Eger
Hungary
A baroque wine town under the castle that held off the Ottomans in 1552, with a valley of cellars twenty minutes’ walk away
Photos by Biro Zoltan, Biro Zoltan, Biro Zoltan and Biro Zoltan on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Hungary
May to June, September to October — the harvest is when the cellar valley is busiest and best
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 75mm in Jun
Where it is
47.90°N, 20.38°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Walk out to the Valley of the Beautiful Women in the late afternoon and taste in three or four cellars rather than settling into one
- Go up to the castle in the morning, and read the siege story first — the ramparts mean more with it
- Climb the minaret only if narrow spiral stairs do not bother you; there is barely room to pass
- Book a thermal soak at the Turkish bath or the Eger thermal bath to end the day
- See the camera obscura in the Lyceum tower, which projects the town live onto a table
- Take a bottle of Bikavér home from the cellar rather than the town shops — it is the same wine for less
Eger travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Hungary
Good valueForint only, and a small town where a euro price is a favour rather than a rate. Cards work in the centre; bring forint notes for the cellars in the valley, where a tasting is poured by the decilitre and paid for on the spot.
ATMs & cards
Draw in the centre, around Dobó István tér, from an OTP, K&H or Erste machine, before walking out to the cellars. Decline the conversion the machine offers.
Avoid these
- Euronet
Use these instead
- OTP Bank
- K&H
- Erste
There are no machines out in the cellar valley; draw in the centre first.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Hungary
Very safeA calm small town. The thing to plan is the evening: Hungary’s drink-driving limit is zero, so a tasting day means the train, a taxi, or a room you can walk back to.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (5 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Dobó István tér
- Eger Castle
- Szépasszony-völgy — by day and in the early evening
Worth more attention
- Driving after the cellars — the limit in Hungary is zero, and the police know where the valley road comes out
- Szépasszony-völgy — the walk back after a long tasting is twenty minutes along streets with traffic; take a taxi after dark
Low crime. The risks here are the wine and the car, in that order..
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Hungary visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Hungary
Good and affordableRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
- Tick-borne encephalitis for forest and countryside walking
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodThe valley is for drinking, and the cellars pour Bikavér and the white Egri Csillag from the barrel into a glass or a plastic bottle to take away. Eat properly in town first. Hungarian food otherwise: goulash soup, paprikás, and pogácsa from the bakery.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- BoltWorks here
- FőtaxiWorks here
- UberNot here
Főtaxi the licensed fleet
Uber does not operate in Hungary — it was legislated out in 2016 and has not come back.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Budapest — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Hungary, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Hungarian
- HelloJó napotyo NA-pot
- PleaseKéremKAY-rem
- Thank youKöszönömKUH-suh-nuhm
- Yes / NoIgen / NemEE-gen / nem
4 more phrases
- Excuse meElnézéstEL-nay-zaysht
- How much is it?Mennyibe kerül?MEN-yi-beh KEH-rool
- The bill, pleaseA számlát, kérema SAAM-laat
- Cheers!Egészségedre!EG-ays-shay-ged-reh
Religion
Catholic, with a Calvinist minority
Religion is culturally present rather than practised widely. Basilicas ask for covered shoulders.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say jó napot on entering shops
- Toast with wine or spirits and make eye contact
- Bring a small gift if invited to someone’s home
- Try the thermal baths — they are an everyday institution, not a tourist novelty
Don't
- Do not clink beer glasses — the convention dates to 1849 and older Hungarians still hold it
- Do not put your hands under the table while eating
- Do not assume Hungarian relates to any neighbouring language; it does not
- Do not discuss the Trianon treaty lightly
Where to stay in Eger
No Holistay rentals in Eger yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Eger on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Ferenc Liszt BUD
3hfrom the airport· 99 km as the crow flies
Bus and metro to Budapest-Keleti, then the train to Eger, about 3 hours in all.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
