Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and the largest city in the country. It is situated on the south-western border of Slovakia at the with Austria and Hungary.

Many visitors from Vienna come to Bratislava to a day trip. But the city offers much more than you can discover in one day. Even a weekend is hardly enough to experience the beauties of the city.

Where is Bratislava?

Bratislava
Where is Bratislava?

We found ourselves asking the question "Where is Bratislava?" when we spontaneously decided to fly to Bratislava. So we gathered some information and are happy to share what we found out through research as well as what we have experienced on our trip.

Wo liegt Bratislava

Where is Bratislava?

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and the largest city in the country. It used to have the German name “Pressburg”.
 In the immediate vicinity of the city is the border triangle of Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. Vienna is about 60 km away and to Budapest it is around 195 km.

The city of Bratislava is divided by the Danube, on the banks of which is Bratislava Castle, or the “Pressburg”. Four bridges lead across the river. The most famous bridge is the SNP Bridge, stretching from the southern part of the Danube to the old town.

The currency used is the Euro. Do not worry about having difficulties understanding Slovak – you’ll get by with English just fine and many people also speak a little German.

How to get to Bratislava?

Transport to and from Bratislava is very convenient and from here you can easily travel the rest of Slovakia by car, bus, train, plane or even by boat.

Plane

We flew to Bratislava by plane.
 Bratislava M. R. Štefánik Airport is a mere 9 km away from the city centre. Some low-cost airlines offer very cheap flights. For example, our flight with Ryanair for a weekend trip from Berlin came in at just under 10 €.
The airport is very modern and, when we were there, it was also very quiet. Many passengers are more likely to use the airport of Vienna, which is only 50 km away and is flown to by several bigger airlines. There are regular buses to Bratislava from Vienna.

A public bus service to the Central Station operates directly outside the terminal. It brings you into the city for very little money. Tickets cannot be purchased from bus drivers, you have to use the ticket machines! The machines only take coins, no bills!

Train

The main railway station of Bratislava is a junction for several railway lines. International trains to Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Berlin or Hamburg operate directly from Bratislava Central Station. It is close to the historic centre and you can take the city buses, trolley buses and trams to the rest of the city.

Ship

There is also the possibility to take a boat to Bratislava. A catamaran connects Vienna and Bratislava several times a day.

Blaue Kirche Bratislava

Why visit Bratislava?

Bratislava is not yet completely overrun by tourists. Nevertheless, the number of visitors increases annually.
 Many visitors are day tourists who come by bus or boat to Bratislava and leave the city in the evening.
 Medical tourism also plays an important role. Particularly in the area of eye surgery, dental treatment and surgical breast implants, many clinics offer their services at reasonable prices.

The hotel prices have not exploded in the city yet and we found an excellent value for money.
Our hotel tip: Loft Hotel Bratislava
We were within walking distance of the Old Town in this wonderful hotel and would definitely book again.

 

We stayed for three 3 days and have found the city to be very interesting. Our highlights were:

We also ate well. If you look a little off the beaten track, you will find really tasty and inexpensive restaurants. But you should also be careful. As in almost every city, there are corners where restaurants offer overpriced food and require additional service charges.

Since we visited around Christmas time our last tip is: Visit the Christmas market!

Bratislava on the map

Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Werbung

Searched and found – little highlights in Bratislava

Bratislava
Searched and found -
little highlights in Bratislava

Bratislava really is a nice little town. The city reminded me of Prague. We felt very comfortable here and can recommend a short trip. Here we summarised our little highlights in Bratislava. The main highlights, such as the castle or the monument Slavín, I described in individual articles.

Palais Grassalkovich

Highlights in Brastilava

Highlights in Bratislava

Very close to our hotel was the Presidential Palace, the Palais Grassalkovich. It has been the seat of the President of the Slovakian government since 1996. The Palais is a late baroque building with a garden that was originally built for Count Antal Grassalkovich, the President of the Royal Hungarian Court Chamber.

