Bratislava is about an hour from Vienna and is worth checking out with its fun street sculptures, upside down pyramid building and what has been nicknamed the Soviet’s UFO Bridge. The major sites can be walked to from the central part of the city.
Bratislava Highlights:
It is one of the largest and oldest churches in the city. It used to serve as the coronation church for Hungarian kings. On top of the 85 meter tall neo-Gothic church tower is perched a 300 kilogram replica of the Hungarian royal crown. Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis was played for the first time in this church. You can also go underground to the catacombs and crypt.
Hours: Monday – Saturday 9:00 – 11:30, 13:00 – 17:00; Sunday 13:30 – 17:00 April- Oct. and to 16:00 Nov.- March.
Admission: €2.50 (Visit of the central nave is free of charge.)
Address: Rudnayovo námestie 1, 811 01 Bratislava, Slovakia
Looking like a blue wedding cake, the church is built in a art nouveau style in the early 1900s. The inside of the church keeps with the blue style and you have to time it right in order to visit the interior.
Hours: Monday- Saturday -7 AM to 7:30 AM; Sunday- Saturday 5:30 PM- 7 PM and Sunday 7:30 AM- 12 PM.
Admission: Free
Address: 44V8+9Q Bratislava, Slovakia
Bratislava Castle (Slovak National Museum):
The fortress is known as the “upside-down table.” Parts of the castle date to the 9th century. Eleven kings and eight queens were crowned in Bratislava. One can check out the Slovak National Museum, which has artifacts from the past in the castle.
Open Daily April 1 -Oct. 31, 10 am to 6 pm; Daily Nov. 1 – March 31, 9 am to 5 pm.
Admission: Basic €10 and senior and students €4. Families (1 adult and up to 2 children €12) and families (2 adults and up to 3 children €20). Treasure only admission — €3 and seniors and students €2. (For more information on tickets check the website).
Address: 811 06 Bratislava, Slovakia
The bridge Most SNP (Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising), but nicknamed the “UFO Bridge,” it was named the Novy Most or New Bridge from 1993 to 2012. It is the world’s longest bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane. If you see the bridge it is obvious why it has gained the reference to a UFO, since the top observation deck/restaurant looks like a flying saucer. From the top you can enjoy panoramic views of the city. You go to the top using a funicular. One can reach the tower by walking across the bridge from the old town area.
Hours: Monday- Sunday, 10 am to 23:00.
Admission: €7.40 for the observation deck. Yet if you eat at the restaurant inside the UFO, there is no charge for going out on the deck, yet it is pricey.
Address: Most SNP, 851 01 Petržalka, Slovakia
It is the former seat of government for the city. Construction started in the 13th century and completed in the Gothic style in the 15th century. It houses the Bratislava City Museum. Displays include the old town dungeons, antique weapons and armor and paintings. A curious note, a cannonball is embedded in the tower wall, Napoleon’s soldiers shot it in 1809. You can go up in the tower and take in a panoramic view of old town.
Hours: daily except for Monday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday – Sunday 11a.m. – 6 p.m.
Admission: full entrance fee: €5 and reduced entrance fee (children 6-14, students, pensioners): €2.50.
Address: 811 01 Bratislava, Slovakia
The palace is also in Old Town and built in the neoclassical style from 1778 to 1781 for Archbishop Jozsef Batthyany. The Peace of Pressburg was signed after Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz between the representatives of the French and Austrian Emperors in the palace’s Hall of Mirrors.
Hours: Monday – Closed. Tuesday- Sunday 10 am to 17:00.
Admission: €2.
Address: Primaciálne námestie, Primaciálne nám. 494/2, 811 01 Bratislava-Staré Mesto, Slovakia
The only city gate that has been preserved of medieval fortifications was built around 1300. At the top of the tower is a statue of the archangel Michael slaying the dragon. The tower houses the exhibition of weapons of the Bratislava City Museum. It is located in Old Town on Michalska Street, which passes through the gate and begins the so-called “zero kilometer plate, listing distances of 29 world capitals from Bratislava.
Hours: Monday- Closed. Tuesday – Saturday 10 am – 17:00; Saturday- Sunday 11 am -18:00.
Admission: full entrance fee: €4.50, reduced entrance fee (children 6-14, students, pensioners) €2.50 and family ticket (two adults and children under 14 years): €9.
Address: Michalská ulica 22 806/24, 811 03 Bratislava, Slovakia
SITES TO SEE ON A WALK THROUGH TOWN:
Bratislava Statues in Old Town
When people come to Bratislava many of them search out the fun sculptures located all over Old Town. Many can be found near the main square.
Cumil – The Watcher- ‘Man at Work’: A bronze sculpture of a man peeping out of the manhole. It can be found at the junction of Laurinska and Panska Streets. People say that if you touch his head and make a secret wish it will come true. A unique road sign had to be placed by the sculpture because inattentive drivers have decapitated him twice.
Paparazzi: The statue looks like a guy who is taking a photo of the people around him. He is located at the corner of Radnicna and Laurinska Streets. Sadly the statue is missing since the restaurant of same name closed. Last I read it can be found in the UFO restaurant.
Schone Naci: The only statue that is silver and not bronze. The statue is based on a real existing person, Ignac Lamar. He was a character of the mid-20th century. Legend goes that he was in love with a woman who sadly did not love him back. This disappointment led to madness and he would be seen given flowers to random women. He can be seen on Sedlarska Street.
Napoleon Soldier: The soldier stands on the Main Square by the Old Town Hall. He is leaning on a bench. The tale with this one is that the soldier fell in love with a local girl and stayed in Bratislava and became a producer of sparkling wine. Herbert is his name, which is also the name of Slovakia’s popular wine brand.
Other statues can also be found. Opposite the Napoleon soldier is a tall thin soldier guarding what looks like to a tollbooth. Head over to Panska Street, search for a optician shop called Fokus. You look up and see small funny naked man hiding in a hole.
Hvlexdoslav’s Square has statues, also. The statue of Slovak poet Pavol Hviezdoslav can be found in the center of the square that bears his name. A few meters away you can also find a statue of Hans Christian Andersen. On Obchodna Street, minutes away from Old Town, a statue of two girls can be found, one leaning on a post box and another on a skateboard. The post box is real and can be used for mailing. You can also see statues in front of and around the Eurovea shopping center.
Slovak Radio Building
The building is shaped like an upside down pyramid constructed on a steel frame. It has made the list of the 30 ugliest buildings in the world. Construction started in 1967 and finished in1985. Regular broadcasting began in 1985. The 523-seat concert hall has excellent acoustics for recording and is mounted on springs that are used as an acoustic damper to prevent vibration and sound reflection. The building can be seen at the back of Fountain of Union (Fontana Druzba) park at the corner of Namestie Slobody and Imricha Karvasa streets.
Getting from Vienna to Bratislava
Trains leave from the Wien Hauptbahnhof, the main train station in Vienna. It takes a little over an hour to go to Bratislava’s central station called Bratislava-Hlavna stanica. You can take a train every hour from Vienna to Bratislava. The return trip to Vienna is every hour, but one train goes from the central station and the other goes from the Bratislava-Petrzalka train station farther out and you can take bus number 80 from the central part of Bratislava from that station.
Note: if you are using public transportation you must pay for the ticket prior to boarding at a ticket vending machine. Bus, tram or trolleybus drivers do not sell tickets.
More Information: Go to visitbratislava.com.
