SLOVAKIA'S rising star

THIS OFTEN OVERLOOKED EUROPEAN COUNTRY IS STEALING THE SPOTLIGHT IN 2025

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When you have famous tourist hotspot neighbours like Czechia and Austria, it's easy to slip under the radar. Bordered by five countries and with rail connections across Europe, Slovakia has long been treated as a swift stopover - if travellers made it here at all.

But with revamped historical monuments, renewed emphasis on ecotourism and the rise of its unsung east, Slovakia is poised for travel stardom. This landlocked country of sky-piercing mountains and art-filled towns is now a destination in its own right, thanks to a distinctive architectural medley and well-protected natural beauty.

BRATISLAVA'S BIG MAKEOVER

Slovakia has all the charms you'd expect of Central Europe: Gothic church spires, hilltop castles and quaint galleries. Going into 2025, these cultural riches have never looked better - especially in the capital, Bratislava, where the scaffolding is finally down revealing newly restored landmark buildings.

One of these, the Slovak National Gallery, received an award-winning makeover, thoroughly revamping its courtyard and interior galleries, and transforming Dedecek's Bridge - an opinion-dividing 1970s relic within the SNG - into a sleek, light-flooded contemporary space.