There are four theaters in Banská Bystrica. The State Opera (Slovak: Štátna opera v Banskej Bystrici) was founded in 1959. It has given the opera world several divas, Edita Gruberová being the most famous one. Every summer, the State Opera organizes a popular open-air festival at Zvolen Castle. Štúdio tanca is a professional contemporary dance theater established in 1998. A professional marionette theater, Bábkové divadlo na Rázcestí (Puppet Theater at the Fork in the Road) founded in 1960, organizes the only marionette festival in Slovakia. Theatre from the Passage (Slovak: Divadlo z Pasáže) is Slovakia's only theater with a mentally disabled cast whose mission is to help integrate mentally disabled people in society.

Banská Bystrica lies at an altitude of 362 metres (1,188 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 103.37 square kilometres (39.9 sq mi). It is about halfway between Slovakia's two largest cities, 208 kilometres (129 mi) north-east from Slovakia's capital Bratislava and 217 kilometres (135 mi) west of Košice. A chain of discrete suburbs and villages connects it with Zvolen, another major town 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the south.

When someday comes you'll need to get in.

When someday comes you'll need to be able to get around.