Regions in Slovakia

Generally, Slovakia divides evenly into eastern, central and western regions, and most Slovaks will tell you readily in which region their town lies. Sometimes the three customary regions are amended: the area around the capital city of Bratislava has its own character, as does the loosely-defined “south” (usually a synonym for areas with a Hungarian flavour, with fewer hills and more farms and rivers).

Visitors, however, may find it most useful to think in terms of the following key regions, listed roughly from west to east:

- Bratislava and surroundings
- Danube River region
- Western Slovakia
- Orava and the north
- Liptov and the heart of Slovakia
- Medieval mining towns
- Tatra mountains
- Spis, gateway to the east
- From Kosice to Ukraine and Hungary

Administratively, Slovakia is divided into 8 sections (in Slovak "kraj", also known as "vyssie uzemne celky"), which correspond roughly to the areas surrounding the eight largest cities, and are named after them (for example, Bratislava Regional Authority, Kosice Regional Authority etc). These however are relatively recent, and generally do not concern everyday life for visitors or citizens.

Each of these administrative units consists of several districts (in Slovak "okres"), approximately on the scale of counties.