A Palace, Two Caves and a Bath in the Rock: Lillafüred and Miskolc

A Palace in a Bükk Valley

On 7 June 1930 a neo-Renaissance palace hotel opened at Lillafüred, in a narrow valley of the Bükk hills just above Miskolc. The rock and soil dug out for its foundations were piled up beside it into a hanging garden, and a stream still drops about 20 meters through that garden into the gorge below, past the mouth of a cave.

That one valley is the best day out from Miskolc. You walk the hanging garden and the shore of Lake Hámori, go down into two show caves, ride a forest railway that started life carrying timber in 1920, and finish in a thermal bath whose pools sit inside natural limestone passages. Miskolc is two hours from Budapest by InterCity, so a day trip works if you keep it to Lillafüred and the bath, and a night lets you add the city’s Avas hill or the Bükk plateau. Know before you go that Diósgyőr Castle, the sight older guides lead with, is closed for reconstruction.

Photo: pzk net, CC BY 3.0, resized.

📋 At a Glance

📍 Where	Miskolc, northeast Hungary. Lillafüred is a valley in the Bükk hills on the city's western edge (Google Maps)
🚆 Getting there	InterCity from Budapest-Keleti every hour, about 2 hours to Miskolc-Tiszai
💰 Train fare	3,410 Ft one way, plus a compulsory seat reservation, 650 Ft in advance
🎟️ Core tickets	Lillafüred caves 2,400 Ft each, Cave Bath 8,500 Ft (4,300 Ft from 16:00), forest railway 2,600 Ft one way
🚫 Skip if	You only want Diósgyőr Castle, which is closed

Lillafüred: The Palace, the Garden and the Waterfall

The Palace Hotel (Palotaszálló) was designed by Kálmán Lux and modeled on the hunting lodges of King Matthias’s time. It is still a working hotel, but you do not need a room to enjoy it. Non-guests can book à la carte lunch Monday to Saturday from 12:00 to 16:30, and Sunday brunch from 12:30 to 16:00 is 9,990 Ft.

Below it, the hanging garden steps down the slope in stone terraces. It is free to walk. The steps are steep and many, so it is hard going with a stroller or a wheelchair. At the bottom the Szinva stream drops about 20 meters, a fall billed as the tallest in Hungary. It is fed by a spring, so it runs full after the spring snowmelt and can thin to a trickle after a long dry spell.

Lake Hámori, below the hotel, is an artificial lake. It was dammed where the Garadna and Szinva streams meet, for the old Újmassa ironworks, and the walk along its shore is short and flat.

Photo: Explicatory, CC0, resized.

The Two Caves

Both caves are run by the Bükk National Park, cost 2,400 Ft (about $7.40), and take about 30 minutes on a guided tour. Both stay at +10 °C all year, so bring a warm layer.

• The Anna Cave opens on the lowest level of the hanging garden, right by the waterfall. It is a tufa cave, formed from the limestone that the Szinva’s spring water left behind, and the national park calls it unique even worldwide. Until 1 November tours run every hour from 10:00 to 15:00. From 2 November to 31 March there is one tour a day, at 12:00, and it is the only tour you can book online.
• St Stephen’s Cave is 500 meters along the road toward Eger, with the bus 5 stop right outside. It is a dripstone cave, opened to visitors in August 1931. Until 1 November tours run on the hour from 9:00 to 15:00, and from 2 November 9:00 to 14:00. The 10:00 tour can be booked online.

Tours start on the hour, so be at the entrance a few minutes early, especially on a fine weekend.

The Forest Railway

The narrow-gauge Lillafüred forest railway (LÁEV) carried its first load of timber on 14 November 1920. Today it is a tourist line that climbs from Miskolc-Dorottya utca along the valley side and through tunnels to Lillafüred in 33 minutes, and on to Garadna. A single is 2,600 Ft (about $8) and a return 5,200 Ft. Tickets are valid only on the day you buy them.

The catch is the season. The autumn timetable runs until 1 November 2026, with trains every day from 23 October and the first train up at 9:30. Nothing later is published yet. Last winter it ran on weekends only, four round trips a day, with the last train down from Lillafüred at 15:45. Check the operator’s timetable page before you plan around it. In winter the carriages are closed and heated by a small stove, but dress warmly anyway.

Dorottya utca is next to tram 1’s “LÁEV (kisvasút)” stop, 27 minutes from Tiszai station.

Photo: Szalax, CC BY-SA 3.0, resized.

Miskolctapolca: A Bath Inside a Cave

The operator calls the Cave Bath (Barlangfürdő) Hungary’s only natural cave bath. Its main pools sit inside limestone passages, fed by 30 °C karst water and kept at about 32 °C, with a few warmer pools in the old bath hall. It is mostly indoors, which makes it a good winter finish.

It is open every day, 09:00 to 19:00, with the ticket desk closing at 18:00 and the pools at 18:30. An adult day ticket is 8,500 Ft (about $26.20), three hours 6,000 Ft, and the late ticket from 16:00 is 4,300 Ft (about $13.30), which is exactly the slot a day-tripper needs. The outdoor pools are summer only, and there is no towel or robe rental, so pack both. On 1 January it opens only at 14:00.

Bus 20 runs from Búza tér to the bath (stop Miskolctapolca). Our Miskolctapolca Cave Bath guide covers the pools in detail.

