Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bratislava has a very pleasant medieval inner city with narrow, winding streets, a hill-top castle next to the river Danube, and many historic churches and buildings to visit. The old town is centered on two squares, Hlavne namestie (main square) and Hviezdoslavovo namestie (Hviezdoslav square, named after a famous Slovak poet).

Attractions in Bratislava include the castle which currently hosts temporary historical exhibitions and from whose ramparts you can see nearby Hungary, Austria and the Danube valley. Also visit one of the city's excellent galleries, for instance the Bratislava City Gallery at the Pállfy Palace, to experience Matej Krén's unique "Passage" installation.

Things to See & Do

* St. Martin’s Cathedral
* Bratislava Castle
* The New Bridge
* Old Town
* Grassalkovich Palace

General Information

Cruise Season – March to Dec
Currency – Euro (EUR)
Language – Slovak
Land Area – 367.58 km²
Population – 473,000 approx.
Electricity – 2 round pins European style
Time - GMT/UTC plus one hour
International Country Telephone Code – + 421

Port Location – Bratislava River port is located on the Danube River, approximately 1km from the city centre.

Travel Links - Bratislava Airport is the largest in the Slovak Republic and the home base of Danube Wings, though the budget airline Ryanair flies the vast majority of seat capacity (80%). Additional carriers are Aeroflot to Moscow, CSA to Prague, Sun d'Or to Tel Aviv (seasonal, budget flights), and LOT to Warsaw.

Most international trains stop at the main station Bratislava hlavná stanica that have good connections to buses and trams. Tram № 13 goes to Old Town, walking takes about ten minutes.

Coach lines connect Bratislava with all of Slovakia, a high number of Czech cities and a number of EU destinations, including London, Paris and daily buses also depart to Budapest. The most frequent international coach connection by far is Vienna though, with two lines running almost every hour from Vienna's Sudtirolerplatz near Sudbahnhof via Vienna International Airport.