Balatonalmádi

After Balatonfüred and Keszthely, Balatonalmádi is the third largest holiday resort on the north bank. First mentioned in the records in 1082, it was until the middle of the 19th C, just a tiny vine-growing village. As beach holidays became fashionable, however, the quiet life in Balatonalmádi came to an end, and since 1877 it has been a popular bathing resort. In the 1920s and 1930s it developed rapidly and soon spread up into the hills. The local red sandstone is the material used to build most of the villas and holiday homes.

Sights

The railroad station and its immediate surroundings form the center of Balatonalmádi. From here the villa quarter extends north to the slopes of Mount Öreg (Öreg-hegy), while to the south lies one of the largest and most beautiful beaches to be found on the north bank. The twelve-story Hotel Aurora towers above all the other buildings in the town. In its grounds stands the Csárda Cockerel (Kakas csárda), decorated with Hungarian folk-art motifs.

From the hotel a bridge leads over the main street into the park and to the hotel's private beach. Seventy years ago a park was laid out behind the beach, containing statues of Sándor Petofi, Lajos Kossuth and Ferenc II Rákóczi.