An Eastern European Christmas Market tour this past December was the perfect time to check another new country off the list! After visiting Wroclaw, Poland, and Prague, Czechia — both of which are cities/countries I’d been to before, our last stop was Bratislava, Slovakia. For being the smallest of the cities we visited on this trip, the Bratislava Christmas market was super impressive and had the best food out of the three.
Whether you’re planning a visit to Slovakia’s capital city for Christmas or any time of year, here’s what you need to know about visiting Bratislava.
About Bratislava
Bratislava is home to about half a million of Slovakia’s 5.4 million residents. It’s also the fourth-largest city located on the Danube River after Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; and Belgrade, Serbia. In fact, Vienna is only about an hour away from Bratislava by train. However, while Vienna receives about 10 million tourists per year, Bratislava only gets about one million — mostly from Czechia, Germany, and Austria. So if you end up visiting Bratislava, you can count yourself part of an exclusive club.
Bratislava has quite an interesting history as a capital city. It was first named as a capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1536 to 1783. Then, after Czechoslovakia was dissolved during World War II, Bratislava became the capital of the Slovak Republic — a Nazi puppet state — from 1939 to 1945. And finally, while Czechoslovakia was re-established in 1945, it eventually split peacefully into Czechia and Slovakia in 1993, and Bratislava became the capital of Slovakia as we know it today.
How Many Days Do You Need in Bratislava?
You probably only need one or two days in Bratislava — it’s a fairly small city and you’ll be able to walk everywhere you want to see in the Old Town. In fact, I think it would be the perfect day trip from the much-more popular international travel destination, Vienna, Austria — which is only an hour away by train. If you’re going to Vienna and want to visit Bratislava or just check another country off the list, a day trip to Bratislava would be a great choice.
Things To Do in Bratislava
The fortress-like Bratislava Castle, perched on a hill overlooking the Old Town, was the first thing I laid eyes on as our FlixBus drove us into the city. It was dark, so the castle being illuminated made it even more impressive. And it turned out that our hotel was just a few minutes’ walk from the castle, which meant it was super easy to visit one day.
The castle is home to the Slovak National Museum, and it has a courtyard where special events often take place. Apparently, there’s a Christmas market there until December 15. We were visiting a few days after that, but there was a special medieval market in the castle square. (Where I got to hold an owl!)
Bratislava’s Old Town, which is centered on Hlavné Námestie (Main Square), is where you’ll find quaint European charm in the form of cobblestone streets, local shops and restaurants, and an assortment of fountains. And most of it is for pedestrians only, which means you don’t have to worry about crossing the street or traffic noise while taking a leisurely stroll through the old town.
Within the Old Town, you’ll also find Bratislava’s most famous statue. No, it’s not some decorated military hero on a horse in the middle of the plaza. (I’m looking at you, Spain.) Instead, it’s a working-class man. In fact, you could say he’s literally a man at work. That’s because the name of the statue is Man at Work (in English at least). In Slovak, he’s known simply as Čumil.
Čumil is a statue of a man poking his head out from a manhole; above him is a sign that says Man at Work. He’s been around since 1997, one of several funny statues placed around the city to lend a bit of whimsy to a country that was shedding its Communist reputation. You can find him at the corner of Panská/Laurinská and Rybárska brána streets.
As you continue making your way up Laurinská, you’ll find yourself standing under a medieval-looking gate suspended above the street. While it looks kind of cool, the gate itself isn’t anything famous. Instead, it marks the spot of the former Laurinc Gate, which was built in the 14th century and demolished in the 18th. If you want to see the only still-standing old city gate, Michael’s Gate is under Michael’s Tower, is another of Bratislava’s most iconic sites — check out the pic at the top of this article.
I have to admit that I thought Michael’s Tower was a church at first. But speaking of churches, there’s one you should really go see: the Church of St. Elizabeth, otherwise known as The Blue Church. I’m not even going to post a picture here because I want you to be a little bit surprised when you get there. But while we are rarely super impressed by churches anymore (living in Spain for so long will do that to you), you’re going to want to see this one! All I’ll say is that it looks like if a church could be made out of blue gingerbread. So yeah, we were glad we didn’t skip it!
How Expensive is Bratislava?
After using złoty in Poland and koruna in Czechia, we were happy to get back to using euros in Slovakia! It really helped us understand how much we were spending without having to do a bunch of currency conversions in our heads.
Typically, in Bratislava, we spent about $20 USD for two people for lunch or dinner. (Though we ate almost all our meals exclusively at the Christmas markets.) And of the three Christmas market cities we visited, Bratislava definitely had the cheapest mulled wine! In Bratislava, a regular red or white mulled wine was only €3, compared to the about €4-5 equivalent in Wroclaw or Prague.
Compared to major European cities like London or Paris — or even Vienna just upriver — Bratislava likely won’t break the bank.
Where We Ate
As I mentioned, we hardly ate anywhere in Bratislava besides the Christmas market. But I have a recommendation on a food you have to try in Bratislava, no matter what restaurant you go to: bryndzové halušky. This is one of the national dishes of Slovakia, and it’s so delicious! Halušky is a gnocchi-like pasta, and bryndza is a Slovak cheese. Add it together, with some bacon and chives on top, and you have bryndzové halušky. Or basically, a more sophisticated macaroni and cheese. 😋
As far as a recommendation on somewhere to go, this is not related, but we really enjoyed an underground bar that we happened across one night, called Pod Kamenným Stromom. I am reading now that it apparently has food, but we just kept ordering beer and enjoying the atmosphere.
Pod Kamenným Stromom
Sedlárska 364/10
811 01 Bratislava, Slovakia
Where We Stayed
Most of the time when we travel, we stay in hotels that we book using a combination of points and money, thanks to our Chase Sapphire Preferred and/or CapitalOne VentureX credit cards.
This time, we stayed at Ibis Bratislava Centrum, which was a really convenient location for a good price. It was right at the base of the castle, and it was easy to get to from the Christmas market at Hlavné Square — about a 10-minute walk away. Plus, the walk on Židovská street was pretty picturesque, especially around sunset.
Is Bratislava Worth Visiting?
As I mentioned, Bratislava had a really great Christmas market, so for us it was 100% worth visiting. With it being the last stop on our trip, we were glad for the smaller city and slower pace. But if you’re coming at another time of year, a specific trip to Bratislava may not feel worth it. Especially considering that there are only about seven flights into Bratislava’s airport per day, and you’d likely have to connect somewhere.
However, I definitely think it’s worth visiting at Christmas, or if you’re doing it as a day trip from Vienna!
Plan Your Bratislava Trip
Best Bratislava Hotels: Bratislava Slovakia Hotels
Things To Do in Bratislava Slovakia: Bratislava: Riverside, Castle or Complete City Segway Tours // Wine Tasting With Sommelier // Soviet Era and Post-Communist Tour
Have you ever visited Bratislava, or are you planning a trip? What do you want to know? Let me know in the comments!
-Cathy
This site contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Leave a Reply