Präsidentenpalast

The park is open to the public almost all day. In the summer it functions as a small, green oasis near the old town.
 At times there are guards in front of the Presidential Palace. The change of guard is worth seeing, but during our stay that happened irregularly and on the weekend there weren’t any guards at all in front of the palace.

Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Address:

Hodzovo Namestie,
81106 Bratislava,
Slowakei 

House of Slovenský rozhlas

One of the architecturally most interesting buildings is the House of the Slovakian Broadcasting Corporation.
 The building is an 80 metres high upside down pyramid. It was completed in 1983 after more than 15 years of construction. The building was put on the list of the 30 ugliest buildings in the world.

Highlights in Bratislava

Radiogebäude

I don’t think the building is that ugly. I think it is rather unusual and with a fresh coat of paint, it would certainly look a lot better. Still, I have to agree with the critics on one point. Its look just does not fit with the surrounding houses. It would have been better placed in an area with more modern steel buildings.

Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Address:

Mýtna,
811 07 Bratislava-Staré Mesto,
Slowakei

Highlights in Bratislava -  Old Town

Taking a stroll through the Old Town of Bratislava is a perfect opportunity to discover many beautiful corners that you should not miss out on on your trip. Sometimes it’s just a nice house, a church, a fountain or an alley.

The cathedral of Saint Martin - a gothic church from the 15th century where coronations of the Hungarian kings took place.

Kirchen in Bratislava

Kirchen Highlights in Bratislava

The town hall and the opera house:

Rathaus Bratislava

Opernhaus Bratislava

The St. Michael’s Gate, the only remaining gate of the town fortification, and the remains of the old city wall:

Stadttor Bratislava

Highlights in Bratislava

I could post many more pictures of the city, but I think a visit and seeing it for yourself is the much better experience. Last little tip from me: The Jan Kral Park with its gothic tower, the new concert hall and the Parliament building should be on the must-see list.

You can watch our little video about our highlights in Bratislava here if you fancy:

YouTube

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load video

Monumental war memorial Slavín

Bratislava
Monumental war memorial Slavín

Monumental buildings are not unknown to us who live in Berlin. The remnants of socialist governments, which today seem unreal and oppressive and reminiscent of past times. One of these remnants in Bratislava is the Monumental war memorial Slavín.
The memorial Slavín was erected in 1960 in memory of 6845 fallen Soviet soldiers, who died during the liberation of Bratislava in April 1945. They have also been buried here.

Denkmal Slavín

Denkmal Slavín

Standing tall above the city at a total of 52 meters, it is the largest war memorial monument in Central Europe. It is located on a mountain with a view of Bratislava Castle and almost the entire city area.

The central square of the complex is dominated by a ceremonial hall, which is accessed by an impressive door with a bronze relief. In the hall are statues, inscriptions and a sarcophagus, placed there as a symbol for the dead. On top of the hall, a 39.5 meter high granite pylon was built, topped with a statue of a soldier hoisting up a flag for the liberated country, stamping down a swastika, the sign of the national socialism.

A staircase leads from the central square to the cemetery with six mass graves and over 250 individual tombs.
 A park surrounds the monument Slavín and from the east terrace, you can enjoy an excellent view over the city.

Denkmal Slavín

Denkmal Slavín

To me, the visit to this monument felt depressing. Not because of the graves in the cemetery, but because of the architecture, which reminds me of the Soviet dictatorship in the Eastern Bloc countries, their large squares and representative buildings.
 I still enjoyed the nice view over the city and I think this place should definitely be visited.

Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Address:

Slavín 1
81104  Bratislava

Opening hours:

Monday – Sunday: all day

memorial Slavín

Werbung


Who looks out of the drain?

Bratislava
Who looks out of the drain?

In Bratislava you should also look at the ground when walking. Otherwise, it might happen that one trips over Čumil, one of the many sculptures in Bratislava.

