Slovakia: Bratislava: The Bradt City Guide

This new, thoroughly updated fifth edition of Bradt’s Bratislava remains the only standalone guide from a major publisher that is dedicated to this compact and increasingly popular capital of Slovakia - declared by the legendary Casanova as ’the most beautiful city in Europe’ (and he knew a thing or two about beauty). Situated by the mighty Danube River and nestling in the Small Carpathian Mountains, with new downtown skyscrapers overlooking refurbished old buildings, Bratislava is indeed a good-looking city, filled with good-looking people who seem to enjoy life.

Bratislava is a city that effortlessly blends history with hedonism, where world-class restaurants have been joined by a clutch of artisan coffee houses and literary tea- and bookshops. Local winemakers are going from strength to strength, with orange and natural wines becoming a speciality, while microbreweries are producing all sorts of dark beers and IPAs as well as pilsners.

Split into ten easy-to-follow chapters, Bradt’s Bratislava contextualises your visit by summarising local politics and cultural etiquette, then advises on planning, practical information, local transport (including the expanding bike-sharing scheme), accommodation, eating and drinking, entertainment, nightlife and shopping. City walks are also included, focusing on the main sights and beyond, as is sightseeing from castles and palaces to museums, galleries, churches, gardens and parks. Beyond the city itself there are sections on Devín, Červený Kameň, Ancient Gerulata, Rusovce, the Small Carpathian Wine Route, Senec, Piesťany Spa, Trnava and Kosice (in eastern Slovakia). There are also useful reference sections on language (pronunciation and words and phrases) and sources of further information.

Bratislava’s small size is satisfying: compact and visitor-friendly, it offers many superbly curated museums rivalling those in Budapest and Vienna plus an opera house and the Slovak National Gallery (reopened in 2022 following a lengthy refurbishment). With a range of airlines flying into the city and Kosice, plus the rail link to Vienna being upgraded, Bratislava is the perfect destination for a weekend break, a romantic city break, a family holiday or as a base for discovering the rest of Slovakia. With Bradt’s Bratislava you’ll have everything you need for a successful trip.

Born and educated in the UK, Lucy Mallows spent 16 years in Budapest and Brussels, working as a reporter, travel writer and translator. As a writer, she contributed regularly to many international dailies and magazines, and wrote guidebooks (including three for Bradt) and articles on countries from Iceland to Portugal. An expert on central Europe who spoke seven languages, including Russian, Hungarian and a fair attempt at Slovak, her passions were travel, music, swimming, photography and football. She visited Bratislava regularly for 30 years, always marvelling at the city’s ability to regenerate and improve on its already spectacular setting and world-class facilities’. Sadly, Lucy passed away early in 2018.

Tim Burford studied languages at Oxford University. In 1991, after five years as a publisher, he began writing guidebooks for Bradt, firstly on hiking in east-central Europe and then on backpacking and ecotourism in Latin America. A regular visitor to Bratislava, he has always loved the city and was very happy to have the chance to update this book. While working on this edition, he spent the majority of his visit walking everywhere (and occasionally using the new bike-sharing system) to check every detail; he also enjoyed delving into the history and culture of central Europe, where he’s worked for almost 30 years.