Destinations International
Read reviews about destinations accross the globe. Whether you're on holiday, a business trip or travelling the World, don't miss the best cities, villages and resorts. Search our Destinations International category by continent, country, city or town. Compare traveller's reviews,
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Kosice (Slovakia)
by 12jane * Kosice * Kosice is the second largest city in Slovakia and is currently European Capital of Culture 2013, along with Marseille in France. Kosice is in Eastern Slovakia, near the Hungarian border, and has a population of approx. 240,000 people. I first visited Kosice in August 2012 to view the University there and ... fell in love with the city. I am now studying at the University of Veterinary Medicine, on an English course which is attended by students from all over the world. The city is beautiful, all the buildings are colourful, and it is a lot cleaner than cities in the UK. There is no chewing gum littering the pavements, or rubbish on the streets. There are several parks, and lots of green spaces and trees everywhere. Fountains can be found in most parks, with a large one in the city centre, which is lit at night. Tourist attractions in the city include the zoo, which is the largest zoo in Eastern Europe by area. The zoo is around 5 miles to the north of the city, and can easily be accessed by a regular bus. There is also the Eastern Slovak Museum, which has several galleries, including a large display of catholic items, as well as a lot of rocks! The Slovak people are nice, although not many speak English, but you can get away with pointing at what you want most of the time. The majority of people are catholic, and there are many churches, including the largest one in Slovakia, the St. Elizabeth Cathedral. It is a gothic cathedral dating from 1230 and is a must see. There are also several theatres, where there is always a play or opera to see, although I have yet to visit. The museum, theatre, cathedral etc. and located on the main street in the city centre, which is around 1km in length, and has everything you need. The street is called Hlavna in Slovak. In summer, all the cafes and restaurants have outdoor seating down Hlavna, and it is lovely to sit outside in the sun. Eating out is cheap in Kosice , a meal can be purchased for under 5euros in many places. There is not a lot of choice for vegetarians, with 'Fried cheese' often being the only choice. 'Friend cheese with ham' is regularly advertised as vegetarian as well!! Alcohol is cheap, with a pint of beer often costing less than a bottle of water or can of Coca Cola! Around 1euro is normal for 0.5litres of beer such as Staropramen, and the same for 40ml of a shot such as vodka. Finlandia is a common brand of vodka sold in clubs, although cheaper versions are sold in shops, with a litre of a cheap brand available for 7-8 euros. There are a few clubs in the city, Ibiza, Retro, Jazz and the new Diamond club. These are full of students on Wednesday nights, and at the weekend. There is also a popular Irish pub, where Guinness can be bought, called Diesel. There are also many pubs and bars, some of which are underground, below or above shops, and you wouldn't know they were there unless someone showed you. There are many shops in Kosice that are recognisable to everyone, such as Tesco, Lidl, Subway, H&M, and of course McDonalds! There are several large shopping centres, which have everything from the cheaper shops where a pair of jeans are a fiver, to Armani where a pair of jeans would set you back over 200euros! There are two large cinemas, which have the latest English films as well as Slovak ones. I saw Twilight:Breaking Dawn Part2 in November, for 5euros, and the cinema was very comfortable. Public transport is cheap, with it costing 60cent for a 30minute tram or bus ticket for adults, and half for me as a student. There are regular trams across the city, with one every few minutes through the day from outside my university. Many people run and cycle in the city, and the second oldest marathon in the world takes place in Kosice in October. There are other universities in the city, including the Pavol Jozef Safárik University, and the Technical University of Kosice, so there is a large population of students in the city. The city isn't the easiest of places to get to, with limited flights available to the small airport. Therefore the easiest way for me to get there is by flying to Budapest, and getting a taxi for around 35euros to Kosice. The taxi must be booked in advance with one of several companies specialising in these airport runs. Other options to get there are to fly to the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, and get a cheap train, for 6 hours to Kosice, or to fly via Vienna. There are rumours of direct flights from Luton starting in August 2013, so fingers crossed it will soon be easier to get to Kosice. The weather goes from extremely hot to cold, with the temperature going below -20C in Winter, and in the high 30s Celsius in summer! Spring and Autumn are short, with the weather going from below freezing, to 20C very quickly and vice versa. It rains a lot less in Slovakia than in the UK, and there is plenty of snow in the winter, with several ski resorts nearby. Thank you for reading. Read the complete review |
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Ghent (Belgium)
by sonic0209 Last February half term, we had a family trip to Ghent in Belgium. The fact that Ghent is less popular as a tourist destination then Brussels, Bruges or Antwerp, was part of what really sold it to us. It is an attractive university city with rivers that run through it and a wealth of medieval history. It is as pretty as Bruges, but, with ... fewer tourists and a large student population, it has a different feel - a bit edgier, just a little bit more cool. ~~~~~~~~ Getting There~~~~~~~~~~ We took the Eurostar from London to Brussels which took less than 2 hours and there was a quick and very easy connection from Brussels to Ghent, a 20 minute journey away. You can fly to Antwerp or Brussels, but I do like to take the train! Everything ran to time and was pretty stress free and you have the added bonus of watching the countryside slide by. http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/ destinations/belgium/flanders/ghent We chose to walk from the