Side trips

Day 2

Bojnice Castle (Tel.: +421 46 543 06 24, 543 06 33), open daily except Monday, in summer (May – September) from 9.00 AM – 5.00 PM and in winter from 10.00 AM – 5.00 PM. Also open on Monday during July and August. Admission (Grand Tour): adults - 130 Sk, children 6-15 - 70 Sk, children under 6 - 10 Sk (minimum 10 visitors, one-hour advance notice required for guided tours in foreign languages). A tour of Bojnice Castle lasts 1 hour 15 minutes. A special night tour of Bojnice Castle is also available (Admission: adults - 200 Sk, children 6-15 - 150 Sk), where visitors can mostly look forward to a spooky atmosphere inside (three-day advance notice is required, with a minimum 15 visitors). An attraction in Bojnice is the International Festival of Ghosts and Spirits, which has taken place each year since 1994 at the end of April and beginning of May. More information about castle events can be found at www.bojnicecastle.sk

When you finish touring the castle in the summer months, there is a captivating display put on by Aquila www.aquila.sk (Tel.: +421 46 543 05 87, 0905 497 068, 0903 808 385) – a falconers club that performs exhibitions of raptors. The falconers feature together with the Bojník historical swordsmen group (Tel. +421 46 541 66 77, 905 620 334). Performances take place in a natural amphitheater in back of the Zámocká Reštaurácia (Castle Restaurant) behind Bojnice Castle. They can be seen 1 May – 1 September – every day except Monday at 10.30 AM, 12.00 noon, 1.30 PM and 3.00 PM; 5 – 27 April and 6 September – 7 October on Saturday and Sunday at 12.00 noon and 3.00 PM.
Admission: adults – 60 Sk, children 6 - 15 and retirees - 40 Sk

Events:

• Night show
• St. Hubert’s run
• Black fire (a show with fire)
• Historical games and attractions

Next to Bojnice Castle is Slovakia’s oldest zoological garden (Tel.: +421 46 540 32 41, 540 29 75) with more than 300 different animals. Open daily, also during holidays: March – 7.00 AM – 5.00 PM, April - May 7.00 AM - 6.00 PM, June - August 7.00 PM - 7.00 PM, September 7.00 AM - 6.00 PM, October 7.00 AM - 5.00 PM, November - February 7.00 AM – 3:00 PM. Admission: adults - 70 Sk, children 4 – 15 - 40 Sk, students, retirees and soldiers 45 Sk.

If you have more time and the mood, you can visit the Priory Cave (Prepoštská Jaskyňu) in Bojnice (under the church with an inscribed plaque). This is one of the most significant Paleolithic and archeological locations in Slovakia and Central Europe.