Tapolca, (German: Toppolz) is a town near Lake Balaton in Veszprém County in Hungary. There are a couple of things to do there.
Get in
Your best bet to get into Tapolca is road 77, a road which goes from the city of Veszprém to Lesencetomaj, a small village close to the border of Zala County. It is half an hour from Keszthely, and 50 minutes from Veszprém. There are also several roads (often of worse quality) to the neighboring villages of Zalahaláp, Hegyesd, Monostorapáti, Gyulakeszi, Káptalantóti, Raposka, and Kisapáti.
Hotels
There are several hotels in Tapolca. The most notable of these are probably Hotel Gabriella, a pondside hotel, which has 4 out of 5 stars on Tripadvisor, and 4,5 out of 5 stars on Google Maps. However there are other hotels too, such as Hunguest Hotel Pelion, and Tópart apartman.
| Hotel | Stars on Tripadvisor | No of reviews | Stars on Google Maps | No of reviews | Stars on Trivago | No of reviews | Stars on Booking.com | No of reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriella | 4.0 | 37 | 4.5 | 450 | Not on there yet | 3.0 (8.8) | 235 | |
| Hunguest Pelion | 4.0 | 212 | 4.5 | 2418 | 4.0 (8.5) | 174 | 4.0 (8.6) | 1140 |
| Tópart apartman | 5.0 | 1 | 4.9 | 65 | Not on there yet | 3.0 (9.7) | 147 | |
Places to eat
There are many good places to eat in Tapolca. Here is the Tripadvisor list of all of them:
| Restaurant (Tripadvisor) | Stars | No of reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Tóparti Bisztró | 4.5 | 57 |
| Tóparti Étterem | 4.0 | 64 |
| Dream Team Cafe | 4.0 | 87 |
| Lipóti Pékség Tapolca | 4.5 | 15 |
| Hotel Gabriella | 4.0 | 75 |
| Peppinó Pizzéria | 3.5 | 86 |
| La Pergola Pizzéria | 4.0 | 13 |
| Kávéház a Vörős Lóhoz | 5.0 | 5 |
| Dolce Cukrázda | 5.0 | 4 |
| Kaleidó fagylalt és kávé | No reviews | |
Things to do and see
There are many things to do in Tapolca. This is a list of all of them:
- Walk around the Malom-tó Pond. It is romantic and relaxing to walk around there. In the pond area there are some of the smallest species of Carp, aswell as bigger species of the fish.There is a fish-feeding area and a playground too. Malom-tó is also where Tapolca brook begins, a brook which goes all the way to Balaton-coastal town Szigliget. There are several pedestrian bridges crossing Tapolca brook, all of them having romantic locks on them.
- Statue of Saint Mary. If you walk a bit south from Malom-tó along Tapolca brook, you will soon spot a statue of Saint Mary with Jesus in her hands. It's not a big monument, but still a nice little quirk of Tapolca.
- Tapolca Cave Lake. This 3 km long lake cave system is situated in the heart of the town. It was opened to the public in 1912, ten years after its discovery. Small boats can be hired to explore the cave system. At 15–20 m below the town, a 5 km long cave system criss-crosses the Miocene limestone layers. This includes the 3.3 km long Lake Cave, which is mostly filled with karst water. The cave was discovered in 1903 during well digging. Thanks to these explorations, round boat trips were made possible from 1937. Because of its special origin and unique formations, it was designated a protected area in 1942 and placed under strict protection in 1982. The mixture of the cold karst water flowing there and the thermal water up-surging from the deep dissolves limestone. Initially narrow passages, then smaller and larger niches were formed. Over a very long period, these widened into spacious chambers and passages. Dripstones have not developed in the cave, as several metre thick clay deposits prevents infiltration from the surface. Only calcareous formations (cave corals and aragonite crystals) occur at some places, having precipitated from the cave air. Bats cannot enter the closed spaces, so the largest vertebrate is a 10 cm long fish, the Common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus L.), which probably swims in through the wet passages from the Malom-tó (Mill Pond). The cave air, with nearly 100% humidity, a high calcium content and a constant temperature of 20 °C, is used to cure respiratory diseases in the branches under the town hospital that are in close proximity with the cave. The radon content of the cave air is too low to have any effect on the visitors. It is an interesting place which is worth a visit. This cave lake is also the biggest attraction of the entire city.
- Main square. The Main square was a historical trading center, and today is mainly a shopping destination, with cafes.
- Garden of ruins. The Church Hill is the medieval centre of Tapolca. The church was built in the 13th century in Roman style, during the 14th century it was finished as Gothic church. After the Ottoman invasion, it was rebuilt in Baroque style in 1756.
- School Museum. The School Museum is located in the former cantor house. The greatest pedagogic collection of the Transdanubian region can be found there.
- Airport. There is a private club Airport in The Airport district of Tapolca. You can't go inside.
Shopping
As mentioned before, you can shop in the Main square. If you are looking for groceries, there is A Tesco, a Lidl, an Aldi, an Interspar and a Penny Market along the 77 road. There is a Coop in the Main square, aswell as in Northern Tapolca.
Diszel
Diszel is a village along road 77, which belongs to Tapolca. There are many picturesque mountains in the area, which make some people call it one of the most beautiful towns in Hungary. There are eight main attractions in Diszel:
- Mt. Csobánc. Mt. Csobánc is a 376-meter hill/mountain near Diszel. There is a castle on top, aswell as the "Bad Church". Hiking here is a must if you plan to visit Tapolca. For more information, check out Csobánc from Wikipedia.
- Diszel Forest. Diszel Forest is a nice forest to walk in Diszel.
- First Hungarian visual library. This museum-like spot is a place where there are exhibitions every year about a different topic. This year it's about the color black.
- War monument. In the heart of Diszel, there is a war monument over soldiers from Diszel/Tapolca who died in the second world war.
- Former Mayor's house. This spot in Diszel is a nice spot to sit down and talk, as there are benches there. There is also a playground nearby.
- Catholic Church. There is a small but interesting Catholic Church in the center of Diszel.
- Motorbike festival. Every July there is a festival in Diszel where usually a band sings, and where people drive around the streets with their motorbikes.
- Graveyard. Last but not least is the graveyard of Diszel, which is pretty.
Gallery
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