Whatever Keszthely is like, it will be a surprise. It was a last-minute choice because it’s about half way between Budapest and Zagreb. I don’t even know if it has a Christmas market.

Impressions…

• There was no problem getting here. We were on Hungarian motorways until the last 20 miles or so.
• There is a huge castle in Keszthely that is now a museum. We only toured the main castle, but there are several more things to see there like a carriage museum and a greenhouse.
• There was a Christmas market of sorts. We found it by walking through the pedestrian area after visiting the museum. There were about 8 booths and all were for food or drink. There was an interesting area in the square where children could play with medieval-like toys such as crossbows. Probably wouldn’t be allowed anywhere in the US.
• The sun put on a great light show over the lake around 4:00 pm. It must have been out of the ordinary – I saw one delivery driver pull into the parking area and run toward the lake with his camera.
• Balaton Lake is huge and is a tourist destination in the summer.
• Our apartment owner was not here when we arrived, so she left the keys and instructions with a neighbor who speaks no English. We communicated enough to transfer the keys. We met the owner the next day. She speaks just enough English to give us the necessary information.

Don’t miss…

• The castle tour
• Balaton lake

If you drive…

• Hungarian motorways can be rough in places.
• Hungary has an “e-vignette” toll system. You pay in advance (but you must have your car’s tag) and it recognizes the tag. We did ours on tolltickets.com.

Beaten path index: 3.5 (See the key here)

• Cameras: 4
• Language: 5
• Path: 2
• Tourists: 3

Priority for a repeat visit (1-5): 4

• Wander around the town
• There is a great view of the lake about an hour drive north of Keszthely

Links
Wikipedia article about Keszthely
Website of the Palace

Apartment Violetta

Our “apartment” was the ground floor of a two-story home in a quiet neighborhood. There are 3 bedrooms and a full kitchen. It is probably the best value accommodation of our trip. It’s easy to drive in and out of the neighborhood. Violetta is a great hostess. If we’re back in Keszthely, this is where we’ll stay.

Some of our favorite photos

Other photos

Some of the places we visited (Careful – if you’re using a scroll wheel it will cause the map to zoom)