Pécs, Hungary

We visit Pécs - a very attractive, picturesque city located in the south of Hungary, with a unique atmosphere. Its Old Town is very extensive and rich. There are a lot of interesting buildings and monuments. If you visit this place, you will be truly enchanted. You can spend a few days here visiting all the interesting places available in the city. We assure you that Pécs will remain in your memory for a long time. Some people say that Pécs is the most beautiful city in Hungary - after our visit we could agree with it.

Parking in Pécs

We decided to drive to the very Old Town to be as close as possible to what we want to visit. Under the Kossuth Square, which is practically in the very center, there is a large, two-story, underground parking lot with 280 parking spaces (P1; GPS: 46.073768, 18.230813). Due to the attractive location, the parking is of course payable (450 forints/hour). You can also park a little farther, for example at the Center Parking (P2; GPS: 46.071665, 18.229285) - the price is 400 forints/hour or much farther (but free) in the parking lot next to the railway line (P3; GPS:46.066136, 18.222278).

The Széchenyi Square

After leaving the parking lot, we follow the nice street Irgalmasok utcája straight to the historical center: the Széchenyi Square (Széchenyi tér) - it is the main square of the city of Pécs (A; GPS: 46.0763697, 18.2280719). In the Middle Ages it was a municipal market. Currently, it is surrounded by interesting buildings, and the most important of them is the Church of Our Lady of Candlemas, once a mosque of Gazi Kasim Pasha. This is the most monumental Turkish building in Hungary and one of the symbols of the city of Pécs.

In the square, opposite the former mosque, there is a beautiful monument of the Holy Trinity (Szentháromság-szobor) from 1908. A monument to János Hunyady was also built here in 1956. In the square we can see the church of Bonifraters, which was built in years 1727-1731. Right next to the entrance to the church there is a very interesting fountain Zsolnay-kút (another symbol of Pécs) from 1912 decorated with glazed pottery (B; GPS: 46.0752011, 18.2287369). The water of the fountain comes from four stylized beef heads.

More interesting buildings at the Széchenyi Square are for example the Town Hall (Városháza); an eclectic building of the Commune Office (Megyeháza), which was built in 1897; former hotel "Nádor szálló" and the Lóránta palace (Lóránt-palota). There is also interesting meteorological station, which was erected on June 15, 1908 from public fees.

Király utca

From Szécheny Square, we go for a walk the most avant-garde street in Pécs - it is the Király utca. This is a street of nice buildings, interesting shops, chic and good taste. At the beginning, on the left side you can admire the beautiful façade of the three-story Palatinus hotel built in 1915 (C; GPS: 46.0762656, 18.2293378).

Next, we reach the Theater Square (Színház tér), where the theater building is located. It was opened in 1895 and built in the Neo-Renaissance style with a rococo facade (D; GPS: 46.0764031, 18.2306628). At the theater, we can see two symmetrically situated fountains with figures lying on stones from which the water flows. We go farther and on the right we pass the church of the Transfiguration (Lyceum templom or Urunk Színeváltozása templom) (E; GPS: 46.0770619, 18.2337475). The building of the church belonged to the Pauline order and together with the neighboring monastery was built in the second half of the 18th century.

The Jókai tér Square

We return to Széchenyi Square and go in the other direction to Jókai Square (F; GPS: 46.0755064, 18.2271117). There is a fountain and the Millennium Memorial monument (Ezredéves Emlékművet) on it. At the square we can find the Elefántos Ház building (the House of the Elephant) from the nineteenth century. At the beginning there was a bakery in this building, and now there is a restaurant (a good one, but quite expensive). We leave the square going west the Ferencesek utcája street. If you are hungry, we recommend visiting the restaurant "Mátyás király vendéglő" located at this street (about 100 meters from the Jókai tér Square, on the left) (G; GPS: 46.0755211, 18.2253361). The food is really tasty and inexpensive (compared to Elefántos Ház). You can take the place inside or outside (if you are at the end of August, just like us, beware of the intrusive wasps!).

The Szent István Square and the Cathedral

We continue our walk the Ferencesek utcája Street towards the west. We reach the church of St. Francis of Assisi. There is a tram at the building (H; GPS: 46.0752533, 18.2224983). It turns out that just until 1960 the tram line led from here to the Jókai tér Square - hence the original "monument". At the crossroads, turn right and head towards Szent István Square, which is also a nice park (I; GPS: 46.0769092, 18.2232008). Next to the park we can see the Cathedral of Saint Apostles Peter and Paul (Szent Péter és Szent Pál Székesegyház) from the 11th century, rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century (J; GPS: 46.0782786, 18.2236356). Opposite the cathedral there is a church Our Lady of the Female Order of Notre Dame from the nineteenth century (K; GPS: 46.0766561, 18.2238017). We return to the city center walking the Apáca utca Street. On the right, we can see the monument of Mihály Babits - a Hungarian poet, writer and translator. After a while, on the left side we pass the building, in which the choir of the city of Pécs sang for the first time in 1861. We get back to Széchenyi Square.

Irgalmasok utcája Street and the Kossuth Square

We leave the Széchenyi Square with the Irgalmasok utcája Street and then we reach the Graz-tér Square. At the square we can see the main post office building and the Tüke fountain from 1998 (L; GPS: 46.0733489, 18.2269856). Presented sprouts and bunches of grapes symbolize rich harvests and eternal youth. We return to the parking lot with the Citrom utca, going towards the Kossuth Square. There is a nice monument (M; GPS: 46.0740378, 18.2298339) of Lajos Kossuth, the Hungarian national hero, standing in front of the stately building of the district office of the city of Pécs.