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Fine Hungarian Wines…
offered by supplier M15964 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 10
day(s)
Group Size: 4
- 15
people
Destination(s):
Hungary
Specialty Categories:
Cultural Journey
Food & Wine
Season: January - December
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: No
Minimum Per Person Price: 2800 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 2800 US Dollar (USD)
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Hungary offers the cultural traveler all the delights of Eastern Europe. Its capital city Budapest, can par with any of its western neighbors. Stunning architecture, arts, and a lively social scene based around cafes, bars, and baths built by the Turks, make the capital a great starting point before heading into the countryside; filled with medieval castles, churches and towns. Fine wines, folk customs, music, and art, make Hungary a feast for the greediest of culture (and wine) lovers.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Budapest
Arrive in Budapest, where we’re welcome by our local English-speaking guide and transferred to our hotel.
Overnight: Hotel Novotel Congress, Budapest (2 nights)
Day 2: Budapest
Budapest is truly a lively and vivid Cultural City, the ‘heart of East – Europe’. Our full-day tour will acquaint us with the city’s most famous monuments, including the Andrássy Avenue, the magnificent Opera House, the St Stephen Basilica, the Castle District, the Matthias Church, the Fishermen's Bastion (WHS), the Margaret Island and the Citadel in a very personal and informative manner. This tour will make you feel the elevated spirit of this magical city! Includes: (B)
Day 3: Budapest / Eger (drive)
After breakfast we check out and leave Budapest for Eger, one of the most famous winemaking areas and vineyards of Hungary. Eger sits at the centre of the wine-growing region of northern Hungary. This enchanting town, along with its famous history, is where the much-publicized Egri Bikavér, or Bull's Blood, has its origins - the strong, fiery and spicy red wine that is characteristic of the area. Wine growing has been part of its history since the 11th Century, started by the monks and continued during the Turkish occupation as an important source of income for the Turks. We first stop in Eger city and visit this superb Baroque town: the renowned Eger Castle, the Cathedral and then walk on the Szechenyi street. Later we drive to the nearby Szépasszonyvölgy (Valley of the Pretty Woman) for wine tasting and to have a glass (or more) of red wine from the World-famous local red wine called ‘Egri Bikaver’ (The Bull's Blood of Eger). A three-course meal will be served while we’ll continue tasting from those unparalleled wines…
Overnight: Hotel Eger & Park, Eger (2 nights). Includes: (B), (L).
Day 4: Eger / Tokaj / Eger (drive)
After breakfast we’ll go for a full-day tour to Tokaj, another famous Hungarian winemaking area. En route we’ll stop in Miskolc to visit the Synagogue that has an outstanding main façade with a triple-arched entrance and an equally fine interior. After this short visit we continue drive to Tokaj, once one of the main supplier of quality wine in Europe. The wines of Tokaj were cherished by European nobles, royals and all lovers of the best and finest for Centuries. Botrytis cinerea (the "noble rot" that makes grapes shrivel) was utilized in Tokaj Centuries before late harvest wines were made at Chateau d'Yquem.
Called the "ultimate dessert wines," these are also fabulous aperitifs, sure to provide an astonishing taste sensation to sherry lovers. The famous Tokaji Aszu, product of completely natural fermentation, never fortified or ‘cooked’ like a madeira, have also legendary fame as health tonics. Louis XIV gave it the title of ‘Wine of Kings, and King of Wines’. Voltaire dedicated a poem to this ‘amber beverage with gleaming hues that weaves the golden threads of the mind and makes the wittiest of words scintillate’. Like all great men, Rossini, Schubert and Goethe were also enthusiastic about this great wine.
Now we can taste the legend that is Tokaj during our visit to the famous Wine Cellars. After and during our typical Hungarian Lunch here, will have some of the best wines on our tables… Late in the afternoon we’ll return to our hotel in Eger. Includes: (B), (L).
Day 5: Eger / Budapest (drive)
After our leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we’ll return to Budapest and have our afternoon free to explore on our own the many facets this city has to offer.
Overnight: Hotel Novotel Congress, Budapest (1 night). Includes: (B)
Day 6: Budapest / Csopak / Badacsony / Keszthely (drive)
We leave again Budapest this morning and drive to the Balaton Area, famous for its lake, the Balaton Lake and for its wine. The socalled ‘Hungarian Sea‘ - Balaton Lake is the largest freshwater body in Central Europe and it is one of the most significant natural treasures of Hungary and a unique ecological asset of the Central European region. For its large surface area, Lake Balaton is an extremely shallow lake, dotted with several nice, interesting towns and sights, and mineral spas, complemented by the fine wines from the nearby hills of Csopak & Badacsony.
