Bratislava

The bustling capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava is a charming city with many places to explore and delicious food to try. Bratislava is located right on the border of Slovakia and Austria and is a short drive from Vienna. Bratislava has a laid back atmosphere. Be sure to stroll around and explore the streets. Find a rooftop bar or visit the Bratislava Castle for great views of the city. The quirky statues, quaint pedestrian streets, and beautiful night walks will keep you coming back for more! Check out our guide below for Bratislava must see attractions, traditional food, and our 2 day itinerary:

Places to See

Presidential Palace – Located on a very busy intersection in the middle of Bratislava is the President’s Palace. Even though there are guards outside of the palace, it was interesting to see that you could get so close to the building where the president of Slovakia lives. You can even walk in the gardens behind the palace. It is a beautiful white building and worth checking out, you can even time your visit to the palace for the changing of the guards ceremony held around midday.

Michael’s Gate – Michael’s Gate is the only city gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications and it is one of the oldest town buildings. There is a gold circle on the ground when you pass through the gate. The circle has arrows and the distances written out for major cities located around the world.

Primate’s Palace – This is a neoclassical palace that today serves as the seat for the Mayor of Bratislava. The famous Hall of Mirrors is used for Bratislava City Council meetings. The building is open for tourists to visit.

Hubert – Bratislava has several quirky statues. Hubert is a French Napoleon Solider. Napoleon’s army left Bratislava in 1805; however this soldier fell in love with a local girl and stayed behind. Hubert’s statue is life size and is in an open square in Old Town.

Schöner Náci – Another quirky statue in Old Town Bratislava. This is a life size statue of a man with a top hat. This is based off of a real person that lived in the city and encouraged everyone to be nice to each other. He would walk around this around dressed up in a top hat and greeted everyone he passed.

Cumil – The third quirky statue, also called man at work. The stories behind this statue are a bit controversial. Some people tell the story that Cumil is a peeping tom and spent time in the sewer looking under women’s skirts. The other version of the story is that he is a man resting after cleaning the sewer. The statue has lost his head twice due to inattentive drivers, so they placed a road sign next to him to try and avoid this from happening again.

St. Martin’s Cathedral – You can go inside and take photos. It is a beautiful church, but not the most beautiful church of our European road trip.

UFO Bridge – Located over the Danube River is the UFO Bridge. You can go up the UFO part of the UFO Bridge to see the views of the city; you can even have dinner here though we have heard mixed reviews on the restaurant. Use the pedestrian walkway to reach the elevator that will bring you to the observation deck.

Bratislava Castle – A landmark overlooking the capital, be sure to visit both during the day and at night.

Slavin Memorial – The Slavin Memorial is dedicated to the Soviet troops who liberated Bratislava from the Nazi soldiers in 1945. The memorial is located on top of a steep hill. It was interesting to see a memorial in the West commemorating the Communists. The statue is of a Soviet solider standing on a giant column and crushing a swastika. This symbolizes the fascist defeat and the prevailing of communism.

Castle Devin – This castle is about a 10 minute drive from the city. The castle dates back to 5000 BC and it was used by the Romans. It was ultimately destroyed by Napoleon as the castle was deemed “useless”. Be sure to have some cash with you if you would like to climb up and explore the castle.

Freedom Gate – The Gate of Freedom was built as a memorial to remember those that lost their lives trying to escape the Iron Curtain.

What to eat/drink and where to find it!

Lemontree – Lemontree is actually a Mediterranean/Thai restaurant, but the reason we came here is for the amazing view of St. Martin’s Cathedral and the Bratislava Castle. We were seated at our table right at sunset. We shared Slovakian wine and enjoyed the view. By the time we finished dinner, it was dark and we were able to get some nighttime shots of the castle.

Bratislavsky Mestiansky Pivovar – Our meal here was superb. I had dumplings with minced meat over sauerkraut and Chris had Bryndzové Halušky, a pie with sheep cheese, bacon, and dough pies. We paired our meals with excellent local beer. We highly recommend stopping here for a meal during your visit to Bratislava.

Bratislava Wine Museum – Unbeknownst to many, Slovakia is known for their wine. You don’t see a lot of Slovakian wine outside of Slovakia because a large portion of their wine is consumed in the country. Most of their wines are white due to a lack of sunny days and the majority of the countries wine is produced in the South. If you are interested in doing a Slovakian wine tasting, at stop at the Bratislava Wine Museum is a must. The large wine cellar is part of the Museum of Viticulture, we did not actually purchase a ticket to the museum portion. We asked if we could go right to the wine cellar, which we were allowed to do. You can choose from tasting 4 wines, 8 wines, or to having 100 minutes of unlimited wine tasting. We contemplated doing the 100 minutes of unlimited tasting, but we didn’t want to spend that much time in the cellar. We decided on trying 8 wines. Just as we started our wine tasting another couple came into the cellar and decided to join us. We learned that the man who joined us was a Brazilian Wine Blogger. We had a great time learning about the wine and critiquing it together. An important thing to note is that they pour a good size glass of wine for each tasting. We were feeling decently tipsy by the end of the tasting, so don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Slovak – Slovak is small pub and a great place to try traditional dishes. We ordered Cesnačka, a cheesy garlic soup in a bread bowl as an appetizer. It was unbelievably delicious. I ordered Halusky, a traditional Slovak meal of potato dumplings and Chris had a potato pancake that was stuffed with meat. All of the food here was filling and delicious.

Our Itinerary – 2 Days in Bratislava

Day 1

Arrive in Bratislava
Walk to the Presidential Palace
Old Town – Walk to Michael’s Gate
Walk to Prematial Palace
Hubert, Schöner Náci, and Cumil Statues
St. Martin’s Cathedral
Eat Dinner at the Sky Bar – Lemontree
Explore Bratislava Castle

Day 2

Morning run to the Slavin Memorial
Castle Devin
Freedom Gate Memorial
Eat lunch at Bratislavský Meštiansky Pivovar
Slovak National Collection of Wines
Dinner at Slovak