Bratislava backpacker's mini guide

Welcome to Bratislava

We realize that arriving to a completely unknown city where you`ve never been to and you don`t know anybody might be quite stressful, so let us give you at least some useful insider tips and advices that might come in handy while visiting our little big city Bratislava.

You should know before leaving home

- Bratislava was always favoured for its GREAT GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION in the heart of Europe not very far from the nearby states` capitals /Vienna, Prague, Budapest/;

- as of January 1, 2009 EURO is the only official CURRENCY in the whole country;

- most of the widely used credit and debit CARDS are generally ACCEPTED, the American Express being the only problematic one, which in cases might not be accepted;

- most of the young people SPEAK ENGLISH and they will be willing to help you if you ask with any trouble you might have

- if you however would like to broaden your horizons here are some USEFUL SLOVAK EXPRESSIONS that might help you to impress your friends while in Bratislava:

HELLO - Ahoj /aa-hoy/
GOODBYE - Dovidenia /doh-we-dhen-ya/
THANK YOU – Dakujem /dhack-uuh-yem/
PLEASE - Prosim /pro-seem/
YES - Ano /aah-no/
NO - Nie /nee-ye/
ONE BEER PLEASE. - Jedno pivo prosim. /Yed-noh pee-woh pro-seem./

Arriving to Bratislava

- the easiest way how to reach hostel in Bratislava or any other location is to take a TAXI;

- it is always better to try to book a taxi with your accommodation provider in advance or ask someone to call you one rather than hailing a taxi on the street or taking one from a taxi stand as their prices are exaggerated;

- if it`s however the only option left, try at least to negotiate the fare in advance;

- if you decide for a cheaper PUBLIC TRANSPORT, you always have to buy a ticket, which is the same for buses, trams and trolleybuses, before you enter a vehicle;

- tickets are available in news stands or you can use one of the orange ticket machines at the most of the public transport stops - machines accept coins of value 0,05 EUR to 2 EUR crowns only and if you don`t have the exact change, the difference will be given back;

- ticket has to be marked immediately after entering a vehicle in one of the marking machines;

- basic fares are 0,50 EUR for a 15 minute / one-journey ticket, 0,70 EUR for a 60 minute transfer ticket and 1,40 EUR for a 90 minute night transfer ticket /Note: children up to 6 years and pensioners over 70 years ride for free/;

- if you`re staying in Bratislava for a longer time you may consider to buy one of the tourist tickets that are valid for 1 or more days or buy a Bratislava City Card which includes free travel on the city's public transport system;

How to get to Hostel Blues?

- From the airport by bus and trolleybus (35 min.; 0,70 Eur ticket): Take Bus #61 and get off at Bajkalská (16 minutes), change for the Trolleybus #205 (same bus stop) in the direction of Rajská and get off at the last stop. Walk behind Coffee&Co, past Charlie Centrum Club to Špitálska and we`ll be on your left, in the blue building.

- From the central railway station by tram (6 min; 0,50 Eur ticket): Take Tram #13 in the direction of Nám. L. Štúra and get off at Vysoká (4 stops). Walk back about 50m to turn right onto Mariánska. Turn right again onto Špitálska and we`ll be across the street, in the blue building. Look for the Hostel Blues sign.

- From Petržalka railway station by bus (10 min; 0,50 Eur ticket): Take bus #80 in the direction of Kollárovo nám. and get off at the last stop (10 minutes). Walk straight downhill by Mariánska and then turn right onto Špitálska. We`ll be across the street, in the blue building. Look for the Hostel Blues sign.

- From Mlynské Nivy bus station by trolley bus (3 min; 0,50 Eur ticket): Take Trolleybus #202 or #205 in direction of Rajská and get off at the last stop. Walk behind Coffee&Co, past Charlie Centrum Club to Špitálska and we`ll be on your left, in the blue building.

- if you`ve arrived to Bratislava by a car be aware that during the day /8 AM – 4 PM/ in most of the streets in the centre you are required to purchase and mark one-hour PARKING cards at a low price of EUR 0.70/hour; parking cards are sold in the streets by vendors in yellow vests, at some newsstands and they are also available at our reception in Hostel Blues. On Saturday and Sunday you can park for free.

