Bratislava

Introduction

St Michaels Tower - Bratislava

© All Rights Reserved Aleesha

On the bank of the Danube, roughly halfway between Vienna and Budapest, lies Slovakia's capital Bratislava. Its charming Old Town (or Staré Mesto), nestled in a sea of communist-era flats, is compact and easily explored by visitors.

Through the centuries, the city has been influenced by numerous neighbouring cultures, including Austrian, Czech, German, Hungarian and Jewish culture. It was a key centre of the Kingdom of Hungary and its capital under the Habsburg monarchy from 1536 to 1783.

Neighbourhoods

Even as the national capital, Bratislava is small (500,000 people). In fact, Slovaks call it a big village, and in many ways it is. For tourists, the main neighbourhoods of interest are the Old city and surrounds, but there are some more remote areas, like Slavin and its upscale houses that are worth a look. For wine drinkers, take the tram out to Raca or Vinohrady and visit the vineyards, which produce nice white wines.

Sights and Activities

• Old Town (or Staré Mesto) is home to many of the city's historical buildings.
• St. Martin's cathedral
• Bratislava Castle
• Devín Castle - can be reached by bus, ferry, and for those who fancy an easy (4 kilometres) walk in the woods, but well marked paths.
• New Bridge lookout (Nový Most) - At the very top of the bridge there is a saucer shaped lookout (both indoor with a restaurant and outside at the very top) with a great view back over the old town and over the river and rest of Bratislava. Getting to the lookout is a somewhat strange experience as the lift actually goes up at a slight angle.
• Koliba - the looming television antenna, with a restaurant and great views of the Danube valley.
• Slavin - a memorial to the Soviet war dead in the liberation of Bratislava, and nearby Horsky Park

Events and Festivals

Weather

Bratislava has a moderate continental climate with warm summers and relatively cold winters. Summers last from June to September with average maximum temperatures mostly between 22 °C and 26 °C in the lower parts of the country. Nighst average around a pleasant 15 °C during this time. Winters, from December to March are usually a little above zero during the day and a few below zero at night, though cold spells of weather when the wind blows from the east are possible. The east and north is colder than the southwest of the country during this time. Absolute highs and lows are 38 °C and -23 °C. Precipitation is quite evenly distributed throughout the year, with spring and summer somewhat wetter though. On average, there are about 10 days with some rain (or snow).

Getting There

By Plane

Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport (BTS), or simply Bratislava Airport, near the capital Bratislava offers a range of flights. Low-cost airline Ryanair offers by far the most flights with destinations currently being Alicante, Birmingham, Bristol, Brussels South Charleroi Airport, Dublin, Edinburgh, Girona, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Liverpool, London Luton Airport, London Stansted Airport, Malaga, Milan-Orio al Serio, Paris Beauvais-Tillé Airport, Rome Ciampino Airport, Stockholm-Skavsta and seasonal to Alghero, Palma de Mallorca and Trapani.
A few other airlines serve destinations like Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Yerevan, Tirana, Prague, Kosice, Catania, Split and Zadar.

Bus number 61 runs from the airport to the central train station and it takes approximately 30 minutes. Some people find it easier to fly into Vienna and then taking the bus from there to Bratislava. This costs €9 and leaves you off at the Central Bus Station (Mlynsky Nivy). The Old Town is a short public bus trip from there.

By Train

International
Trains run frequently from Prague and Budapest, and hourly from Vienna. Bratislava has two primary stations - Hlavna Stanica (Central Station) and Petrazalka Stanica, which is located across the Danube from the old city. A number of buses run across the river, but you are better off trying to get into the Central station.

Domestic
The Railways of the Slovak Republic operates a network of railways in the country.
Most trains depart from Bratislava and there are more expensive daily express train linking cities further east.

By Car

With the borders down, driving in from Austria is easy, with a trip from Vienna taking about an hour.

By Bus

BBDS is one of the major bus companies in the country with frequent buses to and from Bratislava.

