1. TIP - PLANETARIUM AND OBSERVATORY

Maximilian Hell Regional Observatory and Planetarium will be happy to take you to a journey into space with one of their interactive programmes. Visitors watch a short film, discover star constellations on the vault of the Star Hall, and observe the real sky with an astronomic telescope. The planetarium programme is available at www.planetarium.sk.

2. TIP - ŠTEFAN MOYZES PARK AND SWIMMING POOL

Take a walk in the Štefan Moyses park, take a rest on benches or grass, take children to a rope climbing playground, or the mini-zoo. The are small ponds to be explored in the park. Continue to the end of the park to the first municipal fruit garden in Slovakia. In summer, you will easily spend the whole day near the inland beach pool, or have fun at Cityfest and other events.

 3. TIP - BISHOP´S MANSION

As its name suggests, the Bishop's Mansion used to have specific inhabitants in the past, the most famous being Bishop Štefan Moyses, the first chairman of the Slovak cultural and scientific association "Matica slovenská". Guided tours will give you an insight to lives of inhabitants of restored rooms of the mansion. For more information, see www.zahoramizadolami.sk. The courtyard with a platanus (plane tree) hosts cultural events.

4. TIP - ŠÁŠOV CASTLE

The ruins of the Šášov Castle stand atop a hill above the "Šášovské Podhradie" borough. The castle once used to be owned by the famous Black Queen, Barbara of Celje, nowadays you can meet the lord of the castle during the guided tour, and the castle has its permanent four-legged ladies-in-waiting - the castle goats. An ideal place for a short hike enriched with the magical historic atmosphere. Dates of guided tours from May to October can be found on website www.zahoramizadolami.sk

5. TIP - HORNÉ OPATOVCE VILLAGE

Dark tourism enthusiasts should not miss out on the vanished village of Horné Opatovce near the famous aluminium factory which made the village disappear. The place is easily recognisable by its chimneys, with a cemetery right next to the road - the final resting place of the local inhabitants. There is a church with a garden and a sculptural memorial on the way up. Stop at the village cemetery on the main road.