Search hotels in Žilina

A town built to be lived in rather than for tourists. Few landmarks, fountains or statues. However, as the regional capital it has excellent transport links to all the castles, caves, ski resorts and thermal spas you could ever hope for. Great shopping with three modern shopping malls and plenty of clubs, pubs and casinos for the evenings. There is a small zoo slightly out of town to the south. It is an old town so navigating the maze of streets may not be intuitive at first, but it is small enough that you shouldn't ever get too lost.

Zilina is Slovakia's fifth city. To the standards of many it is rather small though. But the city centre is nice for a day. It is a bit dull though. Most bars and restaurants close at ten. The last one closes at 01h.

As with other medium sized slovakian towns (roughly 80.000 inhabitants) it is enough to spend a few hours walking the city centre to get the image of the town. Zilina features a big central square with roofed passages - a feature that is quite typical for Czech towns and is quite unique among Slovak towns. Also if you are a fan of functionalistic architecture, there is a good portion of it just beyond Aupark shopping mall (Bernolaka street) - it is called the Boulevard. Other activities include: - a hike to the watchtower - go to the other side of Vah river and follow the red touristic trail. it takes some 40 minutes to get there on the beaten track - a visit to Budatin castle - a visit and a walk to the water dam Within 20 kms from the town, one can visit: Strecno castle ruin, Starhrad castle ruin, Lietavsky castle ruin, or walk in the surrounding hills. Regarding eating, my favourite place in Zilina is Habibi Lebanese restaurant situated in Mirage shopping mall just a few metres away from the central square.