Near the town of Trencin are the remains of the famous castle of ‘Blood' Countess Elisabeth Bathory, (website: www.slovakheritage.org/Castles/cachtice.htm) reputed to have murdered hundreds of young women in the 17th century. And 70km (43.5 miles) northeast of Trencin, Bojnice Castle (tel: (046) 543 0624 ; website: www.bojnicecastle.sk) offers an international festival of ghosts and spirits in the spring, and the town boasts spas, falconry shows and a zoo.

On the cusp of the Tatras in the eastern city of Poprad AquaCity (tel: (052) 785 1111; website: www.aquacityresort.com) is a spectacular health resort that aims to be the first in the world to be 100% energy self sufficient with zero carbon emissions by 2009. It boasts 14 swimming pools and 15 saunas as well as a string of health treatments. The most unusual is cryotherapy, where the body is chilled in a -121ºC (250ºF) chamber with a whole range of reputed health benefits. There are also two hotels on site and hiking and skiing in the mountains are easy to access from the resort.