Budapest Tourist Map: Interactive, User-friendly, Fresh

The Budapest Tourist Map is a user-friendly map.

Strengths:

1, different map icons indicate the various attractions (spa baths, the Castle, the Central Market Hall, the Children’s Railway), the best cafes in Budapest (coffee cup icons), museums, etc., where you can rent a bike in Budapest (green bike icons), where you can take your kids (yellow sun icons) and have a good family program.
2, you can easily zoom in (double click on the map or use the controller in the upper left corner of the map) or zoom out
3, You can get further info on each location by clicking on the symbol (usually, address, phone number, opening hours, prices, oftentimes photos, etc.)
4, you can check the distance between two attractions you plan to visit (right click on the map to define the From and To places)
5, you can comment on the map and vent your criticism, add further ideas – update the map. You can also rate the map – I truly appreciate your feedback. For this, click on the ‘view larger map’ under the map and see ‘comments/ rating’ in the left column. Thanks!
6, several visitors are staying at 5-star hotels in Budapest: yellow houses indicate all the luxury hotels, so you can easily spot which locations are closest to you.


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Google map application has been used to build this map – which is far from finished, so please help me update it with things you have found useful, funny, etc.

Further maps you may find useful are:

Budapest Shopping Map - designers’ shops, art galleries, porcelain, wine shops, market halls, shopping malls, what have you.

Budapest Bars, Pubs, Clubs, Party Places - which pub or bar is the most ideal for you to have a good beer or wine and chat, or the get the vibration of night life.

Jewish Budapest Map – synagogues, cemeteries, kosher and non-kosher restaurants, confectioner’s, gift shops, schools and more.

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Budapest Bike Rentals: Where Can You Rent a Bicycle?

OK, so you want to rent a bike in Budapest? Make your bike rental decision informed. Riding a bike in Budapest is fun and not fun: conditions are not so much acceptable presently, although Budapest could potentially offer one of the greatest urban cycling experiences ever. Once the bike culture will be even more improved (more careful drivers, a lot more biking routes)… and cycling in Budapest will be in the top ten things to do in Budapest!

Attitude towards biking in Budapest has changed a lot in the past few years, the Critical Mass movement has grown stronger than ever, and luckily, more and more Budapest pubs and bars offer bike parking facilities, especially the so called ruin pubs. So enjoy it, but don’t expect to have conditions like in Amsterdam. Here’s a pic from Budapest Critical Mass :)

Good to know:

  • Geography: Budapest has two parts. Buda is hilly and Pest is totally flat, easy to bike. In some places there are quite good bike routes along the river Danube, mostly on the Buda side
  • Public transport with bike: you cannot travel on the metro= underground with bike. On trains you must buy a ticket for your bike (nominal fee, but a must).
  • Biking routes: bike routes are oftentimes shared with pedestrians, who are not used to speeding bikers, please be careful.
  • Cars vs. Bikes: car drivers don’t really like bikers (euphemism), and unfortunately won’t typically yield to bikers or pedestrians – again, be careful.
  • Bike thieves: unlike in the Netherlands, for instance, you should NOT leave your bike unlocked – it will disappear in a moment. Lock it safely, lock it well.

There are some bike rental places in Budapest (some ask for a deposit). The ones that are conveniently located are the following:

Bike Base

BikeBase bicycle rental offers a wide range of bikes, from MTBs to city cruisers, plus you can also rent customized biking tours in Budapest.

  • Bikes: from mountain bikes through city cruisers to children’s bikes, something to suit all ages and styles.
  • Extras: (included in the price) helmet, locks, tour tips, map, if outside Budapest: panniers, repair tool kit
  • Address: Podmaniczky utca 19, 1065 Budapest
  • Phone: 00-36-70-625-85-01 or 00-36-1-269-59-83
  • Opening hours: 9 am – 7 pm (earlier or later too, if arranged via phone)
  • Rental prices:

9 EUR (2 600 HUF) for 24h
16 EUR (4 600 HUF) for 48h
Special price for longterm rent. If you cannot pick up or return the bike to the shop, for a nominal fee, Bike Base will collect or deliver anywhere within Budapest city limits.

