Eger

Sat nestled amidst great swathes of Hungarian wine country, Eger is a pretty conglomeration of red-tiled Habsburg townhouses, gilded baroque frontispieces and gothic facades, all laced with a dash of Ottoman influence and scratched by the formidable onslaught of the Mongol hordes.

For travellers, the centre of the city presents a charming kernel of subterranean wine cellars, where the aromas of the nation’s famous Bikaver red twists and turns in the air, flowing incessantly from casks plucked straight from the vineyards of the nearby Valley of the Beautiful Women. The action clusters around bustling Szechenyi Street, where earthy taverns sit awash with paprika goulash, and the silhouettes of Europe’s northernmost minaret peaks its way between the spires of the city’s Serbian church and the Basilica on Pyrker ter. At the many beer bars and cafes around Dobo Square, students coalesce with Slovak day-trippers, discussing the interesting past of Eger’s iconic castle or the healing qualities of its thermal spas. And once visitors have had their fill of urban life, the Bukki Hills beckon, with Eger tour guides directing travellers to the winding hiking trails that cluster along the banks of the Tisza River.