Beyond Bratislava, Slovakia

Happy to read that someone sees something worthwhile to justify an extended stay in Bratislava / Slovakia when I thought it was an absolute total waste of a day of my vacation that would have been better spent staying back in Vienna... ugh.

Sorry to hear that. What disappointed you?

Zero historical consequence ... the Czech Republic / Czechia got all the glory. Both Bratislava and Slovakia are nothing more than a tourism construct.

Even after all the bluster, RS only gives Bratislava nothing more than a whistle stop, in a tour that blesses Cesky Krumlov with 2 nights ... yikes.

Day 13: Train to Budapest; stop in Bratislava en route (sleep in Budapest)

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/eastern-europe-itinerary

Michelle’s recent post might be of interest.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/slovakia/what-to-see-do-in-kosice

I, like periscope, have not been yet. But I would think the Tatras would definitely be of interest to hikers. Maybe more so than Bratislava, which some people do like. Just to give another perspective.

I haven't been to Bratislava either, but I've pulled together sightseeing notes for a visit I hope will take place this summer. There are definitely things to see for those interested in art, at least. I'm afraid this is a disorganized list--it's not in priority order or geographical order.

• Cute, small historic area with fountains and sculptures. Panska and Michalska lined with colorful Baroque palaces. Kapitulska looks like 19C painting. Might only need 2 hours to see this area.
• Hlavnie namesti (Main Sq): Gothic to Art Nouveau architecture.
• Hviezdoslavovo Namestie: Attractive large square in Old Town.
• Kapitulska Street: Picturesque medieval street.
• Stara Radnice (Old Town Hall), Primacialne namestie 3: Houses Museum of City History (sounds good), through which one accesses tower (good views). Tue-Fri 10:00–17:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-18:00. 5€ in 2017.
• St. Martin’s Cathedral: 15C. Interior more interesting than exterior.
• Arthur Fleischmann Museum, Biela 6: Ceramics and perspex sculpture. Small, and may not always adhere to official opening times/days.
• Bratislava Castle: Perhaps nothing special except for the views, but contains the Slovak National Museum, which may have some 20th-century crafts. www.snm.sk
• City Art Gallery (GMB): Two locations. Check for exceptional closing notices at http://www.gmb.sk/en/home
• Mirbach Palace: Probably the better one.
• Palffy Palace. Sounds skippable.
• Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Vodne Dielo | Čunovo, 20 km south of Bratislava, on island in the Danube. Mostly E. European contemporary art and sculpture park. Views from roof and cafe (esp. sunset). Bus 90 hourly (45 min.) from Panorama City (probably also other stops) to final stop “Danubiana”, 3-min. walk to museum. Buy two bus tickets in town (N/A at museum). Or boat from city center in summer. Or Uber in direction of museum. Very good reviews on TA. https://www.danubiana.sk/danubiana/o-nas
• Franciscan Church and Monastery,: Plain exterior but very nice inside. Apparently not usually open for tourism.
• Galeria Umelka: Gallery of the Slovak Union of Visual Arts, showing paintings and other media.
  
• Holocaust Memorial, Rybne namestie 1: Understated but attractive statue on former site of synagogue.
• Kostol Trinitarov Church: Sounds skippable.
• Mileticova Central Market, Mileticova 17: On the outskirts of the city center. Mainly produce; some street food Old Market Hall, Namestie SNP 25: Food market on Saturday mornings. Unclear what is there other days—maybe fast-food stands? Eiffel-like building.
• Muzeum Milana Dobesa (Milan Dobes Museum): International contemporary art, mostly (neo-)constructivist.
• Nedbalka Gallery: Modern Slovak art.
• Primacialny palac (Primate’s Palace): Seems skippable.
• St. Elisabeth’s Church (Blue Church): Art Nouveau. About 15 min. from Old Town.
• Gamca, (Gymnázium), Grösslingová 18: Art Nouveau.
  
• Sigismund Gate, Alexandra Dubceka St., 1: On path from Old Town to castle.
• Slavin: Soviet war memorial with good views. Walk up through wealth residential/embassy district.
• Slovenska narodna galeria (Slovak National Gallery), Esterhazyho Palac, Razusovo nabrezie 2 (Riecna 1): Mostly paintings, heavy on Dutch artists. Much may still be closed due to reconstruction. www.sng.sk
• Slovenska Muzeum Dizajnu (Slovak Museum of Design): Two addresses online, possibly only one has exhibitions? www.scd.sk
• Uprising Memorial, Namestie SNP 32: Memorial to those lost during the uprising against the Nazis in WW II: Attractive statues.

