Kosice

Introduction

Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia, set on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, close to the borders with Hungary and Ukraine. It is the country's second city after the capital, Bratislava.

Before you go

Košice sits in a basin where the Hungarian plains meet the Carpathian mountains, with the Hornád river passing through its suburbs rather than its core. The city has a continental climate: summers are hot and relatively humid, with stretches of rainy weeks, while winters are mainly freezing, with periods of significant snowfall interspersed with milder spells. Winds and humidity can make winter uncomfortable, though temperatures usually stay above those of the hilly country to the north. Spring, particularly late April and May, is a lovely time to visit, and autumn offers warm rather than hot temperatures and rain rather than rainstorms, with beautiful fall foliage in October. Damp weather can occur unexpectedly for a week or two in any season.

Most travellers find that 24 hours in Košice is plenty. The city is not often visited from elsewhere, which can help you engage with residents who are often pleased that foreigners visit. The compact core, centred on the St. Elisabeth cathedral, holds much of the city's attractions, restaurants and bars, and is the largest protected historical downtown in Slovakia. The periphery is mostly Communist-era apartment blocks with little for the average visitor beyond a few cheap places to sleep. If you want to hike, the forests of the surrounding mountains, especially on the western side, are popular with locals, and areas such as Kavečany, Jahodná, Bankov and Čermeľská dolina can be reached by public transport.

Getting there

Košice International Airport (KSC) sits about 6 km south of the centre and handles a small number of routes from Central Europe and the British Isles; bus 23 links the airport with the city centre. Because direct destinations are limited, minibus services run to the main regional airports, particularly Budapest and Vienna. Cassoviaexpres departs from the McDonald's parking lot next to the indoor city swimming pool, opposite Aupark Shopping Center, while Izijet leaves from Bottova Street and requires an internet reservation. Flixbus also serves Budapest and Vienna airports, though these services are irregular and tickets sell out quickly.

By train, Košice Railway Station on Staničné námestie is a 10-minute walk from the centre and a terminus for many bus and tram lines. Frequent trains run from Bratislava, several connections from Prague are operated daily by night and day trains, and there are up to 8 daily trains to Budapest. InterCity trains require reservations and can fill up around long weekends, Christmas and Easter. The adjacent bus station has fewer services, but Eurolines, Interbus and Eurobus coaches arrive from numerous European cities, and Flixbus runs direct buses from Kraków, Vienna and Prague. Driving, the city is a crossroads: road no. 16 comes in from Bratislava, Vienna, Brno and Prague, road no. 17 from Budapest and eastern Hungary, road no. 19 from Ukraine, and road no. 20 from Poland, Ostrava and Prague.

Getting around

Košice has a small, compact centre that is mostly navigable on foot, and all the main sights sit within walking distance of each other. In the old town, walking is really the only practical option, since many streets are pedestrianised and no public transport runs through them. If you are staying out in the suburbs, the tram and bus network operated by DPMK is cheap and efficient, with good connections across the whole city, so you can reach practically anywhere by public transport.

• Trams: lines 2–9 run through most of the day at intervals of roughly 10–20 minutes. Trams numbered R1–R8 link parts of the city to the steel plant, but their schedules are irregular and the routes are of little use to visitors. Not every tram is accessible to mobility-impaired passengers; a wheelchair symbol in the schedule marks departures using lower-floor vehicles.
• Buses and trolleybuses: a large bus network covers the city and suburbs, and most buses are wheelchair accessible. Buses 51–57 are express lines that skip some stops and run mainly at rush hour. Lines 71 and 72 are nominally trolleybus routes but are operated by ordinary buses, with the overhead wires left in place.
• Night services: seven night buses, N1–N7, run hourly, all departing from and returning to the railway station.
• Tickets: buy them via an app — mhdke.sk is convenient because nothing needs installing — or from sales points, vending machines at some stops, newsstands, drivers, or by SMS with a Slovak SIM. Validate your ticket in the machine on board the first time you use it, then travel and transfer for as long as that ticket type remains valid. Tickets bought from drivers or for night buses cost more. Electronic ticket cards, loaded with credit, give a slight discount on paper tickets.
• Taxi: some companies charge a flat fare within the city, and airport runs cost more. Taxis wait along the main street, at the railway station and at the airport terminal when flights arrive, but ordering one is usually cheaper than hailing on the street; you can also use the Bolt app.
• Car: driving is usually hassle-free, with traffic jams rare outside road works or accidents, and rental counters at the airport. Downtown parking is charged on weekday daytime hours and on Saturday morning to early afternoon, payable at machines or by phone with a Slovak SIM.
• Bike: there are some north–south lanes along the main streets, and you can ride along the river bank even without a dedicated lane, but there is little east–west infrastructure. In pedestrian zones and parks the speed limit for bikes is 10 km/h.

