Overview
Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in western Hungary. It’s a major holiday destination with beaches, volcanic hills, resort towns and high-rise hotels along its 197km shoreline.
Description
The hilly north shore is a wine-growing region, with protected wetlands and hiking trails at Balaton Uplands National Park. The town of Veszprém has a walled Castle district and 13th-century frescoes at the Gizella Chapel. Extending roughly 80km like a skinny, lopsided paprika, at first glance Lake Balaton seems to simply be a happy, sunny expanse of opaque tourmaline-coloured water in which to play. But step beyond the beaches of Europe’s biggest and shallowest body of water and you’ll encounter vine-filled forested hills, a national park and a wild peninsula jutting out 4km, nearly cutting the lake in half. Oh, and did we mention Hungary’s most famous porcelain producer and a hilltop fairy-tale fortress?
Veszprém Hungary
Hungary
URL:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/hungary/lake-balaton-southern-transdanubia