Sports and activities

Ski resorts: The level of Slovak ski resorts has been improving from year to year. Ski resorts invest in extension and improvement of their services, reaching the standard of foreign resorts. Today top skiing resorts are equipped with après-ski bars or entertainment centres organising various interesting events for visitors.
Winter sports: Winter sports are very popular in Slovakia thanks to well-equipped resorts that attract many local as well as foreign visitors. Except skiing and cross-country you can do snowboarding, Ski-mountaineering, try a bobsleigh track, snowrafting or snowtubing, unique Boarder Cross track, or winter paragliding.
Adrenaline: If you love adrenalin sports, you can choose from many throughout the whole year. In the summer season you can use canoe, go rafting, water-skiing, sailing or windsurfing. You can test your abilities in two white-water resorts, on artificial courses in Liptovský Mikuláš and Čuňovo. You can try paragliding throughout the whole year, e.g. in Donovaly area, or do bungee jumping in a few attractive locations.
Water sports: Great number of rivers, lakes, tarns, ponds or artificial water reservoirs provide variety of water activities. From rafting down the Slovak rivers, either adrenalin rafting, or rafting in canoe, through a quiet raft trip while admiring scenery, rowing, diving, water-skiing, sailing, windsurfing, up to the ultimate test of your abilities in two artificial white-water courses in Liptovský Mikuláš and Čuňovo. There are plenty to choose from!
Hiking: You will find such untouched nature in Slovakia as hardly anywhere else in Europe, but you will not get lost thanks to a dense network of marked hiking trails. Whether you wish for a hike through deep valleys around gurgling waterfalls, ascend along a majestic ridge to a Tatra peak or an easy walk on an educational trail, you will certainly find your route here.
Bicycle touring: Bicycle touring is becoming more and more popular in Slovakia. Over 10,000 km of signed cycling tracks in all regions of Slovakia help the case. Several international cycling tracks cross our country.
Golf: Golf is a game of precision and patience, it tests your mind and technique. This sport makes you want to improve on every level - whether you are a beginner or a professional player. Fresh air can't harm you either. And that's why it's so popular, more and more so in Slovakia.

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Chill out & fun

Spas and wellness: If all the water from the mineral springs in Slovakia was bottled, they would stock the whole of Europe. This is the underground treasure of Slovakia which you can enjoy best in some healing spas. The healing water, in combination with limitless procedures, will treat the sick, regenerate the tired and bring out a person’s beauty.
Aquaparks & thermal pools: Discover the water worlds of Slovak aqua parks. Toboggans, tropical paradises and many water attractions will transform adults into playful children. Those who are tired after mountain hiking or skiing will become well rested. Slovakia is no longer just a country of shepherds. It also offers world standard entertainment and wellness!
Thematic parks: Although you won’t find Disneyland or Legoland in Slovakia, be you small or adult you will not be bored. If you are small, go to the world of Dobšinský fairytales in the village Habakuky in Donovaly. If you are adult, go learn about the production of the first Slovak whisky in the Nestville Park near to Stará Ľubovňa.

Traditions and gastronomy

Farms and ranches: Tired of the city? Wish to return to simplicity and traditions? Pluck a juicy apple from a tree, taste fresh milk right there in a shepherd’s dwelling. Wake up at sunrise, stroll barefoot through the grass, saddle a horse, listen to birdsong, and make tea with fresh herbs. In Slovakia this is not utopia, but an achievable experience.
Open-air museums and folk architecture: Even in the countryside you can discover many quite worthy cultural and historical sights. They represent the best way how to travel back in time and get familiar with the period life of rural population in various regions of Slovakia. Ten most precious sites of rural buildings were assigned the status of Conservation Area of Folk Architecture, and even today they constitute parts of inhabited villages.
Folklore events: Slovak folklore is extraordinary. Almost every valley and every region is represented with something specific. There are currently 26 folk costume areas in Slovakia with typical embroidery motives and approximately 60 variants of folk costumes.
Handicrafts: There are many skilled people living in Slovakia – and always were. Their handicrafts have been preserved to the present day and several of them are globally unique.
Traditions: To wear a mask of a bull man and bury the bass. Or to meditate in the quiet of candlelight during All-Hallows’ Day. Blending of heathen and Christian customs creates unique traditions in the course of the whole year.
Gastronomy: Hungry or thirsty? In Slovakia you will find quality gastronomy at affordable prices. Regional dishes are as colourful as the Slovak countryside itself.
Wine routes: To come to Slovakia and get to know the unique wines should be on the itinerary of every gourmand. There are six wine-growing regions and eight wine routes in Slovakia. Such routes will enable you to know reputable Slovak wines – from light white through to rose, red to unique sweet wines from the Tokaj region.

