Slovakia

From the Danube to the Tatras

In about 430 kilometres from west to east, Slovakia climbs from vineyards beside the Danube to alpine peaks above 2,600 metres. Bratislava is the only capital in the world that borders two other countries, Austria and Hungary, and cameras show its four-towered castle above the river, the old town and the slopes of the Little Carpathians, where the wine town of Modra keeps its main square.

Castles and Churches

In the Váh valley, Trenčín Castle crowns a rock above the town's Peace Square, and a Roman inscription carved into that rock in the year 179 records a legion's winter camp. Trnava, called the Slovak Rome for its many churches, gathers them around University Square and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, the first baroque building in the country.

Snow and Thermal Water

In the north, Oravice combines a chairlift with thermal pools, and in the Štiavnica Mountains the Salamandra resort lies close to Banská Štiavnica, an old silver-mining town listed by UNESCO. Both get snow from December to March; in summer the same slopes turn into green hiking country.