Visit now before it becomes too touristy! (Bratislava)

Member Name: jenniferjain

Product:	Bratislava
Date:	13/01/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reasonably priced, easy to get to and travel around

Disadvantages: No major attractions

My husband and I visited Bratislava in May 2008. We travelled by boat from Vienna and left by train to Budapest, staying for two nights. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and is situated on the Danube River. I imagine that as a tourist destination it is becoming more popular, especially with the popularity of low cost airlines. However, one disadvantage of this is that it is particularly popular with British stag parties - a walk down the main streets during the day reveals numerous large groups of young men sprawled across tables in the bars with their pints and matching T-shirts. It is also popular for day trips because of its central location in Europe and convenient and reasonably priced transport connections.

We arrived fairly early in the morning and walked from where the boat docked to our hotel. I was immediately struck by the beauty in the architecture, so much so that I couldn't stop taking photographs, to the surprise of my husband who is normally chief photographer. I just found that the colour and style of buildings really struck a chord with me. The streets were also full of unusual statues, like a man with his head sticking out of a drain.

We spent a lot of time just walking around the town centre, admiring the buildings and fountains. A key sight is the castle at the top of the hill - a steep walk up is rewarded with beautiful views of the new city over the river with masses of tower blocks and the steep red roofs and spires of the old city.

The two parts of the city are linked by the Novy Most Bridge - also known as the UFO Bridge because of the flying saucer shaped restaurant on top which is supported by long slanted pylons which look like beams of light. We walked about halfway over the bridge for views across both sides of the city.

A highlight of our visit to Bratislava was actually a short way out of the city itself - Devin Castle which was reached in about 20 minutes on a very bumpy bus. The ruined castle lies at the join of two rivers - the Danube and the Morava. It was destroyed by Napoleon and was allowed to go to ruin, although parts of it were subsequently expanded upon and lived in by several generations of families. The grounds are dotted with archaeological excavations dating back thousands of years which were very interesting. It was a lovely sunny day and the blue sky was in brilliant contrast to the rugged grey walls and green trees - many beautiful photo opportunities! I would recommend taking a short walk along the river at the base of the castle for some gorgeous scenery in peaceful surroundings.

We ate out one night at Pizza Mizza which is thoroughly recommended. We shared a massive 50cm pizza which was very tasty. We're quite fussy vegetarian eaters but we didn't have a problem finding suitable food, and the menus were all available in English translation (although you still need to be a bit careful - we ended up with hot peppers instead of green bell peppers on our pizza which was a bit of a surprise to our tender palates!) Evenings in Bratislava are very lively (helped by the stag groups as mentioned above) but the atmosphere generally felt very safe and friendly.

We stayed in the Ibis Centrum Hotel, which wasn't quite in the centre but was a short and easy walk away. Being a budget hotel, it wasn't luxurious, but contained all the facilities that we needed, including free internet access in the lobby. We didn't have breakfast, but bought snacks from a local supermarket.

Although we didn't spend a huge amount of time in Bratislava, I think that we stayed long enough to get a feel for the city. It fitted in nicely on our trip between two larger cities, and it was good to feel a little more relaxed for a couple of days. We could walk almost everywhere that we wanted to go, so we didn't feel rushed or overwhelmed like you sometimes can in large cities. It was very pleasant to stroll around and not have a massive itinerary of must visit attractions. So although one could experience a taster of the city in a day trip, I would recommend spending a little more time here to really allow you to explore.

Summary: A really beautiful city with gorgeous architecture