Whichever road we take out of the town, we can admire gentle slopes and hillsides covered by forests and vines everywhere. The neighbourhood of Zalaegerszeg, the Göcsej region and the whole of Zala County offer numerous beauty spots to visit and entertainment facilities to try.

Our first stop to the east is Búcsúszentlászló. As tradition has it, King St Ladislaus ordered the construction of a small chapel at the site where he had miraculously escaped from the army pursuing him. The baroque church of imposing dimensions was built to join the ancient chapel nearly three hundred years ago. Its furniture has hardly changed through centuries.

When we leave the town in the direction of Lake Balaton, the baroque church and the Benedictine abbey in Nagykapornak can be seen even from the road. The building, which used to be of increased significance in the Middle Ages, often served as a venue for the County’s General Assemblies. Going further, it is worth stopping in Zalacsány for a while. Among the sites of the township, the Batthyány Castle built in the 1500s, in the park of which visitors can admire a 200-250 year-old mammoth tree, and the reservoir dammed up from a double river thus creating a bathing place and a fishing pond are equally worth a visit.

Leaving the main road, we arrive in Kehidakustány, where an excellent medicinal and adventure bath is awaiting its visitors. It is also worth visiting the Deák-Mansion, the late home of Ferenc Deák. In the east wing of the building, where the landlord dwelt, we can visit a standing exhibition displaying the figure, course of life and ever-valid thoughts of Ferenc Deák entitled „The wise man of the country, the pride of Zala”. A couple of kilometres away we can find a real speciality in Kallósd. The most beautiful round church of the country stands here, which was built in Roman Style in around 1260.

Going back to the main road, we reach the world-famous Lake Hévíz, which is the largest natural medicinal lake of the world. The water temperature reaches 33-35 °C in the summer and does not fall below 23-25 °C even in winter. The first bathing pavilion was built by György Festetics in 1795. This date is considered as the opening date of the medicinal spa in Hévíz.

We should by no means miss visiting Keszthely, known as the capital city of Lake Balaton. In the Festetics-Castle – which is one of the pearls of Hungarian Baroque architecture – visitors can see not only the magnificent library with its original furniture but also an exhibition showing the baronial life of the 18th–19th centuries, the famous Windischgrätz collection of trophies and ornamental weapons, a coach exhibition and an exhibition on Islamic arts.

You should also visit Kis-Balaton that is only a stone’s throw away from Lake Balaton, and the attraction of which is based on its abundant bird life and magic natural environs. Apart from the 250 bird species observed, several, by now rare animal and plant species take refuge in this area. A unique experience is guaranteed by the neighbouring Buffalo Reserve in Kápolnapuszta, which is open all over the year.

Starting out to the south from Zalaegerszeg, to the heart of Göcsej, one can reach a forgotten world. Göcsej is a regional and ethnographical unit bordered by the rivers Zala, Válicka and Kerka and consisting of about 70 townships. The little villages embraced by the mounds and nestling in the valleys preserve the memories of old times. The centre of Göcsej is the area of ‘szegs’. Its small villages were named after the families living and ever-growing there. Their memories are preserved by ‘Kustánszeg’, ‘Gombosszeg’ or ‘Milejszeg’, and the other settlements with the names ending in the syllable ‘szeg’. Along the little villages lying some kilometres away from each other, ‘crucifixes’stand with artistically carved corpora. In the villages we can findwoodenbelfries. On a small hillock between Böde and Zalaszentmihályfa a church from the Árpád era was built, which is one of the most valuable monuments of the county. In Kustánszeg visitors are awaited by a bathing lake and a museum house.

The highest peak of the rolling Göcseji region is Kandikó of the height of 302 m, from the top of which a beautiful panorama of the neighbouring region unfolds.

25 km to the south of Zalaegerszeg lies Söjtör. The name of the village is primarily renowned for being the birth-place of Ferenc Deák. The baroque house, where he was born, has attracted many visitors year after year since its renewal in 2003.

When leaving the county-seat to the north, we arrive in Egervár. This village lies at the border of Zala and Vas Counties in the valley of the Brook Sárvíz. Its two monuments of outstanding significance are the Fortified Castle and the Roman Catholic Church. In the Castle, built in the 15th century, operates a tourist hotel and in its south-eastern tower an exhibition showing the history of the castle can be visited. The outdoor stage, built in its court, hosts the events of the summer programme, ‘Egervári Esték’.

Following River Zala to the west, we can find numerous small settlements and points of interest. It is worth visiting the small church in Zalaszentgyörgy, where past periods are embodied. Its main style is Gothic, but all major styles can also be identified. In Kávás, Borona Path with information boards following the horsebacks around the village display the village’s treasures of architecture, cultural history and nature. The starting point of the Path is the two museum houses standing in their original places. In Zalalövő the remains of the Roman culture can still be seen in the local ruin garden and museum. From the ethnographical point of view, the thatched folk museum house built in the two centuries ago is of a significantvalue.