Balatonfüred has been a popular recreational, therapeutic and rehabilitative resort for centuries and the first as such in Hungary. Many celebrities in the 19th Century used to have their summer houses here, such as the great romantic novelist Mór Jókai (1825-1904) whose villa is now a memorial museum or the Nations’s Nightingale, Lujza Blaha. The beautiful old town (stroll down Jókai Mór utca), with its faded elegance is in strong contrast with that of the new, almost cosmopolitan quarter along the lake. The numerous churches add to the subtle beauty of the place.

The mineral water of Balatonfüred has been used for therapeutic purposes since the 18th Century. The Balatonfüred Hospital with its Cardiology Rehabilitation Center has a good reputation in the country. The “sour water” is also beneficial to diabetes and digestive malfunctions, and can be sampled in the Kossuth Lajos Spring on Gyógy tér (Medicinal square). The registered well-house was designed and built by Mátyás Lechner in 1800 and was rebuilt by Antal Fruhmann in 1852. It is one of the many places in Balatonfüred where you can taste the water.

It is worth taking a walk on Rabindranath Tagore Promenade along the shore. The esplanade is lined with the statues, memorial plaques and trees commemorating Hungarian and foreign celebrities.

The annual Anna Ball, with the crowning of the Queen of the Ball, has been organized in the town theatre for 170 years, on the last Saturday of July. The first ball was organized to the honour of the daughter of Szentgyörgyi-Horváth family, Anna-Krisztina in 1825. The beauty contest is the highlight of the prominent event. On the day following the ball the beauty queen and her maids of honour ride along the streets of Balatonfüred in a horse drawn carriage in the company of the mayor of town.

Another tradition is the “Sail-setting Ceremony and Season Opening Regatta” which takes place in the Rose Garden in May every year.

Once in Balatonfüred, lovers of nature should not miss the Lóczy Cave with its layered walls of aragonite pea-stones. Koloska Valley and the Jókai look-out tower are excellent hiking destinations.