Budapest Bike

Besides renting bikes here, the guys at Budapest Bike also promise to take you to places you should not but might miss, to help with avoiding tourist traps while in Budapest, to point out where to go and what to see. You can also rent biking tours here for about 5000 HUF (dirt cheap in Budapest), or Pub Crawl bike tours (min 4 pubs, 4 hours) for 20 euros. Bikes can be rented for 3 or more days 2500HUF /day and you can hire tandem bikes too.

  • Bikes: Gepida Alboins (women’s & men’s)
  • Extras: (included in the price) helmet, chain, lock and limited insurance as stated in the rental contract.
  • Address: Wesselenyi u. 18. Budapest 1077
  • Phone: 00-36-30-944-5533
  • Rental Prices:

6 hours: 2000HUF
1 day: 3000HUF
2 day: 5000HUF
3 or more days 2500HUF/day

Budapest Tourist Map shows the different bike rental locations (check the green bicycle map icon)

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Bringo Hinto

BringoHinto rental offers bikes and bike carts or kids cars, etc. on Margitsziget (Margaret Island).

  • Bikes: mountain & city bikes, adult and kid bike carts
  • Address: Hajos Alfred setany 1., Budapest 1138
  • Phone: 00-36-329-2746

Free Riders bike rental, Budapest

Free Riders bicycle rental is close to Petofi Bridge, so you can take a ride to the Palace of Arts, to Rakoczi Bridge, etc. 

  • Bikes: not specified
  • Extras: helmet, lock, basket container, etc.
  • Address: Lonyay street 60. Budapest, District  IX. (close to Petofi Bridge on the Pest side)
  • Phone: 00-36-30 816 4192 or 00-36 30 816 4192
  • Opening hours: Mon-Fri 14.00-18.00, closed at weekends
  • Prices:

1-5 h 300 HUF/ hour
24 h 3,000 HUF
24+ h 2,000 HUF
Deposit is HUF 10,000

Some useful Cycling words in Hungarian:

  • bike: bringa (brin-gah), bico (bits-oh), bicaj (bi-tsoi)
  • bicycle: kerekpar (care-ache-phaar)
  • wheel: kerek (care-ache)
  • pump: pumpa (poom-pah)
  • lock: lakat (lock-ot)
  • berel (bay-rel)

Please help me to update the info. Thanks.

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Cheese Shops (Sajtbolt) in Budapest

Budapest has currently a very small handful of specialist cheese shops that are worth mentioning.

Cheese Shop in the inner city

The cheese shop of T. Nagy Tamás is conveniently located in the city center, close to the Deák tér stop of all metro lines, Váci utca shopping street, etc. “Although precious few specialist cheese shops exist in Budapest, lovers of Italian, French and British cheeses will no doubt find “Big Tom’s” excellent range (and personal service) a real delight. Recommended. ” (Talking Cities UK). This is also one of those few places where truffle (original and canned) is sold, and where the owner took part in a French Truffle 001 course in France, once he decided to sell the product. In addition to cheeses, you can get dried fruits and some wines here too.

Cheese shop in Budapest Gerloczy utca Sajtbolt T Nagy Tamas

Address: Gerlóczy utca 3, Budapest 1052
Phone: 00-36-1-317-4268
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9 am – 6pm, Sat 9 am – 1 pm

See the location of the cheese store on the Budapest Shopping Map (map icon: the little yellow balloons with a dot).


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Szega Cheese Shop at the Market Hall in Fény utca

There are more Szega cheese stores in Budapest, and this one is comfortably located in the popular market hall, the Fény utcai piac (close to Moszkva tér, the Mammut Shopping Mall, or the Royal Palace in the Buda Castle District).

