10 Best Sights in Szentendre, Hungary

Looking for some tranquility after squeezing through the crowds in downtown Szentendre? The answer is this lush green island oasis, right across the river but surprisingly untouched and ripe for exploration. At the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in AD 896, the flat island—33 km (21 miles) long and up to 3.8 km (2.4 miles) wide—was used as pasture land. It subsequently became a key agricultural, ship-building, and fishing center that helped link the otherwise hilly Danube Bend with Buda to the south. Only after the end of the 120-year Turkish occupation of Hungary in the late 17th century did a loose-knit web of settlements develop, and from the mid-19th century on, resort districts began to spring up for city-weary Budapesters.

Most of Szentendre Island comprises nature preserves and bucolic countryside—this is a rich habitat and stopping-off point for waterfowl—but there are also four villages, from quaint Kisoroszi (with its gorgeous golden beach) on the island's northern tip, to the larger but lovely Szigetmonostor in the south. To get to the island from Szentendre, hop on a ferry from the docks, or cross the bridge at Tahitótfalu, 10 km (6 miles) north of town.

The museum honors the work of Impressionist Károly Ferenczy (1862–1917), an important leader in the Nagybánya Artist Colony and a Szentendre native. There are a number of his artworks on display, though many of his most famous are in Budapest's Hungarian National Gallery. The exhibition also features the work of his three children, all of whom were popular artists of the early modern era: the expressionist painter Valér, the pioneering tapestry artist Noemi, and the sculptor and graphic artist Beni.

Your ticket also includes entry into a handful of other town museums and galleries, including the Kmetty Múzeum and the Kovács Margit Ceramic Museum.

Fő tér is Szentendre's colorful main square, the centerpiece of which is an ornate Memorial Cross erected by Serbs grateful that their town was spared from a plague. The cross displays a painted crucifixion and stands atop a triangular pillar adorned with a dozen icon paintings. Every single house on Fő tér is a designated landmark. The Szentendrei Képtár serves as an information center and also has its own excellent collection of local contemporary artists and revolving exhibits of international art. Cross the square and check out the Kmetty Múzeum, featuring the work of János Kmetty (1889–1975), a pioneer of Hungarian avant-garde painting. Kmetty tried his hand at everything from Impressionism to Cubism, and his absorbing self-portraits utilize a fascinating mix of styles. Gracing the corner of Görög utca is the Serbian Orthodox church Blagoveštenska templom, with its elegant 18th-century edifice built on the site of a wooden church dating from the Great Serbian Migration (around AD 690). Its greatest glory—a symmetrical floor-to-ceiling panoply of stunning icons—was painted between 1802 and 1804. Behind the church lies the Szerb Egyházi Múzeum, with its exquisite assemblage of ecclesiastical art and artifacts relating to the history of the church in Hungary.

If you have time for only one of Szentendre's myriad museums, make it this extraordinary exhibition showcasing the works of a renowned Budapest ceramics artist. Margit Kovács, who died in 1977 aged 74, left behind a wealth of richly textured works that range from ceramic figurines to life-size sculptures and draw inspiration from folk history, Christianity, and 20th century life. Look out for the tiny but wonderful Beggar Woman with Forget-Me-Not Eyes, half-hidden in a wall recess. Your ticket includes entry into the Ferenczy and Kmetty Museums, along with a few other locals museums and galleries.

Szentendre's farthest-flung museum is also the largest open-air museum in the country. Located 5 km (3 miles) northwest of the city center, it is a living re-creation of 18th- and 19th-century village life from different regions of Hungary—the sort of place where blacksmith shops and a horse-powered mill compete with wooden farmhouses and folk handicrafts for your attention. A heritage train takes you around the site. The museum is accessible by bus from stand 6 of the Szentendre terminus of the HÉV suburban railway; expect departures roughly every hour from the early hours until after 10 pm. Guided tours in English are available if booked in advance.

Climb the narrow steps up Váralja lépcső, located near the corner of Fő tér and Görög utca, to reach this cobblestone hilltop square. Once the site of a medieval fortress, today it is home to the baroque Szentendrei Keresztelő Szent János Plébánia (Church of St. John the Baptist), famed for its enormous, dark frescoes. But the real reward for the climb comes in the form of spectacular views over the town's angular sile rooftops and steeples, and of the Danube beyond.

Gracing the corner of Görög utca (Greek Street) and Szentendre's main square, Fø tér, the so-called Görög templom is actually a Serbian Orthodox church that takes its name from the Greek inscription on a red-marble gravestone set in its wall. This elegant edifice was built between 1752 and 1754 by a rococo master, Andreas Mayerhoffer, on the site of a wooden church dating to the Great Serbian Migration (around AD 690). Its greatest glory—a symmetrical floor-to-ceiling panoply of stunning icons—was painted between 1802 and 1804 by Mihailo Zivkovic, a Serbian painter from Buda.

The museum displays the work of János Kmetty, a pioneer of Hungarian avant-garde Cubist painting.

The gallery has an excellent collection of local contemporary art and changing exhibits of international art.