DAY 1 – Arrival to the capital of Hungary

Arrival to Budapest International Airport. Meeting and greeting by the local guide and transfer to the hotel with a private bus.

Rest of the program is based on the arrival time.

DAY 2 – Crafts that tell their story to you

After breakfast, we check out and we explore the Buda side of the capital.

Buda is the older, residential and hilly part of the capital. Walking among the numerous monuments and historical memories guests have the opportunity to discover the special, exciting experiences Buda provides to its visitors.

·    The Fishermen’s Bastion, a small fortress from the  turn of the century, offering a beautiful view to Pest

·    The Matthias Church with its colourful ceramic roof has become one of the symbols of the capital

·    The Royal Palace of Buda which houses today the National Széchenyi Library and a complex of museums, including the Hungarian National Gallery.

We will have a lunch in the area in a local restaurant before we start our trip to the south part of the country.

At 2pm we start our amazing tour from Budapest to the south-west of Hungary, the city of Pécs to experience the most Mediterranean atmosphere of the country. Pécs is a combination of historical sights, good wine, excellent museums, World Heritage relics, arts and culture.

Our first stop will be in Tolna, where we basically travel back in time by learning about old arts and crafts. We will admire the work of a real Hungarian folk craftsman in his pottery studio.

Our second stop will be the Blue Painting Workshop still in Tolna, founded in 1810, it is the oldest blue painting workshop in Hungary. You will have the opportunity to buy these unique products before you leave.

The Blue Painting will be the last stop before we continue our tour to Szekszárd to experience a special program. The city of Szekszárd is the meeting point of the Transdanubian Hills and the Great Hungarian Plain.

We hope you bring your imagination on this trip, because here comes a little creative activity. We visit a gingerbread decorating workshop, where everyone can try this craft on their own. You will receive the basic materials on site and you can keep the heart shaped glazed cake as a “sweet” memory.

We will finish the day with a nice dinner here in Szekszárd and after that we go to our 4* hotel, and we check in so everyone can relax and get ready for the next days’ adventures. Overnight in the hotel.

DAY 3 – Mediterranean atmosphere in Hungary

After the rich buffet breakfast in the hotel, we start to explore the city of Pécs. Main stops of the tour:

·       The Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul – the symbol of Pécs, the original building was built in the 11th century

·       Bishop’s Palace – a real architecture wonder; check out the Gothic windows, the Roman layout and the Neo-Renaissance facade

·          The mosque of Gazi Kaszim Pasha – the greatest reminder of the Turkish Age in Hungary, although for almost 150 years, only Christian ceremonies have been held here

·           Zsolnay Museum – the absolute highlight of our Pécs tour. The Zsolnay Cultural Quarter, the place where the Zsolnay family, known for porcelain production, used to live in the 19-20th century. This is a beautifully restored 5-hectare area of land with 15 protected historic buildings and 88 public Zsolnay statues.

This is where, after the tour, we will spend our lunch time in one of the restaurants of the beautiful district.

Now we leave Pécs just for a couple of hours to visit Zengővárkony, a small, authentic village with less than 400 habitants. It is a so called dead end village, meaning the village can only be approached from one direction, so there is no through traffic or other traffic in any other direction. We visit:

·        Egg painting museum

·        Straw museum

·        Reformed Church

And finally the evening program leads us to an amazing “champagne” tasting tour, where you will not only learn about the history of Hungary’s oldest quality sparkling wine but you can also taste it while you are discovering the 2km long cellar system under the building. The tour is a memorable experience, but please be prepared that the temperature in the cellar won’t be higher than 14 degrees Celsius / 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit. We do not let anyone go to bed without an amazing dinner, so we will have a 3-course dinner in the heart of Pécs.

Overnight in the hotel.

DAY 4 – Slow down and take in the rural lifestyle!

After the breakfast, we discover the surroundings of this region. On this day we are going to slow down and take in all that rural Hungary has to offer. The region where we are now is the Villány Wine Region, famous for its excellent quality red wines. You will see amazing hillscapes, vineyards and cosy little towns.

Our very first stop will be in Máriagyűd, a Marian shrine, an important pilgrimage site. With all the amazing castles in Hungary, we can’t enjoy our program without a castle visit, so we visit the Castle of Siklós as well, the residence of the most important noble families in medieval Hungary.

The tour continues to Palkonya, which is a tiny gastro village with excellent wineries, restaurants, guesthouses, it is basically an open air museum. After wandering and admiring this small village, we will have our lunch with wine tasting. All ingredients are locally produced and the food is home made.

As we are in the most famous red wine region in Hungary, we don’t go too far for a second wine tasting program, we stop in Villány as well to see all the wine cellars and experience this fantastic gastronomical experience once more.

Our tour will finish in the Harkány Thermal bath, open all year around with 3 pools that have medicinal water with a temperature of 34-38 °C/ 93-100 degrees Fahrenheit. Perfect opportunity for relaxation and recreation.

We get back to the hotel, we refresh ourselves and get changed for having dinner again in Pécs.

Overnight in the hotel.

DAY 5  – Back to Budapest

After the breakfast, check out and transfer back to Budapest because the Pest side still awaits us. A half day coach tour of the capital will take the guests to all must to see monuments and sights of Budapest. Those include to see the Heroes Square with Millenary Monument, Vajdahunyad Castle, the Opera House and the Synagoge from the outside and we enter to the Basilica and the Parliament.

During the tour there is the possibility to have a lunch break at the First Strudel House of Pest.

Strudel preparation is a tradition that we have been preserving for centuries and also art, as only great masters can prepare them perfectly. These splendid delicacies are prepared in Strudel House based on an original recipe, using the finest ingredients in an authentic environment so that guests can experience something special and the inimitable preparation processes that are so difficult to learn.

After the half day long tour, transfer to the airport.