Badacsony is a volcanic hill that stands over the north shore of Lake Balaton like a lump of dark bread left on a table. It rises to 438 metres, a flat-topped basalt butte, the product of eruptions millions of years ago when the area was a shallow sea. Time has cut the lava into hexagonal columns, and near the top the cliffs form a long wall of organ pipes, with a famous natural gateway, the Kőkapu, or Stone Gate. The slopes below are terraced and planted with vines, and they catch every ray of sun, with the lake adding reflected light and warmth.
The wines here are among the best in Hungary. The volcanic soil gives a mineral edge to the whites, and the local specialities include Szürkebarát, or Pinot Gris, which is rich and full, and Kéknyelű, a rare white grape whose name means blue stalk, grown almost nowhere else. The vineyards are dotted with small stone cellars and press houses, many of them open for tastings, and in summer the hillside is a favourite for visitors. The poet Sándor Kisfaludy built a house here in the early nineteenth century, and his wife, Róza Szegedy, became a local legend, and her house is now a wine museum and a restaurant with a good view.
The road along the north shore, the 71, is a gentle cruise, with the lake on one side and vineyards and volcanic hills on the other. Balaton is the largest lake in central Europe, about seventy-seven kilometres long but only a few metres deep, and the light on it is soft and shimmering. The corners are easy, the surface is generally good, and the pace is unhurried. In July and August, the road is busy, with holidaymakers, cyclists and slow-moving traffic, so come in May, June or September, when the weather is mild and the crowds thinner. On a hot day, a swim in the warm, shallow water is a fine reward.
The surrounding hills of the Balaton Uplands National Park hold other volcanic cones, such as Szent György-hegy and Csobánc, with castle ruins and forests of beech and oak. The shores have reed beds that harbour many birds, from herons to great crested grebes.
Badacsony is a village with cafés, restaurants and wine bars, serving fish from the lake, such as fogas, or pike-perch, and goulash. There is fuel at Badacsonytomaj, close by, and Tapolca, a larger town inland, has supermarkets and services. Fonyód, across the water, is reached by a ferry from Badacsony in summer, and it is also a nearby service town.