Slovakia - Eastern Europe - page 638

within the short span of a decade. Much of the credit goes to the former Slovak president,
and former Ko s ice mayor, Rudolf Schuster, who vigorously promoted development of the
city, including the extensive renovation of the main drag, Hlavná ulica. Hlavná is a stun-
ner from end to end, a 30-minute corso that takes you past the country's biggest Gothic
cathedral, its turn-of-the-20th-century State Theater, a lovely little park with a singing
fountain, and, in warm weather, a never-ending row of outdoor terraces, packed with styl-
ish coffee drinkers.
Ko s ice has been an important market town on major east-west and north-south
trade routes for centuries, and during the 16th and 17th centuries served as a bastion
for the Hungarian nobility in their struggle against the Ottoman Turks occupying the
Hungarian mainland. Just 20km (12 miles) from the frontier with modern Hungary,
the city, in more recent years, has shuttled back and forth between Hungarian,
Czechoslovak, and now Slovak sovereignty. The city still has a sizable Hungarian
minority, and if you listen carefully you will hear Hungarian spoken on the streets.
GETTING THERE
BY TRAIN Ko s ice is a major rail junction and the Z SR state railroad train service
is relatively frequent to and from Bratislava and other large cities. From Bratislava, the
journey on an express train takes about 7 hours. The train station is next to the bus
station and is about a 10- to 15-minute walk from the center of the city.
BY CAR Ko s ice lies at the eastern end of Slovakia's major east-west highway. The
northern route from Bratislava follows the Váh river north to Tren c ín and Z ilina before
turning east. Some of the drive is along four-lane highway and takes about 6 hours.
From Poprad, the drive is along mostly two-lane highway and takes about 2 hours.
BY BUS Slovakia's national bus carrier, SAD, maintains regular service from Ko s ice
to many regional cities and towns. The bus is often the best option, for seeing the
smaller towns to the east. The tourist information offices can help you sort out the
timetables and destinations. The bus station is about a 10-minute walk from the cen-
ter of the city.
BY PLANE Ko s ice Airport ( & 055/683-2105; www.airportkosice.sk) lies about
5km (3 miles) outside of town The budget carrier SkyEurope (www.skyeurope.sk)
maintains regular flights to and from Bratislava. Regular air service is also available to
Vienna and Prague.
GETTING AROUND
ON FOOT Much of Ko s ice's center, where most of the hotels, restaurants, and
attractions are concentrated, is either closed to cars or allows only limited car traffic,
so walking is the only option.
BY CAR It's best to leave the car in one of the city parking lots or at the hotel. Nav-
igating the small streets of the inner city can be challenging and finding a parking spot
on the side streets is difficult.
BY BIKE Hlavná ulica has bike lanes running up and down its length, but it may
be hard to find bike rentals. Inquire at the tourist information office or your hotel.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The main tourist information agency, MIC Ko s ice, maintains two offices in town located
on each end of the long main square, Hlavná ulica (Hlavná 2, Hlavná 111; & 055/
16 - 186; www.mickosice.sk). The helpful, multilingual staff can provide maps and