Bardejov is a small medieval town in northeastern Slovakia, near the Polish border, and one of only three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country. Its old town is remarkably intact — a Gothic basilica with eleven carved altars, a fine late-Gothic town hall, and a large market square ringed by burghers' houses, all pedestrianised and well-maintained. On a summer evening, the square fills with café tables and has a genuinely pleasant atmosphere that most UNESCO towns have long since traded away for tour groups.
The medieval fortifications — nearly the complete circuit — are the best preserved in Slovakia. The Jewish quarter with its 18th-century synagogue complex is also worth visiting: one of Central Europe's rare intact examples of Jewish communal architecture. A few kilometres outside town, Bardejovské Kúpele is a small spa resort that has been attracting visitors since medieval times, set in a forested valley and including an open-air museum of traditional wooden architecture.