Štrbské Pleso before breakfast: the loop you'll fall in love with

The loop around Štrbské Pleso (a glacial lake) is 2.3 km long, flat the whole way, and easy even with a pushchair. The trick isn't the route — it's the timing. Before seven in the morning you'll meet a handful of anglers, a few photographers, and no one else.

From Vila Vlasta in Starý Smokovec, the Tatra Electric Railway gets you to Štrbské Pleso in 40 minutes — board at the Pekná vyhliadka stop, 250 metres from the door. By car it's 20 minutes; early-morning parking by Helios is no trouble, though it fills up within an hour during the day.

Walk anticlockwise: the first kilometre follows the southern shore with views of Solisko, and you'll catch the finest reflections from the jetty by the symbolic cemetery. Finish the loop with breakfast on the terrace — and you'll be back in Smokovec by ten.