It is not only the water that attracts visitors to the most popular resort of Hungary: Lake Balaton Highlands are excellent excursion spots offering the wines of the neighbourhood in pleasantly cool cellars, as well. From the hills of Bakony you can enjoy the beautiful view of the "Hungarian Sea", which awaits holiday-makers with innumerable beaches, as well as sports facilities including sailing or bob.

The vicinity of the lake connecting three counties - Somogy, Veszprém and Zala - has been inhabited since the ancient times. Prehistoric people used to mine clay in Lovas, in the Roman times a villa farm could be found in Balácapuszta, later an earthwork was built in Tihany, on the northern shore.

Tihany peninsula is primarily famous for the Benedictine abbey. From the church built on the hill top you can see not only the opposite lake shore from Szántód to Balatonföldvár, but also the houses of Balatonfüred on the northern shore.

These include the Jókai-villa built in 1870, which is open to the public as a memorial museum, or the venue for the first Ann-ball, the Horváth-house built in the style of the age of Louis XVI in France.

Apart from Balatonfüred, several monument buildings can be seen in the large towns of the lake shore including Siófok and Keszthely, and beautiful churches can be found in almost every village: e.g. the typical Gothic style Roman Catholic church of Koröshegy, while on the northern shore, in Balatonudvari you can see beautiful heart-shaped tombstones.

Besides the innumerable religious monuments, you can also find beautiful secular buildings in the region: in the renewed Festetics Palace not only the restored baroque rooms are worth visiting, you can also enjoy the beautiful floodlights of the palace and the fountain at night.

The lake has the most visitors in summer spending their holidays in the built in or free beaches. Families with small children prefer the shallow water of the southern shore, but excellent beaches can be found on the northern side, as well, from Alsóörs to Zánka.

Many visitors go fishing here sitting in the reeds by the shore and waiting for pike-perches, carps or razor-fish to catch. Others take to water to sail or go on a cruise on the lake visiting places from Siófok to Balatonföldvár.

Although the peak season at the lake is summer, the lovers of Balaton think that it is also worth visiting the huge lake in winter, when you can go fishing in the ice-holes, or if the ice is thick enough, brave visitors can even skate, sledge or ice-sail on the lake.