Diósgyőr Castle: From the Outside, for Now

Diósgyőr’s medieval castle is closed. Its own site says it has shut its gates for reconstruction and gives no reopening date, and the ticket page sells only event entry. If you pass by on tram 1, get off at Diósgyőr városközpont and walk up Vár utca for a look at the towers and walls from outside. Do not build a day around it until it reopens.

The Avas and the City

With a spare hour and a half, ride bus 30 from Tiszai station (every hour at 40 past, 26 minutes, back at 43 past) up the Avas, the hill above the center. The 1963 lookout tower stands on top, and below it is the Reformed church, one of the oldest buildings in Miskolc, with its bell tower and an old cemetery.

Getting There

• From Budapest: InterCity from Budapest-Keleti every hour at 25 past, from 05:25 to 20:25, 2 hours 2 minutes to Miskolc-Tiszai (the last two evening trains take a few minutes longer). The fare is 3,410 Ft (about $10.50) plus a compulsory seat reservation, 650 Ft if you buy it in advance. Back, trains leave Miskolc-Tiszai at 35 past every hour. The last InterCity is the 20:35, arriving at Keleti at 22:47. No works are announced on this line before the timetable change on 13 December.
• Around Miskolc: the city’s trams and buses (MVK) take a 430 Ft single bought in advance (700 Ft on board) or a 1,450 Ft 24-hour ticket, the better buy for a day of hopping. Tram 1 runs from Tiszai station through the center to the forest railway and Diósgyőr, and on to Felső-Majláth.
• To Lillafüred: tram 1 to Felső-Majláth, then bus 5, 12 minutes, about twice an hour. Or take the direct Volánbusz 3755 from Búza tér bus station, 450 Ft. On Saturdays some 3755 runs start at the Tiszai station bus stop (08:40, 10:40 and 12:40, 500 Ft). Or take the forest railway when it runs.

For trains and tickets in general, see our guide to traveling Hungary by train.

The Calendar Problem

• The forest railway runs daily until 1 November. Last winter it ran on weekends only; check the timetable for November onward.
• The Anna Cave runs hourly tours until 1 November, then one tour a day, at 12:00, from 2 November to 31 March. St Stephen’s Cave runs its last winter tour at 14:00.
• Diósgyőr Castle is closed for reconstruction, with no reopening date.
• The Cave Bath is open every day all winter, but the outdoor pools are summer only. On 24 December it closes at 14:00, on 31 December at 17:00, and on 1 January it opens at 14:00.
• The Bükk plateau bus to Bánkút (Volánbusz 3753, an hour from Búza tér) runs on Saturdays but not on Tuesdays, so treat it as a weekend option.
• 1 November is a public holiday, and the trams and buses run to their Sunday timetable.

A Winter Saturday, Hour by Hour

Time	What	Note
06:25	InterCity from Budapest-Keleti	Arrives 08:27
08:40	Volánbusz 3755 from the Tiszai station stop	500 Ft, arrives Lillafüred 09:17. By forest train (9:30, if it runs) you arrive 10:03, so take the 11:00 cave tour instead
10:00	St Stephen's Cave	2,400 Ft, 30 minutes
10:45	Lake Hámori and the hanging garden	Free
12:00	Anna Cave	The only winter tour
12:45	Lunch in Lillafüred
14:42	Volánbusz 3755 to Búza tér	450 Ft, arrives 15:10, then bus 20 to Miskolctapolca
16:00	Cave Bath	4,300 Ft late ticket
18:20	Bus 20 back to the center, then tram 1 to Tiszai	Allow about 45 minutes in all
19:35	InterCity from Miskolc-Tiszai	Arrives Keleti 21:47. Stay in the bath longer and take the 20:35

On a weekday, swap the bus for tram 1 to Felső-Majláth and bus 5, and keep the same order: St Stephen’s Cave at 11:00, the Anna Cave at 12:00, then the bath or the Avas in the afternoon.

Staying the Night

A night turns this from a rush into a weekend. Sleep in Miskolctapolca for the bath in the evening and the caves the next morning, or splurge on the Palace Hotel itself, whose spa non-guests can use on weekdays from 10:00 to 14:00 if they book ahead. A second day gives you the Avas and the city center, or, on a weekend, the bus up to the Bükk plateau at Bánkút for a walk. Szilvásvárad and the Szalajka valley are better done from Eger, since from Miskolc they take nearly two hours with a change.

The Verdict

The palace in the valley is still the reason to come. Take the 06:25 InterCity, give Lillafüred the morning with both caves and the Anna Cave’s 12:00 tour, and spend the late afternoon in the Cave Bath on the 4,300 Ft ticket before the train home. Leave Diósgyőr Castle for when it reopens, and from November come on a weekend if you want the forest train.

If you want more thermal water in the northeast, the Demjén thermal valley is near Eger, and Eger makes a full day trip of its own.

Sources: MÁV ticket shop and journey planner, MVK fares and timetables, LÁEV timetable and fares, Bükk National Park: Anna Cave and St Stephen’s Cave, Barlangfürdő hours, tickets and pools, Hotel Palota, Diósgyőri vár, Miskolc city, all checked 17 October 2026.

Prices are in HUF, which is what you pay at the counter. Converted at 1 USD = 324 HUF, the ECB rate on 15 October 2026. Rates move, so treat the converted figures as indicative.

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