In an effort to not get too behind in recaps, I’m posting twice in one day!
One of our goals while living in Europe is to capitalize on just how easy it is to move between countries. Things are so close!!!
We can’t even drive across Ontario (a Canadian province) in a single day… and here you can probably road trip through a dozen countries in the same amount of time.*
*I haven’t actually looked this up, maybe I’m way off… but you could get to a lot of countries!
If you’re staying in Vienna and want an easy, low-effort day trip, Bratislava is one of the simplest options.
Since we only spent part of day here, I’m only going to write up a “reference” post with categories instead of a diary-style play-by-play of our day.
Getting There (Train from Vienna → Bratislava)
We took ÖBB; this might be one of the easiest international day trips you can do in Europe.
There’s a specific Bratislava Ticket* (yes, that’s actually what it’s called; very original), and for €19/adults and €9.50/child it covers:
- Round-trip train tickets from Vienna (this is ideal if you’re planning a same-day return)
- Public transportation in Bratislava
We didn’t end up using local transit (everything is pretty walkable), but regardless this ticket is a great deal.
From the Wien Hauptbahnhof train station, it’s under an hour to Bratislava. You barely get settled on the train before you’re already crossing into another country!
Also, THERE ARE FREE BATHROOMS ON THE TRAIN. Use them… because once you get to Bratislava, you will be paying. Every. Single. Time.
* For some reason, we weren’t able to buy tickets digitally (maybe because the ticket also works for public transit in Bratislava?), but it was easy to pick them up at the train station.
Practical Tips + A Tiny Bit of History
- Currency: Slovakia uses the Euro (nice and easy!)
- Language: Slovak. Apparently it sounds similar to Russian, but it’s closer to Czech. Or so I’m told!
- Bathrooms: See above. These are not free. Bring coins (some places do accept card, but many do not). Mentally prepare for/accept your fate.
I didn’t know much about Slovakia, but for a long time Bratislava was the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary (when Budapest was occupied by the Ottomans). A lot of Hungarian kings and queens were crowned in the city so you see lots of Hungarian influences in the city. Which brings us to…
Churches
St. Martin’s Cathedral
This is where those Hungarian coronations took place!
Look up and you can (kind of) see a gold crown on top of the tower, marking the importance of the site.
We went inside St. Martins but couldn’t take photos (a mid-day mass was finishing). Still, it’s worth stepping in if you can.
St. Elisabeth’s Church
Okay—this one is wild.
It’s completely blue. Not “kind of blue.” Not “blue accents.” Everything is blue. (Even the inside.)
It looks like something out of a fairytale!
Also, it was a ridiculous personal highlight because apparently I will never fail to get excited at seeing “Elisabeth” spelled with an s!
Bratislava Castle
We started here to start the day… mainly because it’s at the top of a hill and I prefer suffering early. Ha!
It’s the perfect place to get your bearings with views of the city and the Danube River.
From here, you can spot:
- Most SNP, which is also called the UFO Bridge (for obvious reasons!!!).
Fun fact: the SNP refers to the Slovak National Uprising (1944) against Nazi-aligned leadership.
You can go up into the UFO portion of the bridge (it’s a restaurant + viewing platform), or walk across the lower pedestrian level. We didn’t wind up doing either. I’ve seen night shots of the bridge and it looks very cool all lit up!
As for the castle, it’s actually a reconstruction. The original burned down and sat in ruins for over a century before being rebuilt.
We had a picnic lunch on a bench by the castle and Indy found some ruins which translated in his mind to a built-in obstacle course. Indy has never met a structure he didn’t want to launch off of…
St. Michael’s Gate
This is one of those spots you’ll almost definitely walk through without realizing how old it actually is.
It’s the only preserved medieval gate left in Bratislava, dating back to the 1300s, when the city was fully walled and you actually had to enter through gates like this!!!
At some point, it got a makeover (hence the green copper roof), but the bones are still medieval.
You can go up the tower. There’s a small museum inside and some great views of the old town. I think it’s only a few euros (something like €5-ish for adults), so pretty reasonable if you want a higher vantage point without climbing all the way back up to the castle. We didn’t end up climbing to the top because the kids said they weren’t too interested, but it could be fun!
Primatial Palace (Unexpectedly Pink)
AKA Primate’s Palace
I’m still not clear on what the actual name of this palace is… some sources it says Primatial Palace, other places it’s listed as Primate’s Palace (and then all I can think about are monkeys).
Anyway, it is aggressively PINK.
You can go inside to see the Hall of Mirrors (where Napoleon Bonaparte signed a peace treaty) for an entry fee, but we only took in exterior views.
Also outside: some sort of giant bike sculpture??? I’m still a bit unclear on what this was, but the wheels did spin and it was whimsical and fun. Indy loves to climb anything 🙂
Famous Statues in Bratislava
If I had to pick my favourite part of exploring Bratislava, it was definitely the statues!
You’ll just be walking along and suddenly—
Čumil
A man popping out of a sewer.
No explanation! Just this statue.
(This is probably the most famous one in the city and definitely a magnet for tourists like us!)
Napoleon’s Army Soldier Statue
This one was my favourite.
