Things to do
5-
Herľany Geyser
A cold water geyser erupts from a borehole drilled in the nineteenth century in a village east of the city, throwing a column of carbonated water around fifteen metres high for roughly twenty minutes. Intervals run to a day and a half, and the site posts a forecast. Arriving without checking it usually means seeing a quiet pipe and a small park.
-
St. Elisabeth Cathedral
The easternmost gothic cathedral in Europe dominates the long central square, its north tower open to climbers and its crypt holding the remains of Francis Rákóczi, returned from Turkey in 1906. Construction ran in stages from the late fourteenth century, which shows in the stonework and in the two mismatched towers. The tower climb is ticketed separately and the staircase is narrow.
-
East Slovak Museum
One of the older museums in the country holds the Košice gold treasure, nearly three thousand coins walled up in a house and found by chance in 1935, now shown in a dedicated strongroom. Other halls cover regional archaeology and natural history. A wooden church brought from Kožuchovce stands reassembled in the garden behind the main building.
-
Hlavná Street
Shaped like a long lens around the cathedral, the main street widens into a park with a singing fountain, a musical clock and rows of restored burgher facades. Terraces fill it from spring, and the state theatre closes the northern end. An underground archaeological site below the pavement preserves fortifications found during roadworks, and it opens only in the warmer months.
-
Slovak Karst
Limestone plateaus south west of the city hide a UNESCO listed cave system shared with Hungary, including Domica and the ice filled Silická ľadnica. Gombasecká and Jasovská caves take guided tours on a fixed timetable. It works as a day trip by car, about an hour from Košice, and public transport to the cave entrances is sparse.
