Balatonfüred
The grand Balaton resort is the first medicinal and recreational resort of Hungary. This is the place where the first Balaton steamship started. The first yachtsmen's association was set up here. The villas of 19th-century celebrities were built here, such as the villa (now a memorial museum) (1 Honvéd utca) of the great romantic novelist, Mór Jókai (1825-1904). In the cardiology department of the local hospital patients with heart conditions have been treated here for three hundred years with the help of the mineral water sources. This water is beneficial to diabetes and digestive malfunctions, and can be sampled in the Kossuth Lajos Drinking House (Gyógy tér). The memorial plaques of Balaton's Pantheon are in the corridor of the Árkád Hotel (Gyógy tér). The annual Anna Ball, with the crowning of the Queen of the Ball, has been organized in the town theatre for 170 years, on the last Saturday of July. The Rabindranath Tagore Promenade on the lakeshore is lined with the statues, memorial plaques and trees commemorating Hungarian and foreign celebrities. Start-of-the-sailing parties are held each May in the Rose Garden. The aragonite pea-stones on the layered walls of the 120- m long Lóczy Cave (at the end of Öreg-hegyi út) offer a special sight. Koloska Valley and the Jókai lookout tower are excellent hiking destinations.Felsőörs may rightly be proud of its Provost's Church, built in the 13th century. Its 5-register organ made in 1745 is played in the popular summer organ concerts. There is a geological study path at Forrás Hill, giving us an insight into the tertiary period of the Earth's history.Highlights in Balatonalmádi, a bathing place since 1877 include its buildings made of Permi sandstone and the Roman Catholic church with its Chapel of the Holy Right, (Óvári Ferenc utca). The chapel, ornate with gold mosaic from Venice, used to stand in the Royal Castle in Buda, where the right hand of St. Stephen, a relic respected by the nation, was kept. On the 4-mile path called 'Red Sandstone', signposts indicate the interesting sights of the Balaton Highlands National Park. The symbol of Vörösberény is its 13th-century medieval fortress church.