I have no info on Modra. This is what I have on Pezinok-Cajla:

• The Old City Hall and Shaubmar’s Mill have spaces used for exhibitions.
• Malokarpatske Muzeum v Pezinku: Small local-history museum.

I love this long list of possible places to visit within Bratislava!
And I will definitely check out the blog post. The more intel the better!
Thank you for sharing!

With 4 days I would suggest you rent a car at the airport. Very inexpensive. You can uber from the train station for about 9e. Get out into the country. Suggested sights would include Orava Castle, Trencin and Trencin Castle, Martin has a great recreated village,probably 40 to 50 buildings. It's on the south side of the city. The High Tatras and Spis Castle with Levoca nearby. Also Bojnica Castle. There are also many ice caves and wooden churches...all worth seeing. You can also do traditional rafting trips near the Polish/Slovak border. Go to Slovak Spectator for excellent guide books.

Have fun

Steve

This is my master list for Bratislava. Sadly, I won't have enough time to see it all on my trip:

• Bratislava Old Town (Blue Church, St. Michael’s Cathedral, St. Michael’s Gate [remaining city gate in old wall, museum of weapons, viewing platform above], Main Square, statuary, Church of St John of Matha for the fresco)

• Slavin war memorial and view (https://www.visitbratislava.com/places/slavin/)

• Presidential palace and public gardens

• Radio Slovakia building (the upside-down pyramid building)

• Devin Castle (https://muzeumbratislava.sk/en/devin-castle)

• Most SNP (the “UFO bridge”): views and a restaurant (https://www.u-f-o.sk/en/index.php)

• Nedbalka Gallery (contemporary art)

• Museum of Viticulture in the Old Town Hall Complex. They have wine-tasting programs, but you need to prebook (https://salonvin.sk/en/). Also in the Old Town Hall, you can see a cannonball embedded in the wall from the 1809 siege by Napoleon's army.

• Sad Janka Král’a park –at the end of the SNP bridge opposite old town; oldest public park in central Europe, 200-year-old plane trees, gothic gazebo, lots of events there in the summer. https://www.likealocalguide.com/bratislava/sad-janka-krala

• Quality souvenirs in Bratislava: https://www.welcometobratislava.eu/uluv-galleries-and-shop/

• Traditional Slovak food: The Slovak Pub on Obchodná Street

• A lovely café (pastries & coffee) decorated to highlight the history and style of the A-H Empire; right off the main square: https://www.konditoreikormuth.sk/

And I second the recommendation for the Slovak Spectator travel guides. They ship to the USA from New York I think, so you won't have to wait long for them.

Periscope, I'm so curious what happened to you in Slovakia. You have posted a few times on a few different posts about your dislike of Slovakia after having spent a day in Bratislava.

Jules m, I've never been to Bratislava, but I've been fortunate enough to have visited Slovakia on several occassions and i think its one of Europe's best kept secrets if you are into spectacular nature and stunning old castles ... without the tourists of Western Europe. After Budapest, and easy to reach from Budapest, it's one of my favorite places.

Thanks for your thoughts, Mister E! Sounds like Slovakia just moved up on my "list"!

I'm so glad I asked this group. I wasn't sure there would be much worth lingering for but you all have changed my mind. We DO love nature so will try to make that our focus after Bratislava and my grandma's birthplace of Pezinok. I have found the Slovak Spectator and am enjoying the insight into this under-advertised country.

If I time it well this trip, I am finally going to get myself to Bratislava in June.

I would suggest in Bratislava the chateau/Schloss, known as Schloss Preßburg, an important site in the diplomatic history of the early 19th century.

If you do end up with a rental car and want to push it a bit more, then I suggest heading northwards from Bratislava to Ostrava in Moravia, used to be called under the A-H Empire as Mährisch Ostrau.

I will travel from Bratislava to Budapest late July. Is train or bus more scenic?

Not much scenery. I'd take the fastest.

I've never been to Bratislava but I have been all over Slovakia.

Slovakia is a beautiful country and every one of the places I visited I would go back to and recommend to others.

They were Trencin (university town with a great castle, lively paseo culture in the old town), Bojnice (spectacular castle with caverns beneath, hot springs and a large spa with pools and fresh mineral water), and Levoca (magnificent wooden altar is one of the largest in Europe) and near to Sissky Hrad castle, UNESCO World Heritage site).

It was great.