Question 1

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

A 60-minute ticket for Bratislava's trams, buses and trolleybuses was €1.60 by contactless card and €1.80 on paper in October 2026. A 24-hour ticket was €5.40 on paper or by SMS, and contactless card payments were capped at €4.85 a day. Check fares before you go. Paper tickets are sold at ticket machines and kiosks and must be validated on board. The Bratislava CARD, sold at the tourist information center, includes public transport and a guided tour of the Old Town. Every taxi must display a price list and use a meter, and the driver must give a receipt on request. A short trip was around €5, and it is worth checking the price with the driver before you get in. Uber, Hopin and Bolt all operate in Bratislava.

Question 2

What to Eat

Accepted Answer

Slovakia's national dish is bryndzové halušky: potato dumplings mixed with soft, salty sheep cheese and topped with fried bacon. Kapustnica is a cabbage soup. Garlic soup is another standard, and in some places it comes in a bread loaf. Lokše are fried flatbreads. Trdelník is a sweet pastry in the shape of a roll with a hole through the middle. Borovička is a spirit distilled from juniper berries, the local relative of gin. Frankovka from Rača is a typical red wine of western Slovakia.

Question 3

Tipping and Currency

Accepted Answer

In Slovak restaurants it is customary to round the bill up, usually by 5 to 10 percent, and about 10 percent for a larger bill. A tip in a Slovak restaurant or bar is not mandatory. Slovakia has used the euro since January 1, 2009.

Question 4

The Castle, the Cathedral and the Old Town Hall

Accepted Answer

Bratislava Castle houses the Slovak National Museum's Museum of History, which is open daily except Tuesday from 10 am to 6 pm. Last entry to the castle museum is at 5 pm. An adult ticket was €14 in October 2026 and covered the castle interior, the Treasury and the Northern Walls. Check before you go. The castle grounds are open from 8 am to 10 pm. The Baroque garden opens at 9 am and closes between 4 pm and 9 pm, depending on the month. St. Martin's Cathedral is open Monday to Saturday from 9 to 11:30 am and 1 to 6 pm, and on Sunday from 1:30 to 4 pm. A gilded replica of the Hungarian crown, weighing 300 kg, tops its 85-meter tower. The Old Town Hall houses the Bratislava City Museum, founded in 1868 and the oldest museum in the city. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.

Question 5

History

Accepted Answer

St. Martin's Cathedral was the coronation church of Hungary's kings from 1563 to 1830, and ten kings, one queen and seven royal wives were crowned there. People have lived on the castle hill for about 4,500 years. Celts fortified it, and in the 9th century it was an important center of Great Moravia. Academia Istropolitana, the first university in what is now Slovakia, operated in the city from 1467 to 1490. In 1536 the Hungarian parliament made the city, then called Pressburg, the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary. Fire destroyed the castle in 1811. It was rebuilt in the 20th century, and the work was completed in 2011. Bratislava became the capital of Slovakia in 1918, within the new Czecho-Slovak Republic. Slovakia has been an independent republic since January 1, 1993.

Question 6

Traveling with Family

Accepted Answer

Family tickets to Bratislava Castle were €18 for one adult with up to two children under 15, and €33 for two adults with up to three, in October 2026. Children under 6 enter the castle museum free. Check ticket prices before you go. The castle's Baroque garden has a fountain and statues set among silver linden trees. Sightseeing boats leave the Passenger Port for a circuit under the city's bridges, and for Devín Castle. Check the return time against your ship's departure before you book.

Question 7

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

Most streets in the center of Bratislava are easy to move along, but some are paved with historic tiles, with uneven ground and curbs. The castle area is wheelchair accessible, but the pavement up to it climbs. Bring a companion if you use a manual wheelchair. At the castle museum, tell the cashier when you arrive and a separate side entrance is opened. A lift serves the museum, apart from the coronation tower and the jewelry room, and there are accessible toilets. The Old Town Hall museum has a lift between floors, but its tower is not wheelchair accessible. At the Primate's Palace, report to the front desk and a member of staff takes you to the lift in the third courtyard. All bus and trolleybus lines run low-floor or partly low-floor vehicles. Every tram on line 3 is low-floor, as is every second tram on line 4 (as of February 2024).

Question 8

Shopping

Accepted Answer

Shops in Bratislava's malls open seven days a week, and most stay open until 8 or 9 pm. Eurovea is a shopping center on the bank of the Danube near the Apollo Bridge, a ten-minute walk from the Old Town. Aupark and Nivy are two others. Shops and shopping centers close on Slovakia's 15 public holidays. Those include Good Friday, Easter Monday, May 1 and 8, July 5, August 29, and September 1 and 15.

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