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Tihany Abbey

This is the Benedictine abbey of Tihany, founded by King Andrew I in 1055 on the steep eastern edge of the volcanic hills. The king intended a mausoleum for future Hungarian kings; the plan had an unexpected outcome, as Andrew himself became the only king buried here. Above you stands the 18th-century Baroque church with its two onion-shaped towers. Be sure to visit the lower church: the Romanesque crypt is almost a thousand years old, with six heavy pillars and thick walls.

• Aranyház means Golden House: the volcanic cone owes its name to the pale yellow mineral crust on its rocks.
• In the protected western part no roads are allowed — 400 hectares of forest must stay untouched.
• The lavender fields were the first industrial lavender plantation in Hungary.

Veszprém: the city of queens on five hills

Every Hungarian queen was crowned here by the bishop of Veszprém — a privilege the city held for nine centuries, which is why it still calls itself the city of queens. The castle quarter stands on a rock above the Séd valley, and from the viaduct you look straight down onto the roofs. In 2023 Veszprém was European Capital of Culture, together with the whole Balaton region.

Cais da Ribeira

The oldest district of Porto, a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1996. For centuries the rabelo boats unloaded their port-wine barrels here for the cellars across the river. Look up at the Ponte Dom Luís I from 1886 — designed by Théophile Seyrig, the partner of Gustave Eiffel.

Guimarães: where Portugal began

The castle above the town is called the cradle of the nation, and it owes that name to the founding of the County of Portucale and to Portuguese independence. It has been a national monument since 1908, and in 2007 the Portuguese themselves voted it one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. It is one of the most visited monuments in the north: 302,761 people came through the gate in 2022. Below it lies the historic centre, a maze of wooden balconies and granite arcades.