Pécs Overview

Pécs (PAYCH; pop. 180,000), at the foot of the Mecsek mountains, is an animated university town, rich in bookstores, museums, and sidewalk cafes.

Transportation And Practical Information.  Trains run to: Budapest (3hr., 4 per day, 2220Ft). To reach the train station, just south of the historic district, take bus #30, 32, or 33 from town, or walk for about 20min. down Szabadsag or Irganasok. Be alert on Irgalmasok, which can feel unsafe at night. Buses go to Budapest (4hr., 5 per day, 3010Ft) and Siófok (3hr., 3 per day, 350Ft). The bus station is 15min. from the old city; from the center take Irgalmasok and turn right on Nagy Lajos Kiraly (☎062 52 01 55). Local bus tickets cost 280Ft, but most places in the city are walkable. Tourinform is at Széchenyi tér 9. (☎062 21 26 32. Open June-Aug. M-F 8am-6pm, Sa-Su 10am-8pm, Sept. M-F 8am-6pm, Sa 9am-2pm, Oct.-May M-F 8am-4pm.) There are pharmacies at Széchenyi tér. Internet Cafe Kávézó, Ferencesek 32, offers speedy connections (10Ft per min.). It is relatively easy to find English-speakers here; students are generally eager to help. Postal Code: 7621.

Accommodations And Food. The brand-new Nap Hostel Pécs , Király 23-25, pairs a lively, youthful atmosphere with an unbeatable location in the city’s historical center. (Entrance on Szent Mor. ☎062 72 950 684; www.naphostel.com. Breakfast, linens, and Internet included. Dorms 3000-4000Ft. Cash only.) Pollack Mihály Students’ Hostel , Jokai u. 8, has small, comfortable singles with clean shared baths. (☎062 51 36 50. Singles 2300Ft.) Take bus #21 from the main bus terminal or #43 from the train station and get off at 48-as tér, or walk 20min. up the hill to Rákóczi út. and turn right to reach Universitas Kollégium , Universitas u. 2, behind McDonald’s. (☎062 31 19 66. Reception 24hr. Check-out 9am. Open July-Aug. 3-bed dorms 1300Ft. Cash only.)

Pécs’s bars, cafes, and restaurants are among its biggest attractions. Chill with artists and students at   Dante Cafe , Károlyi Mihály 1, whose restaurant prepares elegant and affordable dishes. The real attraction, however, is the outdoor terrace’s stunning panoramic view of the city below. (From the main square, walk up Hunyadi, take a right on Kálvária, a left on Szőlő, and walk uphill for 15min. ☎062 51 29 00; www.hotelkikelet.hu. Entrees 1700-3600Ft.) Cellarium Étterem , Hunyadi u. 2, is a prison-themed restaurant buried in a cellar. The menu promises that the house champagne is “equal with a good foreplay on a table (instead of a bed).” Here, you can live out your fantasy of eating Hungarian fare while being served by waiters in inmate costumes. (☎062 314 453. Entrees 1200-4000Ft. Live Hungarian music on weekends. AmEx/MC/V.)

Sights. The atelier at the   Zsolnay Museum, Káptalan u. 4, exhibits the Zsolnay family’s world-famous porcelains. There is also a reconstruction of the family’s elegant residence. To get there, walk up Szepessy I. u. and turn left on Káptalan u. (☎062 514 040. Open May-Oct. Tu-Su 10am-6pm, Nov.-Apr. Tu-Su 10am-5pm. 750Ft, students 350Ft; photography 350Ft.) Across the street, the Vasarely Museum, Káptalan u. 5, displays the works of Viktor Vasarely, a pioneer of Op-Art. (☎062 51 40 40, ext. 21. Open Apr.-Oct. Tu-Sa 10am-6pm, Su 10am-4pm. 600Ft, students 350Ft; photography 400Ft, video 800Ft.) In the same yard, the unusual Mecksek Museum reproduces a traditional mine in a 400m cellar. Staffed by actual mine workers, it impressively reproduces a mine’s claustrophobic feel. (Open Apr.-Oct. Tu-Sa 10am-6pm, Su 10am-4pm; Nov.-Mar. Tu-Su 10am-4pm. 500Ft, students 300Ft.) At central Széchenyi tér stands the Gázi Khasim Pasa Dzsámija (Mosque of Ghazi Kassim), once a Turkish mosque built on the site of an earlier church. Its modern fusion of Christian and Muslim traditions has made it a city emblem. (Open mid-Apr. to mid-Oct. M-Sa 10am-4pm, Su 11:30am-4pm; mid-Oct. to mid-Apr. M-Sa 10am-noon, Su 11:30am-2pm. Free.) Walk downhill from Széchenyi tér on Irgalmasok u. to Kossuth tér to find the 1869 Synagogue. Its intricate ceiling frescoes and stunning Ark of the Covenant give it a magical aura. Its entrance details the history of the Holocaust and names the 112 local children killed in concentration camps. (Yarmulkes provided; mandatory for men. Open May-Sept. daily 10am-5pm. 300Ft, students 200Ft.) Atop Pécs’s hill on Dóm tér is the fourth-century Romanesque Cathedral, whose towers are visible from anywhere in the city. (☎062 51 30 30. Open Apr.-Oct. M-Sa 9am-5pm, Su 1-5pm; Nov.-Mar. M-Sa 10am-4pm, Su 1pm-4pm. Mass M-Sa 6pm; Su 8, 9:30, 11am, and 6pm. 800Ft, students 500Ft.)