Address: Lövőház u. 12. (Fény utcai piac) 1024 Budapest
Phone: 00-36-1-345 4259

Dutch Cheese House in Duna Plaza shopping mall

Dutch cheeses on the second floor of the shopping mall. Cheese plates, gift packages are also available. What’s more the Hungarian specialty Szamos marzipan is also on sale here. The mall is right on the route of the blue metro line, so it’s very easy to get here (get off at Gyöngyösi utca station).

Address: Váci út 178., Budapest
Phone: 00-36-1-288-01-33
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10.00 – 21.00, Sun 10.00 – 19.00

Szega Cheese Café in Budagyöngye Shopping Center

The cheese shop & café & ham shop is specializing in Camembert cheeses and sells hams too. Vegetarians, please skip this part. Mouth-watering Hungarian indigenous pork (mangalica) ham, prosciutto, jamon iberico, etc. hams are hanging above your head. It’s on the Buda side – alas a bit farther off the tourist tracks (unless you happen to take the Funicular Railway, or the Children’s Railway, or for any reason you should be strolling in the Buda hills on the route of the trams/ streetcars number 56). It’s a relatively new store, highly praised and compared to French cheese shops by locals. (Very close to one of the wine shops of the Hungarian Wine Society). In March 2007, the cheese shop won the Best of Budapest award.

Address: Gerlóczy utca 3, Budapest 1052
Phone: 00-36-1-317-4268
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9 am – 7pm, Sat 8 am – 3 pm

See the location of the cheese store on the Budapest Shopping Map (map icon: the little yellow balloons with a dot).


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Szega Cheese Shop at Rózsakert

One of the Szega cheese stores in Budapest is located in the Rózsakert Shopping Center
Address: Gábor Áron u. 74. 1026 Budapest
Phone: 00-36-1-391 5814
Opening hours: 10 am – 8 pm, Sat 10 am – 4pm.

Soma’s Cheese Store

The third cheese shop, Soma’s Cheese (Soma Sajt) is really off center, so it’s for the cheese-freaks and dedicated ones, but it’s worth mentioning because of the specialty Orda, goat and sheep cheeses the store has on offer. The originally Transylvanian Orda is an easy-to-cut, fresh cheese (great for salads, meat dishes, simply with bread and butter or toast, or just by itself T. Nagy Tamás). It’s also ideal for dieters due to its light texture & low calorie content (125 kcal/ 100g). SomaSajt offers orda in 5 varieties: garlic-parsley, paprika-chives, dill, sesame, chives. Before you dive into a 1-2 hour journey to the shop, check out major stores, which will sell some of the Soma’s ordas, cheeses & ricottas: Auchan, CBA, G-Roby, Rothschild, TESCO to name but a few.

Somas Cheese goat sheep orda from Budapest Hungary Somasajt

Address: Péceli út 240., Budapest 1171
Phone: 00-36-1-258-6667
Opening hours:


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Budapest Wine Shopping: Somogyi Pincészet

Somogyi Pincészet offers Villányi wines in its contemporary style sample store. You can also buy Bag in Box packages of 3 or 5 liters for convenient transportation, or order customized labels (allow 3-4 days)! Wine delivery is free in Budapest.

Address: Báthory utca 25, Budapest V. ker.
Phone: 00-36-30-670-4500
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10 am to 6 pm, Sat 9 am to 1 pm

Prices: from 600 to 3500 HUF (approx. 20 wine varieties)
See the location of Somogyi Pincészet on the Budapest Shopping Map (check the Glass sign for wine shops & further wine buying details in Budapest) or read more about Hungarian wines on Budapest Blog.


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Budapest Wine Shopping: Hungarian House of Wines

The Hungarian House of Wines (Magyar Borok Háza) is in Budapest Castle District right next to the Matthias Church. The House not only has a nice and comprehensive exhibition summarizing the Hungarian wine culture, but they also offer wine tasting sessions in the dramatic maze-like cellar of the House.

The wines have been carefully picked from all the 22 wine-regions of Hungary, from Villany & Szekszard to Eger & Tokaj. There are about 700 different Hungarian wines & sparkling wines. The wine-exhibition, which is available in English, German, and French, gives a unique overview of Hungarian.


