Bratislava Travel Guide

Işıl Ersoy
4 min readMar 12, 2023

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Hello, today we are in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Located approximately 50 m east of Vienna, the city is the second stop for visitors to Vienna. So is Bratislava worth the trip? Bratislava travel guide is with you…

Bratislava castle stairs
Bratislava Castle stairs

How did I get to Bratislava?

You can reach Vienna in about 1 hour using Flixbus during your visit. Thanks to Flixbus, you can travel very cheaply in Europe. I bought my ticket from the Flixbus app for 6 Euros.

Bratislava first impressions

After getting off at the Bratislava “Most Sp” stop, you find yourself directly at the top of the stairs leading to the entrance of Bratislava Castle. After 15 minutes of steep climbing stairs, we arrive at the castle. You can clearly see the Danube from the castle. Although it is a bit of a difficult journey with a backpack, we continue our trip immediately without giving up. My suggestion to you is to wear comfortable sports shoes because the roads are made of indented stones.
You do not need to pay for transportation in this city, because it is a very small city and you can complete your trip in one day.

Old Town,Bratislava

Accommodation in Bratislava

I didn’t choose to stay in a hostel, I went back to Vienna by bus at 21:05 after traveling all day. Walking around during the day is quite enough for Bratislava. I suggest you do this too. If you want to stay in a hostel, you can check out the hostels in the city center on Booking.com.

Did I have a language problem in Bratislava?

As you know, there are a lot of Turks in Vienna, although not that many here, most of the young people speak English. I did not come across anyone who did not speak English in the person I got help and talked to. People were generally friendly.

Places to visit in Bratislava

Bratislava Castle, Michael’s Gate, Cumil Statue, St. Martin’s Cathedral, UFO Observation Tower, Old Town Hall, The Blue Church, Main Square are the main places to visit.
Especially the Old Town is different during the day and at night. Souvenir shops and illuminated streets offer a wonderful walking route. Walking on narrow and cobbled streets, old architecture and warm structure creates a different experience compared to other European countries.

Cumil,Bratislava
Cumil,Bratislava

How many days should we spend for Bratislava?

One day is enough for Bratislava because everything is close to each other and after Vienna it is a great capital for a day tour. Its old structure and different streets are worth seeing. I would definitely recommend Nivy bus stop for the return bus. This stop is on the bottom floor of the mall. After dark and completing your tour, you can safely go to the shopping mall and spend time. As a solo traveler, I had no problems with bus stops, hours and security.

Advice and tips for Bratislava

First of all, Bratislava is a small and cute city, you don’t need to spend a budget on public transport. Touristic spots are generally located in the old town square called “Old Town”. Before you arrive, you can easily create a route by pinning them from an offline map. I used the offline map called Maps.ME. Just download the city plan before you arrive.

Secondly, if you are backpacking like me and you want to leave your belongings somewhere during your trip, you don’t need to pay for lockers! There are free lockers on the bottom floor of the Nivy shopping center, which we will use when leaving Bratislava. You can leave your backpack here and continue your trip.

My other advice is for a student like me and those traveling with a limited budget😊 If you eat Slovak local delicacies in an average restaurant, you will pay at least 20–25 Euros. Instead, it makes the most sense to continue with street delicacies. You can eat large slices of pizza for 2.00–2.50 Euros at the pizzerias on the side streets, or you can have a look at places such as Nyc Corner, Orbis, Nice Fries.
And if you have completed your whole day trip and are looking for a place to rest, the top floor of Nivy Shopping Center is very comfortable and chain food stores are available. You can eat a hamburger for as little as 1 Euro. There is also free Wifi and WC in the mall.

We have come to the end of our article. That’s all for now, but this is just the beginning. Because there are many places to visit, see and discover. See you soon in another travel guide…

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