By Boat

Slovak Shipping & Ports operates ships on the Danube, including those to and from Bratislava. It is possible to get to Bratislava by boat from Vienna. The Twin city liner, connects the two capitals. The trip takes about 75 minutes.

Getting Around

By Car

Some parts of the city are not accessible by car, including the old town.

By Public Transport

Most of the city, old and new, is reachable by a solid network of trams, buses, and trolley buses. You can get more information on the website of the municipal transport.

You must buy tickets in advance, from tobacco shops or ticket machines located near stops. The former close in the early evening, and the latter only takes coins. So plan in advance if you are staying out late. After 11:00pm or so everything stops except "night buses" which are all signposted with N#.

By Foot

Bratislava is a compact city, and getting around by foot is the preferred method to explore. This is particularly true in the old town, where car transport is nearly impossible due to the many tables and chairs placed on the 'street'.

By Bike

There are no dedicated bike paths in the old town, but there are two excellent paths along either side of the Danube river. In fact, one can bike to Vienna or Devin Castle along a lovely path away from cars. The countryside surrounding Bratislava is superb for cycling, with good, almost flat, bicycle paths along the Danube and Morava rivers. If slopes tickle your fancy, then the Carpathian range is nearby with plenty of trails for mountain bikers and more fit riders.

Beware of thieves in the city and try and keep your bicycle in sight, or locked with a good lock.

Eat

Slovakia is typical of Central Europe in that most foods are of a hearty nature, usually meat and a starch (potatoes, rice, etc.), washed down with beer. Typical meals include Goulash or the Slovak national dish Bryndza Halusky, a potato risoto covered in a tangy, salty white cheese and bacon. It is somewhat of an acquired taste, but good on cold days.

Vegetarians suffer somewhat in Slovakia, even in Bratislava, as the Slovak concept of "meatless" permits a liberal usage of bacon. However, a growing number of places in the old city and in ethnic restaurants now offer more varieties for those who go meatless. When in doubt (and one should always be in doubt about whether dishes come with meat in Slovakia), ask "Bez Mesa?" (without meat?).

The most common non-Slovak food is Italian - the Slovaks are crazy for Italian food. It is usually of the southern red-sauce variety, but can be tasty. Chinese, Sushi, Indian and Middle Eastern can also be found in and around the Old City.

Drink

Beer is one of the main drinks in the city. One of the raisons d'etre of Slovak life, it is easy to find, cheap and tasty. If, like me, you like a malty dark beer, you are mostly out of luck, as the Slovak dark beer (Tmave Pivo) is very sweet. The Pilsner, which at times is closer to a weak ale, is quite nice, and varies in strength from brewery to brewery.

The Slovaks also like fruit based alcohol, but don't be fooled. This stuff, depending where it comes from will peel paint and fix anything wrong with you. Try them all, and should you find them too strong for you, try it again - it gets easier!

Most visitors to Bratislava choose one of the many restaurants or cafe's in the old town for drinks. Also the party and restaurant boats moored on the river are popular at night. There's also a really interesting nightclub inside a bunker from the war that has a slightly claustrophobic feel to it, but good dance music.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• Comenius University of Bratislava

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Slovenská pošta is the national postal service of Slovakia. They have affordable, reliable and relatively fast services. You can choose to send letters/postcards first (express) or second class. Prices start at €0.40 for a second class letter (up to 50 gram) domestically, €0.60 for express services. Within Europe prices start at €0.90 (Czech Republic €0.80), outside Europe prices start at €1.00, all for second class letters/postcards up to 50 grams. You can use their parcels services as well, although you might be better off with companies like UPS, TNT or DHL, which offer similar prices, but usually faster and more reliable services. Post offices are available in all villages and provide banking services like money transfers as well. The post offices are usually open from Monday to Friday 8:00am to 6:00pm and on Saturday until 1:00pm. The main post offices in larger towns or shopping malls are open daily to 8:00pm. It is possible to buy post stamps for post cards and letters directly in the post offices or in some newspaper stands.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website
• Bratislava Culture and Information Centre