official site for visitors to Bratislava  

Bratislava is a modern city with rich history, beautiful places, breathtaking view points, cosy cafes and restaurants and a unique atmosphere. Inhabitants of Bratislava are very hospitable and easygoing, happy to help and meet new people. We wish you pleasant exploring of all the things the City of Bratislava has to offer.

A walk through the city's streets can help bring history back to life. This tour offers visitors a rich cultural experience, a look at Bratislava's legends and its impressive galleries and a taste of the atmosphere of the historical centre – all of it within walking distance. A superb view awaits you from Bratislava Castle after your walk through the narrow mediaeval streets. From the castle, you will be able to appreciate one of the dominant features of Bratislava – St Martin's Cathedral, at its strategic site above the river Danube.

Bratislava is the ancient coronation city of the old Hungarian Kingdom where, between 1563 and 1830, eleven kings and eight royal wives were crowned. The Royal Bratislava walking tour, designed to place the city's history in its European context, follows the traditional route of the coronation procession, visiting the Gothic St Martin's Cathedral and other Habsburg heritage sites.

Ancient Pressburg was for centuries one of the most prominent centres of Jewish learning in Europe. A walk through the city's Jewish monuments can help bring a semblance of Bratislava's Jewish community back to life. This tour descends into the miraculously preserved underground Chatam Sofer Memorial mausoleum, allowing visitors to learn about this fascinating chapter in Bratislava's history. A visit to the Museum of Jewish Culture will open other windows into this richly textured world.

A comfortable passenger ship carries visitors to Devín Castle, two kilometres upstream from Bratislava on the Danube River, at the border with Austria. This romantic ruin, long associated with ancient Slavic traditions, is an important archeological site with excavations from Roman and mediaeval times. A source of inspiration for 19th-century Slovak patriotic leaders, the castle today is a popular day trip destination affording spectacular views of the Danubian landscape. Hiking enthusiasts can continue to Devínska Kobyla hill, and on a nearby sandstone hill, Sandberg, you can still find fossils 14 to 16 million years old.