station to our hotel, but in the event the station was quite a walk away from the town centre and I would probably recommend that you get yourself a taxi. I guess it must have taken us about 30 to 45 minutes to get into town. There are also trams that run from the station into the centre of town. You want the number 1 line. Tickets are on sale at self-service kiosks or you can buy them from the driver. ~~~~~~~~~The City~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ghent has a relatively small city centre, making it possible to walk around and get to know easily in a couple of days. The city built up around the confluence of the rivers Lys and Scheldt and the waterways and bridges not only contribute to the city's attractiveness, but also provide a structure and logic to the layout so that places and roads and riversides become quickly familiar to you. At the heart of the city are The Three Towers: St Bavo Cathedral, the Belfry and St Nicholas Church. They are literally next to each other with large squares in between, quite indulgent if you ask me!! You can enter all of these, and we did visit the Belfry, climbing to the top (ok, part climbing the spiral staircase and part taking the lift...). You get very good views of Ghent from the top. As well as the principal bell (Roland, a local hero!) there is a truly fantastic carillon (a bell instrument driven by clockwork and with melodies created from a rotating metal drum) and an old iron dragon sculpture that used to be perched on the top of the belfry, breathing fire. Much of the medieval architecture remains intact despite the rigours of the passing years and being occupied in each of the world wars. It is a joy to just walk around. The castle (Gravensteen) dates back to the 12th century and was renovated in the 19th century, so is in pretty good nick, but even some of the ordinary buildings are extraordinary - the old post office building is all gothic intricacy. At night, many of the buildings and bridges are lit up and it is a real pleasure to stroll about after dinner. ~~~~~~~~ Stuff to Do ~~~~~~~ 1. Take a river trip - several companies run these year round, but there are more options outside of winter months. It's a really nice way to see the city and get a little more info and history. There are also certain views that you can only get from the river. 2. Go shopping - there are plenty of little and interesting boutiques as well as quite a good selection of more high street style shops. Make sure you buy some: a. Ghent noses - these are locally made jelly sweets in a cone shape (like a nose...). They are made with fruit juices and rose water and sold from carts on Groentenmarkt. Delish! b. Mustard - there is a shop in Ghent (just behind the carts of noses) called Tierenteyn Verlent that has been making its own mustard since 1790. You select your preferred receptacle from the shelves and they fill your pot using a ladle from a barrel at the back of the shop. It is smooth and dark brown and quite delicious. c. Chocolate - how could you possibly leave Belgium without them? So many options to choose from in Ghent. Why not read about the options from a true chocaholic. http://melissabedinger.wordpress.com/2012/ 04/09/when-in-ghent-mission-for-chocolate/ d. Wallpaper...??? - No seriously, there is a shop in Ghent called Priem (on Zuivelbrugstraat) that still stocks original wallpaper from the 1950's to the 1980's. The place is dusty and full of higgledypiggledy piles of rolls of paper. Fun just to walk around. e. Memorabilia / Bits and bobs - Check out Fallen Angels and the Antique shop opposite it. There are posters, dolls, old toys, lots of lace, racy postcards and plenty more. 3. Design Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, the Alijn House Folk Museum (this had a truly fantastic exhibition about marching brass bands whilst we were there) 4. Eat - of course!!! We particularly enjoyed: a. Steak and Chips - there are a few places that pride themselves on their quality steak and we can vouch for them!! Spare Rib was less expensive than the very popular Du Progres, but just as tasty b. Spare Ribs - try Spare Rib or Amadeus c. Waffles - oh my, you have GOT to have some waffles - we really enjoyed them at Max, which is just outside the hotel we stayed at - Novotel Centrum, but there are plenty of options. 5. Take a Trip out of Town - we went to the In Flanders Fields museum in nearby Ypres, which was a short train journey away and I have to say I think this is one of the best museums I have ever visited and warrants a review all of its own. This museum tells the story of the First World War and particularly of the impact on Flanders and Ypres itself and concentrates on the human story of this war. It is set in the beautiful and recently renovated Cloth Hall in the main square in Ypres and the current permanent exhibition, which opened in June 2012, makes stunning use of multi-media technologies. Utterly engaging and incredibly moving. 6. Get a photo of yourself from St Michael's Bridge with the iconic view of the river and medieval buildings behind you. ~~~~~~Conclusion~~~~~~~ We had a really enjoyable family holiday (my boys are 9 and 12), but I can see Ghent being a popular place to visit as a couple on a weekend break, or as part of a longer trip around Belgium. Given the student population here and the trendy bars and cafés, it could be just as appealing to younger travellers. We had 3 nights in Ghent and a day trip out to Ypres and still there was more to see. The pace of the town is relaxingly slow, and the fact that it does not feel like part of the tourist trail make for a really enjoyable break. If you enjoy 'slow tourism' and want to a soak a place up slowly, there is plenty of opportunity to do this at your leisure in Ghent. If you want to hit the high spots and move on, then this city offers some obvious gems and is conveniently close to its better known neighbours of Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges to allow you to sneak the best from all of them. I would recommend Ghent in a heartbeat. Read the complete review |
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Playa De Las Americas (Tenerife, Spain)
