Gyula serves up a full calendar of food and drink fun all year, from sausage and pálinka festivals to tastings, markets, and themed dinners. Food walks thread through town, weaving local kitchen lore, cooking habits, and generous bites of the city’s most iconic flavors into one easy stroll. The vibe is festive, the portions generous, and the menus proudly regional, whether you’re pairing smoky kolbász with a shot of fruit brandy or chasing a buttery slice of cake with coffee under painted ceilings.
Dates You’ll Want To Circle
November 13, 2025, brings a St. Martin’s Day (Márton-nap) wine dinner to Gyula, a classic duck-and-wine feast where cellars open and bottles flow. A few weeks later, December 6–7, 2025, welcomes the Gyula Honey Festival (Gyulai Mézfesztivál), a celebration with tastings, jars, candies, and spicy holiday notes—think ginger, citrus, and clove—taking over the stalls as winter lights up the streets.
Stay Where You Eat (And Steam)
Wellness Hotel Gyula leans into multigenerational comfort: romance for couples, laughs for friends, play for kids, spa downtime for parents, and recharge for seniors. It offers full board at a half-board price every day of the year, holidays included—a rare find that keeps budgets sane and plates full. Abbázia Apartment and Studio (Abbázia Apartman és Stúdió) sits right in the center, just about 50 meters from the Castle and the famous Gyula Castle Spa (Gyulai Várfürdő) thermal complex—so close you’ll count steps in sips of coffee. Angelhaus Guesthouse (Angelhaus Vendégház) keeps it calm near the baths year-round, while another apartment 50 meters from the Castle Spa (Várfürdő) puts the Castle and the Boating Lake a one-minute stroll away, designed with everything you could possibly need.
Downtown Pads, Riverside Calm
An apartment house by the Élővíz Canal, roughly 100 meters from the summer bath entrance, lines up six separate, tastefully fitted apartments with a total of 20 beds—great for bigger families or a whole crew of friends. Gyula Castle (Gyulai Vár) and the pedestrian street are only a 10-minute walk. Aqua Hotel Gyula Superior aims squarely at bath-bound travelers and families with kids, offering superior rooms split into a living room and bedroom for comfortable longer stays.
Quiet Corners And Central Buzz
If it’s peace you’re craving, Bányai Guesthouse (Bányai Vendégház) in one of the Southern Great Plain’s prettiest cities delivers quiet and greenery. Central Apartment (Central Apartman) plants you in the heart of Gyula: city center, promenade, world clock, fountains, the storied Hundred-Year-Old Confectionery (Százéves Cukrászda), Ferenc Erkel’s birthplace, museums, Ladics House, Petőfi Square, churches, and the bus station all within roughly 250–500 meters; the train station sits about 900 meters away. Apartments range from a compact 18-square-meter (194-square-foot) studio to a roomy 110-square-meter (1,184-square-foot) flat.
Hotel Comfort, Spa Heat
Corso Boutique Hotel Gyula anchors the lively downtown, steps from shops, museums, the Castle, the Castle Spa (Várfürdő), cafés, restaurants, and bars. The rear entrance opens right onto the promenade, spilling you into flowered parks and splashy fountains. Its wellness zone invites a reset, with a sauna world offering five different styles. Corvin Hotel Gyula & Wellness Apartments welcomes couples and families alike; superior open-plan or family rooms with separate living and sleeping areas keep longer stays easy.
Coffee, Cakes, And Honeyed Hours
At the Gyula Almásy Castle Visitor Center (Gyulai Almásy-kastély Látogatóközpont), the café and museum shop team greet you with charm and good finds, open 10 a.m.–6 p.m., closed Mondays. Don’t skip the Hundred-Year-Old Confectionery (Százéves Cukrászda), operating since 1840 and Hungary’s second-oldest confectionery. The Empire-style building’s painted walls, original Biedermeier furniture, and classic cakes, parfaits, candies, and ice creams pull you into a buzzing café past. Restored between 1984 and 1986 to revive Reform Era spirit, the former workshop now houses a pastry museum with period tools; a major 2004 refresh kept this Southern Great Plain jewel as dazzling—and delicious—as ever.
Organizers reserve the right to change dates and programs.
