Eger is one of Hungary's most rewarding provincial cities, a handsome Baroque town in the foothills of the Mátra and Bükk mountains in northeastern Hungary. It is famous for two things: Eger Castle, where in 1552 a small Hungarian garrison held off a vastly larger Ottoman army in one of the most celebrated defensive stands in Hungarian history; and Egri Bikavér — "Bull's Blood of Eger" — the robust red wine blended from Kékfrankos, Kadarka, and other local grapes.
The old town is compact and walkable, anchored by the monumental Cathedral Basilica and the Archbishop's Lyceum — whose eighteenth-century library and working camera obscura are among the finest in Hungary. The Eger Minaret, one of the northernmost surviving Ottoman minarets in Europe, rises incongruously from the Baroque streetscape. Thermal baths, and Dobó Square lined with Baroque architecture round out the old town. The Valley of the Beautiful Woman, a short walk from the centre, offers wine tasting directly from the barrel. Eger is two hours from Budapest by train and makes an excellent overnight trip.