Prešov – Nature, Culture and Mountains in the Prešov Region

Prešov opens up views of the diverse Prešov Region in northeastern Slovakia. It stretches from west to east and borders Poland to the north and Ukraine to the east. For your travel planning, this regional setting offers an unusual combination of mountain landscapes, national parks, castles, museums and spa traditions.

Mountains, national parks and cross-border trails

The High Tatras are part of the Prešov Region and are especially popular with hikers. The Slovak Paradise National Park protects a different type of landscape: karst plateaus, gorges, waterfalls and caves characterize the area. In Poloniny National Park, the Veľká Ravka–Kremenec–Nová Sedlica route is designated as a cross-border route. The Wetlina–Riaba skala–Runina cross-border route, established in 2013, also runs through Poloniny. These two routes show that hiking in the region is not limited to a single type of landscape.

Poloniny also has a special natural feature: it is the only area in Slovakia with a free-ranging population of European bison. For a trip focused on winter activities, Ski Drienica offers 5 km of groomed cross-country ski trails. Another way to explore the region actively is the Driečna–Puławy cycling route. It passes through Medzilaborce and continues toward Poland.

Castles, museums and archaeology

The region’s cultural attractions range from medieval castles to modern art institutions. Spišský hrad Castle can be reached on foot from the car park below the castle in about 10 minutes; from Spišské Podhradie, the walk takes about an hour. At Ľubovňa Castle, you can visit exhibitions, tour the Ľubomírsky family palace and climb the tower.

The Ľubovňa open-air museum includes a wooden Greek Catholic church dedicated to the holy archangel Michael and built in 1833. At the Hanušovce nad Topľou Archaeopark, you can see five dwellings from five periods of prehistory and the early Middle Ages. During the archaeological festivals, craft activities involving kilns for ceramics, glass, bread and bronze also take place there.

The Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art in Medzilaborce was officially founded in 1991 by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The Dubník mines are considered a unique site of the oldest opal mines in the world. The seasonal restriction on visiting the opal mines is also important: from 1 October to 31 March, only one regular tour is offered because of the bats’ hibernation, and it does not enter the hibernation areas.

Spa town, folk architecture and practical visiting details

The spa town of Bardejov combines mineral healing springs with other cultural institutions. Its covered colonnade contains eight different mineral healing springs. The spa grounds include hiking trails, as well as an open-air museum of folk architecture.

A visit to the Solivar museum grounds takes about 90 minutes; attendance is limited to a maximum of 45 people per admission.

Further regional orientation

If, after this regional overview, you would like to compare individual subregions, you can find the pages for Humenné District, Medzilaborce District, Svidník District, Stropkov District, Sabinov District, Stará Ľubovňa, Poprad District, Levoča District, Snina District, High Tatras, Vranov nad Topľou District, Prešov, Kežmarok District and Bardejov.