In the 4th century Christianity flourished in the Roman city of Sopianae, now called Pécs in the southwest of Hungary. Ancient mausoleums from that time are buried under the modern streets of the city, and are all inscribed as a single UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of these chambers hold skilfully carved sarcophagi and vivid …
At the confluence of the Tisza and Maros Rivers, Szeged is a city that was reborn at the end of the 19th century. In 1879 a flood almost wiped Szeged out, leaving only 265 of 5723 houses standing. On the back of the catastrophe there was intense construction, furnishing Szeged with proud Neoclassical, Eclecticist and …
An industrial city in northeastern Hungary, Miskolc has endless beech-clad mountains in its backyard at the Bükk National Park. In Medieval times, Diósgyőr Castle, now inside Miskolc, was an retreat for the Kings and Queens of Hungary, and the newly restored monument puts on Medieval fairs and re-enactments in summer. Further west, the resort of …
The city of Memphis can be found on a curve of the Mississippi River in the southwest of Tennessee. A city famed for being the home of blues music, Memphis has a lot of modern history and culture to explore. Memphis is the city where world-famous blue artists like B.B King, Elvis Presley and Johnny …
Mykonos boasts quite possibly one of the most famous vistas in the world. The whitewashed buildings of Mykonos have become an icon of luxury travel, and it seems that every influencer, travel blogger and luxury lifestyle lover has spent a season or two brushing shoulders with the great and the good in Mykonos. Although the …
This Cornish harbour town is not far from the most westerly and southerly points of the British mainland at Land’s End’s and the Lizard. The town is protected by the beautiful Mount’s Bay, around St Michael’s Mount, a magical tidal island. Cornwall is one of the few places in the country where subtropical and Mediterranean …
Right on the border with Wales, Chester was founded in AD 70 as the Roman fortress of Deva Victrix. Excavations at the amphitheatre suggest that Deva was pegged to become the UK’s Roman capital in the 3rd Century if the invasion of Ireland had gone ahead. The City Walls have big curtains of ashlar blocks …
An old-school English seaside resort, Lincolnshire’s Skegness has a Blue Flag beach, a Victorian pier, fairground rides and a line-up of nostalgic family amusements. Most of the appeal is on or near Grand Parade, along a strip of foreshore intersecting with the pier and embroidered with gardens. The resort’s abiding mascot is the Jolly Fisherman, …
England’s surfing paradise, Newquay has astonishing Blue Flag beaches lashed by the North Atlantic. Surfing is a year-round proposition at the resort, but there’s a special energy in summer, when the population quadruples and events like the Boardmasters Festival hit town. The surf beaches draw a young and hip crowd, but there are also inlets …
In the 15th century Boston was the wealthiest port outside London. Set in the Fens, a region of farmland reclaimed from coastal marshes by the Wash, Boston was where English wool was loaded onto ships to trade with Hanseatic league cities. The affluence of that period is unmistakeable in the Perpendicular tower of St Botolph’s …