Where to stay

Košice has one camping option, Autocamping Salaš Barca, next to the beltway south of the city; it has a restaurant and cabins for rent. For budget stays, the city's hostels cluster in the centre and near the university hospitals. Hostel Happy Bull Kosice is cosy, with houseplants and an outdoor terrace, and breakfast is available. Hostel Vodná 1 is clean but does not serve breakfast. K2 Hostel is popular with younger visitors travelling on a shoestring, with basic rooms and shared bathrooms. Turistická ubytovňa, a boarding school with some rooms let to visitors, sits on Medická near the Nová nemocnica hospital.

Mid-range choices include Hotel Gloria Palace, with single and twin rooms and suites, each with its own bathroom, television and telephone, plus internet access at reception. Penzión Horse inn serves free breakfast but has no air conditioning and is not wheelchair accessible. Penzión Slovakia and Penzión Villa Regia are further central options; Villa Regia occupies a modernly renovated old building, with en-suite shower rooms, breakfast included in its restaurant, wifi throughout, and a location a short walk from the cathedral. Hotel Múza, decorated with pop art, sits near a hypermarket, while Hotel Bonaparte lies towards Miskolc. For a splurge, City residence offers downtown apartments, and the Doubletree by Hilton provides modern amenities and warm hospitality in a newly renovated downtown hotel. Hotel Yasmin is a designer hotel steps from the historical pedestrian zone, Hotel Zlaty Dukat houses a glass museum and gourmet specialties, and Boutique Hotel Bristol has a Roman spa. Hotel Bankov, the oldest existing hotel in Slovakia, offers an elegant, charming atmosphere in a quiet setting, and further central luxury rooms can be found at Hotel Ambassador, Hotel Dália, Hotel Maraton and Golden Royal.

Food & drink

Hlavná and the streets around it hold the greatest concentration of places to eat, and prices tend to be a little higher downtown than in the outer districts, where you'll find popular pizza spots. On Sundays many restaurants open only for dinner. Vegetarians are catered for better than you might expect: there's just one fully vegetarian restaurant, Ajvega on Orlia, which also handles celiac diets and serves a weekday midday lunch menu, but most restaurants keep one or several vegetarian dishes on their menus.

For cheap eats, try the Asian bistro Panda on Fejova for opekane rezance, Pizzeria Zvon on Zvonárska for stone-baked pizza on hand-thrown dough, or Kebab Haus on Hviezdoslavova for kebab in pita with salad, fries or rice. Burekas on Vratna is an Israeli place known for falafel and hummus, Bamboo on Hlavná is an Asian restaurant rather than a fast-food joint, and Arthur Gelato on Hlavná scoops many flavours of gelato. Mid-range options include Karczma Mlyn on Hlavná for Slovak and Polish cooking in rural-style surroundings, Pub u kohúta on Hrnciarska for Slovak food and a summer terrace with evening concerts, Golem on Dominikanske namestie for its own microbrewery beers and home-made pickled cheese, and 12 Apoštolov on Kováčska for traditional cuisine; Piano Café on Hlavná combines pizzeria and cocktail bar. At the higher end you'll find Sushi Maiko on Hlavná, Republika Východu on Hlavná with its menu in eastern Slovak dialect plus cakes and coffee, Le Colonial on Hlavná for international and French cooking, the Medieval-themed Camelot on Kováčska for pork knuckle, goulash and unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell, Rosto Steak House on Orlia for South American steaks and New Zealand lamb, and U troch ruží on Štúrova for steaks.

