Balatonfüred is the ’northern capital’ of Lake Balaton, with 13.500 inhabitants, on the north shore of Lake Balaton, surrounded by gently sloping hillocks. Foreign travellers – may they come here by rail, by road or by boat – start to feel the harmonious blend of past and present at the moment of their arrival. First and foremost the location of the town captures everyone: tender mountains on the north, the beautiful lake on the south embrace the town, which radiates that special Transdanubian serenity for ages. The town was inhabited already when the Romans conquered parts of Hungary. Walking in the town the visitor every now and then faces relics of old times. Ancient living quarters, old buildings, churches, homely vineyards, parks, mighty old trees preserve and whisper their messages to the people living here today.
Balatonfüred is mainly known by its climate which is very similar to the 
Mediterranean and its spring waters containing carbonic acid. Even the sun shines somehow more gently here. Balatonfüred and its surrounding settlements lie in the so-called „Balaton Riviera”. This expression refers to the special micro-climate prevailing here. This climate is created by the foot-hills of the „Balaton felvidék” (=Balaton Highlands): the so-called „Tamás hegy” (=Thomas Hill), Sándor-, Péter- and Száka-hegy (=Alexander-, Peter- and „Száka” Hill) give protection against the icy winds coming from the direction of „Bakony” mountains. Continuous air movement between the land and Lake Balaton, constant winds provide clean air free of dust for people living here and the air heals diseases of the heart and blood-vessels, too. Visitors come to enjoy the mild micro-climate, beautiful scenery, the local wine, made of Olaszrizling grapes, and sailing and swimming facilities, as well as to revive the two-century-old tradition of socializing around spas, bathing and vacationing. The main events of the two-month-long summer holiday season include a ball for first-time visitors with a beauty contest and a wine-tastingfestival. Füred (short for Balatonfüred) has many sporting clubs a newly built conference and sport centre as well.
A number of regattas which qualify as European and world-class competitions are held in Balatonfüred, the best known of which is the Blue Ribbon Regatta.
For those keen on sports we definitely recommend the cycle path around Lake Balaton and horse-riding in Pécsely-Klára Puszta, as well as various water sports (wind-surfing, yachting, water-skiing, pleasure boats).
Balaton hosted many succesful international regattas in the past few years, for example the ORC European Championship was held in Balatonfüred in 2015, one year earlier Balatonalmádi hosted the World Championship for the Soling class and in 2013 Balatonfüred hosted the Laser Radial U21 and the Laser 4.7 World Championship. The special lake conditions with tricky, shifty winds provide very exciting races and big battles all the time. Which gives a good chance for young sailor to improve these special skills.