Wine Tasting at the Magyar Borok Háza

What kind of wines will you try?

You can try both typical Hungarian wines (which are considered Hungaricums), and the local varieties of international wines. The Hungarian wines on the tasting tour change month by month. Tasting Tokaj wines of the greatest value (prize-winning 5-6 puttonyos Tokaj aszú) is not part of the default wine tour, it comes at an extra price . It was the French king Louis XIV who said of Tokaji aszú “the wine of kings and the king of wines.”

How many wines will you taste?

You will get access to 50 different wines per tour, and it’s up to you which of them you try (just flushing your mouth as the experts do is a good idea to attempt to fight off the sneaky little goblets).

Where can you buy tickets?

On location. Tickets for the wine-tasting tour can be bought at the reception desk (opposite the main entrance). Tokens for the extra Tokaj 5 & 6 star aszú are also sold here.

What does the wine tasting session include?

  • participation in a 2-hour wine-tour
  • engraved tasting glass
  • small savory snacks with cheese: e.g. cheese scones (‘pogácsa’)
  • the map of the wine cellar

Address: Szentháromság tér 6. Budapest 1014
Phone: 00-36-1-212 10 31
Opening hours: 12pm – 8 pm
Prices: approx. 4,000 HUF (yes, basically only the price of a bottle of good wine)
Getting here:
1, from Deák tér, take bus number 16 (almost at Hotel Kempinski & Le Meridien)
2, take the red metro line till Moszkva tér, then get on the minibus, or just take a 10-15 minute walk up the hill.

Check the location of Hungarian House of Wines on the Budapest Shopping Map (check the Glass sign for wine shops & further wine buying details in Budapest) or read more about Hungarian wines on Budapest Blog.


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Anyway, the House of Hungarian Wines was founded in 1996 as a private enterprise. Wine growing in Hungary goes back to the Roman times. The best known wines are Bull’s Blood from Eger (Egri bikavér red wine) and the noble-rot-sweetened white wines from Tokaj (Tokaji aszú), but things are slowly changing and other wine regions (especially Villany) are getting their due international appreciation too in the world wine web.

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Budapest Wine Shopping: Borkápolna at Hosok tere

Borkápolna Wine Shop (Wine Chapel) offers more than 1100 Hungarian wines and over 200 foreign wines. The accompanying wine cellar can take up about 110 people (book 1 week in advance), and serves Hungarian dishes for the wines. The vaulted cellar used to be a chapel during the communist era (between 1957-1991) as the original chapel called Regnum Marianum at the edge of the City Park was demolished by the Hungarian totalitarian communist leader Mátyás Rákosi: the neighboring long square was the ultimate marching square for communist festivities and Rakosi had the square ‘cleared.’ The tabernaculum is still in the wall of the cellar.

Borkapolna Wine Shop in Budapest at Hosok tere Wine Chapel

In the cellar, there’s a big fresco from 1973 by Korga (size 6×5 meter/ 323 sqft), which was made from golden mosaics: it shows St Stephen, the first Hungarian king offering his crown to Maria.
Address: Damjanich utca 52, Budapest 1071
Phone: 00-36-1-343-5258, or 00-36-30-941-2838
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10 am – 8pm, Sat 10 am – 3 pm
Getting here: The wine store is very conveniently located – about a 5-10 min walk – from Hősök tere where the Museum of Fine Arts or the Millennial Monument is.

Check the location of Borkápolna Budapest on the Budapest Shopping Map (check the Glass sign for wine shops & further wine buying details in Budapest) or read more about Hungarian wines on Budapest Blog.


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Borkapolna is operated by Wine for You.

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Budapest Wine Shopping: Bock Bistro (Bock Bisztró)

Bock Bistro (Bock Bisztró) Wine Shop & Restaurant: József Bock is one of the most popular and respected Hungarian wine-maker. It’s his Wine Bistro at retail prices (you can get a full bottle of wine from 3600 HUF and up)! The Wine Bistro offers more than 200 wines with the motto: ‘Nobody’s gone bankrupt by pleasing customers.’