Nature and the countryside

Discover Slovak nature. Nine national parks. Majestic peaks, deep valleys and mysterious gorges. Large forests which are full of life. The Carpathians, the home of wolves, bears, lynx and chamois. The largest karst area in Central Europe with more than 6,200 caves and chasms. Crystal clear glacial lakes, peaceful lowland rivers, a paradise for birds, the blue surfaces of water reservoirs. Sand dunes and pine forests, natural travertine, formations created by volcanic activity. Unbelievable diversity in such a small area.

Use the world renowned, unique network of marked hiking paths and not only on mountain ridges. Educational paths will give you access to the most interesting places. Enjoy the countryside from a bicycle seat or a horse’s saddle. Observe untouched nature through the lens of your camera, binoculars or fishing rod. Each of the four seasons in the Slovak countryside has its own beauty.

Culture and sights

Thanks to its position in the centre of Europe, the cultures of the West and East have met in Slovakia over a history spanning several thousands of years. From Celtic settlements, through the remains of Roman fortifications, ancient Slavic cult places, manors and fortified castles of the Ugrian nobility, medieval mining towns, German settlers, the easternmost Gothic sites in Europe, Renaissance and Baroque palaces, Greek Catholic and Orthodox wooden churches, Jewish synagogues and cemeteries, and the interwar functionalism and socialist realism of expanding cities to current projects reflecting the latest trends.

Discover Slovak cities and towns. Horizons of suburban apartment blocks are concealing preserved historical squares and lanes, often places for pleasant social events. Discover more than a hundred Slovak castles and manors. In some you will find themed exhibitions and festivals; in others you may find authentic ruins with beautiful views over the world of your subjects. Visit museums and galleries. You will find everything from ancient archaeological digs to Andy Warhol’s pop art, as well as creations by contemporary artists. Discover war monuments such as tanks from the Second World War in the Valley of Death, or technical sites such as the water mills in the Podunajský region.

Bicycle touring: Bicycle touring is becoming more and more popular in Slovakia. Over 10,000 km of signed cycling tracks in all regions of Slovakia help the case. Several international cycling tracks cross our country.

Golf: Golf is a game of precision and patience, it tests your mind and technique. This sport makes you want to improve on every level - whether you are a beginner or a professional player. Fresh air can't harm you either. And that's why it's so popular, more and more so in Slovakia.

What to do in

SLOVAKIA

Discover

SLOVAKIA

Folklore events: Slovak folklore is extraordinary. Almost every valley and every region is represented with something specific. There are currently 26 folk costume areas in Slovakia with typical embroidery motives and approximately 60 variants of folk costumes.

Handicrafts: There are many skilled people living in Slovakia – and always were. Their handicrafts have been preserved to the present day and several of them are globally unique.

Traditions: To wear a mask of a bull man and bury the bass. Or to meditate in the quiet of candlelight during All-Hallows’ Day. Blending of heathen and Christian customs creates unique traditions in the course of the whole year.

Gastronomy: Hungry or thirsty? In Slovakia you will find quality gastronomy at affordable prices. Regional dishes are as colourful as the Slovak countryside itself.