On our luxury river cruise on the Danube River, we visited Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located on the border of Austria and Hungary. We spent the morning (about 4 hours) visiting this charming city. Thankfully we docked near the historic city center and “UFO bridge” so we could walk straight off the ship and start exploring.
Tour Options
AmaWaterways includes three tour options in Bratislava:
- “Coronation City” Walking Tour
- Bratislava Castle Hike
- Taste of Slovakia
For new visitors to Bratislava, we recommend getting your bearings by taking the walking tour of the city center. However, for the beer aficionado, the Taste of Slovakia tour is a great choice.
Walking Tour
River cruise walking tours are typically in small groups. In our case, we joined 10 fellow guests on the shore for our tour of Bratislava. As you walk around the city center, you will see sites such as:
- Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra is a baroque style building built in 1773.
- The historic building of the Slovak National Theatre is a neo-renaissance building built in 1885. It was designed to house 1000 spectators.
- Main Square (Hlavné námestie) is a cute square in Old Town.
- Roland’s Fountain is a popular landmark located in the main square. In 1572 the fountain was a public water source. The fountain has a statue of King Maximilian II portrayed as a knight in full armor.
- Old Town Hall is a combination of 3 houses and was built in 1370. The Bratislava City Museum, the oldest museum in Bratislava, is now located in the town hall.
- Jesuit Church is also located in the main square. It was built in the 17th century as a protestant church. It was built without a spire as it could not resemble a Roman Catholic church.
- Primatial Palace is a beautiful neoclassical palace in the old town. It was built for the Archbishop but is now the office of the Bratislava’s mayor. If you have time we recommend checking out the Hall of Mirrors.
- Michael’s Gate was built in the 14th century. It is the only surviving medieval gate in Bratislava.
- St. Martin’s Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral. 11 Hungarian kings and queens between 1536 and 1830 were crowned here.
Statues
While walking around Bratislava, don’t forget to keep an eye out for interesting full-size sculptures. We saw Cumil (Man at Work), Schone naci statue (the only statue in silver), and Hans Christian Andersen. An unusual statue is on the wall of an optician shop called Fokus. It is a little naked man hiding in a hole. Can you spot it?
Bratislava Castle
Bratislava Castle dominates the rocky hill above the old town. Constructed as a large rectangular building with 4 towers, it does not look like other castles. The castle was destroyed by a fire in 1811. The restoration of the castle began in 1957 but was not completed until 2010. The castle tour (or walking up on your own) is a great option that allows you to enjoy the expansive views from the top of the castle hill.
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