Bratislava

i thought it was small for a capital and not too much to see(one complete day is good enough),but a great atmosephere, very friendly people,the most amazing blue church and easy on the eyes!!! worth a visit.

I had to fly into Bratislava in order to get to Vienna, so I stayed at the Blues Hostel on Spitalsky. Take the #61 bus from the airport into town, especially if you don’t speak Slovak because you WILL get ripped off by the cabs. If you do take a cab, set your price before getting in. Bratislava is only worth a day, and I spent most of mine in the Christmas Market in the Old Square and at the castle, looking over the city and the river into the old Communist ghetto. It’s a depressing feeling looking into the red history across the Danube, but the Christmas Market makes you feel alright again. Don’t expect super cheap goods unless you’re coming from Britain. Everything there is about the same price as it would be in the United States, so almost half of what you’d pay in Britain. I won’t be going back, but I’d suggest a day trip from Vienna if you have the time. If not, don’t bother.

Last year I have been to Bratislava and I have met my girlfriend who live here.
From that time we are together and love so deep each other.
Sme zalubeny do seba!!! :)
This town is full of beautiful places and I recommend to spend holiday here!
I love this town and country as well.

Bratislava appears to be a few years behind Prague on the development curve but catching up fast – everywhere you look there are cranes. Compared to Prague, there is more of the old town that has not been preserved/restored and this lends it a certain charm.

I would recommend walking round the old town, climbing the tower in the Bratislava Museum for views over the area and sampling the cake in one of the old Austrian-style cafes. The ‘UFO bridge’ over the Danube is interesting, although shockingly the communists tore through a well-preserved Jewish quarter to build it.

Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to visit the castle.

If you are travelling from Bratislava to Vienna or Budapest and you want a change from the train, consider taking a hydrofoil on river Danube. They are operated by LOD and go from the passenger terminal on the river near the town centre. The price is higher than the train and it takes 4 hours to get to Budapest but what are a few extra Korunas when you can travel on the largest river in Europe? Not quite as glamourous as a cruise but very cool nevertheless.

Bratislava is a nice little town. You can easily navigate the historic centre on foot. The only exception to this is the castle that is on a hill so that it’s quite a trek to get there but definitely worth it.

Prices are generally low for Europe. Food and drink in particular were cheaper than I expected, while accomodation was slightly more pricey than I thought it would be. You have banks and ATM all over town that will take Maestro and Visa cards so no need to worry about getting money out. You can also pay in Euro in a lot of places but be aware that if you do so, you will get a very bad exchange rate.

A number of people I’ve met on the road were saying that a day is enough to visit Bratislava because it is so small. If it’s just to see the sights, this may be true but the town has a lot more to offer. The castle in particular hosts a few museums that cover 3 or 4 floors in total and you could easily spend a full day there. You could also spend some time South of the river in the maze of gray appartment blocks from the Communist era. This is a town that has a long history that doesn’t stop in the historical centre.

I nearly forgot: don’t forget to sample the local wine, red or white, you will be pleasantly surprised.

1- If you can make a same day return from Vienna, there’s something interesting you would be intelligent to know. There’s an offer called Bratislover by OBB and the Slovakian Railway, and for 14 Euros, you can have a return train ticket, and in addition to that, all public transport in Bratislava, which is just basically six lines of the tram, and some really pathetic buses.

2- The trains to Bratislava have more frequency from the Westbahnhof than the Suedbahnhof , and we had to actually go to the latter. So, keep that in mind.

3- The city is notoriously cheap. Even of limited budgets, you can actually live in true luxury. Hard to believe that the city is actually not really far from Vienna, and in celebration to that, we took a taxi, went to the hippest bar, drank the Bombay Sapphire and tipped real generously.

4- The Euros don’t work here. It’s the Slovak Korum. And it’s about like 35 Korums to a Dollar.

5- Bratislava by the day and Bratislava by the night are two utterly different things. The city, they say, has one of the most exciting nightlife in the world, and it actually shows. But in the day, there’s actually nothing you can do.

6- Actually, you can walk up to the Bratislava Castle i.e. Bratislavsky hrad, and it’s pretty neat. Just look down, you have the Danube and the Petrzalka, the massive Soviet Housing estate. The rest is just not worth it, and Michael Towers is something in the old city, so you will see it anyways. The Presidential Palace is actually almost a joke, but again where else you can walk up to the gates of a republic’s president.

7- Bratislava is something not yet discovered by the tourists. Simply because it has not got a lot to see. But when you walk down the castle into the Old City, and it’s evening, you see the pulsating nightlife, the arches and the thinned down Alleys, you know it’s actually brilliant.

8- Bratislava is worth seven hours, with the latter portion in the evening, and the last train to Vienna leaves at like 0040 Hours. Make sure you have your passport because entering Austria means they check your passports.

9- Language is a problem. So, use the tourist information on the left before the exit, and take the requisite maps. If you don’t speak German, which I did, I guess you are pretty much fucked, but again, it makes it all the more exotic.

10- Take a change for the evening. This is for you. People are mighty good looking, and they dress up for the evening, much in contrast to the Bratislava you will see in your twenty minute walk from the Station to the Castle.

11- Between the castle and the Old City, while coming down, we ate in a diner which I just have to recommend. The waiter was an absolute sweetheart who could not get any dumber, the view was electric and the setting perfect. The food, probably, as good as it could ever get. You can even take your glass of wine and maybe sit over the cliff and see the Danube and the rest of Bratislava; frighteningly exotic.

Modra Hviezda (Blue Star)

Beblaveho 14 Bratislava

And yeah, the house wine was absolutely gorgeous. It was a local Slovakian one, called Frankouka Modra. Good shit, and my European Moment.

12- You will get drunk in Bratislava.

I study here…

Worth only one full day

I envision Bratislava being old Europe – similar to Prague but more authentic now that Prague is becoming more touristy.

It’s such a unique place since it is the only capital in the world that borders two other countries – and it’s right on the river.

It has a funny name and I am sure with that comes charm. If only I had known how close we were when we went to Vienna. Oh well – it’s only a 5 hour drive away.