Balatonfüred, Siófok and Keszthely all like to refer to themselves as the capital of Balaton. Keszthely wants to take the lead with its cultural life, Siófok is all about having fun and partying hard, while Balatonfüred has rich traditions when it comes to history, culture and healthcare. Siófok and Keszthely were nothing compared to Balatonfüred in the 19th century, when Füred was considered as the Hungarian Monte Carlo. Balatonfüred could be the capital city of retro as well. The renovation of the historic part of the town and the abundant cultural programmes are aimed at the resurrection of the 19th century atmosphere. At the same time the city is still full of old school buildings from the 60s, 70s and 80s like a proper museum of socialism. All this can be easily explored in an afternoon.
The train and bus station is a good starting point for our tour. You won't find another railway station around Balaton that is similar in size; this is quite a scary reminder of socialist architecture. However, if you take a close look, the bright ideas and creative solutions of late modernist architecture show their glimpses behind the ugly surface. Constructing a multi-storey building on sloping ground must have been a challenge in itself.
Marrow toast and confectionery empire
Head left from the railway station along Horváth Mihály Street, then turn right toJókai Street to get to the heart of the historical city center. The strongest bastion of socialist retro, Muskátli aka Hatlépcsős is located right in the middle of it. This place offers the fattiest and most delicious marrow toast in the area. Eating two slices of this toast is equals a two-course lunch.
Don't even think about drinking a coffee in Hatlépcsős, because there are better places for that. Go along Jókai Street, Blaha Lujza Street opens on the left, next to the round church. This is the center of the historical area. The Városi Múzeum, exhibiting the history of the city and Balatoni Borok Háza can both be found here. The lovely couple, Kredenc borbisztró and Kedves cukrászda are also here, right next to each other. Both of them are run by András Dobai, the former MC of the band called Brains. He has always been more famous for his tunes than his cookies, but who knows, maybe the tide will turned.
Kedves cukrászda was a strong lord in Balatonfüred's patisserie kingdom until it was shut down. It is now open again, but its courtyard is only inviting for sugar-free grandmothers. The coffee is good and we liked their homemade cakes, but the mille-feuille is the Bergmanns' turf without any doubt. Blaha Lujza Street takes you to a square surrounded by Anna Grand Hotel, the heart hospital and Horváth House. It's a beautiful sight, but unless you're invited to the Anna Ball, or you're listed for a heart surgery, you have nothing to do here. Take a turn in the shore's direction and hit the well-known Tagore sétány.
Slap like you mean it
In summer the daily programme can be pretty simple: sunbathing all day long, then dressing up for the evening and going out to a bar. This plan falls apart in autumn, when lying on the beach is not an option anymore. Going to a museum is a great escape plan in case of bad weather, and Balatonfüred offers a helping hand for you. You only have to walk 100 meters from Tagore sétány to find Honvéd Street, a cross-street of Jókai Street. The mansion of one of the greatest Hungarian writers, Mór Jókai is standing here and Vaszary-villa is opposite to this building. Mór Jókai's house is a museum now, while Vaszary-villa functions as a gallery, which hosts pretty interesting exhibitions every once in a while.
If you continue your walk in Balatonfüred, take a look at István Bujtor's statue on Vitorlás Square. The "Hungarian Bud Spencer" played in many movies in his prime: his character was always the champion of justice who rewarded the bad guys with punches and slaps. He also liked to sail, so no wonder that many of his adventures happened in Balatonfüred a few hundred meters away from this statue.
Take a walk on the promenade of Zákonyi Ferenc Street from the port. You will find everything a proper sailor needs in Silver Resort Hotel's yard on the left side: Karolina kávéház, Figula borbár, Menta bisztró and Silver Yachtklub are all located here.
Wrecked party
As you walk along the promenade, you'll reach main road 71, where the block of Helka disco and café is standing in front of you. There's a good reason that it looks like a ship's nose. A wrecked ship called Helka used to stand here and it used to be a disco, too. The epic fighting scene of the all-time classic Hungarian movie, Pogány Madonna was shot right here, when the aforementioned István Bujtor beat the hell out of the bad guys. Helka is back on the water now, but the disco, which was built in its stead seems to be dead empty.
