Szolnok sits where the Zagyva meets the Tisza, out on the Great Hungarian Plain. It is a county seat and a railway town, but it has more character than that sounds: river walks, an old artists' colony, a former synagogue used as a gallery, and one of Hungary's best aviation museums.
The city does not have the polish of Eger or the grandeur of Budapest. Its appeal is flatter and more local. Walk the Tisza embankment, cross the Tiszavirag Bridge, see the Szolnok Art Colony, then spend proper time at RepTar Aviation Museum.
Szolnok earns a spare day if you are already crossing eastern Hungary or have an interest in aviation, Hungarian painting, or river towns of the plain. It is not a headline destination, but it is not just a service stop either.