The city centre of Bratislava is inhabited by many sculptures. Some are totally unknown and some sculptures have quickly become popular attractions in the city.

skulpture in Bratislava

One of the most famous sculptures in Bratislava is Čumil, the "gawper".
Since 1997, this sculpture can be found at a junction in the Old Town of Bratislava. If you are too distracted by the displays of the shop windows, you have to be careful not to fall over this sculpture. He looks out of a drain. There are two possible explanations for his name. One explanation relates to a worker on his break. Another explanation claims that the worker had taken advantage of his workplace and looked under the skirts of the women who were passing by.
A legend says that a wish comes true when you touch the man's head. This is also the reason that his head is so brightly polished by now. When we tried to take a picture of Čumil without other people in it, several children were sitting on his head and some people touched the helmet.

A second very famous figure in the streets of Bratislava is Napoleon's soldier.
It took us quite some time to find this statue. The stalls of the Christmas market were set up narrowly so that spotting him wasn’t an easy task. He was well protected from all the hustle and bustle. But once found, the stalls actually made it easier to take a picture without other people standing around it. On other days it gets fairly busy around the soldier’s bench, as everyone would like to take a picture with him. 
We were not able to find his "colleague" in the rush of the Christmas market, even though he apparently is on watch very nearby. The soldier of Napoleon stands on the main square in the Old Town centre and is a reminder of the time when Napoleon was in the city.

Skulpturen in Bratislava

Skulpturen in Bratislava

And then there is "The Beautiful"!
Ignác Lamár, better known as The Beautiful Náci was town-known in Bratislava.
He used to walk the city in a tailcoat, patent-leather shoes and a top hat. He is said to have greeted all females with the words "kiss the hand, madam." Often he also handed them a flower.
 His sculpture is also in the old town, right on the main square. It is a popular photo motif and usually surrounded by people (we went at 10 o'clock in the morning, it was very quiet).
 In 1997 these life-sized sculptures were erected in Bratislava. Supposedly some can also mechanically move. But we have not been able to observe this.

We have not discovered the paparazzi, which is also supposed to be in the old town.
 But we have found more in a shopping centre: a fair tightrope walker with 2 spectators, an unknown man and 2 teens on a mailbox.

There are a lot more sculptures in Bratislava!

Skulpturen in Bratislava

Werbung


Skulpturen in Bratislava

Skulpturen in Bratislava

Skulpturen in Bratislava

A UFO over Bratislava

Bratislava
A UFO over Bratislava

What does the name SNP Bridge Bratislava mean? It means "Most Slovenského národného povstania", the bridge of the Slovakian national uprising.
 And why does a UFO fly over Bratislava? It is not actually flying, it rests on top of the bridge as a viewpoint. The SNP Bridge is the most famous bridge in Bratislava. It has an overall length of 430.80 meters and connects the largest Slovakian settlement Petržalka with the Old Town. More than 7530 tonnes are attached to the ropes of the asymmetric cable-stayed bridge. 4 lanes with a total width of 21 meters lead the traffic over the river Danube. Below the road, there is a pedestrian path on both sides of the bridge.

Bratislava SNP Bridge

SNP Brücke Bratislava

And this pedestrian walk you have to use to cross over from the Old Town to the other side of the river to get to the lookout platform. It is quite a strange sensation when just meters over your head the cars are rushing by and you feel the slight vibration of the bridge.

In addition to the interesting architecture that made the bridge "Construction of the Century" in 2001, the special attraction is the restaurant UFO, which is located 80 meters above the pillars. There is also a viewing platform above the restaurant.

UFO SNP

UFO SNP Brücke Bratislava

And this is exactly where we wanted to go. Fortunately, an elevator was installed in the left pillar, otherwise it would have been 430 stairs to climb in the right pillar.
Admittedly, 6.50 € is not exactly cheap to use the elevator to get to the top of the UFO on the SNP Bridge Bratislava. But I think it's worth it.
The elevator takes you into the middle of the UFO, from here it’s only a few more stairs up to the lookout platform. These few last steps already gave me a funny feeling. Sure, the stairs are straight but the pillar is tilted and consequently, the walls are also leaning over. And this is very unusual for the brain.
The view from the platform is just great. You can see all the important sights of the Old Town and beyond; from the castle to the radio tower. In the other direction, one can see as far as Austria.

