Guided walks through Veszprém Castle are back, and the entire hilltop quarter is opening up, layer by layer. Walk it end to end and you don’t just learn the buildings’ past—you feel the thousand-year thread that has shaped the City of Queens. Tours start outside the Bíró–Giczey House (Biró–Giczey-ház), Vár utca 31, with groups capped at 25 and each walk running about 60 minutes.
What the walks cover
Two routes set the tone. The Walk of Light and Awe pairs the Archbishop’s Palace with the intimate, frescoed Gizella Chapel. The One Thousand Years’ Path takes you into the Cathedral of St. Michael, its crypt, and the newly accessible remains of St. George’s Chapel. Expect layered history, from Romanesque roots and Gothic flourishes to Baroque monuments and careful restorations that let stone and silence do the talking.
When to go
Saturdays and Sundays: The Walk of Light and Awe at 11:30 and 16:00; One Thousand Years’ Path at 14:00. Check the event calendar for precise dates—liturgical and other events can shift timings. November highlights include 2025.11.15, 11.16, 11.22, 11.23, 11.29 with tours at 11:30, 14:00, 16:00, and 2025.11.30 with tours at 14:00 and 16:00. Both routes follow the same weekend rhythm: Light and Awe at 11:30 and 16:00, One Thousand Years’ Path at 14:00.
Tickets and prices
Buy at the Bíró–Giczey House (Biró–Giczey-ház) gift shop, cash or card. Adult: $9.66. Student/Senior: $8.83. Family (2 adults + 1–3 kids): $19.32. Pilgrim ticket (with parish recommendation): $6.90. With group sizes limited, arriving 10–15 minutes early is smart.
Free exhibitions and hours
Inside the Bíró–Giczey House (Biró–Giczey-ház), free exhibits run Tuesday–Friday 17:00–19:00 and Saturday–Sunday 10:00–18:00. Closed Monday. Meeting point: Bíró–Giczey House (Biró–Giczey-ház), Vár u. 31., Veszprém.
New underground layers to explore
The guided castle walks add two atmospheric stops this season. First, the crypt beneath the Cathedral of St. Michael: step below ground into the hush under its vaults, where time feels trapped in stone. The route reveals the 14th-century Gothic sanctuary, the Baroque tomb of Bishop Márton Padányi Bíró, and a carefully restored interior that has reclaimed its glow. It’s poised to be one of this year’s most memorable corners of the hill.
St. George’s Chapel, where legend breathes
On the cathedral’s north side, St. George’s Chapel stands among the oldest memorials of Hungarian Christianity. Archaeology has brought to light the base walls of the original 10th-century rotunda. Tradition says Prince Emeric (Szent Imre) made his vow here before the Virgin’s altar, sharpening the site’s sacred charge. In the Middle Ages it drew pilgrims who came to venerate St. George’s head relic—a gift from the Byzantine emperor to King St. Stephen (Szent István). Now visitors can read those traces in situ, where the stories touched the ground.
Why it still hits home
What’s special about Veszprém’s castle quarter is how completely it lays out its treasures. Follow these routes and it’s not just architecture you’ll tick off. It’s the long continuity—queens, bishops, craftsmen, and pilgrims—whose footsteps still steer the present day.
