Lake Balaton

Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe and one of the country’s foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked (its coastline was lost after World War I), Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the “Hungarian Sea”. The Zala River provides the largest inflow to the lake, and the canalised Sió is the only outflow.

The hilly northern shore is known both for its historic character and as a major wine region, while the flat southern shore is known for its resort towns. Balatonfüred and Hévíz developed early as resorts for the wealthy, but it was not until the late 19th century that landowners, their vines destroyed by phylloxera, began building summer homes to rent out to the growing middle classes.