Szentendre, Hungary
Szentendre is one of the most pleasant towns located near Budapest. It is a unique town of artists and museums. When you visit it you will feel the relaxed atmosphere of narrow streets, cafes, restaurants, wine bars - as if you were in an Italian or Provencal town. It's particularly worth a visit after staying in the crowded and energetic Budapest.
Parking in Szentendre
Szententre, as it is a tourist attraction, has several quite large parking lots. We parked on one of them on Paprikabíró street, next to the main road 11 passing through the town (P1; GPS: 47.666201, 19.071972). Parking is paid - the price is 280 forints per hour. You can also leave your car in other parking lots, eg northern one (P2; GPS: 47.672202, 19.079678) or southern one (P3; GPS: 47.662543, 19.079141).
Strolling Szentendre
After leaving the car park, we go the Paprikabíró street to the bridge over the Bükkös-patak little river (A; GPS: 47.6654033, 19.0760208). We just hit the market day, because there were many stalls, and the sellers offered a lot of local products (we took the opportunity and bought a very good cheese).
Then we go the Dumtsa Jenő street passing along the way many restaurants, confectioneries and the famous Marzipan Museum (B; GPS: 47.6662903, 19.0765278). We finally reach Fő tér - the town center in the form of a characteristic, triangular square (C; GPS: 47.6675367, 19.0763239), in the middle of which stands the so-called mighty cross from 1763, placed here in thanksgiving for the ending of the epidemic. There are several restaurants next to the square - you can eat there. The menu includes local dishes with of course, Hungarian goulash (we also recommend a great salad of pickled cucumbers). Of course, you can buy famous lángos everywhere. We happened to hit the group of people, who created a very long queue to the place where you can probably buy one of the best lángos in the area (D; GPS: 47.667827, 19.076102).
It is worth taking a stroll through the nearby streets, for example Kovács László utca, Péter Pál utca, Kucsera Ferenc utca or Rákóczi Ferenc utca. The latter will lead us to the parish church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist (E; GPS: 47.6680714, 19.0756533), located on a small hill. It is the oldest and one of the most important architectural monuments in Szentendre. Its history dates back to the 13th century. According to historical information, the church was destroyed by knights of the Johannites in 1294, but a few years later it was rebuilt in the Gothic style. Almost completely ruined during the Ottoman occupation, rebuilt in the eighteenth century. From the church square we can admire a nice panorama of the town.
The open-air museum in Szentendre
If you still do not have enough and want to see something interesting, you can drive to the great open-air museum located a few kilometers away from Szentendre (the parking lot: P4; GPS: 47.6919808, 19.0470503). The open-air museum is so big that it is worth spending here the whole day (especially during nice weather) to see everything. The open-air museum consists of separate villages, each of which contains original buildings and elements. You can move between villages on foot or with the help of a special train. You can touch many things and try them yourself. Genre scenes are also played, showing how the life looked like a long time ago.
See also: