Our Visit to Banská Bystrica – A Lovely Mountain Town in Slovakia

Oh what a lovely town on the edge of the Tatra mountains. We were looking for somewhere to break the journey between Krakow and Budapest, and this little town was one of the few that the Flix bus stopped at along the route. So I booked an Airbnb for a couple of nights, a little unsure of what we would find when we got there.

The bus trip itself was absolutely stunning, travelling through the Tatra mountains with raging mountain streams and pretty villages. At one point we stopped briefly at a large ski resort — apparently Slovakia has excellent skiing with a number of resorts scattered throughout the country. It certainly makes sense with such a huge mountain range running through it.

We arrived at the bus station on the edge of town late in the afternoon. After wandering in circles looking for a taxi with no luck, we trudged the two-ish kilometres in the rain into the town centre. My brolly was buried at the bottom of my pack and I had taken my raincoat out at the last minute, so I was pretty soggy by the time we reached our apartment. Fortunately we were staying right on the town square, so it was easy to find — and it turned out to be a very cute place, perfect for our two nights.

Banská Bystrica is well off the English-speaking tourist trail, which is exactly the kind of place we love to visit. There were mostly local visitors, very little English spoken, and definitely no American chains in sight.

After dumping our bags and drying off, we wandered out to the town square in search of dinner. The square is stunning, with fountains and statues in the centre surrounded by beautifully restored buildings. Many restaurants were closed or only serving snacks — it seems this little town is very busy in summer but was quiet on this stormy Thursday evening.

We eventually found a cosy restaurant tucked away in a basement that looked like an old wine cellar. It had such character that one could easily imagine it being a secret meeting place for the Slovak resistance back in the day. The food was traditional and absolutely delicious. I had chicken served on a potato pancake while AP had one with cheese — both were huge portions and we left suitably stuffed. We enjoyed it so much we returned the next evening for dinner again.

We only had one full day in Banská Bystrica, so we spent it wandering around the historic buildings, popping into cafés for coffee and wine, and simply soaking up the atmosphere of this pretty mountain town. The next morning we hiked back to the bus station (my pack felt unusually heavy that day) and grabbed a coffee before boarding our bus bound for Budapest.

Join us next in Budapest!