Spišská Sobota is the jewel of Poprad — a medieval market town that was absorbed into the city in the 20th century but has retained its character intact. The main square is lined with Renaissance and Baroque burgher houses in ochre, cream, and rose, their arcaded ground floors opening onto a cobbled space that still hosts a weekly market. It is one of the best-preserved small market squares in Slovakia, and feels genuinely different from the Soviet-era housing blocks that surround modern Poprad.
At the centre of the square stands the Gothic church of St George, dating from the 15th century, with an unusual freestanding bell tower. Inside there is a fine carved altarpiece and medieval frescoes. The square is small enough to absorb in twenty minutes, but the atmosphere — slow, quiet, unglamorous in the best way — encourages longer. A handful of cafes on the square offer coffee and cakes.