Drinking in Košice follows its east Slovakian tradition of great, cheap parties, and the compact centre keeps a concentrated bar scene going whatever the day or season, though summer weekends can unexpectedly go quiet. For something without alcohol there are ice cream and pastry shops around town, among them Aida on Hlavná, the Italian-style Caffé Trieste on Ursulinska with several other branches, Urban café on Vrátna with Belgian pralines and waffles, Dobrá čajovňa on Mäsiarska for tea and a hookah, and Trdelniky on Hlavná for the spit cake of the same name. Beer bars range from Beer House on Hlavná, with a wide beer range, pizza until late and live music twice a week, to the Slovak-style biergartens Kembridž north of the centre and Bistro Záhrada on Kukučínova, the Czech-style brewpub Staromestská piváreň, Dobré časy with its many taps plus small dishes and hamburgers, Pokhoi in a small courtyard on Hlavná, Red Nose Pub with a large tap selection and only snacks, Bernard club near the cathedral, and the Irish Pub Diesel on Hlavná with DJs on many nights. Villa Cassa is an enoteca with a wide choice of Slovak and foreign wines, Little Havana on Kováčska specialises in rum-based cocktails, and Cubano Bar on Mäsiarska offers shisha, milkshakes and a place to watch football. For dancing and late nights, Jazz Club on Kováčska draws locals despite the name and serves food, Boba bar on Južná trieda is a disco and bar, and Collosseum on Dominikanske namestie hides a fairly huge space with several pubs inside and occasional international live acts.

What to see and do

Most of Košice's sights cluster along the main pedestrianized street, Hlavná ulica, which forms the heart of the town and runs between Námestie Maratónu mieru at its northern end and Námestie osloboditeľov at its southern end. Once a medieval square from which the whole town grew, it is now closed to traffic and pleasant to wander on foot. Along it you'll find St Elizabeth's Cathedral, a High Gothic monument with a helical double staircase and a northern tower you can climb for views over the historical centre, as well as St Michael's Chapel next door, the Urban tower, the State Theater, the so-called singing fountain, and many stylish original bourgeois houses.

The city's oldest sights date from medieval times, including the ruins of fortifications, the Katova bašta (the only remaining part of the city walls), and the Mikluš Prison, a pair of Gothic houses once used as a jail and now housing a museum of medieval justice. For museums and galleries, the East Slovak Museum holds permanent expositions on the nature of Carpathia, centuries of art, and the history of Košice, while the Slovak Technical Museum covers metalwork, mining, watchmaking, physics and chemistry. You can descend into the reconstructed archaeological basement of the Lower Gate, see the regional art at the East Slovak Gallery, or visit the Craftsmen's House for the crafts practiced in the region in the Middle Ages. Further out, near the airport, the Museum of Aviation displays aircraft, engines and a presidential gallery.

When to go

Košice has a continental climate, so your experience of the city depends heavily on the season you choose. Winters are mainly freezing, with stretches of weeks of significant snowfall interrupted by spells of positive daytime temperatures. These months are the gloomiest for sunshine, and the combination of wind and humidity can make the time rather uncomfortable. If you are coming for snow and skiing, bear in mind that conditions can vary unpredictably within a single week.

Late April and May are perhaps the best season to visit, with blooming, lovely conditions — though damp weather can still occur unexpectedly for a week or two. Summers are hot and relatively humid, and stretches of rainy weeks can occur. Autumn is also a good time to visit, with warm rather than hot temperatures and precipitation falling as rain rather than rainstorms; October brings beautiful fall foliage.

Festivals & events

Three days in Kosice

Day one: Start in Košice itself, getting your bearings in the compact centre of Slovakia's second city. The Gothic cathedral of St Elisabeth is the obvious anchor, and from there you can walk the main street and take in the Communist-era layers that sit alongside the medieval core. If you want a break from the streets, head out to one of the city's green edges: Kavečany, Jahodná or Bankov, all within reach for an afternoon of walking in the hills that rise toward the Slovak Ore Mountains.

Day two: Give the day to the outdoors. The Hornád river runs through the city, and the surrounding Carpathian foothills offer trails for every energy level. Kavečany, Jahodná and Bankov are the local favourites, and spring or autumn are the pick of the seasons - April, May and October bring mild, changeable weather, while summer can turn warm and humid and winter is bitterly cold. Damp days are common, so pack accordingly.

Day three: Use Košice as a base for a wider look at Central Europe. The city sits close to the borders with Hungary and Ukraine, and it is well connected: Košice International Airport (KSC) handles flights, while Košice Railway Station and services such as the Cassoviaexpres link it to Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna. Buses including Flixbus and Izijet also serve the city, with stops around Bottova Street, and the Aupark Shopping Center is handy if you need supplies before you move on.