Slovakia’s capital is a great place to spend a few days exploring. With a castle overlooking a beautiful old town with cobblestone streets and the Danube River, Bratislava has all the makings of European capitals. But even if with the usual fixtures, Bratislava definitely has its own flavor.
Getting to Bratislava
The city has about 430,000 people living there, making it a smaller European capital. It is very close to the Austrian and Hungarian borders and well-connected to the rest of Europe. We traveled from here directly to Budapest in a short train ride, but you can reach Vienna even quicker. The train station is central and easily accessible, and the entire city is very walkable. They do have public transportation available. It’s helpful if you want to zip around a little faster or get further out of the center.
Book your trip on RailEurope and utilize their easy trip-planning tools.
We had five days to explore the city, so we moved quite slowly. I would recommend at least two nights. However, the city is small and would be a good option if you have an extra day on your Eurotrip. In this post, I’m highlighting five of our favorites in Bratislava to help you plan for your visit.
Five Favorites in Bratislava
The Castle
Sitting above the city on a hill overlooking the Danube and the surrounding countryside is the Bratislava Castle. It’s a beautiful white building with towers and a beautiful garden. The original castle dates back thousands of years. What you see now is the work done in the mid-20th century when it was rebuilt.
You can visit the exhibits inside and take a full tour. We just walked the outside of the building taking in the 360° views of the city. We learned some history from our geocache adventure and enjoyed the amazing garden behind the castle towers. There are a few paths up the hill so you can get different angles. It’s one of my favorite castles in Europe because of the simplicity of the white exterior and the views.
Book a city/castle tour to get additional information and a guide to help you discover even more about this beautiful spot.
Free Walking Tour about Communism
Free walking tours are available in almost every bigger city in Europe. They are amazing ways to get some history and some local tips on spots to eat, drink and explore during your visit. Bratislava was the first place we did a tour that was on a specific topic – Communism. The tour was so interesting.
With the history of the Soviet Union having control over most of Eastern Europe after World War II, we wanted to learn more about Bratislava during that time. The free tour was about two hours. We visited many of the popular sites in old town, but we also learned about life during Soviet rule from our tour guide. She told stories from her parents and grandparents and their first hand experiences. The tour included quite a few buildings that were constructed during the communist era. It was crazy to see the stark contrast in the architecture. The Fountain of Union was my favorite. It was built during Soviet rule and there are all kinds of conspiracies about the way it was built. It is no longer functioning, but has become a space for street art.
We also saw the sites of some of the major protests during the 1980’s and learned more about the actions of the brave people who fought for freedom.
Here is the link with information about that specific tour. You can see their other offerings as well.
Slovak Food
As vegetarians, we were a little worried that we would struggle to find local dishes to try. Thanks to some tips from the internet, we found the Slovak Pub just down the street from our rental, which we had visited multiple times. They had quite a few different things for us to try, including bread bowls with garlic soup and dumplings covered in sheep’s cheese. The amount of bread and cheese we were consuming wasn’t ideal. But it was awesome to have a few options to try while in town.
There are restaurants all over Old Town Bratislava with a variety of cuisines, but Slovak Pub was a great spot to visit for beers and some Slovak dishes. Don’t be fooled when you first walk in and don’t see a table, the restaurant/bar is so much bigger than it first appears. There are a ton of different dining rooms – each with its own personality.
A Hockey Game
If you are visiting Bratislava in the colder months of the year, you have to check the schedule for the local hockey team. The arena is about a 25 minute walk from Old Town and the tickets are extremely affordable. We sat in the front row behind the goalie for just a few euros. The games are energetic, loud and so much fun. We couldn’t understand anything that was said or sang. That didn’t stop us. We swayed back and forth with the home team’s fans every time a goal was scored. The team’s nickname is Belasí, which means “sky blues” in English. It would be easy to find a scarf with the team’s logo on it anywhere in the city if you really want to look the part.
The team was part of the famous KHL (Russian league) for years. Just last year, they left the league and returned to the Slovakian league. It was incredible to see these professionals play in a smaller arena for such a great price. It was a totally different experience than going to a professional hockey game in the US, but it was one of our favorite experiences while in Europe. The $2 beers were the biggest giveaway that we weren’t at Madison Square Garden.
Here is the link to their website with the schedule and tickets.
Old Town
Every European city has an “old town” and it’s usually a highlight for me. Bratislava was no different. With twisting streets, beautiful buildings, ancient walls, strange sculptures and so much more, this is a great place to stay during your visit. The streets here were never as crowded as some of the other cities we visited. Less people helps make strolling more enjoyable. We also took advantage of the hunt for geocaches as a way to explore different back alleys and off the beaten path locations.
Our favorites in Old Town were the famous blue church (actually named the Church of St. Elisabeth), Hlavne Namestie (the main square), and Michael’s Gate. If you take the free walking tour, you will be introduced to many of these spots and more, but you can easily find your way around on your own as well. Everything is very close together and only really accessible on foot in the old town area.
Other Bratislava Information
Euros are the currency there. We found it to be a very budget-friendly destination. There were lots of grocery stores to pick up food if you have a rental spot. The apartment we stayed in is no longer listed, but this rental spot is in the same neighborhood and is a great deal.
Check the calendar for national holidays. We were there on All Saints Day, and everything was closed down. McDonalds was the only place we found open for breakfast and ended up just hanging around the apartment the rest of the day.
The climate is a little more mild than some of the Northern European capitals, but it’s good to check the temps before arriving. We were there in late October – early November and it was jacket or sweater weather.
I would definitely recommend adding Bratislava to your itinerary especially if you are looking for some budget friendly locations that are close to other larger cities. We loved it and can’t wait to get back and explore more of Slovakia.
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