Balaton Sightseeing

Lake Balaton is the 17th biggest lake in Europe, and the biggest lake in central Europe, making it a popular holiday destination. Tourism started in the 1950's when the Hungarian government began to provide cheap holidays for the working class. However, mass tourism really took off in the 1960's when hotel building programs started to attract more people from all over the country and even from outside of the "iron curtain". Soon it became the meeting place for East and West Germans and therefore the most spoken foreign language in this area was, and likely still is German. It was very common to see "Zimmer frei" (room for rent) signs on houses, where Hungarian hosts offered rooms for Germans . You can still see many of these signs today.

Lake Balaton has two main areas; Northern shore and Southern shore, both with their own characteristics. The Northern shore is more hilly, very picturesque, and great for hiking. The Volcanic activity in the past made the soil perfect for growing grapes and wine making. You can find several wineries in the area where they make world famous wine - including St. Donat.

The Southern shore is flatter, and more built-up with a lot of night clubs and restaurants.