Pécs, a small town in the south-west of Hungary, is a university town that has managed to escape becoming a huge touristy mess. Small enough to cover on foot, it offers a real taste of Hungarian life.
There is plenty to see here. There is an Early Christian Necropolis, a World Heritage site that dates right back the the 4th century and is the largest necropolis remaining in the European provinces. Seven of the burial chambers are open to the public.
Széchenyi square, Pécs, Hungary
In the main square there is the Mosque of Pasha Quasim, built on the site and from the stones of Saint Berthold’s gothic church by Pasha Quasim the Victorious. There is also a Cathedral which dates back to the 11th century and the times of Peter Orseolo, the second king of Hungary. The town just bursts with history.
If you’d like this history laid out nicely for you there are three main museums; the Vasarely museum, dedicated to the works of Victor Vasarely, the Csontváry Museum, which holds the largest collection of the painter Tivadar Kosztka Csontváry, and the Zsolnay Museum, which is an exhibit on the life, times and ceramics of Vilmos Zsolnay.
After seeing the museums you can buy pretty glazed items from the Zsolnay Ceramic Manufacture, or tastes from of the wines from the Villány wine region — their full-bodied reds are counted among the best in Hungary. Or you can just relax and enjoy tasty food — Pécs boasts an impressive amount of fine restaurants.
