Once covering much of the area where the boat landing and Fo utca (Main St.) are now found, the ruins of the Royal Palace and the Salamon Tower are all that remain today for visitors to explore. The entrance to the open-air ruins, the King Matthias Museum, is at Fo u. 27 (tel. 26/398-026). Admission is free. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. The buried ruins of the palace, having achieved a near-mythical status, were not discovered until the 21st century. The Salamon Tower is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm, May through September.
The Cloud Castle (Fellegvár) (tel. 26/398-101), a mountaintop citadel above Visegrád, affords one of the finest views you'll find over the Danube. Admission to the citadel is 800 Ft ($4.30/£2.25). It is open daily from 9:30am to 5:30pm. The "City Bus," a van taxi that awaits passengers outside Visegrád Tours, takes people up the steep hill for a steep fare of 2,000 Ft ($11/£5.70) apiece for the ride up. If you stay less than 30 minutes, you can ride down again for 1,000 Ft ($5.40/£2.85), otherwise, it is again 2,000 Ft ($11/£5.70). Note that it is not a casual walk to the citadel; consider it a day hike and pack accordingly with bottled water.
An Annual Festival -- Each summer on the second weekend in July, Visegrád hosts the International Palace Tournament, an authentic medieval festival replete with dueling knights on horseback, medieval music, and dance. If you cannot make it to this fabulous event, you can enjoy a tournament on a smaller scale combined with a medieval dinner at 6pm on Thursday in July and August. For more information, contact Visegrád Tours at tel. 26/398-160.