But Bock Bistro is more than a wine shop, big blackboards let you know about the nice dishes on offer with award-winning wines here (average main course at about 3500 HUF), for instance, slow-braised goose-leg, lamb knuckle, veal stew, roast piglet, grilled pike fillets, tapas, soups, desserts, etc. I think the Four cheeses with four fruit spreads sounds great for a short wine visit too (at about 1600 HUF), and there are other savory snacks like olives marinated in herbs, or ball pepper stuffed with boursen cheese. Besides wines, you can also have stronger spirits, including the Hungarian herb spirit Unicum, or the artistically famous Absinth. For alcohol-free options, there are home-made elderberry or raspberry drinks, among others.

Bock Bistro in Budapest featuring Bock Villány wines made by József Bock from Hungary

The style is French, the dishes and wines are Hungarian – book in advance, as the place, handpicked one of the best restaurants in Hungary, is often full.

Address: Erzsébet körút 43-49.
Phone: 00-36-1-321 0340
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 12am – 11 & 12pm (closed on Sun and on Hungarian public holidays)

Check out the location of Bock Bistro (Bock Bisztró) on the Budapest Shopping Map: the Cocktail Glass signs on the map stand for wines & spirits in Budapest. By clicking on a symbol you can learn more about the shops (addresses, opening hours, etc.).


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But let’s see what Steel at the FoodPolice blog wrote on Bock Bistro (vegetarians please skip this horror, meat lovers enjoy this enthusiasm):

A short post to inform all of you out there that there is a contender to the throne of top Hungarian restaurant in the city. Strange as it may seem it comes in the form of a “French-style bistro”. It also comes signed by our famous winemaker Mr. Bock or Boxi as he is affectionately known by his friends. …. I know it’s about 40 degrees outside, but it’s cool in here, I also know that I’m supposed to be on a diet, I also know that you only eat székely káposzta [my note: like meat stewed in sour cabbage and topped with sour cream ] at midnight at weddings, but I can’t resist. I wash down another half a bottle of Bisztro Cuveé and wait for what comes. And it’s worth the wait for everybody! My cabbage has a delicious, rich consistency with juicy pieces of meat from a veal paprikas inside and a wiggly-jiggly boiled, cooked grandiose piece of knuckle placed on the side. 10 000 calories just by the looks of it. 20 minutes later it’s disappeared off my plate and the sauce of the cabbage wiped out completely with white bread. The others also rave about their lamb dishes.

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Budapest Wine Shopping: Belvárosi Borszalon (Wine Salon)

Wine Salon or Belvárosi Borszalon sells the major Hungarian wine brands (Gere, Tiffán, Árvay, Thummerer, Figula, Gál, Légli, etc.) and has regular monthly wine tasting sessions (a few steps from the shop) for non-members about 6000 HUF. You need to book in advance either by phone or in email (borszalon at borszalon dot hu).

Address: Vármegye utca 7, Budapest 1052
Phone: 00-36-1-3179448
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10 am – 7 pm, Sat 10 am – 2 pm

Check out the location of Belvárosi Borszalon (Wine Salon) on the Budapest Shopping Map: the Cocktail Glass signs on the map stand for wines & spirits in Budapest. By clicking on a symbol you can learn more about the shops (addresses, opening hours, etc.).


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Budapest Wine Shopping: Borárium in Mammut Shopping Mall

Borárium Wine Shop, Budapest is in the Mammut Shopping Center (Mammut 1 building, on the first floor). Founded in 1999 in order to help wine friends learn about new wines quickly, organize wine tours, etc. The wine shop has its own Wine Club too with discount prices, newsletter, etc. You can buy wines at wine auctions (approx. 14-20,000 HUF)

Address: Lövőház utca 2-6, Hungary
Phone: 00-36-1-345-8098
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10.00 – 21.00 Sun 10.00 – 18.00.

