Exploring The Stunning Town Of Eger And Not Drinking Its Wine


When I read this post by Amanda about her time in the town of Eger in Northern Hungary, I honestly (and perhaps a little ignorantly) couldn’t believe somewhere so gorgeous existed in Hungary. I had felt extremely underwhelmed with my first visit to Budapest and Lake Balaton was like a terrible British seaside resort from the 60’s.

Sadly, I couldn’t think of a single thing that I truly loved about Hungary.

When I started researching Eger, I knew it would be my best hope of changing my mind about the country. It looked just like the kind of Eastern European town I love –  a compact, walkable old town with tons of beautiful, colourful buildings, lots of castles and a rich history.

Although I was surprised to learn that the main reason for people coming here is NOT to look at the pretty buildings.

They come here for the wine.

Eger is said to be one of the top wine regions in Europe and it’s why most people choose to spend a day or two there.

Unfortunately, I think wine tastes like vinegar and can’t drink it without gagging, so winetasting was off the cards for me. I would be spending my day in Eger wandering up and down cobblestone alleyways, people watching in small cafes, admiring the stunning architecture and drinking beer.

Yes, I drank beer in Eger.

…And I loved it. 

In fact, Eger ended up being one of the highlights of my time in Central and Eastern Europe. It made for a peaceful break from the chaos caused by rushing around huge cities trying to cram in all the main attractions. You can see the entire town in half a day and spend the other half lazily wandering around some of the most gorgeous buildings in Europe.

eger old town from above
streets of eger hungary
cafes and restaurants in eger
cafes and restaurants in eger
statue in eger hungary
Eger Minorite Church
eger old town square
streets of eger hungary
eger from the castle

Eger definitely has a lot more to offer than good wine. 

My trip through Central and Eastern Europe was made possible by the lovely people at Interrailnet.com.

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About the author

Lauren Juliff

Lauren Juliff is a published author and travel expert who founded Never Ending Footsteps in 2011. She has spent over 12 years travelling the world, sharing in-depth advice from more than 100 countries across six continents.

Lauren's travel advice has been featured in publications like the BBC, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Cosmopolitan, and her work is read by 200,000 readers each month. Her travel memoir can be found in bookstores across the planet.

12 Comments

  1. Ele
    October 12, 2012
    Reply

    Wow, I just LOVE the view of the church! It looks amazing. What is it called?

    • October 13, 2012
      Reply

      Isn’t it so beautiful?! It’s called Eger Minorite Church :)

  2. Amanda
    October 12, 2012
    Reply

    So glad to hear you loved Eger (and that I helped convince you to go there!). It looks like you had much better weather than I did there, though… I’m jealous!

    • October 13, 2012
      Reply

      Yes, we had lovely weather thankfully! :) If it hadn’t been for your post we wouldn’t have visited :)

  3. Sarah
    October 12, 2012
    Reply

    Glad to hear you found a Hungarian city you like!! Eger is beautiful, but I hated hearing more German being spoken than Hungarian when I visited.

    • October 13, 2012
      Reply

      Me too! And there’s a big surprise coming in Monday’s post about another place in Hungary I fell in love with ;)

  4. Mike@logcabinsinwales
    October 13, 2012
    Reply

    I love the combination of yellow and orange color of the place. Despite this beautiful place, I am delightful with its wine which they are famous for.

  5. October 15, 2012
    Reply

    Agh, Eger looks gorgeous! You’re making my decision-making process for where to go in Europe a whole lot trickier. I was thinking about Budapest, Debrecen and Pecs in Hungary, but now I feel I must visit Eger and sample copious amounts of wine to make up for the fact that you didn’t drink any there.

  6. sasha travel blogs
    October 24, 2012
    Reply

    I think a stop in Eger is in order now for moi! Fine wine and a beautiful city is just something I can’t resist. Thanks for sharing.

  7. Yvette
    November 6, 2012
    Reply

    Late to the party, but worth mentioning that my mom went to college in Eger (her family is from and still lives in Miskolc, an hour over the mountains). When I told her it’s now a trendy place for tourists to go for the wine she was amused because like all Hungarians we know the wine in Eger is nowhere near the best- it got pretty destroyed in quality during the Commie days, so that honor belongs to the Tokaij region.

    But that’s further from Budapest and more rural, so no one knows what they’re missing. ;)

  8. Erno
    August 1, 2018
    Reply

    I’m Hungarian and it was interesting to read what you think about my country. I’m glad you liked Eger, it’s really a gorgeous town. If you ever go to Lake Balaton again, visit Balatonfured instead. I’m sure you would change your mind. The lake is quite big and not all the towns around it are nice and modern. Balatonlelle was probably not the best choice.

    • September 15, 2018
      Reply

      Thanks for the recommendation, Erno!

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