6-day Highlights of Slovakia Tour

Banska Stiavnica sightseeing (UNESCO).

- Meeting with a private guide in Bratislava*
- Transfer to Banska Stiavnica; sightseeing (UNESCO town)
- Accommodation in a hotel

Banska Stiavnica is a former mining town and lies amid the forests of the Stiavnicke mountains. Banska Stiavnica is one of the most beautiful and historically one of the most beautiful towns in Slovakia. The town is on the list of the World Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.
Banska Stavnica progressively became the dominant mining center in the Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th century. Banska Stiavnica monument town reserve comprises as many as 360 structures. Together they present a unique set of high cultural and historical value, placed into the pleasant environment of the Stiavnicke mountains.

*Pick up from another place than Bratislava is available on request.

Hronsek (UNESCO), Banska Bystrica, Vlkolinec (UNESCO).

- Breakfast
- Hronsek wooden church visit, UNESCO site
- Banska Bystrica town short sightseeing
- Vlkolinec Monument Reserve of Folk Architecture, UNESCO site
- Afternoon transfer to Kezmarok; accommodation in a stylish hotel

Wooden articled church in Hronsek is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2008. The wooden church and wooden belfry originate from 1726. The capacity of the church is 1,100 chairs. In early November 2000, Prince Charles from British Royal Family visited the church.

Banska Bystrica, the copper mining town, acquired its present look in the Late Middle Ages. Most of the historical monuments concentrate near SNP Square.

Vlkolinec village - Monument Reserve of Folk Architecture is the extraordinary and remarkable oasis of folk architecture and on the UNESCO list since 1993.
The first written record of the community is from 1376. Originally it was the settlement of loggers, shepherds, and farmers. Its unique compound of original folk buildings remains untouched by modern construction.
ICOMOS (International Council for Monuments and Settlements) classified it as the best-reserved settlement of this time within the Carpathian Arch.

High Tatras walk.

- Breakfast
- High Tatras short walking
- Return to Kezmarok

The High Tatras are the highest mountain range of Slovakia and the most popular tourist center for the summer and winter holidays.
There are about 35 valleys, 110 mountain lakes, but the most amazing is the Tatra peaks. There are more than 500 peaks in the High Tatras, out of which ten peaks are above 2,600 meters high.
The silence of the valleys, mountain lakes, silky sheen of the waterfalls, and simultaneously monumental touches with the heights of the peaks - all of that is the magical world of Tatra National Park.

Bardejov town (UNESCO), Kezmarok town.

- Breakfast
- Kezmarok town and wooden church visit (UNESCO)
- Bardejov historical town (UNESCO)
- Return to Kezmarok

Bardejov town, one of the oldest Slovak towns, rightly awarded the European award, the gold medal of ICOMOS Foundation of UNESCO in 1986.
The buildings in the historic center create the Town Monument Reserve (UNESCO). Bardejov is known as the Most Gothic town in Slovakia. Its center consists of historical buildings arranged in the area limited by a belt of town fortifications.
The most significant monument of the square is the Roman-Catholic Basilica of St Egidius from the 15th century, located in its northern section.

One of the best-preserved Slovak wooden sacral buildings is the articled Evangelical church in Kezmarok. The church originates in 1717, built next to an older sacral stone building from 1593, which is a sacristy today. This unique wooden building is of yew and red spruce wood without using a single metal component. The Baroque interior of the church and the organ are also of wood.

UNESCO sights: Levoca town, Spis castle, Spisska Kapitula town. Transfer to Kosice.

- Breakfast
- Levoca town sightseeing
- Spis castle visit
- Spisska Kapitula sightseeing
- Transfer to Kosice, accommodation in 4* hotel

The historic Levoca lies in the east of the Spis region. The town represents a true cultural and historic jewel among the Slovak towns compounding numerous historical architectural monuments. The dominant part of Levoca is a large rectangular square with the Roman-Catholic St James church from the 14th century, one of the most important sacral buildings in Slovakia.
The late Gothic wooden main altar of St James with 18.6 m is the tallest of its kind in the world. It was made of lime wood in 1507 - 1517 in the workshop of Master Paul of Levoca.

Spis Castle is the largest medieval castle in Central Europe located on a travertine rock hill. The castle hill was populated as early as the 5th century BC; it is one the most unique archaeological and historical gems of Central Europe and is under UNESCO protection.

Spisska Kapitula is sometimes also referred to as the Slovak Vatican. Church life not only in Spisska Kapitula (Spis Chapter) was organized from here by the bishops, provosts, and canonists.
The most important building of Spisska Kapitula is the Late-Romanesque St Martin cathedral from the 13th century.

Kosice sightseeing, Betliar manor house. Transfer to Bratislava.

- Breakfast
- Kosice city sightseeing; St. Elisabeth cathedral
- Betliar manor house visit
- Transfer to Bratislava*
- End of the tour

Kosice city, as the first in Slovakia, gained the prestigious title of European Capital of Culture. Kosice is known for its rich history and interesting cultural life.
Almost all city monuments concentrate in historic town center making it the largest Town Monument Reserve of Slovakia.
Dominant of the main square and the city itself is the monumental Gothic Cathedral of St Elisabeth, the largest church in Slovakia and the easternmost situated Gothic cathedral of western type in Europe.

Betliar manor house is a noble hunting residence, a fairytale-like two-storied building surrounded by a charming English park with romantic structures, including an artificial cave and waterfall.
One of the most remarkable premises of the manor house is the main library, established in 1790. The library holds more than 14 thousand volumes of mainly theological, historical, geographical, and philosophical literature from the 15th to 19th century written in 6 different languages.

*Drop off to another place than Bratislava is available on request.