Check out the location of Borárium Wine Shop on the Budapest Shopping Map: the Cocktail Glass signs on the map stand for wines & spirits in Budapest. By clicking on a symbol you can learn more about the shops (addresses, opening hours, etc.).


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Budapest Wine Shopping: Budapest Wine Society

Several Budapest Wine Society vendors were praised on traveler forums, so let’s have a closer look at the Society. It was founded in 1993 by a group of friends under the initiatives of Attila Tálos and Tom Howells.

Bortársaság Budapest Wine Society in HungaryThe Wine Society started off with a store at the Buda Castle Hill, and now they have a national chain, still growing. These days they have about 50 Hungarian and foreign wine growers’ 500 different wines on their shelves. As they put it:

“We are the exclusive dealer of the winemaker’s product as follows: Konyári János, Légli Ottó, Bussay László, Etyeki Kúria, Györgykovács Imre, Dúzsi Tamás, Heimann and sons, Günzer Zoltán, Mayer Márton, Németh cellar, St. Andrea, Tokaj-Oremus, Királyudvar and Szepsy István and accentuated dealer of Jásdi cellar’s, Bock József’s, Gere Attila’s, Szeremley Huba’s wines. Bortársaság is the exclusive importer of the french Champagne Veuve Clicquot house, the spanish Torres and Vega-Sicila wineries, and the italian brands of Antinori, Prunotto, Fonterutoli, Tormaresca, Corvo and Santa Margherita.”

Of course, the Society has its own rules, and membership card entitling members to all sorts of discounts, special opportunities, etc.

Here’s a map of some of their shops: check out the Cocktail Glass signs on the Budapest Shopping Map for wines & spirits in Budapest. By clicking on a symbol you can learn more about the shops (addresses, opening hours, etc.).


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Market Halls in Budapest: Fény Utcai Piac

Fény Utca Market Hall (Fény utcai Piac) is located just behind the Mammut Shopping Mall. It is not as elegantly rustic, and architecturally grand as the Vásárcsarnok (Central Market Hall) on the Pest side, but it is a good market with fresh fruits, vegetables, paprika, home-made dairy products and honey, bakery, herbs, fish, meat, poultry, and an amazingly good Lángos (fried dough)!

There are about 10,000 – 25,000 shoppers at the market per day.

Feny Market Hall Feny utcai Piac in Budapest

Address: Lövőház utca 12., Budapest Hungary
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 6am-6pm, Sat 2pm, Sun (up to individual vendors)
Phone: 00-36-1-345-4101
Getting here:

  • Metro: red line, get off at Moszkva tér stop and walk 2 min towards Mammut Shopping Mall.
  • Trams/ Streetcars: number 4 or 6, Moszkva tér stop

Location of Budapest Fény Market on the Budapest Shopping Map:


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What else can you do at Fény utca Market Hall?

Once you decide to go to Fény Piac in Budapest, you can connect this program with various other programs:

Mammut Shopping Mall (from high end boutiques to international journals, electronics, perfumes, books & maps, batteries, sports equipment, restaurants, cafes, bars, movies, arcade games etc.) – right next to the market (basically one building). Children-friendly places: Child care (in Mammut 2 building), Libri Book store with a kid section, Movie, McDonald’s, etc.

Millenary Park (Millenáris Park): a huge complex offering ongoing entertainment, and educational programs, surrounded by a bigger park

Buda Palace in the Castle District: from the market it should take about 15 minutes or so to go up the hill to the Castle District on foot (you can take the Vár minibus from Moszkva tér – make sure you have a ticket or a Budapest pass)

Children’s Railway: it’s about 35 min to go up to the Children’s Railway on Széchenyi hegy (see detailed explanation about the mini train, the attractions, location etc. in the Children’s Railway Budapest article). By taking the train, you can also get to the highest point of Budapest where there is a nice Lookout tower (Elisabeth) on the hill ( János hegy). Good for taking panorama photos.

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