Why go to Slovakia? The 10 good reasons to go Slovakia

Most shops are open from Monday to Friday without interruption until 5pm in the provinces and later in the capital. Some shops including small convenience stores are open on Saturday mornings from 7am to 1pm. Generally speaking, shops open and close earlier than in France. You have to get used to it so you don't get any unpleasant surprises.

For meals, the lunch period starts as early as 11am and service is often continuous, however restaurants close early: it is very difficult to find restaurants open after 10pm, and it is even difficult to be served after 9pm.

The large shopping centres break the local habits and are open 7 days a week, from 8am to 10pm and sometimes even midnight.

Be careful to follow the calendar of public holidays, as they are respected and all shops are closed. It is almost impossible to find an open restaurant. According to the law, a boss cannot force an employee to work on a public holiday. It is therefore necessary to get organized for the races, especially at Christmas time: December 24, 25 and 26 are public holidays

You don't really need to make a reservation except for accommodation in high season, especially for the Christmas holidays or long weekends, or if you want to take the cable car up to Lomnický štít, the summit of the High Tatras (online reservation at: www.vt.sk).

Be aware that many museums and castles in the country open their doors to visitors free of charge on the first Monday of each month, check the relevant websites. Otherwise, visits to the main sites are not very expensive (2 to 8 €). Children and students as well as pensioners benefit from reduced rates, and admission is often free for children under 6 years of age.

There are various schemes such as the Bratislava City Card (€18/25) (http://card.visitbratislava.com) or regional Orava Pass or Liptov Region Card which offer significant savings on site entrance fees and some partner restaurants and accommodation.

One of the country's major events is the Bratislava City Days, a great historical costume festival that takes place at the end of April. Kosice hosts a film festival in June, Art Film Fest, but the biggest cultural event is undoubtedly the Pohoda Music Festival, which takes place every year in July on the airport site of Trenčín. Over three days, the concerts of big stars follow one another (Fatboy Slim, Liam Gallagher...), an important date for the Slovak youth.

There are various ways to discover Bratislava: on foot, by bike, in an old car, on a small train, on a Segway... A multitude of operators, individual guides and agencies offer their services. The small historical centre of Bratislava can be easily visited on foot. As for the rest of the country, small local structures are mainly dedicated to active, sports and nature tourism.

Scams are rare, as almost all guided tours leave from the tourist office or are operated by approved independent agencies or guides.