Miskolc is Hungary's third-largest city, tucked into the foothills of the Bükk Mountains in the northeast of the country. It is an industrial city that does not pretend to be a tourist magnet, but the surrounding area has genuine appeal — most notably Miskolctapolca, a suburb where you can swim through a natural cave system fed by thermal springs at the extraordinary Cave Bath.
The Bükk National Park starts practically at the city's edge, with hiking trails through beech and oak forests, limestone karst formations, and lookout towers with views across the Northern Hungarian hills. The village of Lillafüred, accessible by narrow-gauge forest railway from the city, has a dramatic waterfall, two caves open for tours, and a grand lakeside hotel from the 1920s.
Diósgyőr Castle, on the western side of the city, is a 13th-century royal fortress with four round towers that now houses a medieval museum and hosts summer jousting tournaments. The city centre itself has an attractive pedestrian main street — Széchenyi Street — lined with cafes and 19th-century buildings, the Herman Ottó Museum for Hungarian archaeology and natural history, and the Avas Hill with its unusual wine cellars carved into the volcanic tuff.
Miskolc is also a convenient base for visiting the wine region of Eger and the Tokaj vineyards to the east.