Szentendre Sightseeing Tips
The Best of Hungarian Treats Only Minutes from Budapest
One of Hungary's top vacation destinations, a favorite with artists and Hungarian tourists, lies only 12 miles from the country's capital and is easily accessed by train.
About 12 miles north of Budapest and sheltered by the eastern slope of the Pilis Mountain Range, Szentendre is one of the most popular day-trip destinations in Hungary.
It’s also a great place to stay if you would rather commute into Budapest to see the sights but spend most of your time in the smog-free countryside.
For, whereas the colors of Budapest’s central city remind one of a black and white movie, Szentendre is pure Technicolor – mustard yellow, rich chocolate, hot pink, brick red -- even on the drabbest of eastern European days. Outside the tourist shops, embroidered peasant blouses and cutwork parasols billow in a rainbow of shades. Splashes of red ivy geranium and bright blue phlox cascade from window boxes.
Art Museums
The city’s bucolic setting and its architecture—a melange of late baroque, neo-classical and rococo—proved irresistible to many of the country’s major artists. So if they weren’t born in Szentendre, they managed to live there for various lengths of time and the town became an artists colony. Several of these artists’ works are showcased in museums established in their honor and the works of the best of living local artists (about 100 artists currently have studios in Szentendre) are exhibited in the city’s galleries.
Works by Jeno Barcsay, leading master of contemporary Hungarian painting, including his “Szentendre Houses,” are displayed in the Barcsay Museum (Dumsta Jeno utca 10). Bela Czobel’s “Girl with a Fan” is among the paintings exhibited in the Bela Czobel Museum (Templon Square 1). A late baroque schoolhouse has been converted to the museum dedicated to thetalented Ferenczy family -- Painter Karoly and his twins, sculptor Bene and tapestry artist Noemi (Fo Ter). Hungary’s most frequently visited museum, however, is the Margit Kovacs Museum (Wastagh Gyorgy utca 1). A sculptor and ceramicist, Kovacs who found much of her inspiration in folk art, was one of the pioneers of Hungarian ceramics.
Shopping Tips
Since Szentendre’s a holiday destination for Hungarians, gift shops brim with souvenirs. Those that specialize in local crafts feature hand-embroidered tablecloths and pillowcases, sheepskin vests, textiles, glassware and ceramics.
Happy Wanderings
Since Szentendre has existed from the time of the Celts and Romans – in the 18th Century it was a flourishing market town rivaling Germany’s Leipzig and Krakow in Poland—the town is a veritable museum of the past.
Follow the cobblestone streets and winding pathways; explore the narrow alleys and steep
stairways for it’s only by strolling that you can fully appreciate Szentendre’s little architectural delights – the wrought-iron cellar entrance gates, balcony rails and window grilles; rococo window trims; the baroque water pumps at Rab Raby Ter (Square); the buildings’ niches that hold religious statues.
Architectural Treasures
Among Szentendre’s larger architectural treasures, the churches reflect the city’s wealth during its merchant days. The Greek Orthodox Blagovestenska Church, the city’s most beautiful baroque monument, faces the main square, FoTer. Step inside to admire the carved and gilded iconostasis, which is truly magnificent. Another don’t-miss sight is the iconostasis at the Serbian Orthodoz Preobrazenska Church (Voros Hadsereg), created in 1741-46 by icon painters from Kiev.
Early evening, after the tourists have gone back to Budapest and Berlin and Bucharest, is the perfect time to stroll the promenade along the Little Danube, which flows roughly parallel to the Big Danube as it passes Szentendre.
Commute Information
Commuter trains run between the HEV station in Szentendre to Budapest’s Batthyany Ter station every ten to 20 minutes, depending on the time of day. From May until mid-September, boats also go between Szentendre and Budapest on the Danube.
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