What Travelers Say About Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, sitting right on the Danube only about 60 kilometres downstream from Vienna, which is one of the reasons it often gets treated as a day trip rather than a destination in its own right. That sells it short. The old town is small, pastel-coloured, and made for walking, with a hilltop castle and its four white towers looking down over the river and the red rooftops.
The city has a long, layered history. For nearly three centuries, while it was known as Pressburg, it served as the coronation city of the Kingdom of Hungary, and eleven kings and queens were crowned in St Martin's Cathedral. It later spent decades behind the Iron Curtain as part of communist Czechoslovakia, which is where the brutalist UFO Bridge and the panel-block housing estates come from. Slovakia became independent in 1993 and joined the EU in 2004.
These days it is an easy-going, youthful place. Prices are noticeably lower than in neighbouring Austria, the café and craft-beer scene is good, and locals are generally happy to point visitors in the right direction. A weekend is plenty to see the centre, climb to the castle, and take the short trip out to the cliffside ruins of Devin Castle.