I visited this WHS in 2022 en route from Aggtelek/Dobsinska and based myself for 2 nights in a very pleasant former monastery converted into a hotel just behind the Spis Chapter House. Before doing some research, I always thought that the highlight of this WHS was the huge crumbling Spis castle, but after making the effort to visit Levoca and the other associated sites I think that they are very worthy additions that complement each other and possess OUV.

Having my hotel just behind it, I started off by visiting the Spis Chapter House with its imposing walls. There's a free parking lot just next to it and a pleasant hiking trail/Spis Jerusalem pilgrimage route just in front of the chapter house representing a Calvary complex with three minor churches/chapels. The complex is also part of the Slovak route to Santiago de Compostela as is Levoca. The Spis Chapter House is definitely the highlight within an exceptionally well preserved ecclesiastical town on the outskirts of Spis proper. The town consists of St. Martin's Cathedral, a former monastery, a small yellow bell tower just behind the cathedral and a single street, all of Mediaeval construction and enclosed by a large wall. Best light for photography is in the late afternoon when the sun lights up the Romanesque-Gothic cathedral facade and the Spis Castle in the background. Outside the main gateway of the Spis Chapter House there's a UNESCO WHS plaque, which is also found outside the main gateway of the Spis Castle, near St. James' Cathedral in Levoca, and on the walls surrounding the Church of the Holy Spirit in Zehra.

The following day I drove to Spis proper and parked my car just opposite the yellow sinagogue which was the main highlight of the little town together with the main square. From there I walked uphill to the Spis Castle. Unfortunately, due to its crumbling state of conservation, there is always a crane or two or some scaffolding but the size of the castle is really impressive. The entrance fee provides a look from inside its high walls but can easily be skipped. On the rear side of the castle, beneath the entrance gate, there is another parking lot with less of an uphill walk on tarmac to reach the castle. From there I drove a few kilometres to Zehra where there is the pretty 13th century Church of the Holy Spirit with an onion-shaped dome enclosed by a small wall. The highlight of this small church though are its 13th to 15th century frescoes (small entrance fee). The oldest wall paintings are a set of eight consecration crosses, marking the spots where the original building was consecrated, and thus dating back to the 13th century. Later in the 13th century, a second stage of wall paintings is marked by the depiction of Golgotha on the church's tympanum. Frescoes in the sanctuary, dating from the 14th century, showing Byzantine influence, include representations of the Last Judgement, the Last Supper and the Deposition and St Cosmas and Damian, the patron saints of doctors. The most impressive wall paintings are the Pietà and the symbolic Tree of Life which dramatises the triumph of the Church over the Synagogue. Ironically these paintings were preserved thanks to an outbreak of plague in the 17th century, when the interior of the church was covered with lime plaster for disinfection. They were rediscovered in the 1950s when the lime was removed using cottage cheese, effective for this purpose because it contains casein!

Last but not least, I drove to the town of Levoca and explored its historic center with a well preserved town wall, a lovely old town hall, the domed Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Basilica of St. James (second largest church in Slovakia after the Church of St Elizabeth in Kosice), the cage of shame, and many other Renaissance buildings. The highlight not to be missed is the interior of the Gothic Basilica of St. James (entrance tickets for individuals or guided group tours are sold just opposite the church's entrance). The main highlights are the highest wooden altar in the world and the wall paintings. A bit of an uphill walk outside Levoca lies the pilgrimage church and Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located on top of the Mariánska hora hill, where Pope John Paul II celebrated mass in 1995 after visiting Spis. The whole town of Levoca reminded me a lot of Zamosc, Poland. All in all, I really had a great time visiting Spis and all the different associated sites and I'm glad I spent more than 1 night in the area.