Szombathely may not be on most tourists' itineraries, but this quiet western Hungarian city has a long history worth exploring. Nearly 1,800 years ago, as Savaria, it was the capital of the Roman province of Upper Pannonia — and the birthplace of Saint Martin of Tours.
The Garden of Ruins in the city centre preserves some of the better Roman mosaics in Hungary. Across town on Rákóczi Ferenc utca, the Iseum — a reconstructed temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis — is an ambitious if imperfect restoration. Nearby stand the Szombathely Gallery, which specialises in modern art, and the Béla Bartók Concert Hall, a former synagogue. A plaque outside commemorates the deportation of the city's Jews in 1944.
Outside the centre, the Vasi Múzeumfalu (Museum Village) is an open-air museum where some thirty reconstructed village houses give a glimpse of Hungary's agricultural past.