Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest, is located on the Great Hungarian Plain, 220 km (137 mi) east of Budapest is located on the Great Hungarian Plain, 220 km (137 mi) east of Budapest is located on the Great Hungarian Plain, 220 km (137 mi) east of Budapest. Hortobágy which is a national park within Hungary is situated nearby. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the capital of Hajdú-Bihar county.

Debrecen used to be isolated from Budapest which is Hungary's main transport hub. However, the new sections of motorway M3 (M35) have already significantly decreased travel times. There have also been improvements to the current highway and modernisation of some parts of the rail tracks between the capital and Debrecen as part of Hungary's mainly EU-funded National Development Plan for 2004 to 2006. Debrecen Airport which is the second largest in Hungary has recently undergone modernisation in order to take more international flights.

In Debrecen, there is a large university, University of Debrecen. It has main building which is a widely recognized work of architecture. The university has many departments and is a major research facility in Europe. Debrecen is the site of one of the most important choral competition, Bela Bartok International Choir Competition, and member cities of the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing.

Second World Youth Championships in Athletics hosted in July 2001 was one of the international sporting events held in the last years. In addition, in October 2006, the city hosted the first IAAF World Road Running Championships and also the 2007 European SC Swimming Championships.