Szentendre, Budapest

Szentendre is a small, pretty town of a Mediterranean atmosphere and baroque style, full of nice little streets and houses, cafes, art galleries, a marzipan museum and the promenade of the Danube.
There is a village museum (Skanzen) 3 km's NE of the center.
The best time to visit (for a half or a full day) is between April and October.

Approximately 20 km (12 min.) from Budapest situated Szentendre, a small Baroque town of Hungarian artists. The town got its unique character from its ortodox colonies in the 15th century. Szentendre has been a home of many famous Hungarian artists at the turn of the century. After a visit of the open-air village museum and a walk through the baroque center of the town visit to the country's most popular museum, the Margit Kovacs ceramic collection.

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If you are visiting Budapest for more than a weekend escape you may want to escape to Szentendre (St Andrew's) to get a bit of fresh air and see a quaint Hungarian Village. As it is so easy to get to from Budapest it has become quite touristy but it is still well worth going as it is lovely.

It is well taken care of and although small there are plenty of things to so after you have walked around the streets, gone to see the Danube, which is far cleaner up here, and even walked on the stone 'beach'. There are lots and lots of art exhibitions and museums and many arts and craft shops too.

To go all you have to do is catch the HEV train from Margit Hid (Margaret Bridge). You can get here using the 4 or 6 trams and getting off at the 'Margit his buda hetfo'stop. It is on the Buda side of the Danube right by Margaret island. It costs about 1500ft which is about 5 euros. There are plenty of trains and the last one back is at about 10 or 11 at night so you don't have to worry about getting stuck here!

You can also catch the train from Batthyany ter which is on the red metro or also be getting a bus from Arpad hid.

Please check out the time-table link for accurate up to date info on the train times. It takes just under a hour!

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If you have enough time while in Budapest take a train ride over to Szentendre. You don't even need the whole day, just a few hours in the afternoon. There are many arts and crafts shops that line its tiny streets and you can find something like jewellery, a puzzle or a toy, that will catch your eye because of its originality. My wife and I didn't think much of Szentendre before we got there but once we were there we found a few items that we really liked and had not seen before. Prices are reasonable and you can haggle them down. We were glad we made the trip.
Not only are there shops but there are a couple of museums too. Like the Micro Museum which is 600HUF pp to enter. Here you'll get to look through microscopes at miniscule crafts made on the heads of pins. Or the Marzipan Museum where everything is made from marzipan. From a life-size Michael Jackson and Lady Di to children's books and flowers to anything else you can imagine. You can even watch as they transform the marzipan into something. Entrance fee is 450HUF pp.
I'd also like to mention that it is a pretty touristy village but that shouldn't scare you into not going.
The train ride from Budapest is 45 minutes on the HEV train. Cost of the ticket is one way 305HUF pp. Trains run until 11pm

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Szentendre is a major tourist destination and is a common day-trip for travellers to Budapest. Its main attraction is the charming, Mediterranean-style architecture of the town centre. Szentendre is a town of arts and museums. There are a further 14 museums and art galleries acquainting visitors with the rich historical past and teeming artistic life of the town. It is not by chance that the quietness of the town and the proximity of the bustling metropolis of Budapest have drawn over one hundred artists here. Owing to its excellent geographical endowments, the town of Szentendre has been populated since the New Stone Age. It has been home to Illyrians, the Celtic Eraviscus tribe, Romans, Lombards, Avars and, of course, Hungarians. In the 17th Century, Serbian settlers came to the town and gave Szentendre its characteristic, Mediterranean-style architecture. The numerous churches in town reflect the cultural, ethnic and religious diversity of Szentendre.

Szentendre(St. Andrew) is a little pretty town near Budapest, so it must be a complete daytrip town from Budapest.

When you go out of the train, head north, walk under the subway. And then, taking Kossuth Lajos utca, and then you will reach Fo ter, the center of town. Around this square there some nice galleries, and old churches, like Blagovestenska Templom. And, then you can climb the castle hill. On the top you will find Belgradi Szekesegyhaz(Belgrade Chathedral).

In the surburbe there is Szabadteri Neprajzi Museum(Open Air Ehonographic Museum). To walk around this museum is very plesant.

There are many gift shops here. So, it must be a good town for buy folk arts.

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Szentendre is a nice town 20 km from Budapest on the shores of the Danube.
A lot of cruises get to Szentendre althought you can also get by train.

The town is very picturesque with beautiful churches , a lot of museums and artists , nice buildings and architecture.

This lovely village, up-river from Budapest, was originally created by the Serbs, and a small Serbian-speaking community remains here.

Stroll along its picturesque streets, do some souvenir-shopping, visit galleries, churches and small museums.

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Only 16 miles from the centre of Budapest, Szentendre is a perfect destination for a day trip. Although it is definitely a tourist village, it is still a change from the busy streets of Budapest. We took the HEV train from Batthyany Ter station. The station is a bit of a distance from the town, about a 10 minute walk, but a lovely one on a sunny day like we had. The town has many things to see, including churches, lots of cafes and restaurants, and even a Marzipan museum! Just walking around it is enjoyable.

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We had a go for Szentendre, though we avoided the week end because i've read somewhere it was crowded during saturday and sunday. To go there, you simply have to take the HEV at Batthyany ter the more difficult part is to understand what you pay for when you take the tickets (as it wasn't expensive we didn't ask too much. You've got a 100% chance to be checked so pay for your tickets or you will have troubles.

Once you're in Szentendre, find the tourist info (tourinform) for any question you could have, they are very helpful. Then just get lost in the streets of Szentendre, and don't forget your camera. Before going back to buda, i would advice a walk on the Danube Banks, it's really nice.

We also had a meal there in a pretty good restaurant called "Promenade".