PÉCS
27–30 April 2012
An excursion from Budapest via the most attractive shore of Lake Balaton, allows us to visit several lesser-known towns and sites in south-western Hungary, while focusing on the delightful city of Pecs, European cultural capital in 2010.
Veszprém and the wonderful Festetics Palace, with lunch beside the lake in the charming town of Tihany will absorb most of the first day before arriving in Pécs. Populated by the Romans, Huns, Magyars and Ottoman Turks, this extraordinary city was very wealthy in the 19th century due to the Zsolnay ceramic factory. This is one of the many museums, basilicas and mosques. A morning will be spent at the site of the Battle of Mohács, a seminal victory for Islam in Europe in 1526 when the flower of the Hungarian nobility was cut down resulting in Islamic occupation and the Habsburgs receiving the Crowns of both Bohemia and Hungary. After a wine-tasting in Villány we will see Siklós Castle nearby. Kalosca is one of the great Baroque towns in Central Europe, with its Cathedral, Archbishop’s Palace and Library with 150,000 volumes. After lunch on the puszta, we will visit some wonderful Art Nouveau buildings in Kecskemét before heading back into Budapest.
Cost per person £710 Single room supplement £55 (the tour is costed on 10 people)
The price includes staying at the fine Art Nouveau Palatinus Hotel (3 nights), ground transport, entries, all visits and guides, 2 dinners and 4 lunches. Flights to Budapest not included.
