Poprad is more than its AquaCity thermal water park, and I think it’s worth a stop on your way to the Tatras. I wouldn’t skip Spišská Sobota and its Sobotský Maťko flatbread, or the viewpoint above Kvetnica. Ideally, I’d combine one day relaxing at AquaCity with a second, active day in the area around the town.
- How long
- I spent exactly 24 hours here; I’d pair a relaxing day at AquaCity with an active day in the area
- Spišská Sobota
- The place to try Sobotský Maťko, a local wholemeal flatbread with bacon and bryndza
- Beer spa
- At the Tatras brewery you bathe in a mix of yeast and hops; I had 5 litres of beer on tap by the tub
- Kvetnica
- The walk up to the viewpoint above Poprad is a good warm-up, with a pretty chapel at the top
- St Giles’ Church
- In the square; what caught my eye was the interior, where uncovered frescoes even show priests on their way to hell
I wrote this article in 2018. Prices, opening hours and timetables may have changed since then, so check them before you go.
What is there to see in Poprad? Good question. Like pretty much everyone, I pass Poprad every time I head to the Tatras. But it had never occurred to me to stop and look round the town itself (and I don’t just mean AquaCity). I recently spent a short time in Poprad and managed to fit in quite a lot. Here’s what to see in Poprad, plus my ideas for trips and sights nearby.
Things to do in Poprad: sights and trip ideas
Did you know? Poprad is made up of several smaller towns joined together. Each has its own coat of arms and identity, but together they form the town of Poprad. They are Spišská Sobota, central Poprad, Matejovce, Stráže pod Tatrami and Veľká. Each of them has its own church and, curiously, its own plague column too, known here as an Immaculata. Here’s my list of what to see in Poprad:
- Spišská Sobota
- The town centre
- The Tatra Gallery
- The beer spa
- The climbing wall
- Kvetnica
Spišská Sobota: museum and church
Spišská Sobota is one of the places that together make up Poprad. What I didn’t know is that it’s the birthplace of several well-known people. One of them is Ján Juraj Rainer, a businessman from the old Kingdom of Hungary who built Rainer’s Hut (Rainerova chata), the first mountain hut in the Tatras. Zuzana Hönschová, the wife of Maurice Benyovszky (Móric Beňovský), was born in Spišská Sobota too, and so was the famous Baroque sculptor Ján Brokoff, whose statues stand on Charles Bridge in Prague today.
TIP: When I was here in 2018, a double-decker sightseeing bus ran through Poprad on line 8. It’s worth checking before you go whether it still runs. On board, an audio guide takes you through the highlights of the town’s past and present. The bus leaves from the bus station and the ride takes 45 minutes.
The museum in Spišská Sobota even has the first vacuum cleaner in its collection, and if you want to stay the night, there are several guesthouses to choose from. Spišská Sobota has plenty of them, but the nicest (so I’m told) is Sabato, which is very popular. I’d have stayed there myself if it hadn’t been fully booked. I’d also point you to the Vino & Tapas restaurant, which won an award from the Slovak weekly TREND. It opens by reservation only and serves various themed menus, such as the last dinner served on the Titanic. Themed dining is all the rage in Poprad right now.
Sobotský Maťko, a traditional Poprad dish
Spišská Sobota is also the place to try a traditional local flatbread made with wholemeal flour, which looks a bit like a pizza. It’s called Sobotský Maťko (not Sebecký Maťko, ‘Selfish Maťko’, as I’d first thought). It’s made with the region’s traditional ingredients, above all bacon and bryndza, a soft, tangy sheep’s cheese. A brilliant combination.
Poprad town centre and St Giles’ Church
Poprad’s town centre is really small, but it hosts plenty of cultural events. The weekend I was there, the Viva Italia festival was on. A lot of Italians live in Poprad, and they put their heads (and their spaghetti) together: during their festival they entertain the locals and feed them good Italian food. So in Poprad I got a small taste of Italy.
