Before visiting Bratislava, Slovakia I had no idea what to expect.
I hadn’t really read anything or looked at photos
and I can tell you that from the time I got off the bus
and I'd walked less than five minutes into the centre of town,
while Frank freaking Sinatra music played in the streets,
I knew this was going to be good.
I had a wonderful experience from top to bottom
and I hope you’ll believe me when I tell you that this charming capital city is well worth visiting.
It’s a short one hour bus ride from Vienna, Austria
so it makes a wonderful day trip
or if you can spend more time, like I did, you’re in for a treat.
If you’re interested in videos about where I stayed or where I ate I will link those videos as well.
This video is all about what to do in Bratislava
and if you haven’t already subscribed to my channel then make sure you do for more lots more travel videos.
It’s hard to know where to start but I’m going to start with the SNP Bridge
or UFO bridge as locals call it because it’s probably the first thing you’ll notice.
SNP stands for Slovak National Uprising but it’s pretty obvious where the UFO name comes from.
It spans the Danube River and it's the longest single pylon suspension bridge in the world.
At the top of the pylon, that looks like a flying saucer, is a restaurant with 360 degree views.
I heard that during the Communist era citizens weren’t allowed up there
because they’d be able to see how close the Austrian border is
and officials were afraid they would try to escape so only foreign visitors were permitted.
Either way, everyone is now welcome at the top.
And unfortunately the construction of the bridge meant that a significant area of the old town was torn down,
including virtually the entire Jewish quarter.
There’s now a memorial to that area and the synagogue that used to stand there.
One of the most historically significant buildings in the whole city
narrowly escaped making way for the bridge: St. Martin’s Cathedral.
It’s extremely close to the access ramp for the bridge
and its actually deteriorating due to its close proximity from all the vibrations caused by traffic.
The cathedral was the site of coronations for leaders of the Habsburg empire for hundreds of years.
It has a huge crown at the top to symbolize its importance.
The crown looks small when you look up but it’s actually over 1.5 metres tall
and sits on an even bigger golden pillow.
If you stop looking up for a moment and look down at the ground
you might see some gold crown markings on the street.
These mark out the route of the coronation procession that was taken by Hungarian royalty
between 1563 and 1830,
including the only woman, Maria Theresa.
Yes, THE Maria Theresa was crowned at St. Martin’s.
Inside the church, I especially enjoyed seeing an 11th century cemetery
which is visible beneath a glass floor
and the immaculately carved wood figures.
The best view of the cathedral is from Bratislava Castle which sits on a high hill.
The hill has been populated since the Stone Age and the first known inhabitants were the Celts.
You walk up a series of staircases to get to the top
and it’s totally worth it for the great view of the city,
including St. Martin’s Cathedral, the UFO bridge, and the Danube river.
The stark white colour of the castle really pops against the hill and the sky.
With four towers it reminds me of what a child might draw
if you asked them to imagine a fairy tale castle.
I think it’s the best spot in Bratislava to see the sunset
and the light at magic hour is particularly gorgeous.
When you’re walking back down the hill toward the Old Town
don’t miss the façade of an old pharmacy that has signage in three different languages.
For a lot of its history, Bratislava was a multi-lingual town
where residents commonly spoke Slovak, Hungarian, and German.
Walk towards Michael’s Gate which is the only surviving gate to the old city.
There used to be four and they were the only way in and out of during medieval times
when the whole city was surrounded by fortified walls.
Michael’s Gate was built in the 13th century and in the 17th century they added a moat
complete with a draw bridge that went up and down.
If you look closely you can still see the holes where the pulleys for the draw bridge used to go.
There’s now a footbridge over the former moat
and it’s become a place where people leave locks to symbolize their love.
However, there is no water under the bridge anymore
which means that you could technically run down and find the key to unlock the lock.
This has led to people joking that while Paris, for example, might be for lovers,
Bratislava is more a place for lovers who might change their mind.
The gate is now a place to find buskers playing music and other people strolling through.
When you walk through the gate, make sure to hold your breath and not speak
or word has it you’ll be cursed with bad luck.
The good news is that Bratislava is full of statues you can touch to balance out any bad luck.
More on that later!
When you walk through the gate you’ll stumble upon Executioner Alley
marked by a scary looking bust of an executioner.
This narrow little street was home to the official residence of the town executioner back in the day.
Because the city only had one, his house had to be identifiable by anyone requiring his killing services.
Word is that this alley is always a little darker than any other city street and you can understand why.
Ironically, the residence is now a massage centre
if you’re feeling more relax-y than murder-y.
Remember the good luck I promised earlier?
It’s found only a short distance away
at a sculpture that looks like a man standing in a gutter staring at an intersection.
It’s called ‘the watcher’ but there’s debate about what he’s actually watching for.
He was installed in the 1990s along with other sculptures
when the city was trying to liven up some of the communist era architecture.
It’s considered good luck to touch his head and it's a really popular photo opp now.
There’s also a ‘man at work’ road sign to mark the spot
which was added after the worker lost his head due to more than one vehicle not seeing him in the road.
If you still need more luck head over to the statue of Hans Christian Andersen and rub his finger.
He visited Bratislava and loved it and it even inspired some of his writing.
He’s surrounded by characters from some of his most beloved stories
like The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Emperor’s New Clothes.
A short walk away, and worth every step, is the church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary
or, as it’s better known, the blue church.
One look tells you why.
Everything from the façade to the mosaic tiles
to the roof is blue.
In total there are 50 shades of blue with white accents sprinkled on like icing sugar.
Inside the art nouveau building even the pews are blue.
This church is a SUPER SUPER popular spot to get married
and it takes years and years to get a booking.
Walking out of the church, the first thing you see across the street
is a gloomy communist era wreck of a building that used to be a hospital.
It stands in stark contrast to the wedding cake-like church.
There’s a joke about how newlyweds exit the church at the start of marriage
and the decrepit shell of a building represents how the end of marriage looks.
So dark!
It doesn’t deter couples though.
There is still a long wait.
It looks like changes are happening at the old hospital anyway
so people will have to come up with a new joke.
Of course if you’re not into admiring the architecture or laughing at the jokes
you can always just start a snowball fight like these guys.
A little further afield from the city centre, but still an easy walk, is the Slovak Radio building.
It’s an excellent example of Brutalist architecture from the Communist era
and it’s been named one of the ugliest buildings in the world.
That said, you’ll probably either love this building or hate it but I found it fascinating.
I walked all around to see it from different angles.
It’s an inverted pyramid which maximizes the office space inside
and the core is insulated to allow studio recordings without any interference.
Whether you find it ugly or not, I highly doubt you’ll forget seeing this unique building.
If you’re visiting Bratislava and you’re short on time
I highly recommend doing a walking tour.
We did one that stands out as one of the best walking tours we’ve ever done
so I’m going to link that specific company in the description box below.
Especially if you’re coming in from Vienna for the day
it’s a great way to see the city and learn a lot quickly.
Although I hope with this video I’ve convinced you to consider spending more time in Bratislava
because it really is a lovely place.
Thank you so much for watching!
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