JulieVikmanis

A search on Bratislava keeps turning up posts where folks include it in tentative itineraries and then get disauded by folks who say they've heard that it's not too exciting. We're planning a trip to Vienna, Prague and Romantic Road in September and I have a day trip to Bratislava included. I'd like to hear from folks who have actually been there and seen it first hand. Is there anything to recommend it? It doesn't look too bad in the Eyewitness Guide to Czech and Slovak Republics. Do I just want it to be better than it's reputation or is there some there there?

thursdaysd

I didn't think it looked too bad in the guide books, either, but I wasn't impressed. Admittedly, I wound up only spending a late afternoon and evening, but I was happy to head out the next morning. Depends on how much time you have - you could do a day trip from Vienna (train, not boat, from what I've read), but my last trip to Vienna I spent all my time there. Bratislava was more expensive than I expected, and it didn't seem to have anything you couldn't find in other towns.

asalamy

I would agree that either an afternoon/evening or a day in Bratislava is sufficient.

I spent a morning/lunch there and felt I was able to see enough, with no desire to return. The town is pretty and there are neat statues around to find (my favorite was the popular man coming out of the sewer).

The walk up to the castle is pretty, although the tower was closed when I was there so we could only walk around the grounds and look at the old well. The alien/UFO look out tower on the bridge that is now a night club is also interesting to see.

I found the food and drink to be very affordable.

thursdaysd

"I found the food and drink to be very affordable." - if you've just come from Vienna, probably. I'd just come from Ukraine and rural Slovakia, so I had a different standard.

asalamy

Indeed - I'd come from Vienna!

PalenQ

I did a day trip to Bratislava from Vienna and was pleasantly surprised by the impeccably restored but compact old town along the Danube.

Definitely enjoyed it. guidebooks dissing it may be outdated as during the Commie days it was typically Eastern European - tawdry and tacky

JulieVikmanis

Thanks all for such quick replies. We have friends joining us in Vienna who have not been before (Vienna was our first European city and we've been there 5 or 6 times since so we don't need to redo everything there) Our friends will arrive about 2 p.m. on the day after we do. So it sounds like that day would provide just about the right amount of time for us to devote to Bratislava before we hopped the train back to meet them on their arrival in Vienna. Should work. Again, thanks. Your insights helped.

franco

I like Bratislava very much, or more precisely: I like it in the meantime. No other city I know has changed that much after the end of communist rule. In communist times, Bratislava was dark-grey, dull, sad, worn, traffic-stricken, miserable. Though my main interest when travelling is architecture, I didn't actually notice just how many beautiful baroque buildings there are. The whole experience was simply depressing.
What a surprise when I came back for business reasons many years later (actually, precisely two years ago). The baroque facades are radiant now, excellently restored; the center is pedestrianized, has a sunny, optimistic air about it, is lively but not hectic, self-conscious, full of young people. Great sights? No. But some very fine baroque streets, and a more than pleasant atmosphere. It made me immediately want to go back without having to do business, and that’s what I will do for sure.

PalenQ

You can take a hydrofoil to from Vienna on the Danube from docks right in the heart of the Old Town - trains take just one hour and go hourly

JulieVikmanis

Hey now. I'm starting to positively look forward to this little "short stop." Thanks.

bettyk

We visited Bratislava, taking the hydrofoil from Vienna, in the early 1980's when it was still under Communist rule. It was very depressing. I'm sure it is much better now. However, there are probably other nicer places close to Vienna to vist than Bratislava. Have you considered Durnstein and Krems in the Wachau? It's quite beautiful.

nyse

Yes, indeed - we spent an afternoon in Bratislava (Twin Liner from Vienna -city center to city center) and loved it. My favorite was the juxtaposition of the old castle side by side with the new parliament building. In the center square, we were able to witness a real "power lunch" as dignitaries exited limos, guarded by gun-carrying security forces, to enter a restaurant. I'm very glad we took the time to visit the capital city of Slovakia!

PalenQ

And for a slice of old Eastern European atmosphere head up to the old main train station where plump ladies dressed in white overhauls just like in Commie days are selling basic snack foods from a line of carts - some of the local trains standing in the station also reek of commie days - dirty and really old.