Weekly hotels top five of five - Hungary

(AFP PHOTO ATTILA KISBENEDEK)

This week sees the start of the Sziget Festival in Budapest, a huge music and cultural festival expected to attract 390,000 people.

Budapest itself is no stranger to tourists - nearly 2.9 million visited in 2009 according to Euromonitor, making it the 38th most visited city in the world.

It's also one of the cheapest in Europe, according to recent data from Trivago, with a night in August 2010 costing travelers around €72 and a myriad of low-cost airline options available from across Europe.

European visitors comprise the majority of the tourists, most often from Austria, Germany and Slovakia.

Budapest

Budapest's stunning architecture, thermal baths and extensive underground cave network help to make it one of central Europe's most popular tourist destinations. This means the city has its share of fairly expensive hotel chains, although the very reasonable Hotel Palazzo Zichy tops the list.

1 Hotel Palazzo Zichy
2 Corinthia Hotel Budapest
3 Mamaison Residence Izabella Budapest
4 Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace
5 Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest

Average price of top five $175 - $363/€134 - €278

Debrecen

Debrecen is the second largest city in Hungary and boasts the country's second largest airport. Nonetheless, its hotel offerings remain few, and prices are much lower than in Budapest.

1 Hotel Lycium
2 Hotel Divinus
3 Best Western Hotel Kalvin
4 Aquaticum Debrecen Thermal and Wellness Hotel
5 Hunguest Hotel Nagyerdo

Average price of top five $121/€93

Szeged

Szeged is a university town and attracts students from around the world to study at its prestigious university. The Hunguest Hotel Forras was Szeged's most popular hotel, with guests praising its thermal pools and location close to the city center.

1 Hunguest Hotel Forras
2 Hotel Dom
3 Hotel Royal
4 Novotel Szeged
5 Hotel Matrix

Average price unavailable

Miskolc

Miskolc is a city of industry but is trying to transform itself into a cultural center and boasts several attractions in the city center. Guests described the Levay Villa Panzio as "great."

1 Levay Villa Panzio
2 Oreg Miskolcz Hotel
3 Anna Hotel
4 City Hotel Miskolc
5 Varkert Pension

Average price unavailable

Pecs

Pecs was a European Capital of Culture in 2010, prompting a flurry of renewal activities in the town in anticipation of the visitors. The "colloquial" and "comfortable" Szinbad Panzio was travelers' favorite hotel.

1 Szinbad Panzio
2 Hotel Diana
3 Aranyhajo Fogado
4 Hunguest Hotel Kikelet
5 Corso Hotel Pecs

Average price unavailable

Data is taken from millions of independent reviews and rankings surveyed at TripAdvisor taken on August 11, 2010.

Website: http://www.tripadvisor.com