• Enjoy the folk festivals that liven up most towns and cities, with dancing, local costumes and food. These tend to be in the summer months leading up to the harvest festivals in September.

• Cycle along Europe's longest cycling route, the Danube Cycle Trail, which stretches from Passau in Germany along the Danube, through Vienna, Bratislava and on to Stúrovo. Cyclists can then continue their journey by taking a ferry across the Danube into Hungary.

• Set out on the Slovak Republic's excellent network of marked hiking/walking trails. The Small Carpathians are a major walking area. Kamzík is the first major hill and the cafe, which offers superb views, can be reached either on foot of by chairlift.

• Go fishing, canoeing, boating and swimming at the lakes and rivers, which nestle amidst the glacial landscape. The best locations are at Liptovská Mara, Orava, Sl'nava and Zemplínska Sírava. Go rafting on the Dunajec River in the Pieniny national park.

• Head for the slopes at the skiing centres that are set in the 30 mountain regions, the best of which are the Tatra Mountains. Other popular mountain areas include the Slovensky raj range, and the Malá Fatra range with its neighbouring Vrátna dolina valley.

• Take the waters - the country offers a great wealth of curative springs, thermal spas, climatic health resorts and natural mineral waters. Highlights include Bardejovské Kúpele, Dudince and world-famous Piestany with its opulent Thermia Palace Hotel.

• Enjoy a tipple in the Small Carpathians, which stretch from Bratislava's northern suburbs to the Váh valley and are a major wine-growing area. Modrá is a major centre for wine and folk pottery. 

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.