Slovakia Itineraries

Slovakia is a small Central European country of 5.4 million people that often gets overshadowed by its more famous neighbours — the Czech Republic (from which it peacefully separated in 1993), Poland, Hungary, and Austria. This relative quiet is a large part of Slovakia's appeal for travellers: it offers extraordinary mountain landscapes, fairytale castles (more than 180 of them, the highest density per capita in the world), well-preserved medieval towns, and a rich folk culture at prices and with a genuine warmth that feel refreshing after Western Europe. Bratislava, the capital, sits on the Danube and is one of the few capitals bordering two other countries (Austria and Hungary). Once a coronation city of Hungarian kings (eleven were crowned in its St. Martin's Cathedral), its compact Old Town preserves Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque architecture, charmingly compact enough to explore on foot in a day. The Bratislava Castle, a rebuilt 13th-century fortress on a hill above the Danube, dominates the skyline. Modern Bratislava has a lively café and beer culture, excellent-value dining, and an increasingly interesting creative scene, particularly around the Bratislava Magistrát and along the revitalised waterfront. Day-trips from Bratislava are easy — Vienna is just an hour away by train, and the charming Slovak wine towns of the Small Carpathians (Modra, Pezinok, Svätý Jur) can be reached in 30 minutes. The real wonder of Slovakia, though, is its mountain landscape. The High Tatras (Vysoké Tatry) form the highest range of the Carpathian Mountains — a compact, dramatic massif of peaks over 2,500 metres with alpine lakes, glacial valleys, and some of Europe's best hiking. Main resort towns include Štrbské Pleso, Smokovec, and Tatranská Lomnica, and winter skiing here is excellent value compared to the Alps. The Low Tatras, Slovak Paradise, and Malá Fatra national parks offer equally beautiful but less-crowded wilderness, including gorge hikes with ladders and chains, caves, and vast beech forests that are UNESCO-listed. Slovakia's castles are among the country's most photogenic assets — Bojnice Castle (a fairytale romantic castle from the 19th century), Orava Castle (perched dramatically above a river), Spiš Castle (one of Central Europe's largest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site set on a dolomite hill), and the remarkable Cachtice Castle associated with the legendary 'Blood Countess' Erzsébet Báthory. The medieval mining town of Banská Štiavnica in central Slovakia is a UNESCO site of extraordinary preservation. In the east, Levoča and Bardejov are equally beautiful. Slovak folk culture is exceptionally vibrant — traditional costumes still worn at festivals, folk music played on distinctive wooden instruments like the fujara (a two-metre-long shepherd's flute), and hundreds of wooden churches in the east. Slovak food is hearty — bryndzové halušky (potato dumplings with sheep cheese and bacon), goulash, kapustnica (cabbage soup), and excellent pastries — with increasingly fine Slovak wines from the Tokaj region shared with Hungary.