Tourism in Slovakia offers natural landscapes, mountains, caves, medieval castles and towns, folk architecture, spas and ski resorts.

More than 1.6 million people visited Slovakia in 2006, and the most attractive destinations are the capital of Bratislava and the High Tatras. Most visitors come from the Czech Republic (about 26%), Poland (15%) and Germany (11%).

Some 40% of Slovakia is covered with forests. Slovakia’s forests contain a wide biodiversity and animals include brown bears, wolves, foxes, wild boars, muskrats, chamois and lynxes. Slovakia features a high percentage of wildlife included in protected areas. There are hardly any mountain ranges and areas not under some form of protection.

One of Slovakia's main tourist attractions are the Tatra Mountains, particularly the High Tatras), the highest part of the Carpathians. They feature many rare plant and animal species and offer numerous ski, hiking and mountaineering opportunities.

Rivers and streams in the mountains of Slovakia are often used for rafting and other white-water based activities and sports. The use of rafts has a very long tradition and especially rafts on the spectacular Dunajec river are very popular among tourists.

Slovakia contains numerous mineral springs and spas. Slovakia's spas include:

New water parks are mushrooming thorough the country (for example Tatralandia in Liptovský Mikuláš, Aquacity in Poprad, and Aquathermal in Senec).

Slovakia's karst areas offer an extremely high number of caves and their list is being expanded every year due to new discoveries. The number of caves per capita is the highest one or among the highest ones in Europe. Thirteen caves are open to the public, the longest one of which is 9 km long. Some of them have been proclaimed UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Among them, Ochtinská Aragonite Cave is one of three aragonite caves in the world.

Slovakia contains a lot of castles, most of which are in ruins. The best known castles include Bojnice Castle (often used as a filming location), Spiš Castle (the largest fortified castle in Europe, on the UNESCO list), Orava Castle, Bratislava Castle, and the ruins of Devín Castle. Čachtice Castle used to be home of the world's most prolific female serial killer, the 'Bloody Lady', Elizabeth Báthory.

Due to Slovakia's central position in Europe and the country's past (part of the multicultural Kingdom of Hungary, of the Habsburg monarchy and of Czechoslovakia), most cities and towns are similar to the cities in the Czech Republic (such as Prague), Austria (such as Salzburg) or Hungary (such as Budapest) and are rather cosmopolitan. A historic center with at least one square has been preserved in almost every town in Slovakia. Large historic centers can be found especially in Bratislava, Košice, Banská Štiavnica, and Levoča. Some towns have their own castle (for example Kremnica, Bratislava, and Banská Štiavnica). Most town centers have been revamped in recent years.

Ancient stone churches can be found in virtually any village and town in Slovakia. Most of them are built in the Baroque style, but there are also many examples of fine Romanesque and Gothic architecture (for example in Banská Bystrica, Bardejov, and Spišská Kapitula). The St. James Church in Levoča (with the highest wood-carved altar in the world) and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Žehra (with precious medieval frescos) are UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Other highlight is the St. Martin's Concathedral in Bratislava, which served as the coronation church of the ancient Kingdom of Hungary. The oldest sacral buildings in Slovakia stem from the Great Moravian period (9th century).

Very precious – and expensive to maintain - structures are the complete wooden churches of northern and northern-eastern Slovakia. Most were built from the 15th century onwards by Catholics, Lutherans and members of eastern-rite churches.

Slovakia is also rich in songs, dances, folk art, folk costumes and folk architecture. Complete original historic villages however have been preserved only in some cases, such as in Čičmany, Vlkolínec (UNESCO site), Brhlovce, Špania Dolina, Osturňa, Podbiel, Stará Hora in Sebechleby, Plavecký Peter, Veľké Leváre and Ždiar.

The Dielo shops network sells works of Slovak artists and craftsmen. These shops are mostly found in larger towns. Typical souvenirs from Slovakia are dolls dressed in folk costumes, ceramic objects, crystal glass, carved wooden figures, črpáks (wooden pitcher), fujaras (a folk instrument on the UNESCO list) and valaškas (a decorated folk hatchet) and above all products made from corn husks and wire, notably human figures. Such typically Slovak souvernirs can be bought in the shops run by the state organisation ÚĽUV (Ústredie ľudovej umeleckej výroby - Center of Folk Art Production).

Shopping is possible in most towns and cities in large shopping malls, municipal markets, and small shops. Prices of imported products are generally the same as in the neighbouring countries, whereas prices of local products and services, especially food, are usually much lower.