St Giles’ Church (Kostol svätého Egídia) stands in the square, and its interior fascinated me. Its uncovered frescoes show, among other things, priests on their way to hell, which I rather enjoyed. They say the church’s wall paintings include the oldest known depiction of the Tatras. The church has superb acoustics, so at Christmas it hosts all kinds of concerts, from jazz to the Slovak singer Katka Koščová.
TIP: In Poprad, the POPRAD app puts everything at hand, including a town map and a bilingual audio guide. It’s available for Android and iOS. A newer option is the official Visit Poprad app, with events, routes, accommodation and a trip planner, available in the App Store for iOS.
The Tatra Gallery and the Podtatranské Museum in Poprad
Poprad has something unique in Slovakia. Here they pulled off an original idea and turned an old industrial building into a centre for culture and the arts. It brings together names from Slovak cultural life, from actors and artists to musicians. A tall chimney rises above the Tatra Gallery (Tatranská galéria), and there were plans to turn it into a lookout over the town.
It’s the first building in Slovakia where an old factory became a cultural centre. The first public event took place here as early as 1 May 1993, and every year there’s an exhibition devoted to one leading figure of European or world standing.
The Podtatranské Museum (Podtatranské múzeum), Poprad’s regional museum, tells the story of the region clearly, in colour-coded rooms. Each colour stands for a different period, so I always knew straight away ‘where’ I was. The big draw is the exhibition on the Prince of Poprad (Knieža z Popradu) and his tomb, which the museum opened in May 2023.
Beer spa in Poprad at the Tatras brewery
How many people can say they’ve bathed in beer? Poprad’s brewing history is long and colourful. A historic brewery once stood in the town centre, and most of it was demolished in 2013. It hadn’t survived the changing times, and a brewery that size right in the middle of a town is hardly the norm anyway. Today only the malt house still operates. The big brewery may be gone, but several smaller ones now follow in its footsteps. The tradition is alive and well in Poprad, and the breweries win plenty of awards.
Why just drink beer when you can bathe in it? The Tatras brewery (Pivovar Tatras), which is a guesthouse, restaurant, brewery and spa all in one, will make that dream come true. The liquid in the bath is a mix of yeast and hops, the ingredients beer is brewed from. At 38°C, it’s good for your skin. What I liked most was the 5 litres of beer I had during the bath, which I poured myself from a tap right by the tub, plus bread spread with lard, salt and onion. I hadn’t had that for years. Delicious.
Kvetnica: the viewpoint above Poprad and the quarry lake
Kvetnica makes a great trip from Poprad if you have time and the weather’s good. Not only does a cycle route run through here all the way to Svit, but along the way there’s also a quarry that the people of Poprad love for its beautiful lake. Kvetnica belongs on any list of what to see in Poprad.
I walked up to the viewpoint and, although it was foggy, the climb makes a perfect warm-up. The town forests here have several waymarked hiking trails, including a path to Zámčisko on the other side of the valley. At the top there’s a very pretty chapel.
The new climbing wall in Poprad
A new climbing wall has gone up in Poprad, in a former concrete panel factory, complete with a stylish café. The WoodRock climbing centre has since opened, and its Everest wall is almost 31 metres high, one of the tallest indoor climbing walls in the world.
I spent exactly 24 hours in Poprad and was pleasantly surprised by how much there is to do. My advice is to mix rest and activity. You could spend one day soaking in the bubbles at AquaCity Poprad and the next popping over to Spišská Sobota for a Sobotský Maťko or heading up to the viewpoint above Kvetnica.
I explored Poprad on a press trip organised by the regional tourism organisation Región Tatry (Oblastná organizácia cestovného ruchu Región Tatry). You’ll find more about the region and other places worth a stop on their website.
A Slovak travel blogger who has been getting Slovaks out of their office chairs since 2013. Author of the book Influencer and founder of the Bez Mapy blog. "Bez Mapy" is Slovak for "without a map".
