Nine Ice Rinks Await Winter Sports Enthusiasts in the Balaton Region

Ice rink in Balatonfüred in January 2024

Lake Balaton, striving for a stable flow of visitors over four seasons, has taken up the gauntlet against climate change and its mild winters: nine municipalities around the lake have announced the opening of artificial ice rinks this year, reports Világgazdaság.

For two to three months, locals and tourists who want to spend their leisure time on Lake Balaton in winter will be welcomed at the Balaton ice rinks, opening in the coming weeks. “According to our latest survey results, for 88 out of 100 Hungarians, Lake Balaton is associated with summer, warmth, beaches, lángos, bathing. Therefore, it is primarily identified as a summer destination by most people, but in fact Lake Balaton is much more than that,” said Péter Princzinger, CEO of VisitBalaton365, who said the ice rinks are a good representation of the diversity of winter Balaton.

So far, nine municipalities have announced that this winter they will start competing for tourists who want to spend their leisure time on Lake Balaton in winter.

The first artificial ice rink will be officially opened this Saturday

followed by

Balatonalmádi,
Balatonboglár,
Balatonfüred,
Nemesvámos,
Siófok,
Szigliget,
Zamárdi
and Veszprém.

Ice rink in Veszprém in December 2023. Photo: MTI/Vasvári Tamás

Ice skating has a long tradition in Hungary, and even in the 19th century it was natural for the people of Balaton to skate on the frozen lake. The last time Lake Balaton was good for this was in 2017, when the winter fattened the lake with a safe, thick layer of ice.

As reported by Hunagry Today, on November 30, the town of Balatonlelle will be the first to open the largest contiguous artificial ice rink on the south shore with an area of 1,200 square meters, that will be open for skating for 60 days. In addition, a heated festival tent with a capacity of 1,000 people will await Hungarian and foreign visitors with entertainment, family and children’s programs and dance events.

The largest ice rink on Lake Balaton, in Balatonfüred on the north shore, will reopen next weekend, December 6, and can already be tested the day before. The ice rink in Balatonfüred, with a total area of 3,600 square meters and a one-kilometer-long corridor, will be open until 2 February 2025.

In Szigliget, where the first ice rink was opened on the beach in 2017, skaters will be welcomed to the castle this year. Every year, more and more people visit this special place.

It is also worth checking the opening hours, opening hours and prices of the ice rinks on Lake Balaton: while some are free (e.g. in Zamárdi), others charge more than 2,000 forints (4.87 euros) for a ticket.

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