For the past two years, travelling overseas has been quite restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, as international travel opens up, there are several destinations that you can visit. Besides the usual travelling destinations like Paris, Dubai, or Japan, we will recommend you destinations that are hidden gems of Europe.
Let us take a look at five places in Eastern Europe that must be on your travel list:
Budapest
The capital city of Hungary will certainly leave you impressed and feed your wanderlust. Situated on the banks of Danube, the two cities of Buda and Pest form the megacity of Budapest. If you are into art nouveau buildings, Budapest is the place to be. The city is also known for its healing thermal baths and an unrivalled nightlife that will leave you wanting more. Budapest also offers a glimpse into the past with bullet holes and shrapnel pockmarks on buildings from World War II and the 1956 Uprising.
Prague
The capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague is one of the emerging tourist destinations of the world. The city offers a glimpse into unique Bohemian art which ranges from glowing Gothic altarpieces in the Convent of St Agnes, to the luscious art nouveau of Alfons Mucha. Czech pubs are renowned for their unrivalled beers: Kout na Šumavě, Primátor, Únětice and Matuška. The city’s cobbled lanes may lead you to some ancient chapels.
Tallinn
The city where a crucial part of Christopher Nolan’s latest movie Tenet was shot, Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia. Visiting Tallinn during winters will take you to a magical Baltic winter. Think about snow glistening on the old-town roofs, or skating around the Harju Ice Rink under the shadow of 13th-century St Nicholas’ Church, and you are in Tallinn. The city also offers places like Kalev Spa Waterpark, a traditional Russian bathhouse experience.
Vilnius
Another hidden gem of East Europe is this Lithuanian capital city. Vilnius provides a rural feel with its carpeted green spaces, which covers around 40 percent of its area. The Lithunian city is studded with revered Catholic and Orthodox church spires. The city was once nicknamed the “Jerusalem of the north” but its Jewish community was largely annihilated in World War II. Vilnius now has museums dedicated to the Holocaust, former ghettos, preserved KGB torture chambers and cemeteries filled with the war dead.
Riga
Capital of Latvia, Riga will take you into a world of flamboyant art nouveau that forms the core of this vibrant cosmopolitan city, the largest of all three Baltic capitals. On the surface, Riga may seem quiet or reserved, but look further and you will stumble upon its hip bars, modern art centres and the kitchens of its cool experimental restaurants.