The oldest and most popular spa resort is Balantonfüred, with an easygoing sophistication and relaxed atmosphere, just by the famous Csoapak vineyards. Will have here a Lunch & wine tasting at the renowned Cellar of Szent Donat. Much later, we’ll visit the Tihany Peninsula, which has an old Benedictine Abbey in the quaint town and it is surrounded by a nature reserve, which many consider to be the most beautiful place on the lake. Another stop by the wine cellars of Badacsony, will complete our ‘tasting’ day, before reaching Keszthely for overnight stay.
Overnight: Hotel Helikon, Keszthely (2 nights). Includes: (B), (L).
Day 7: Keszthely / Heviz / Keszthely (drive)
Few km’s northeast of Keszthely, boasts the second-largest Thermal Lake (Gyógytó) in the World after Lake Tarawera in New Zealand. The temperature rarely drops below 30°C even during winter, when steam billows from the lake and its thermal stream, and Indian water-lilies flourish on its surface. The lake is replenished by up to eighty million liters of warm water a day gushing up from spring 1km underground, and is completely flushed out every couple of days. Exploited since medieval times for curative purposes as well as for tanning leather, the lake was salubriously channeled into a bathhouse by Count György Festetics in 1795. By the end of the nineteenth Century, Hévíz had become a grand resort, briefly favored by crown princes and magnates like those other great spas of the Habsburg Empire, Karlsbad and the Baths of Hercules.
Although the wooden terraces and catwalks surrounding the baths have a vaguely fin-de-siècle appearance, the general ambience is modern, with people sipping beer or reading newspapers while bobbing on the lake in rented inner tubes. Prolonged immersion isn't recommended on account of the slightly radioactive water, though mud from the lake is used to treat locomotive disorders. The busiest months are May and September, when the water is at its optimum temperature for bathing. After a full day spent here, we’ll return to our hotel in Keszthely. Includes: (B)
Day 8: Keszthely / Szekszard / Kalocsa (drive)
For another ‘wine-tasting’ day we drive to Szekszard, a well-known winemaking region of Hungary. The wine culture of Szekszárd dates back to the Roman times. The internationally famous kadarka and the bull's blood of Szekszárd have been grown here for centuries. Even if Szekszárd is mostly associated with red wine, white wine production is slightly more important quantitatively, and Szekszárd now produces some delightful single-variety Chardonnays, Zöld Veltlinis and Királyleánykas. After some leisurely fine-wine tasting ‘spiced’ by our local lunch, we drive to Kalocsa for our overnight stay.
Overnight: Wellness Hotel Kalocsa (1night). Includes: (B), (L).
Day 9: Kalocsa / Budapest (drive)
After our leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we’ll return to Budapest and have our afternoon free again for the last shopping ‘excitements’ or to continue to explore on our own the city.
Overnight: Hotel Novotel Congress, Budapest (1 night). Includes: (B)
Day 10: Budapest / Departure
After breakfast, we are transferred to the airport in time to reach our flight back home. Includes: (B)
Price Includes:
• Accommodation as mentioned or similar (all superior category!)
• Meals as mentioned (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch)
• Wine tasting at wine cellars while Lunch is offered
• All sightseeing and transfers by AC minivan
• Road taxes, parking fees, driver’s overnight wages
• Services of local English-speaking guides & tour escort
• Full day pass to Heviz spa
Price Excludes:
• International airfares and airport taxes
• Insurance
• Entrance fees to museums, parks and sites included in the itinerary
• Personal expenses / Beverages / Tips / Bills / porters
• Services and meals not mentioned above
Departure date for 2008:
For your convenience, this tour can depart any day.
Tour highlights & World Heritage Sites (WHS):
• Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube with the district of Buda Castle (WHS)
• The Eger Castle & vineyards
• The Tokaji Wine Region Cultural Landscape (WHS)
• Balaton Lake and surrounding wine making area
• Heviz thermal bath
• Szekszard vineyards
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Prices for 2008
USD/CAD: 2,800.00 - per person in double occupancy. Single supplement is USD/CAD: 395.00
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Hungary
Cultural Journey
Food & Wine
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