A day trip to the seductive town of Szentendre is the perfect escape from the busy city of Budapest.
Situated on the Danube River, just north of Budapest, the picturesque town of Szentendre is filled with baroque architecture, churches and colourful homes and shops that line its cobbled streets.
If you are seeking a break from busy Budapest, a day trip to Szentendre is your best option. It takes less than an hour by train and is a great option for those wishing to experience a real old Hungarian town.
Budapest To Szentendre By Boat
If you are visiting between the months of May and September, you might want to take the boat from Budapest to Szentendre. The boat leaves from Pier 11 (on the Pest side of the Danube), close to the Elisabeth Bridge. The boat takes around 2 hours and offers stunning views of the riverside buildings. The return boat departs at 4.40 pm.
Budapest To Szentendre By Train
If you’re not seeking a romantic journey, the train is the cheapest and easiest option. Simply take the HEV train from Batthyány tér, which is on the red metro line. The trains are quite frequent so you can just turn up and not have to wait too long. Google Maps will give you accurate times. You need to buy two tickets for each single journey and only stamp the ‘extension’ ticket. It was a little confusing but no-one checked my tickets anyway.
Where To Stay In Szentendre
I only spent a day in Szentendre but if you wish to stay longer, there are a number of hotels in the area. These are some of the best budget hostels in Szentendre, according to user reviews. These are affiliate links to the Agoda web site. I receive a small amount for any bookings made through these links at no extra cost to you.
- Mathias Rex
- A.Hotel Panzio 100
- Dunakavics Boutique Apartman Szentendre
- Hilltop Hideout
- Milla Apartman
- Főtér Apartmanház Szentendre
Arriving In Szentendre
The train station is a short walk outside the town centre. Get off the train and turn left. You won’t miss the town centre as everyone will be heading there. After a 5 minute walk, the town will begin to reveal itself.
Things To Do In Szentendre
Langos Lunch
‘Álomlángos‘ (map) is located up an alley from the main square and came very highly rated for its ‘langos’. Langos is a traditional deep fried bread that can be served with savoury or sweet toppings. I had not eaten anything up to this point and was very hungry.
I opted for the sweet version with came with jam. It was delicious. It would have been perfect with coffee but I would have to wait a while longer before I enjoyed my caffeine fix.
Exploring Szentendre
With a happy belly, I began to explore the streets of Szentendre. Its charm won me over immediately. Szentendre is a very pretty town.
I was really enjoying walking aimlessly around the town centre. I was expecting it to be quaint but I don’t think I imagined it to be quite so beautiful.
Coffee Shop In Szentendre
I decided that I needed my coffee fix before I continued to explore the town and check out some of its many museums. Google Maps gave me a couple of options and my preferred choice was closed so I had to walk back to the other side of town. As the town is so small, it only took a few minutes to reach ‘Kedves Kávézó‘ (map). I had a very nice coffee served by a very pretty lady; I was having a good day.
Saint John the Baptist’s Parish Church
Following my coffee, I headed up to the grounds of ‘Saint John the Baptist’s Parish Church‘ (map). The church was not open to the public but it did offer good views over the town below.
Extreme Sleeping
Making my way back down into the town, I came across an outdoor gallery of photos of whom I figured was a bit of a local character who enjoys a good nap in various locations around the town. The gallery was called ‘Extreme Sleeping’.
I continued my exploration of the town, trying not to miss a single street.
Micro Wonder Museum
There are many museums and galleries in Szentendre and my first visit was to the ‘Micro Wonder Museum’ (map). The museum is a collection of Mykola Syadristy, the master of microminiatures. The museum is small but worth a visit. The staff gave me a full explanation of the artist’s work before letting me view his work with microscopes. The detail on his work is incredible when you take into account how incredible tiny the pieces are. I had seen the world’s biggest book in Myanmar and now I have seen the world’s smallest book too!
Click here for Micro Wonder Museum opening times, entrance fee and further information.
I headed to my next museum stop, still in awe of the town’s beauty.
Retro Design Center
The ‘Retro Design Center’ (map) is located just outside the town center but is well worth a visit. The museum is filled with memorabilia from over the decades. There are old vehicles outside the museum and you can even sit in some of them. You can easily spend over an hour here. The staff were friendly, as were the Hungarian tourists who seemed shocked by the presence of an Englishman!
Click here for Retro Design Center opening times, entrance fee and further information.
After my visit to the retro museum, I headed outside the town to explore the residential area which turned out to be just as pretty as the town centre.
Szentendre Marzipan Museum (Szamos Marcipán Cukrászda)
After I had explored the residential area, I headed back into the town centre for my final visit: ‘Szentendre Marzipan Museum‘ (map). I have no interest in marzipan. I don’t even particularly like the stuff. The great thing about travel is discovering things outside your interests. That was definitely the case here. All the sculptures on display, and there are a lot of them, are made entirely of marzipan! Each sculpture comes with information on its creator, date, the amount of marzipan used. The most useful piece of information though, had to be the ‘materials’, as they were all made of 100% marzipan!
Click here for Szentendre Marzipan Museum opening times, entrance fee and further information.
Is Szentendre Worth Visiting?
A day trip to Szentendre is a wonderful way to experience Hungarian life away from the busy tourist city of Budapest. I thoroughly loved my time there as it is such a beautiful Hungarian town. It can easily be enjoyed as a day trip but there are plenty of museums and galleries to justify a longer visit. The town has many restaurants so you can experience authentic, traditional Hungarian food in the quaintest of surroundings. If you are spending a few days in Budapest, try to include this picturesque town in your itinerary.
Pingback: 19 Things To Do In Budapest: Budget Travel in Hungary
Pingback: 19 Things To Do In Budapest: Budget Travel in Hungary