by scooch12 Playa De Las Americas is in the southwest of the island of Tenerife. It lies between the resorts of Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje, although Las Americas is considered to be the main holiday resort of the whole island with plenty of shops, bars, clubs, hotels and apartments. We've visited Playa De Las Americas twice now - once ... as a couple in the Summer when we stayed in nearby Costa Adeje but visited there in the evening and once as a family in the Winter, when we stayed in the centre of Las Americas. I therefore can't comment on what it's like to stay in the centre of the resort in the height of Summer - I do know from our evening visits that it seemed very hectic in Summer with groups of party people everywhere so I wouldn't recommend this resort as a relaxing getaway at this time, I'd recommend staying in nearby Costa Adeje as it has a much more relaxed feel at the height of the busy period. The Shops Playa De Las Americas was a fantastic place for our family in Winter. We had great weather, around 25 degrees and that obviously helped make it even better. We found although it wasn't the busy season, there was still plenty to see and do and most of the shops and bars were open regardless of the time of year. We stayed right in the heart of the resort and this meant we had very easy access to all of the shopping centres it has. There are lots of shopping centres, I think from memory there are 5 main ones although on the free map that we got at the airport, some are classed as 'shopping centres' but have literally 2 little tiny shops in them! Most are independent shops but there are also countless sunglasses shops, Lacoste shops, Pull and Bear, Nike, Puma, Guess, Mango, Timbaland, United colours of Benetton, lots of jewellery shops and perfume shops too. I would say that the shops are the main attraction of the area (as well as the bars) and they have the usual Spanish opening hours where they open around 10am, close in the afternoon for a couple of hours for siesta but then stay open later in the evening. In the evening, one shopping centre, the safari, has a water fountain show to music at 8pm that we enjoyed watching. The Streets On some of the streets at night, there are artists that will draw you as a cartoon, mime acts and human statues, all of which I found quite fascinating to watch. There are also the usual sunglasses/watch sellers on the streets. For example, my husband got offered a pair of 'ray-o-bon' sunglasses for 15 euros! He politely refused. In winter we found that there was the odd person trying to get us into their bar or restaurant, but there were far more of these in the Summer, so many that you couldn't walk 5 metres without being pestered. The Beach The beach runs all the way along the resort and there is a major path that runs alongside it that is a lovely walk, it runs to Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje. I've only walked the Adeje way, but we enjoyed it in the early evening and called in at some of the bars dotted along the path on the way (it should have taken around 40 minutes in total but took us a couple of hours because of our stop offs!) The beaches stretch all the way along the path - some are man-made golden sandy beaches, some are volcanic grey sandy beaches. The Bars and Restaurants There are lots of bars around. My husband has to find a bar on holiday to watch all the football in and he never had a problem in Playa De Las Americas. He visited a couple of the Irish bars in the resort along the main strip to watch them. I find that the resort was kind of split when we were there in the Winter - families all frequented the shopping centres whilst the party people frequented the 'strip' that is towards the Adeje end of Las Americas and is the area that gets busy with drinkers. That said, in Winter, the strip wasn't half as busy as we saw it in June the previous year. In June, it was heaving with party people - it's definitely not somewhere I'd visit in the evening as a family. I can't comment on the restaurants in the area for eating, as we were all inclusive and half board on our trips. We did however call in at a couple of restaurants for drinks only and the menus that they serve all seemed similar - lamb chops, burgers, steaks, the usual everyday foods we have here. I know it cost around 2 euros for a plate of chips! Restaurants are dotted around the resort, some on the beachfront and some near the shopping centres but there aren't as many as there is bars. I think the majority of people visiting are either young groups who probably want to grab something quick before going out for the night (there's two McDonalds!) or families who choose a hotel that serves half board or all inclusive food. Overall Impression Playa De Las Americas is my favourite Spanish holiday resort to visit alongside Peurto Del Carmen in Lanzarote. The weather is usually nice and sunny all year round in Tenerife and the resort has plenty to see and look at in the winter as well as the summer season. We visited for 10 days in the winter and had plenty to walk around. If visiting in the Summer however, I would recommend looking at Costa Adeje instead if you fancy a getaway as a couple or for a more relaxing time. There's still bars and restaurants there but it's just not as full on. In winter though, I'd recommend Playa De Las Americas for families, as the area is lively but not heaving. It has to score 5 stars, as we thoroughly enjoyed it. Read the complete review |
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Destination International / Address: 20 Fraser Street Torquay QLD 4655 |
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Destination International / Region of Cuba. |
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1 review Destination International / Larnaca is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus, famous its picturesque seafront. |
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1 review Country: Poland / Destination International / World Region: Europe |
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1 review Country: Poland / Destination International / World Region: Europe |
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Destination International / Historic city in Catalonia north of Barcelona |
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1 review City: Udine / Destination International / Country: Italy |
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1 review Country: Spain / Destination International / World Region: Europe |
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