The average water depth of Lake Balaton is only about 3-4 metres, so water temperature generally reaches 20-22 degrees, sometimes even 27-28 degrees Celsius in the summer, which makes it an ideal place for a holiday. But - apart from swimming, sun-bathing, sailing, angling - there's a lot more to see and enjoy.
Much of the Northern shore was created by volcanic activity leaving extraordinary shapes and forms, which are now part of the Balaton Uplands (Balaton-felvidék) National Park.
Arriving from Budapest on motorway M7, stop at Tihany. The first church and monastery on the hill of the Tihany Peninsula were built in 1055. You can still see the Romanesque-style crypt, which is supported by heavy columns. The baroque church above it was built in the 17th century. Organ concerts are regularly held here in the summer.
Take a look at the old water mill of Örvényes and the heart-shaped tomb stones of the old cemetery in Balatonudvari. Leaving Zánka, look for Hegyestű, where at the foot of this basalt formation the different types of stones are displayed and explained. The surface of the Káli Basin is dotted by volcanic craters, plateaux, stone seas and small lakes. The so-called "stone seas" are sediment remains from the Pannonian Sea. The curious rocky sites were probably created by thermal springs in later, drier geological eras. Their most fascinating examples are at Szentbékálla, Salföld and Kővágóőrs.
Szentgyörgy, Badacsony, Csobánc, Gulács, Tóti are conical or coffin-shaped volcanic hills. The ejected hot lava solidified in the shape of columns on the sides of these hills, and look like giant organ-pipes. Due to the volcanic soil and the sunny slopes of the hills this is one of the finest wine producing areas in the country. Local wines are the "Kéknyelű" - a Hungaricum, only to be found in Hungary -, the Riesling and the "Szürkebarát".
Szigliget Castle was built in the 13th century. The village and its surrounding area is one of the most beautiful and most frequented holiday resorts and sights around the shores of Lake Balaton.
The oldest town by the Lake is Keszthely. Beautiful original frescoes can be seen in the 14th century Gothic parish church. The large Baroque castle was built by Count György Festetics, who was also founder of Europe's first agricultural university, the Georgikon. The Balaton Museum gives a good summary of the natural and social history of the Lake. Just 6 km from here is the thermal lake of Hévíz, the second largest warm water lake in the world. The temperature of the medicinal water is generally 33-34 degrees Celsius, and it reaches 26-28 degrees even in the winter. The water wells up from 40 metres below ground in such quantity that the water of the lake changes completely every second day.
The marshy, swampy Small-Balaton, about 15 km to the South-West of Keszthely, is the nesting place for thousands of herons, cormorants, bee-eaters - some 100 bird species. There are observation towers on the Kányavári Island, just before Balatonmagyaród on the road towards Zalakomár. A little bit further along the same road, at Kápolnapuszta, you can see the only buffalo reserve in the country.