UFO

SNP Brücke Bratislava

Werbung


Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Address:

Most SNP
851 01 Bratislava

http://www.u-f-o.sk/de/index.html

Opening hours:

Monday – Sunday: 10:00 – 23:00 hours

Price list:

Adults: € 6.50
Students: € 4.35
Reduced: 3,25 €

When you visit the restaurant, the price for the elevator is deducted from your bill.

City of Lemonades – Drinking and eating in Bratislava

Bratislava
City of Lemonades - Drinking and eating in Bratislava

We wanted to drink good fresh brewed beer in Bratislava. And we certainly would have if we had not found something much better. The homemade lemonade, which is available in almost all restaurants, is simply irresistible.
.

We got our first impression of what to eat in Bratislava when we went to a small pancake restaurant at the night of our arrival. We were really hungry.
 In addition to some salads and other cakes, pancakes in all varieties, sweet or savoury, were found on the menu.
We ordered the savoury version with a cheese and cranberry filling and also a sweet one with coconut. When the time came to order the drinks, we felt a bit lost. Coffee and tea were on the menu, some cocktails and water but none of the usual soft drinks. What was on the menu though were the lemonades. They came in the most diverse flavours and were homemade. Obviously, they had to be tried. 
Honestly – the pancakes were delicious, but the lemonade was just awesome. Fruity, not too sweet and very, very moreish.

Essen in Bratislava

Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Adress:

Pán Cakes a jeho palacinky
Suché mýto 4,
811 03 Bratislava-Staré Mesto,
Slowakei
http://pancakes.sk/

After a little walk, we stopped to eat in a restaurant called Pulitzer.
It was crowded, very crowded, but nevertheless we were greeted very warmly and brought to a small table. We ordered – at least according to the menu – something typical for Slovakia.
 I later read up on what we actually had on the plate. The Slovak national dish is called Bryndzové halušky (spaetzle – a type of pasta). The pasta is covered with Bryndza (a sheep cheese) and bacon. Good thing we got a beer with it this time. The food might have looked a little strange on the plate, but it was delicious, rich and very filling. I did not finish the portion.

Essen in Bratislava

Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Address:

PULITZER ® Restaurant café bar
Župné námestie 7,
811 03 Bratislava-Staré Mesto,
Slowakei
http://www.pulitzer.sk/index.php/en/

Following a recommendation, which promised us good food in Bratislava, we went to a restaurant called Gatto Matto one evening.
The slogan of this restaurant: pizza, pasta e basta!
The restaurant in the old town is somewhat hidden in a backyard. We were seated in the beautiful winter garden of the restaurant.
The menu offers plenty of choices, we chose Pizza Diavola for 6.70 € and I wanted to drink the homemade lemonade (Elderberry lemonade with fresh mint), the half litre for 2, - €.
 A really huge and tasty pizza finally stood in front of us and with it an excellent lemonade for us to enjoy.

Essen in Bratislava

Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Address:

Panská 427/17,
811 01 Bratislava – Staré Mesto-Staré Mesto,
Slowakei
http://www.gattomatto.sk

Eating in Bratislava also means eating cakes!
Again, we followed a recommendation and went to Café Zeppelin.
 The small, cosy café is situated in the old part of Bratislava, opposite the French Embassy. Since we travelled to Bratislava in time for the Christmas market, which took place on the market place directly in front of the Café, it was packed. Still, we found a small, empty table.
 You chose your cake at the bar. There is no fixed menu since they offer fresh, seasonal products. I have enjoyed one of the best cakes in a long time: plum with poppy seeds! It is a traditional cake variety of yeast dough with plums and poppy seeds (Osúch slivkovo-makový). It tasted incredibly good.

Essen in Bratislava

Google Maps

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.
Learn more

Load map

Address:

Zeppelin cafe and souvenirs
Sedlárska 364/10,
811 01 Bratislava,
Slowakei
http://www.zeppelincafe.sk/

Werbung