Why Visit Eger, Hungary?
It was important to me to get outside of Budapest when in Hungary. I love seeing big cities, but I knew that Budapest wasn’t all that Hungary had to offer. I am also always highly interested in visiting wine regions in different countries. When I got to researching Hungarian wine, Eger popped right up! Eger is known for red wine that they refer to as “bulls blood”.
Having now visited, I can say without question that I tasted some of my favorite reds ever in Hungary. The city of Eger it self was charming, colorful, full of life, had a number of surprising things to do. It kind of reminded me slightly of visiting some towns in Tuscany like Montepulciano or San Gimignano. There were tasting rooms with olive oil and wine, and barrels spilling out into the streets, it was very lovely. So, this post will detail all that we loved about Eger and why it is worth spending at least a night here!
How to Get to Eger
Eger by Car
We rented a car to get around Hungary which was a very easy option. We drove to Eger from Tokaj which took about 1.5 hours. We then drove back to Budapest which was about another 1.5 hours. We had parking at our hotel in Eger, and we dropped the car off in Budapest so we didn’t have to worry about it in the big city.
By Train
You can get to Eger from Budapest by train in about 2 hours and it involves a change.
You can also take a bus which takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Where to stay
Boutique Hotel 1552
We stayed at Boutique Hotel 1552 right in the center of town. It was perfectly centrally located and we were able to walk to everything. It also had parking which was great for us! It was clean and comfortable and very stylish! The price was reasonable and the breakfast was nice! Overall I would definitely recommend it for a night in Eger.
Things to Do in Eger
Take a Wine Tour
We booked a full day wine/city tour with Veronika of Gal Tibor Winery. She is the daughter of the original wine maker and the winery is now run by her older brother. It was very informative to learn about the history of Eger and of the wine from someone who grew up here and is so deeply involved. We loved learning about Eger and Hungarian wine from Veronika. I am going to detail the stops we made on this tour as individual activities because you could do them this way, or could cherry pick the ones you like best.
Alternatively you could email Veronika and put together a tour similar to ours for an easy and stress free way to see it all. It was nice to be driven around all day to the different sites and tastings so that we could taste freely without worry of driving.
Gal Tibor Winery
The wonderful thing about this winery is that it sits right in the center of Eger. You can walk from basically anywhere in town and have a visit. My second favorite thing about this winery was that they gave you a glass of wine to carry with you during the tour. Too often wine tours take you all around the property, into the cellars, and talk on and on before giving you a taste of the wine! I loved that we could sip a glass WHILE we learned about the winery and the wines.
We did a tasting here of a variety of different wines and had a GIANT cheese and charcuterie board to accompany our tasting. It was delicious and was more than enough to be considered a lunch. The red wines here were exceptional in my opinion and we loved being able to try so many of them while we relaxed in their beautiful setting. They also have a lovely terrace if the weather is nice! I’d also love to bring 50 people back someday to have a dinner at their insanely long table!
St. Andrea Winery
I don’t mean to be dramatic, but I think I had the best red wine of my entire life so far at this winery. We LOVED touring and tasting here. Just like at Gal Tibor we were given a glass of wine during our tour of the cellars which I really enjoyed. The tour was so passionate and you could tell that they really loved and believed in the wines they were promoting.
We loved all of the wines here, so much so that we sought out the St Andrea Rooftop bar when we were back in Budapest to have more of these wines. This spot is a bit outside the town of Eger so you’ll need a car to get here, but I assure you it is worth the trip.
The Valley of Beautiful Women
If we had another day in Eger we would have spent more time here, on our trip we just drove through briefly to check it out. It is essentially just a small square lined with different wineries and caves. You can pop in and out of different spots to visit their caves and taste their wines. It is really neat to have them all in one place like this, it was beautiful to see, and someday I’d love to revisit and spend some time here wine tasting.
Have dinner at Macok Bistro
This was an excellent dinner. This spot has Michelin recognition and to be completely honest we’ve found that this can be hit or miss. Here it was a HIT. We did a tasting menu and we loved everything we tried. They also had fantastic wine pairings, however, we ordered by the glass after our long day of wine tasting. The staff was incredibly kind and helpful and it felt so welcoming and cozy. I highly recommend dinner here in Eger.
Visit the Castle
The castle complex in Eger is large and really neat to see. We visited in the evening after touring around all day and it was a bit moody out, but it was still interesting and worthwhile to visit. It also has lovely views over Eger and would be an excellent place to watch sunset over the town.
Climb the Eger Minaret
It’s kind of funny but this is the first thing we did in Eger. It only takes a few minutes to climb to the top and you can get views over all of Eger from the balcony! I wouldn’t recommend if you’re not into small tight staircases, but otherwise it was worth checking out the view.
Explore the Churches
For a town that is not so large there are quite a few churches to peek into in Eger. They are all very beautiful inside and out and worth wandering to check them out!
Overall thoughts on Eger
Overall we sincerely loved our time in Eger. We expressed to one another multiple times that we were so glad we got out of Budapest for a bit to see more of Hungary. I’d love to go back someday and visit some other areas of this beautiful country, especially some of the lakes!
If you’re looking for more information on our time spent in Tokaj I have a post for you —> Visiting the Tokaj Wine Region of Hungary
If you’re looking for more things to do in Budapest you can check out my post here —-> 4 Sunset Spots in Budapest!
And if you’re looking for a great tour check out —> Budapest River Cruise with Unlimited Prosecco
My posts will sometimes contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and book through my links I will earn a small commission at NO COST to you. This helps me to keep sharing out this awesome info! I also will FULLY recommend things that I acquire NO commission on and I just think are truly good recs. You will always get the truth from me here I would never recommend something I didn’t love.