We have all seen photos from the beautiful French town Colmar… So, I liken Szentendre to its Hungarian equivalent. Colorful and picturesque, it has kept its ancient look, Szentendre will captivate you at first sight!
Where is located Szentendre
The town is located 20 km from the capital city Budapest. There are several variants to get to it – a train, a boat or a car. At least these are known to me… I used the last one, the most convenient and fast, if you have a car in Hungary. The location is fairly popular and it’s hard to be confused even by the most inexperienced tourists. The park places in Szentendre are limited. I parked on a small square on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky u. 3. There are payment machines, but I visited it on Sunday and the parking was free.
See car rental options in Hungary
See places to stay in Szentendre
Booking.comLet’s go to the central area
The place is situated 3-4 streets from the central part of the city and is extremely comfortable. I advanced to the highest point, the Roman catholic church St. Yanos. It is located above the central square and reveals great views. I reached to there by a very narrow street, but I will come back to it at the end of the story…
The next stop is the central square! In the middle of it is raised a cross, built at the end of seventeenth century as a sign of gratitude that the town was spared by the then – plague epidemic. In Szentendre took refuge many Serbians after the great Serbian migration in the 17th century. There is also information for a lot of Bulgarians, who emigrated after the failure of Chiprovtsi uprising and even created their own neighborhood. Immigrants from many other countries have found their home here during the years. Maybe this colorful atmosphere turned Szentendre into gathering place of artists and craftsmen in the early 20th century.
Today, about 25 000 people, live here – Hungarians, Germans, Serbs, Croats, Slovaks, etc. The city has become a tourist destination attracting its visitors with the beauty and preserved appearance of the baroque houses, but manages to keep them and capture with the charm of the local artworks, tailoring and craft creations. Everywhere there are small shops offering exquisite local products. The motley cafes and the many flowers of the main streets fill the colorful picture. Walk aimlessly and get lost in the colorful baroque tale…
By the river
Sooner or later you will reach the riparian alley… It definitely pales beside the variegated range of colors, with which we encountered in the center but is quite pleasant for a walk. Benches, bicycles and restaurants surround the river bank.
Let’s eat Langos
Do you remember that little street at the beginning of our story? Yes, yes… the narrow one, that I mentioned you about… It came out that the place I had marked for lunch was on this street. But then it didn’t work and I didn’t see it… So now I was divagating aimlessly in its search until I noticed an elderly man to bring out the “Langos” sign on the wall to an almost imperceptible slit on the main square… Well, that slit was our alley… But what is Langos? Langos is a Hungarian food speciality, a deep fried dough! They were so delicious! I asked Tripadvisor and I got an answer that Álomlángos was the best place. I followed the old man with the sign and I found it! Several cats enjoyed the attention of tourists… Variants of langos – many. I preferred the salt one… they were great.
The walk in Szentendre didn’t take more than 2 hours. It could have been longer, but I managed to limit myself from visits to the many shops… A beautiful town… Colorful, variegated and full of tourists…
