Best Things to Do in Bratislava

Bratislava with its compact and picturesque Old Town, interesting setting by the Danube river and the Little Carpathian mountains, has a relaxing atmosphere somehow different from its neighbouring capitals as Vienna, Budapest or Prague. Bratislava offers enough things to do for a day, two, or three. If you add some day trips to the surrounding region, it is easy to spend a week or more.

Bratislava Old Town

Bratislava city centre is formed by the historic Old Town, broader area with several interesting communist-era objects and new business district in former brownfields. Bratislava Old Town is picturesque, compact and pedestrian-friendly. It has the most attractions for you to see and visit. The most iconic objects are the Bratislava Castle, St. Martin's Cathedral, Old Town Hall, Michael's Gate and Slovak National Theatre.

Other historic buildings of Bratislava are its palaces: Primate's Palace, Grassalkovich Palace (now a seat of the Slovak President) and Episcopal Summer Palace (now a seat of the Slovak Government). Visit also the art nouveau Blue Church and lively Old Market Hall. From former Jewish heritage, there is the Synagogue at Heydukova street, Holocaust Memorial on the spot of the former Neologic Synagogue and Chatam Sofer Mauseloeum.

If you feel like having too much of the main city landmarks and wish to see more hidden off the beaten path locations, we will be happy to take you to our Post-Communist Bratislava Tour 🙂

Museums and galleries in Bratislava

To learn about the history of Slovakia and Bratislava, visit the Museum of History at the Bratislava Castle and Bratislava City Museum at the Old Town Hall. If you are an art person, visit the Slovak National Gallery or the Bratislava City Gallery. "Guggenheim of Bratislava", Nedbalka gallery, displays modern Slovak art. Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum is another place to enjoy modern art, with a great setting of the Danube river as well. If you are amazed by our classic Škoda cars and feel like enjoy more of historic vehicles, visit the Transport Museum near Bratislava Central Railway Station.

City view spots in Bratislava

To get the best panoramas of Bratislava, walk up to the Bratislava Castle and the terrace of the Slovak Parliament nearby. Great city views are from the Slavín WWII Memorial as well. It is a pleasant uphill walk through the historic villa neighbourhood, or take a trolleybus no. 207 or 203 from Hodžovo Námestie to Búdková (from there it is 10 minutes panoramic walk). Other cool spots are the UFO Observation deck at the SNP Bridge (8,90€ entrance fee) and Veža Restaurant at the Kamzík TV Tower. To get to Kamzík, take a taxi or trolleybus no. 203 to Koliba and then walk 40 minutes across the Carpathian forest.

Devín Castle

Great half-day trip to enjoy both history and nature is the legendary Devín Castle, located only 10 kilometres westwards from the Bratislava Old Town. Walk up to the castle, enjoy the views to the Danube and Morava rivers, stroll along the river promenade, see the Iron Curtain memorials and taste local currant wine at the wine cellar. To get there, take a bus no. 29 from the city centre.

If you prefer a guided experience to Devín, consider our Devín Castle Tour, possibly with hiking or wine tasting extensions.

Green spaces to chill out

Bratislava has several nice city parks and abundance of recreational forests in Carpathian mountains and lowland forests by the Danube river. The closest green spots with walking distance from the city centre are Presidential garden, Medical garden and Sad Janka Kráľa Park. More natural and hilly is the Forest Park (Horský park), easily reachable by trolleybus no. 203 or 207, or by walk along the Hlboká cesta.

For even bigger forests, head to the city forests of the Little Carpathians - either to Železná studienka (trolleybus no. 207 or 212 from Hodžovo námestie to the last stop), or to Kamzík (trolleybus no. 203 from Hodžovo námestie do Koliba). There is also a chairlift up to Kamzík from Železná studienka (currently running Thu - Sun, check for information).

From Devín, follow blue or yellow trail to the Sandberg sand rock (nice walk with great views along the Morava river) , or red trail up to Devínska Kobyla (steep in parts). To enjoy beauty of the Danube lowland forests, visit the park behind the chateau in Rusovce (bus no. 90 or 91 to Kaštieľ Rusovce).