The 13th-century citadel looms over Visegr谩d atop a 333m-high hill and is surrounded by moats hewn from solid rock. The real highlight is simply walking along the ramparts of this eyrie and admiring what is arguably the best view of the B枚rzs枚ny Hills and the Danube. Take the steep 鈥楩ellegv谩r鈥 trail from the back gate of Solomon's Tower (40 minutes), the shorter 'K谩lv谩ria s茅t谩ny' (Calvary Promenade) trail behind the Catholic church on F艖 t茅r (20 minutes) or the City-Bus Visegr谩d minibus.
Completed in 1259, the citadel was the repository for the Hungarian crown jewels until 1440, when Elizabeth of Luxembourg, the daughter of King Sigismund, stole them with the help of her lady-in-waiting and hurried off to Sz茅kesfeh茅rv谩r to have her infant son L谩szl贸 crowned king. (The crown was returned to the citadel in 1464 and held here 鈥 under a stronger lock, no doubt 鈥 until the Turkish invasion.)
There鈥檚 a small pictorial exhibit in the residential rooms on the west side of the citadel and two smaller displays near the east gate on hunting, falconry and traditional occupations in the region, like stone cutting and beekeeping. There's also a Panoptikum, a wax museum focusing on characters of the 14th century.
