Although I’m slowly working through the list of European countries I want to visit, I’m in no rush to cross places of my list – in general I like to see as much of a place as I can.

But Slovakia being so easy to reach from Vienna, we decided to get on a train to Bratislava and see what it was like.

The main thing to do there is walking around the Old Town. This part of the town is very nice, full of little narrow streets and old historical buildings.

It was a beautiful day, perfect for having a beer in a cafe and taking photos in the main square.

We then went up to the castle which overlooks the city centre. You also get views of the Danube river which goes through the city.

After exploring for a while, we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. Food wasn’t particularly veggie-friendly but it was nice nonetheless.

HOW TO DO IT:

Taking the train from Vienna is the easiest way to visit Bratislava. The trip takes only 1h and return tickets cost 16€.

The station in Bratislava doesn’t provide much in way of information – to get to the city centre you need to walk under the subway to find a bus stop behind the station. From there, bus 93 will get you to the city centre in under 10 minutes (many thanks to the helpful local who showed us the way).

This is a great option for a day trip as the city is quite small and you can see a lot in a day.