Tokaj, Hungary’s vineyard town, is hailed as the place to go if you love good wine and excellent food. This ‘flatland’ valley is the perfect place to visit. Our list of the top ten things to in Tokaj takes you through the vineyards, onto canoes, bikes and into delicious coffee shops to ensure that you have a trip to remember.
1. Go wine tasting through Hungary's vineyard regions on a wine bus
All aboard the bus! Okay, it’s not your ordinary bus, this is a wine bus and is ready to take you around the Tokaj Region of Hungary on a vineyard and cellar tour to try some of Hungary’s finest wines. Hungary hosts a wide variety of delicious wine and this tour will give you a chance to taste as many of them as you possibly can over the course of four to five hours - ample time to get flushed cheeks at the taste and the price of these delicious wines.
Wine Bus Tour
Price: Upon Enquiry
2. Visit Tokaj Museum
This informative museum was built within an 18th-century mansion, creating a beautiful backdrop for learning about the Tokaj region; from the production of its famous wine, exhibits from local artists in the area to beautiful pieces of Christian liturgical art; it’s a small museum but it packs a punch with what it offers visitors and is worth a visit if you find yourself lost for an afternoon.
Tokaj Museum
Address: Tokaj, Bethlen Gábor út 7, 3910 Hungary
Website: Tokaj Museum
3. Spend a whole day touring the wine region (from 295 USD)
What’s better than a four or five hour wine bus tour? A whole day tour exploring the UNESCO listed Tokaj wine region of Hungary, led from buzzing Budapest. Your trip will take you through to three different wineries where you’ll learn about the process behind making this infamous desert wine. Each stop will contain tastings of three to five wines, make sure that you try some of the Tokaj region dry white - a firm favorite here at Trip101.
There’s no need to worry about drinking on an empty stomach, any tour in Hungary won’t leave you hungry, you’ll get a three course meal at midday with classic Hungarian cuisine, followed by a cheese and meat board at the third and final winery. This is the perfect tour to fill your bellies and hearts.
Full Day Wine Tour
Price: from 295 USD
4. Explore the intersection of River Tisza and Bodrog on a water tour
The River Tisza and Bodrog intersection can only really be explored via boat; the River Tisza is one of mainland Europe’s main rivers, flowing through Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia before it joins up with the Danube, and exploring the river via boat you float along a path which has carved its way through Eastern Europe.
The Bodrog River meets the River Tisza at Tokaj, creating the perfect place to explore the merging wildlife at this unique location. You can book tickets to this water tour as an individual or as a group of up to fifteen people, ensuring that you get the trip that you want.
Boat Tour of River Tisza and Bodrog River
Price: from 5.80 USD
5. Rent a bike to explore the area
You’ll be glad to know that Tokaj is known for its “flatlands” creating the perfect environment to explore via bicycle. Ride alongside the River Tisza, the pathway lined by emerald trees in the spring and summertime; zoom past wineries where farmers tend to their grapes; past the floodlands with the canoers breaking the still water with the gentle splash of their oars. Renting a bike and exploring the area will give you a greater feeling of the peace of Tokaj than any other form of transport - enjoy the slow hum of Hungarian life as you pedal gently past.
Rent a Bike Tokaj
Address: Bike Hire Tourist Information Tokaj (Serház u 1.)
Price: 7.90 USD
Website: Bike Hire
6. Try fresh Hungarian coffee at Tokaj Coffee Roasting Company
The Tokaj Coffee Roasting Company are pioneers within Tokaj, dedicated to bringing Hungarians and tourists a taste of some of the most delicious coffee in the country. They’re a relatively new company; only roasting beans and serving coffee for the past four years - but they really are masters of their craft. No cup of coffee is the same at the Tokaj Coffee Roasting Company - each batch of beans is roasted at different temperatures and for different times to ensure that they create the perfect blend for you, every single time. Could you ask for more after an evening enjoying too much wine?!
Tokaj Coffee Roasting Company
Address: Tokaj, Bethlen Gábor út 7, 3910 Hungary
Website: Tokaj Coffee Roasting Company
7. Visit Harvest Days Festival "a real celebration of bringing in the grapes with processions, folk costumes and music."
This festival has been running in Tokaj for the past ninety years - winemakers, producers and local people gather together in the streets of Tokaj to celebrate the annual harvest every year. It’s hard not to get caught up in the festivities - music floats through the streets, market venders chat happily to each other, dancing happens in the main square - you’ll be joining in on the fun in no time at all.
Harvest Days Festival
Address: Throughout Tokaj
Website: Harvest Days Festival
8. Visit the Great Synagogue
When in Tokaj it’s worth it to make a trip to the Great Synagogue to pay your respects to the Jewish lives lost during World War Two in the adjoining Hungarian Jewish Museum. The red brickwork and impressive towers climb up into the sky - there’s nothing that’s not awe inspiring about The Great Synagogue; which is the largest Jewish House of Worship, aside from New York City. The building is visually beautiful, however it’s hard not to feel heartbroken as you find the ‘Tree of Life’ Memorial, which was designed in 1991 and holds some of the names of the hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews who died during the Holocaust.
Great Synagogue
Address: 1074 Budapest, Dohany utca 2.
Website: Great Synagogue
9. World Heritage Wine Museum
Tokaj celebrates its wine so much that the town has its own World Heritage Wine Museum - a small but wonderful museum which celebrates the world of wine, not only in Tokaj but in Italy and Austria as well. Visitors are impressed by the scent test - an interactive zone where you can try out your wine knowledge and see who has the best nose for their wines.
World Heritage Wine Museum
Address: Tokaj, Serház út 55
Website: Wine Heritage Wine Museum
10. Canoe in the Tokaj-Bodrogzug Landscape Protection Area
In spring the Bodrogzug region of Tokaj experiences a unique occurrence in Hungary; the area every floods from the banks of where the Bodrog and Tisza rivers meet. From any time from late April to early May the spring floods burst the banks and canoeing fans head to enjoy one of Hungary’s most wonderful canoe routes. Due to the flooding the area surrounding the route has remained mostly unchanged; the only inhabitants are the countless birds and waterfowl. The perfect place to grab a canoe and explore the wetlands via boat.
Rent a canoe
Price: from 5.80 USD per day
More than wine
Tokaj is a beautiful region that offers much more than delicious wine - the people, the landscape and the cuisine will be enough to win you over, the wine is just an added bonus.
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