This calm riverside town on the Danube, 50km from Budapest, has a pedestrian-only center with 18th-century baroque buildings and the striking Váci Basilica.
Vác sits 35 kilometers north of Budapest on the eastern bank of the Danube. When you walk through the town's 18th-century Arc of Triumph - the only one in Hungary - you'll find yourself in a baroque city center where ochre, pink, and yellow mansions line the streets. You can examine 265 painted coffins from the 1700s in the Memento Mori crypt museum, stroll past fishing boats on the Danube promenade, or step into the white-columned cathedral that took its design inspiration from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Getting to Vác
Trains depart every 30 minutes from Budapest's Nyugati station, reaching Vác in 40 minutes via Hungary's oldest railroad section. If you prefer cycling, you can bike from Budapest through Szentendre to Vác, using ferries to cross the river. By car, take road #2 or 2/A (E77) from Budapest.
Main Square and Surroundings
Március 15 Square has a triangular shape, different from the rectangular baroque squares common in Hungary. The yellow, pink, and cream-colored buildings contain restaurants, coffee houses, and bars. You can eat in 13th-century wine cellars beneath the square - try the pizza parlor where brick vaults and medieval stone walls surround your table.
Cathedral and Bishop's Palace
The Vác Cathedral, built between 1761 and 1777, brought early classicist architecture to Hungary with its white columns and dome. Next door, the Bishop's Palace (1768-1775) houses Roman coins, medieval weapons, and stone carvings in its museum. Walk through the palace's botanical garden to see protected species of maple trees and flowering shrubs.
Memento Mori Museum
Workers found a hidden crypt in the Dominican church in 1994, containing 265 hand-painted coffins from the 1700s. Each coffin tells a story through its artwork - crucifixes, flowers, biblical verses, and skull motifs painted in vivid colors. The museum displays these coffins alongside preserved mummies, with information about the town's 18th-century inhabitants.
Along the Danube
Walk the József Attila promenade to watch cargo ships and fishing boats on the river. Stop at Halaszkert etterem for pike-perch soup or stuffed cabbage. The ferries at the promenade can take you to other Danube Bend towns like Visegrád and Szentendre.
Local Treats
At Desszert Szalon on Köztársaság út, try their Esterházy torte or plum-cinnamon strudel. The Curia winehouse, in a 16th-century Turkish cellar on Március 15 square, serves wines from Tokaj, Eger, and other Hungarian wine regions.
