Introducing Slovakia
Ancient castle ruins, traditional villages and mountainous national parks: visiting Slovakia is about experiencing a place where age-old folkways and nature still hold sway. In this compact country you can hike beside a waterfall-filled gorge one day and see nailless wooden churches in a village museum the next. The small capital, Bratislava, may not have the superlative sights of nearby Prague or Budapest, but it’s abuzz with development, each new riverfront dining and entertainment complex vying to outdo the next. The rabbit-warren Old Town centre is well worth a day or two of cafe hopping.
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Just make sure you also venture east. In the countryside, fortresses tower over cities and rivers, hiking trails cover the hills and well-preserved medieval towns nestle below rocky peaks. Pull up a plate of bryndzove halušky (sheep’s-cheese dumplings) with a glass of slivovica (firewater-like plum brandy) and drink a toast for us – nazdravie!
Ready to go?
These tours & activities make it easy:
- Cycle from Vienna to Budapest along the Danube
- Visit Slovakia on your trip around the best of Central Europe
- Travel from Vienna to Dubrovnik in a month
Last updated: Oct 23, 2012
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Slovakia
Things to do
- All things to do (159)
- Activities (6)
- Entertainment (34)
- Restaurants (30)
- Shopping (16)
- Sights (68)
- Tours (5)
Make it happen
Our Top Picks For Slovakia
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1 High Tatras
Hike between mountain huts in one of Europe’s smallest alpine mountain ranges, the High Tatras
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2 Bratislava
Linger over drinks at one of the myriad sidewalk and riverfront cafes in Old Town Bratislava
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3 Spiš Castle
Wander among the 4 hectare–long ruins of Spiš Castle, among the biggest in Europe
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4 Folk culture
Experience the folk culture in traditional villages like Vlkolínec and Čičmany
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5 Bardejov
Gaze on Renaissance splendour and ancient icons in Bardejov
Fast Facts about Slovakia
- Time
GMT/UTC + 1
- Money
Euro (€)
- Visas
Not required for most visitors staying less than 90 days.
- Area
49, 035 sq km (two-thirds the size of England)
- Population
5.4 million
- Famous for
Ice hockey (Slovakia makes more ice-hockey pucks than any other country) and beautiful women
- Country code
421, international access code 00
- ATMs
ATMs widely available in cities
- Capital
- Phrases
Ahoj (hello), Dovidenia (Goodbye), Ďakujem (Thank you), Este pivo prosím (Another beer please), Kde je WC (veyt-say) ? (Where’s the loo?)
- Languages
Slovak
- Website www.slovakia.culturalprofiles.net