Festetics Palace, museum and Helikon library.

The pictures on this page were taken while we were on our cycle tour in Hungary. We cycled south along the western border of Hungary with Austria and arrived at Heviz, famous for its giant outdoor thermal bath, and thence to Keszthely town at the west end of Lake Balaton. The highlight of the sightseeing in Keszthely was the visit to the Festetics Palace, museum and Helikon library. Surrounded by extensive lawns to the front and a large classic English garden layout at the rear, the imposing building with over 100 rooms, faces east. From the front door you may walk to the right, direct into Keszthely high street.

Entering the building visitors must put on special soft overshoes to protect the wooden floors. The famous Helikon library is upstairs with many old books, plus details about papermaking and book binding.

1. Keszthely Palace, Museum and Helikon Library	2. Soft slippers provided to cover your outdoor shoes helps to protect the wooden floor.
3. Painting of horses outside the Palace.	4. Painting of horsemans and his dogs
5. Clock	6. Small black ornament with soldiers on horseback
7. One of the many lavishly decorated rooms we visited.	8. Small detail of large ornament. The horse appears to have webbed feet and a tail.
9 Painting of beautiful lady	10. Possibly the Queen ?
11. Prince with tartan sash	12. Historic books from floor to ceiling in the Helikon library
13. Belzoni's researches and operations in Egypt and Nubia - Some of the very few books we could find in English	14. More Books in the Helikon library. There were some very large atlas type books also.
15. Crystal chandelier in the Helikon library	16. There was a small section of the museum devoted to the skills of book making and the repair of old books and manuscripts.
17. The chapel, as seen from the landing in the Festetics Palace.	18. Historic painting in substantial gold frame.
19. My hero with sword, wearing a kilt.	20 White cushioned chair with rounded back.
21 Detail from the wallpaper	22. Highly decorated chair and flower vase.
23. Beautiful wood floor, where the public walks, thus the reason for everyone to wear soft covers on their shoes.	24. English style formal garden and flowerbeds at the rear of the Festetics Palace.
25. Cardinal visiting Festetics Palace	26. Keszthely town centre. This is the view directly outside the gate at Festetics Palace. There are a number of pavement cafes and shopping opportunities.