Ten good pieces of advice on how to have a good time as a festival-goer.
Book your accommodation first and book well in advance. Štiavnica is a very popular tourist destination and it may happen that you will not be able to find any accommodation just a few days ahead of the festival.
You can get the tickets starting September 4th, 2023 online at www.amplion.eu/vstupenky (or at www.goout.net) – these can be booked until the start of the production. You can also visit the Central ticket sales point (located in the Cultural centre, use the side entrance from Akademická street) personally as early as September 21th to get tickets.
Festival passes for AMPLIFIER are not possible to obtain.
The programmes start precisely as written in the schedule. So please, plan ahead and come on time, because it may happen that you will have to wait until you are allowed inside by the staff. And until then, you would surely get sad. :(
Sweaters and good, sturdy shoes are almost required for AMPLIFIER. The evenings do get colder and the terrain in the city is almost mountainous.
Do you want to make sure that you will get to your chosen production? Simply buy your tickets in advance – online at www.amplion.eu/vstupenky. Some festival venues only have limited capacity and nobody wants to learn that the show is sold out just a few minutes before the fun starts! You can comfortably buy your tickets using your PC or mobile phone up to one minute before the production starts.
After the beginning of the programme, it is not possible to buy tickets anymore.
You can also buy tickets in person by visiting the Central ticket sales point. You can buy your tickets even after the production begins and the online sale has stopped. This sales point is located by the side entrance to the Cultural centre (from Akademická street), and is open on Thursday, 21th of September 2023 from 15:00 till 21:00, on Friday 22th September and Saturday 23th September from 9:00 till 23:00 and on Sunday 24rd September 2023 from 9:00 till 10:00.
Don’t forget – tickets are not sold at the festival venues!
14 paid programmes
69 € / adult from 18 to 59 years
39 € / student from 15 to 26/ISIC, disabled and pensioner 60+
(min. 35% discount on the total value of the tickets)
Only to 22nd September 2023 (or until sold out)!
By bus or train
Be prepared to walk from the final stop – the train station is approx. 3 km from the centre and the bus station approx. 2 km from the centre. Public transport in Banska Stiavnica does not exist, it is advantageous to order a taxi, which costs 2 to 5 €. More here.
Also, pack a book, because due to transfers, this kind of travelling might take a while. You can catch buses to Štiavnica from Žarnovica, Žiar nad Hronom, Zvolen or Levice. If you are travelling by train, transfer in Hronská Dúbrava. However, the train ride to Banská Štiavnica on the famous Štiavnická Anča train is spectacular and we definitely recommend this journey. If you are looking for more info on travelling with public transportation, click here.
By car
You can get to Štiavnica from the R1 via several routes. Pick your route according to your driving skills. The easiest access is via the exit next to Hronská Dúbrava, passing through Kozelník and Banská Belá. The middle-of-the-road solution is picking the exit from R1 near Bzenica, passing through Vyhne and Hliník nad Hronom in the direction of Sklené Teplica. The third option, for those who enjoy deep-forest winding uphill drives, is to go via Žarnovica and Hodruša-Hámre.
After arriving at AMPLIFIER, use one of the incentive car parks. They are close to the centre and moreover, you will spare yourself the stress of navigating the narrow streets of Štiavnica, which are not suited for cars, anyways. We do not recommend searching for parking spaces in the centre, as only owners of residential cards are allowed to park there. You cannot park at the St. Trinity Square, either, as it turned into a pedestrian zone as of July 1st, 2019. The incentive car parks can be found on Mládežnícka st. (P2), just below the New Castle on Novozámocká street (P1), and on Dolná street (P3), where you will pay 1€ per hour for a car, or 8€ per day. The parking fee is collected from Monday till Sunday, 7:00 - 18:00. Another paid car park can be found in Akademická st., next to the building of the former gymnasium (in the “pit” - P4). The map with the highlighted parking spots is in section 8. More info here.
Festival visitors
Accommodation in Banská Štiavnica during the summer season is in extremely high demand and sells like hot cakes. We recommend booking your accommodation in a hotel, lodging house or a BnB at least 2 months ahead of time.
If you would like to stay in the very heart of the festival, we recommend our partner Hotel Grand Matej. There are, however, dozens of other options. You can choose, among other places, according recommendation to the Tourism Association or Supervulkán Štiavnica.
Performers and the Tourism Association guests
Are you heading to the festival as a performer or as a guest? A comfortable bed already awaits you, courtesy of our caring partners. We would like to thank them for their cooperation. We recommend the following means accommodation to festival viewers outside of the festival dates, because their owners are very forthcoming and helpful.
Lodging house Nostalgia
Guest house Aura
Hostel Skautský dom
Hotel Grand Matej
Directly in the city centre, you will find quite a few restaurants. However, please, remember that the city is packed with festival-goers and tourists during these dates, so the wait for your lunch or dinner may be longer than expected. Sometimes even 45 – 60 minutes. Plan ahead so that you don’t miss the beginning of your planned festival programme.
The restaurants we have tried and tested are Monarchia, Ďumbier, Kachelman and Reštaurácia Matej, which is directly next to the festival club. If you want to buy your own groceries, there is a small shop directly in the city centre. A wider selection can be found in the Tesco and Lidl supermarkets in the Drieňová city part, or in Billa at Križovatka.
The festival productions take place in 12 different interior and exterior venues in the city centre of Banská Štiavnica. Usually, the productions take place between 10:00 in the morning and end until 23:00.
All outdoor scenes are dog friendly, indoors Art Cafe and Cube. Dogs are not allowed in the Culture Centre and Hotel GRAND Matej.
Please, plan carefully, because the productions start exactly according to schedule! If you are a few minutes late, you may have to wait for the organisers to let you in, or even worse, you may not be let in at all, because late arrivals bother both artists and audience members.
(Click on the map for more readable version)
Every festival has its core, a place where the life never stops. The heart of AMPLIFIER is situated in our beloved Art Cafe in Akademická street nr. 2. It is a place to meet old friends and find new ones. A place for lively discussions over beer or wine, a place for laughter and for dancing. Several smaller productions will take place during the festival and every evening, there will be live music! Don’t miss the atmosphere in the renowned Art Cafe!
Banská Štiavnica has a reputation of a town in the hills, surrounded by forests. This reputation is true. Especially at the end of summer, the evening temperatures may be too low for T-shirts. Do not forget to pack warmer clothes. You can also leave high heels at home. Your feet will thank you after walking in the winding streets and on the historical pavement.
Are you planning on visiting the festival with small children? Good, the young generation is welcome! If your child is used to a child carrier or baby carriage, we do recommend the carrier due to the slope of the streets.
If you need to travel around town fast (for example, from the city centre to the supermarket), you can use the local version of public transportation – cheap taxis. The ride from Križovatka to the city centre costs roughly 2 — 5 €.