#1. Eger
Filled with beautifully preserved baroque buildings, Eger (pronounced 'egg-air') is a jewellery box of a town with loads to see and do.
Explore the bloody history of Turkish occupation and defeat at the hilltop castle, climb an original Ottoman minaret, listen to an organ performance at the colossal basilica, or relax in a renovated Turkish bath.
Then spend time traipsing from cellar to cellar in the Valley of Beautiful Women, tasting the celebrated Eger Bull's Blood (Egri Bikavér) and other local wines from the cask. Flanked by northern Hungary's most inviting range of hills, the Bükk, Eger also provides nearby opportunities for hiking and other outdoor excursions.
You can taste Eger’s famous wines at many places around town, including at restaurants at the base of the castle and in commercial cellars like Fúzio Wine Bar & Cellar and István Cellar. But why bother drinking in town when you can do the same in the cellars of the evocatively named Valley of the Beautiful Women? Here, more than two dozen pincék (cellars) have been carved into the horseshoe-shaped rock. For an average of 100Ft you can have a one-decilitre taste of a range of reds, such as Bull’s Blood, and whites, such as olaszrizling, leányka and hárslevelu. The choice of wine cellars can be a bit daunting, so walk around and have a look yourself. (Hint: the ones on the west side have big terraces and better seating; the east cellars are busier.) They're not to be missed.