Veszprém, Hungary
Veszprém is one of the oldest towns in Hungary located about 16 km north of the Lake Balaton. We visited it after visiting the Tihany peninsula. We walked to the center of Veszprém where the Castle Hill is located. Many historic buildings are very well renovated, some of them are just being renovated. The Castle Hill is a really nice place with beautiful old buildings and churches. You can also have fantastic views of the whole area standing nearby the Statues of King Szent Istvan and Queen Gizella. You can also visit one of Hungary's largest zoological gardens (Kittenberger Kálmán Növény- és Vadaspark).
Parking in Veszprém
There are several parking lots in the vicinity of the old town. We chose the Bagolyvári Parkolóház (P1; GPS: 47.094076, 17.909084) due to the fact that it is new and quite capacious (the parking is covered). If, however, it turns out that it is full, you can try to park in the parking lot at Szeglethy József utca (P2; GPS: 47.092471, 17.906517) - it is also located in the building. You can also drive up to the old town, to the Óváros Tér square (P3; GPS: 47.094270, 17.906882), and leave the car there (do not forget to buy a parking ticket).
Strolling the Old Town of Veszprém
From the parking lot we go to the Óváros Tér square, where in a very nice building the town hall is located (A; GPS: 47.094580, 17.906220). From this place you can also see the interesting tower Tűztorony (B; GPS: 47.0947853, 17.9055606). It was originally built as a watchtower to protect the castle's gates. The tower survived the Turkish wars, but the earthquake in 1810 severely damaged it. During the reconstruction, the watchtower became a fire tower.
Then we go the street Vár utca, which will lead us to the nearby Castle Hill. On its area we enter the Heroes Gate (Hősök Kapuja) (C; GPS: 47.095193, 17.905611), a rather modern element, because it was built in the first half of the 20th century.
Going farther, we pass the monastery and the Piarists church (D; GPS: 47.096124, 17.903737), as well as the beautiful Baroque archbishop palace (E; GPS: 47.096771, 17.903616). Unfortunately, during our visit it was just under renovation, so we could admire only some of the renovated elements of this building.
We reach the square with a beautiful statue of the Holy Trinity in the middle (F; GPS: 47.096958, 17.903023). At the square we also find the cathedral of St. Michael (Szent Mihály-székesegyház) (entrance only with admission ticket).
And finally, at the very end of the street, there are the statues of King Stephen I. and Queen Gisela (Szent István király és Gizella királyné szobra) (G; GPS: 47.097453, 17.902383) located on the edge of the hill. We also have beautiful views of the Veszprém area from here.
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