Do You Need to Spend More than 1 day in Bratislava?

Located between the ever popular Vienna and Budapest, Bratislava is emerging as a superb alternative destination on the River Danube.

Bratislava is the buzzy, eclectic capital of Slovakia. With a compact, walkable centre, we loved the collage of old and new, the lively night life and the breath-taking views. When planning our trip, we wondered how long to spend in Bratislava.

Here we describe our 24hrs in this city: just a taster trip for a longer stay in the future. We chose to use the Couchsurfing network to find our accommodation. However, there were a lot of very tempting hostels, hotels and Airbnbs. Furthermore, the accommodation options were considerably more affordable than the neighbouring capitals Vienna and Budapest.

Our Arrival

The First Night

We parked next to the river and were soon enjoying a local IPA in the Beer Dock while watching boats moor for the evening. The pub featured many local craft brews and was the perfect place to enjoy the golden hour. Locals slowly ambled in catching up with friends, making a casual start to the sunny weekend.

We ate a traditional Slovak meal of Bryndzové Halušky (Slovak Potato Dumplings with Cheese) at Slovak Flagship. Housed in a vast, former theatre, the restaurant was packed with groups enjoying traditional food and steins of beer. We met our Couchsurfing host for the next 2 nights. Stefan and his girlfriend Viktoria very kindly offered us a free sofa for a couple of nights.

We got to know Evan over a couple of glasses of wine and were soon over any nerves about staying with strangers. We drank red wine and shared some peanuts around the barrel seating at Bukowski Bar. This was one of many bars crowded into the ancient archways and atrium of grand disused buildings. With live music and a late licence, we’d definitely return in the future.

The Morning

Thanks to our awesome hosts we slept well and had an action-packed day ahead! Jon and I had to get up early as Stefan and Viktoria had work. We had a coffee and a walk around a local park. The Presidential Garden; was a perfect place for people watching and taking a break from the heat.

Then Stefan came to join us. He gave us a guided tour of the city including the castle viewpoint, lacing in facts and anecdotes throughout (although he freely admitted he wasn’t sure if they were all true). The castle battlements were wide and leafy; a complete contrast to the bloody history of the place. Stefan detailed witch trials, executions and revolts: unimaginable against the golden flagstones and calm mood.

The Afternoon

At the base of an alleyway, we emerged in front of one of the Art School buildings (housed in a former nunnery). We were warmly beckoned into a photography exhibition. Monochrome, abstract scenes filled two floors in the building. From the open windows we could hear music students preparing for a garden concert. The final treat was the discovery of a craft beer bar on the ground floor. The barman was knowledgeable and animated as he spoke passionately about the various drinks on offer.

Staying for a drink more than we’d planned (and after getting a thumbs up from a nun), we eventually shared shots with the barman who told us about Slovakia’s version of Gin. It was good! (So good, I can’t remember it’s name).

We then felt we should probably eat something and were being typically indecisive about what to have when we found a street food market outside the Old Market Hall! It was busy with teachers who were just finishing a strike. We squeezed into a queue and were soon enjoying some of the local delicacy; the potato and cheese dumplings again.

We sat at a stone chessboard/table and were quickly joined by a man named Don who challenged Jon to a game. Don was very entertaining and quite drunk. He is a music teacher and plays double bass/bass in the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. He had a concert in a few hours’ time so perhaps thought chess would sober him up. He won and left quickly after his victory.

The Evening

Defeated but happy after the interaction we climbed up the hill again to find the perfect sunset spot. It was still a couple of hours away so we had some water and a nap in the shade outside a tram converted into a bar: Andy. Absolute bliss. 7pm bells began to chime, waking us up. We decided the UFO tower had to be attempted. Despite the walk being near impossible due to the busy road, it was a great choice. 360 degree views across Slovakia with Hungary and Austria also visible, the Danube flowing directly beneath and the sun setting in our direct line of sight. The finishing touch was ‘meeting’ an alien.

With the sun setting, we heard the city coming alive with bicycle bells ringing and live music travelling across the river. We continued to walk along the south bank towards the twinkling light of yet another converted tram. Here we found crowds gathered around different DJ booths, sprawling seating areas, strings of fairy lights and, what appeared to be, most of Bratislava’s youth!

We had to tear ourselves away from staying too long as Stefan had invited us out to watch him at a stand up comedy night. We arrived at the International Bar just before he went on and were treated to a routine about him visiting a Slovakian doctor. There were a few more acts after him, all delivered in English but from acts from around the world. Stefan and Viktoria offered us spare keys in case we wanted to stay out later but we were perfectly happy to head home after a long but very fun day.

How Many Days Should You Spend in Bratislava? Our Verdict:

We have been fortunate to spend time in Budapest and Vienna so were able to offer direct comparisons to Bratislava. The main difference was the scale. We walked all over the city, enjoying the major sights at a leisurely pace and didn’t need to use public transport at all. We loved the compact nature of the Old Town, the vibrant contrasts in art and architecture, and the energy of so many young, artistic enterprises in surprising settings. Cafes and bars tumbled out onto the street, alight with lively debate and musical jam sessions. For us, Bratislava more than held up against the more popular capitals and gave us plenty of reasons to return one day…hopefully soon. But, for now, an action-packed 24 hours was a fantastic experience and could easily be combined with a longer trip including Vienna or Budapest.