BUDAPEST: In the eyes of Pritha Oberon

Budapest was created in 1873 by unifyingthree cities, Pest, Obuda and Buda. The Magyars, a nomadic warring tribe, are considered the true ancestors of ethnic Hungarians today. Stephen I founded the kingdom in A.D. 977. The Castle District, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a mélange of medieval monuments, museums, galleries, and restaurants.

We stop to admire the Matthias Church, where the Hapsburg king Franz Josef was crowned in 1867. Stone turrets, resembling a miniature version of Cinderella’s castle, attract our attention. It is the Fisherman’s bastion, built as a tribute to the fishermen’s guild that defended the city in the Middle Ages.

PRAGUE: What stood out for Isabel Martel Francisco

Prague might be much smaller than some of its European jewel-box counterparts, but it certainly is not lacking in history. Over a thousand years of delicate, rich, and impactful architecture detail the city, in fact the land of Prague actually dates back to 600,000BC. From Gothic churches and bridges, Baroque establishments to Moorish influences, Prague truly unveils a myriad of opportunities for tourists to peek into European history.

Whilst strolling through cobble stone streets, one thing that stands out is the difference between the stark, bland, uniform communist era architecture and the whimsicality of many of Prague’s almost Spanish, Italian, Mediterraneanesque, colourful low rise buildings which decorate both sides of the Vlatava river: Lesser Town and New Town.

NORMANDY: From the impressions of Sandie Castro-Poblador

The highlight of a Normandy visit could very well be the mystical Mont St Michel, the second most visited site in France after the Eiffel Tower. According to legend, St. Aubert, Bishop of d’Avranches, founded a sanctuary on Mont-Tombe Island, after three appearances by the Archangel Michael. Consecrated in 709, the church perches on a 264-foot high rocky islet. Richard II chose William de Volpiano to build the abbey in the 11th century. The islet is surrounded by a magnificent bay, and is said to be the theatre of the greatest tidal ranges in Europe.

The abbey became a prison from the French Revolution up until the Second Empire. Feeling the wonderful cold in its vaults, one travelled back in time to when it was a stronghold for the Gallo-Roman culture.