10 Top Places to Visit in Bratislava, Slovakia

Published in

wanderowls

6 min readMay 29, 2017

Country located in Central Europe, its official language is Slovak, is part of the European Union and its currency is the Euro.

It is a relatively young country with only 24 years since separating from what was Czechoslovakia, on January 1st, 1993 Slovakia and the Czech Republic became two countries with their own decisions and puted an end to communism.

Slovakia unlike other countries that use the Euro as currency is very cheap, if you find yourself doing a tour of Central Europe and you would like to visit this country you have several options to reach to its capital Bratislava, you can do it by train, from Vienna, Austria in train is about an hour and a half, but if you have rented a car the distance from Vienna is one hour, another option is to fly, the airport is very small and is composed of a single terminal so it makes it comfortable . However if you are in a country outside of Europe and would like to start your “Eurotrip” in this country you will probably find it difficult to arrive as there are few airlines that arrive at this airport because of their size and capacity.

Below are the places of interest in your visit to Bratislava:

Bratislava Castle

On the banks of the Danube is the most representative monument of Bratislava, in each of its 4 corners it has a tower, is located on a hill and from the top of the hill you can have a panoramic view of the city and if you are lucky you will see part of the Hungarian territory as well as a little of the Austrian territory.

This Castle according to its history was destroyed and rebuilt after 142 years, is now a museum that can be visited and is one of the favorite places to see the sunset.

Church of St. Isabel

It is known as Blue Church, belongs to the style “Art Nouveau” its architect was a Hungarian called Ödön Lechner, Its architecture is fascinating, Santa Isabel was born in the Castle of Bratislava and was a daughter of the king Ondrej II.

Door of St. Miguel

This gate was the access entrance to the walled city, it is in the old part of the city, visiting its tower you will have access to the 4 floors that contain part of the History of Bratislava besides having a wonderful view to one of the main streets.

Ufo Bridge and Tower

Being in the center of the city you can not miss visiting this tower that will leave you with open mouth with its views. You must take into account that to go up to the viewpoint you must pay a ticket, take a lift and then go up some stairs, you can be there as long as you want, I suggest wearing warm clothes during the winter because the air is very strong in the top. This tower also has a restaurant of very little accessible prices for many travelers.

To get there you will have to cross a bridge that connects a part of Bratislava with the center of the city, I suggest walking on the bridge instead of arriving by car because the distance is too short between the tower and the center.

St. Martin´s Cathedral

Located just below Bratislava Castle, the wall is also right next to the Cathedral at the foot of the road; It is one of the oldest churches in Slovakia, here several coronations of kings and queens took place, in order to enter this cathedral you will have to be in luck, the schedules many times do not agree with the itinerary of the traveler besides that if there is a mass or some wedding or any other special celebration will not be accessible. Anyway, I recommend you make a stop there as once you get off the Castle you will find it.

Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum

Considered to be one of the youngest modern art museums in Europe, it is approximately 30 minutes from Bratislava by car, visitors are amazed to see the exhibits and is known to be almost a must visit on your trip to Bratislava.

Museum of the city of Bratislava

As its name says this museum is about the foundation and history of the city, it is said to be the oldest museum that is still open to the public of all Europe, you can locate it in the old town.

Bratislava Botanical Garden

With 7 hectares of extension this place was founded in 1942, is administered by the University of Comenius.

There are just over 150 species of roses, a whole collection of different aquatic plants and different tree displays from various parts of the world. This garden has picnic tables and a playground so you can spend an excellent time visiting this place.

Freedom Square in Bratislava

According to the facts in 1897 took off the first helicopter from this place by Jan Bahyl.

Known in Slovak as “Namestie Slobody” is the most well-known square in Bratislava, its construction began during socialism, has the largest water source of the city known as “Družba”, the constructions around it are a reminder of the communist era.

Devin Castle

It was founded in the 8th century, is one of the most important archaeological sites in Slovakia; In 1890, the castle was destroyed by orders of Napoleón Bonaparte by what today they are only ruins that contain a fortress.

These ruins are the memory of the history between wars as it was between France and Moldavia. Also in XIII was a strategic point for the Hungarian Kingdom. It is a national symbol for Slovaks.

Located 13 kilometers from Bratislava can be reached by bus from “New Bridge” the route number is 29, you can also take bus number 28 but it will leave you a little further from the castle so you must walk to get there. It is very close to the border with Austria so you will see part of its territory.