Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Tomas Maltby

Brighton Pier

World-famous for a reason the pier is a Brighton institution and no trip would be complete without at least a quick walk along it.

The remains of the old West Pier can be seen from the promenade of the surviving pier by Grand Junction. The skeleton of metal is still incredibly beautiful, despite years of storm damage and remains a great reminder of its former glory.

The modern pier offers everything you’d expect from arcades to restaurants, including the best fish and chips within hundreds of miles.

The Lanes

If you’re a vintage shopper than The Lanes could well be your paradise. A collection of narrow streets, crammed with various boutiques, it is a warren of fine designer clothes, retro phones, brand-name shaded and cuddly toys.

The hunt for a bargain is on, made all the more enjoyable by the lack of charity street-collectors and the presence of entertaining street performers.

The Brighton Toy and Model Museum

We have yet to discover a toy museum that didn’t instantly send us to a happier time, when our only concern was when we’d have to stop playing to eat and sleep.

Located in the magical arches of a railway station, this museum is right in the city centre and offers a collection of over 10,000 toys. You can even play with a few, while toy trains take long laps around the building.

Brighton Festival

The festival takes place for three weeks every May and the city becomes a hive of excitement throughout that time, so it’s well worth planning your trip to coincide.

The programme changes every year, but you can expect around 700 shows of theatre, musical and art.

The Brighton i-360

Although not open until next year, we thought it was worth mentioning this eye-catching design that will soon dominate the Brighton skyline. The sleek-looking observation tower will stand a full 183 metres high and be able to carry 100 visitors to its top, at one time.

It’s no surprise that it’s being designed by those clever people behind the London Eye, although you can expect a more beautiful view and cheaper prices.

Written by Matt for The Claremont Hotel, a luxurious boutique, family run hotel right in the heart of Brighton.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Jannis Andrija Schnitzer

The cathedral was built over 600 years. Its eastern part with the chorus and part of the two towers were built in the year 1300. In the 15th century there was added the second floor to the south tower where was placed a bell. Towers were connected with the chorus through a long low building. Cathedral, as we know it today, was built in the 19th century of neo-Gothic style.

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Its official name is Hohen Dom zu Köln. The total length of the cathedral is 144.58 m, width is 86.25 m, and height of tower is 157 m. The median nave is 119 meters long and over 45 m wide, the higher one is the only cathedral in Beauvais, France (48.5 m). The church could accommodate 4,000 people and all windows cover an area of 10,000 m².

Everything that was newly built since 1842, was built according to the original medieval plans.

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Jakab’s Palace, Kosice, Slovakia

There are about 240 thousand, mostly young people, living in the city of Košice. The city is therefore also called the city of youth. It is a home of several universities – Technical University, The University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University that includes faculty of Medicine, Law, Science, and others. This vibrant city is the seat of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic and can well take care of tourists and visitors.

Košice is not only a key economic agglomeration, but also the crossroad of transport routes. The town lies in the Košice basin along the wide valley of Hornád river, which is bounded on the west with foothills of the Slovak Ore Mountains (Slovak: Slovenské rudohorie).

Košice grew up in a crossroads of the trade routes connecting southern Europe with areas of the Baltic. Košice have a very good strategic location, because it lies close to three other states. Only 20 km away from Hungary, about 90 km from Poland, and about 80 km from the Ukraine.

Kosice main street, Slovakia

The city’s history dates back to the 10th century, when it was a part of Hungary. In 1369 the city gained a city emblem, which is the oldest documented city coat of arms in Europe.

Medieval history of the city is closely associated with trade and craft.

The historical center of Košice is the largest urban reserve in the Slovak Republic and is definitely worth visiting. The dominant sight of the city and its most important monument is the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth. It is the easternmost Gothic cathedral in Europe. Cathedral has a double spiral staircase as one of just five in Europe. The adjacent St. Michael Chapel and St. Urban Tower create together with the Cathedral a great complex of national cultural monuments.

St. Elizabeth Cathedral and Urban Tower, Kosice, Slovakia

The historic city centre offers a pleasant pedestrian zone with lots of boutiques, bars and cafes. The main street is lined with Gothic and Baroque churches. A great atmosphere is supplemented with the playing fountain and a carillon. Park around the fountain is a universal place of relaxation for both young and old.

Among other sights of Košice you can find a baroque Town Hall, Andrassy Palace, State Theatre from 1899, The Levoča House (Košice’s oldest, still standing bourgeois building), Bishop’s Palace and the parish house, which now houses the Gallery of Claire Jakoby, which was a representative of Slovak art history.

Kosice main park and State Theatre, Slovakia

Košice’s golden treasure is one of Europe’s largest golden treasures. The total weight of gold in the treasure reaches thirteen kilograms. Its insured value is almost 8 million Euro but in fact has an immeasurable historical value. The East Museum in Košice built for it a special unique vault, and since 1970, visitors can see the treasure in the permanent exhibition. Golden treasure was discovered during digging the foundations of the new house in 1935 in Košice. The money and gold probably hid their owner in 1679.

Under the city centre you can visit the archaeological complex of Lower Gate. Lower gate was originally part of the fortification system. The remains were discovered in 90′s of the last century during the huge reconstruction of the city.

St. Michael Chapel, Kosice, Slovakia

Extremely rich cultural life in Košice represent theatres, clubs, museums and galleries or puppet theatre.

On the outskirts of the city is the international airport where you can also find interesting Museum of Aviation, which was open to the public in 2002. It documents the development of aviation and aviation technology from its beginnings until 1943. There are about 30 historical machines, aircraft engines, navigation and other devices that are used in aircraft. Definitely the most interesting exhibits of the museum are 18 original pieces of military aircraft.

In Katov bastion on the eastern edge of town you will find a zoological and geological exposure.

In Nicholas’s prison you can see jail facilities and torture chamber with the instruments that were made ​​specifically for the witches.

Nicholas prison, Kosice, Slovakia

I also have to mention the traditional Europe’s oldest and second oldest marathon in the world – the International Peace Marathon. Marathon was founded in 1924 and still takes place every year on the first Sunday of October.

The last and probably the biggest attraction is the Technical Museum at the north end of Košice. You will find here absolutely everything in terms of historical metallurgy, engineering, locksmithing, blacksmithing, energy, physics and chemistry.

The city is a birthplace of many celebrities such as Sándor Márai, Martina Hingis, Stefan Margita and Waldemar Matuska. In May of 2011 Košice held the Ice Hockey World Championship.

Levoca House and Slavia Hotel, Kosice, Slovakia

All pictures taken by Claire on March 2nd, 2013 for Europe Explored.

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