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The first major settlement along the northern shore is BALATONALMADI , a resort since 1877, which now has a pleasantly faded air, although most visitors to this part of the shore pass straight through, favouring instead the more buoyant resort of Balatonfured. However, its decent beaches, pleasant lakeside walks and varied cultural programme make it worth stopping off for. Its bus and train stations are situated at the top and bottom of the main square, Varoshaz ter, while in July and August boats from Balatonfured and Tihany arrive at the pier, ten minutes' walk eastwards through the lakeside park. The best time to visit is during the Almadi Days at the end of July, a nine-day cultural festival featuring folk dancing, operetta and a big craft fair around the lakeside area. The grape harvest celebration in mid-September is a smaller event - a day of wine and music, with a grand procession through the town. All the sights in the town are church-related. A few minutes' walk west of the centre, the small Chapel of the Holy Right Hand ( Szent Jobb Kapolna ), tacked on to the left side of the Church of Szent Imre, at Ovary Ferenc utca 47, was originally located in the Royal Palace in Buda and housed the holy right hand of St Stephen, which is now in the Basilica in Budapest. During the reconstruction of Buda palace after World War II, the chapel was spared from destruction by Stalinists, and rebuilt at Balatonalmadi in 1957. Peering through the bars of the gate you can see the impressive gold mosaic by Karoly Lotz, although the turquoise walls give the whole thing a tacky feel. Two other unusual churches lie in Vorosbereny , the older part of town, twenty minutes' walk up Petofi utca, and along Veszpremi ut (ask at the bus station which bus to catch). The Baroque parish church, built in 1779 for the Jesuits, contains interesting frescoes depicting the order's founder, St Ignatius, as well as some contemporary figures; you can get the key from the plebania , two houses behind the church. Just uphill stands a fortified thirteenth-century Calvinist church, whose shape has undergone many changes over the years; only fragments of frescoes and a couple of windows remain from the original. The key is available from the priest's house ( Reformatus Lelkesz Hivatal ), directly below the church at Veszpremi ut 105. On Fridays in July and August the church hosts concerts of Renaissance and Baroque music.
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