A site not to miss along the Danube Bend is the Visegrad Castle. Meaning “High Fortress,” Visegrad Castle is an imposing ruin best seen from the opposite bank, the left bank of the Danube, the side of the river the bicycle path follows on its way from Vac to Estergom.
Visegrad offers the finest panorama of the Danube Bend as it snakes through the Börzsöny and Visegrad hills. Its beginnings date back to the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries. The original structure was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century thereafter which it was reconstructed by the subsequent kings of Hungary, coming to prominence under the reign of King Mathias.
While Visegrad can be visited as part of your day cycling to Estergom, it may be you”ll end up wasting some time on account of needing to wait for the ferry and will then have to hurry to get to Estergom before it gets dark. Although the ferry boats should run every hour they often wait until there are enough cars and trucks to ferry over to make the crossing worth their time and you may end up wasting more time than you wanted to.
On account of the possible delays with the ferry and to have ample time to enjoy the area, a trip to Visegrad is best done as a day trip from Vac. Nice trial of some 25 km follows the river with Danube on your left. The bike path leads through some dense vegetation at times, occasionally passing by nice villas near the waterfront. There are nice views of surrounding hills all the way until the castle comes up above the right bank. The ferry crossing is at Nagymaros.
Once on the other side of the river, you”ll first cycle through the peaceful Visegrad village with a number of cozy restaurants and cafes, then begin a steep winding climb toward the castle. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes to ascend to the castle where you can dismount, enter the citadel and walk around the ramparts of the stronghold. The hills around the castle offer some nice cycling and more fine views of Visegrad and the Danube Bend.
Eventually you can cycle back downhill, stop for a snack at a cafe before taking a ferry the other side and follow the bike path to Vac for overnight.
