafª t Park Tapolca ra Zalaegerszeg 71 N s D «riszentpéter a 76 N ubia Hig ubia Lake Balaton Keszthely 86 ZALA Balatonboglár Csesztreg 75 H Fonyód lig M7 H ts Balaton Uplands 74 National Park E65 E71 67 Marcali The Danube Bend & Western Transdanubia Highlights 1 Szentendre (p166) 2 Citadel (p171) Climbing 3 Pannonhalma Abbey Strolling the cobbled up Visegrád’s medieval hilltop (p183) Exploring a backstreets, where life and enjoying the wonderful 1000-year-old abbey, the remains largely untouched by views of the Danube. architecturally splendid the town’s tourist tumult. spiritual heart of Hungary, in a lofty hilltop location..