The Szaploncay promenade is one of Fonyód's simplest and most beautiful programs. You don't need hiking shoes, itinerary app or serious preparation. Just go, walk along the high bank, and sometimes look right, left. In both directions, you'll get quite a different one.
Turn to Lake Balaton, one of the biggest advantages of the High Coast in Fonyód is presented to you. The promenade rises about 70 metres above the lake, so in clear weather almost the entire north coast is drawn. You have the Badacsony, St. George's Hill, Mount Tótii, Cebánc and other witness mountains; especially under good visibility you can follow the other side from the direction of Keszthely to Tihany. Information boards will also help us identify which mountain is smiling back at you.
But if you turn around, another Balaton will face you. The estuaries along Béla Bartok road were born in the 1890s. Count Béla Zichy, Manó Szaploncay Somogyi, at the initiative of an officer in charge, parceled the area where 29 large villas were formed. The spa quickly became popular: by 1898 there were 23 forks.
The forks were built by wealthy doctors, lawyers, landowners and ministerial officials as summer residence. Among the owners was Ferenc Ripka, former mayor of Budapest, Jenő Huszka, an operetta author and the family of Körley's champagne factory. Behind the gardens, there are still towers, verandas and historical buildings. More has been beautifully restored, others have yet to see every story of the past hundred and thirty years - and perhaps that's what left the fork really alive.
One of the most interesting buildings is the old Velics- villa in which the Fonyód Museum operates today. Szinyei Merse Pál spent two summers here in 1916 and 1917, painting nine pictures of Fonyód and Balaton. If you find the museum open, it is worth adding a visit to the walk: besides the history of the city, he tells a lot about the natural world of Lake Balaton.
On the renovated promenade about 800 metres long, there are benches, old lion stone benches, shade trees, information boards and smaller rest areas. On the way, you will also meet the statue of Mariaia, the public works called the Balatoni Wind and the Szaploncay Café. The latter is a good stop for a coffee or cold drink, although the most important element of sight is, of course, not made by them.
The promenade is quieter in the morning. The air is cooler, fewer people walk that way, and the light will lift up the mountains on the other side. At sunset, it is more spectacular and romantic: the Badacsony area slowly changes colour, the water reflects the evening lights, and the turn-of-the-century villas have a very strange atmosphere of walking. If you only came once, we'd pick the late afternoon. If you spend more days in Fonyód, check both times.
The promenade itself is easy and comfortable, but remember, you're on top of the high coast. If they came on foot from the lake, we'd have to climb up first. It's also accessible by car, and you can find a parking spot in the area.
You don't have to do anything here. You don't need to read all the tables, photograph every fork or measure exactly the distance travelled. Just go, stop once in a while, and look over the other side - or across the road. In one direction, the old Fonyód, and in the other the whole of Balaton-Highlands are waiting.
Excursions from Fonyód - half day to day
All the related places were arranged on the same page, with their own decision-making assistance and direct routes.
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