Tata

Tata calls itself the town of waters, and the description is literal: karst springs feed a chain of lakes and mill ponds through the centre, the largest of them the Oreg-to, with a ruined medieval castle on its shore, an English landscape park with a deliberately built artificial ruin, and a set of restored watermills. The Esterhazy family shaped much of what stands. In the cold months the Oreg-to becomes one of the more important goose roosts in central Europe, with tens of thousands of white-fronted and bean geese coming in at dusk and leaving at dawn in a noise that carries across the town, and birdwatchers time visits for it. The lake is walkable in about an hour.

What you actually see

• Winter goose roosts - tens of thousands arriving on the Old Lake at dusk.
• The lakeside castle - the medieval fortress on the shore.
• Karst springs and watermills - the water the town is built around.
• The English park and its false ruin - the deliberately built folly.

When to go

October to March for the geese, which arrive at dusk and leave at first light; May to September for the lakes and swimming. Half a day. Dawn and dusk are the birding windows.

Honest expectations

Several of the springs have dried or weakened because of past mine dewatering, and some of the water features are managed rather than natural. Goose numbers vary a great deal between winters. The castle interior is small.

Nearby

Monostor Fortress is at Komarom; Esztergom lies north-east.