The most prominent landmark of the city is Nitra Castle (Nitriansky hrad), perched on a small hill in the very heart of Nitra and visible from almost every direction. The complex stands above the river on an ancient site that has been fortified for more than 1,500 years, with the first stone constructions traceable to the ninth century during the Principality of Nitra and the Great Moravian period. Inside its walls rises the Cathedral of St Emeram (Bazilika svätého Emeráma), the seat of the Bishopric of Nitra, one of the oldest active bishoprics anywhere in central Europe with continuous activity since 880. The cathedral is in fact a complex of three churches built in different eras and joined together over the centuries: a small Romanesque church, a Gothic upper church, and a lower church added in the early seventeenth century. The interior is rich in Baroque painting, gilded altars, and historic relics, and the castle gates, ramparts, and bishop’s residence form a single picturesque complex around it. The castle entrance is free, and the views from the bastions stretch across the old town, the Nitra Hradby gardens, and the long green ridge of Zobor on the northern horizon.

Below the castle hill, the historic centre of Nitra is divided into two distinct parts. The Upper Town (Horné mesto), wrapped around the foot of the castle, is the older and more atmospheric of the two, with cobbled lanes, painted burgher houses, and small squares opening onto views of the cathedral towers above. The Lower Town (Dolné mesto), spreading out along the river toward the modern centre, is built around the broad pedestrianised Svätopluk Square (Svätoplukovo námestie), named after the most famous ruler of Great Moravia, Prince Svätopluk I, whose equestrian statue stands at its centre. The square is lined with cafés, restaurants, and shops, and forms the natural gathering point of the modern city. A short walk away, the long Štefánikova Street runs through the heart of the old commercial district, with two further important religious sites along its course: the Piarist Monastery and Church with its elegant Rococo facade, and the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul, a Franciscan complex built in the early seventeenth century with one of the most richly decorated cloister cycles in Slovakia. Together with the castle complex, the upper and lower towns make up the Nitra Town Monument Reserve (Mestská pamiatková rezervácia), one of the most carefully protected urban heritage areas in the country.

On the wooded hill of Calvary (Kalvária), just west of the city centre, stands one of the most important religious sites in Slovakia. The Nitra Calvary is both a pilgrimage destination and a place for slow, contemplative walks, with a steep tree-lined path climbing from the foot of the hill past fourteen stations of the cross to the Mission House Church of the Ascension (Misijný dom matky Božej) at the summit. The site has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries, and the wide terraces around the summit church offer some of the best panoramic views of Nitra, with the castle, the old town, and the Zobor ridge all visible from the same vantage point. A small museum on the Calvary is dedicated to the legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the two ninth-century Byzantine missionaries who brought Christianity, the Old Church Slavonic liturgy, and the first Slavic alphabet to the region, and whose memory is still strongly felt in Nitra today.

A short distance north of the city centre, on the lower slopes of Zobor hill, lie the remains of the Zobor Monastery (Zoborský kláštor), traditionally considered the oldest monastery in Slovakia. The monastic community here was first documented in the eleventh century and was associated with the Benedictine order for most of the Middle Ages, playing an important role in medieval education and in copying religious manuscripts before falling into ruin in later centuries. Today the surviving stone walls of the chapter house, the cloister fragments, and the foundations of the church are preserved within a quiet park setting that has become a favourite walking destination for both locals and visitors. From the monastery, marked hiking trails climb further up Zobor hill, leading through oak and beech forest to the Pyramid Lookout Tower at the summit, with panoramic views across the Danubian lowlands all the way to the Tribeč range and the Slovak Eastern Carpathians on a clear day.

A short distance east of the city centre lies one of the more unusual and surprisingly engaging cultural sites in Nitra. The Slovak Agricultural Museum (Slovenské poľnohospodárske múzeum) is the only one of its kind in the country, dedicated to the history of agriculture, farming, and rural craftsmanship in the Slovak lands. The museum is part of the larger Agrokomplex exhibition complex, Slovakia’s biggest fairground, which hosts large-scale trade fairs and cultural events throughout the year. The open-air sections include working windmills and water mills, traditional farm buildings reassembled on site, demonstrations of historical agricultural techniques, and a working steam railway that runs on a narrow-gauge track around the grounds during the season. Together with seasonal demonstrations of folk crafts, the site is a particularly good destination for families and for travellers interested in the rural side of Slovak heritage.

Nitra railway station sits just south of the city centre, with the castle, the Cathedral of St Emeram, Svätoplukovo Square, and the start of the Calvary path all reachable on foot or by bike in around fifteen minutes. The historic core is compact and entirely walkable, with the climb up to the castle best done on foot from the main square. Cycling infrastructure across the central city is reasonable, and a network of marked cycle routes leads out from Nitra toward the surrounding wine villages, the Tribeč range, and the long-distance Eurovelo 6 connection routes. Bike racks are available at the station and at several points around the centre. For onward travel, the same ZSSK line connects back toward Bratislava and the wider Danube region, as well as further east toward the Hron valley and the Slovak interior, so Nitra works equally well as a one-day excursion, a one-night detour, or a longer base for exploring this corner of western Slovakia.