Leaning casually on a bench like he’s waiting for a friend <3
Schöne Náci
A gentleman tipping his hat. Apparently this is based on a real person who used to wander around Bratislava saying hello to everyone he met.
This was a random statue we saw but I couldn’t figure out a name…
Nevertheless, the kids were both keen to pose beside it. (It’s in the same square with Napolean’s Soldier.)
Exploring Bratislava Old Town
Bratislava was very walkable and we explored all sorts of little side streets.
Things We Didn’t Get To See/Do
Devín Castle
There’s a castle in ruins about 10 km outside the city where the Danube meets the Morava River. The views are supposed to be incredible and it’s included in the Bratislava transit ticket.
Food We Missed
We packed a picnic… which meant no one was hungry for a proper meal… which led to churros and (shamelessly) a pit stop at McDonald’s.
BUT—an important detail: The receipt (at least at McDonald’s in Bratislava) gets you ONE bathroom entry. Not multiple entries per family. It’s per receipt. So choose who goes wisely, or order multiple things on different receipts.
Bratislava is known for hearty Slovak comfort food. Here are two specific food items I researched/heart good things about and would try next time:
- Bryndzové halušky—a famous potato dumpling dish
- Parené buchty—sweet buns
Bratislava Day Trip from Vienna Summary
Okay, my final takeaways.
- Travel time: ~1 hour (from a central train station in Vienna; make sure you factor in transport time to get there if you’re staying outside the city)
- Cost: Very low if using public transit
- Best for: An easy international day trip
- Walkability: High, but getting to the castle is a trek uphill
- Highlights: Bratislava Castle, Old Town, statues
- Worth it? I liked Bratislava, I didn’t love it. The weather wasn’t great (overcast and a bit chilly). I think a guided tour would have made it more appealing. But, what I most wanted out of the experience was getting to visit Slovakia and we did just that!
And that’s a wrap.
- Would you take a day trip to another country if it was this easy?
- Which would you be more excited to see first: the castle, the quirky statues, or the fairytale-blue church?
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Ah, it looks like I will will add Bratislava to my future Vienna visit. Kai goes every year and he feels like you: it’s ok, but not exactly spectacular. Although I do love the vibe of the old town, especially the statues everywhere.
That McD policy is ridiculous! Imagine how many families only have one receipt! Perhaps even worth a pointed Google review comment… 😂
It’s a great day trip for sure, and I think doing a walking tour of the town would be really cool and there are lots of fun food options, too. I don’t think it would be hard to pass the time.
Dear Elisabeth,
the giant bike sculpture may be a particularly beautiful bike stand. It used to be (here in Germany at least) that kickstands weren’t very common on everyday bikes so that a bike stand near the ground helped balancing out parked bikes. Nowaday, and especially with ebikes, it ist recommended to fasten your lock much higher up so that bike thieves have a harder time sawing the lock. That made bike racks that go up as far as a bike’s top tube more popular.
So interesting and this makes so much sense.
Rob’s grandpa was from Slovakia so we will definitely be going to Bratislava someday – he wants to visit!
You went into more detail about that story before and it is fascinating (and sad). If you go to Slovakia, make sure to tack on a bit of time in Vienna. It’s beautiful!
The bike sculpture is a bike rack. I really enjoyed Slovakia and stayed in Bratislava for a few days. I found it to be a lot less expensive that Vienna so is a good place for geo arbitrage if you went the opposite, stay in Slovakia, day trip to Vienna. I really enjoyed the wine and had a very nice night chatting with the owner of a restaurant…who ended up giving us a bunch of local food to try. I was there in November and it was also cold and a bit rainy. I’m glad you got to check it out!
The reverse trip works, too!
I think I would find it hard to fill an extended time with the kids in Bratislava, but they had a great day and LOVED the statues.
This whole city seems quirky! I’ve never been there, but I think I would enjoy it. It seems perfect for a day trip. And the history from that part of Europe is fascinating.
To answer your question, I would be most excited about the statues (although I would want to see the other tings as well, of course). I would probbly go on a statue scavenger hunt around the city!
The statues were really fun. Quirky is exactly the right term and… I like quirky 😉
There is a story to the worker statue coming up out of the ground. It’s to pay homage to the workers, but I don’t know which ones or actually why. And something happened to him and he had to be replaced. There were a few others and fun to see.
The statues were really fun! If I had it to do over again I think I’d try to schedule a walking tour because that way I’d get a lot of the history of the city and probably plenty of fun facts about the statues 🙂
My mom’s family is from Slovakia so we would visit growing up and I also had the opportunity to work as an au pair there after college! It’s a beautiful country with wonderful castles and nature! You’ll definitely have to try more of the food next time you visit!
I’d love to see more of Slovakia some day; some of the castles look truly incredible!
What a fun day trip! If I were staying near a border, I would absolutely day trip over if it were that easy. When we were in the South of France we drove over the border into Italy, just to say we did and have pizza. We did not explore the towns much at all, you saw a lot more than we did. The blue church reminds me a bit of the Russian Orthodox churches I have seen.
It does look a bit like Russian Orthodox churches! The rounded almost plaster look makes me think of those churches.