- if you need to STORE your LUGGAGE you can always leave your things in our free of charge hostel luggage room or you can use the services of the one of the left luggage offices in Bratislava, which can be found at the main train station or at the central bus station;

If you`re up for a little sightseeing

- Hostel Blues is located right in the city centre, not more than 10 minutes from the very heart of the city - the Main Square, from where you can easily reach all of the top tourist spots by foot;

- once in Bratislava you should not miss following TOP SIGHTS: Bratislava Castle, St Martin`s Cathedral, Michael`s Gate, Old Town Hall and the Primate`s Palace;

- if you`re planning to spend your time in Bratislava in MUSEUMS and GALLERIES be aware that they are all closed on Mondays;

- the most visited museums and galleries you should not miss are: Natural Science Museum (Vajanskeho nabr.), Clock Museum (Zidovska), Museum of Arms (Michalska), National Cultural Monument – Devin Castle and Bratislava City Gallery in its 3 locations;

- if you`d like to learn some interesting facts about Bratislava you should opt for one of the organized GUIDED TOURS – as a guest of Hostel Blues make sure not to miss our free guided tour we organize for our guests weekly.

Where to eat

- SLOVAK CUISINE is really delicious and popular with many particularly because of its rich soups, fresh meat, delicious cheese and tasty salads;

- many restaurants serve favourable DAILY MENUS, consisting of soup, main dish and sometimes even a desert, for reasonable prices so you can enjoy the typical Slovak “home made food“ without spending a fortune;

- restaurants with menus not far from Hostel Blues we particularly recommend: U Zeleneho stromu (Grosslingova), Club Restaurant (Lazaretska), Slovak pub (Obchodna) and Mytny domcek (Stary most); nice pizza is served in Pizza Mizza (Tobrucka), and Ganesh Utsav (Nedbalova) is a right choice for vegetarians.

- if you`d however like to live it up while in town, there are also FANCY RESTAURANTS, e.g. LeMonde (Hviezdoslavovo nam.), Ludwig (Venturska), Savoyka (Mostova) etc., with exclusive international or national cuisine, exquisite wines, fine service and of course fat prices;

- of the fancy ones we particularly recommend 2 restaurants on the Petrzalka`s Danube side, dinner or lunch in which can be combined with a nice walk in the oldest park in Central Europe – Janko Kral`s Orchard: Leberfinger (Viedenska cesta), Aucafe (Tyrsovo nabr.). If you want to treat yourself with juicy steaks and tasteful whisky, finish your city centre sigh-seeing on Laurinska Street in Upside down restaurant and you won’t regret.

- if you`re looking only for a QUICK SNACK besides world widely known McDonald`s and KFC in Bratislava there is a number of coffee shops and other small bistros serving fresh bagels, baguettes, sandwiches, kebabs, pizza slices, hot dogs or Chinese, e.g. at Obchodna, Venturska, Marianska, etc.

- in case you wouldn`t find anything you might like after all as a Hostel Blues guest you`re always welcome to use our fully equipped kitchen so that you could prepare something delicious by yourself; big Tesco grocery store is located just a stone's throw away.

Looking for a party

- Bratislava is bustling with small friendly cafes and teahouses that are perfect for you if you want to just chill out and at the same time there is also a number of pubs and clubs where you can party your heart out;

- most popular PARTY NIGHTS are Friday and Saturday but Thursdays and sometimes even Wednesdays can get reasonably lively at some of the more popular venues;

COCKTAIL BARS & TOP PUBS

- there is no better way then start your night out in some local pub with a special beer or get a tasty cocktail in a trendy cocktail bar

- there is couple of nice pubs in the centre, however Svet (Gorkeho) and Sladovna (Sedlarska) belong to the biggest and liveliest;

- the trendiest cocktail bars are all located couple meters from the St. Michael’s gate, we particularly recommend Cocktail Cafe (Hurbanovo nam.), Coco-Loco (Nam. SNP), Medusa bar (Michalska) and Havana bar (Michalska) where besides cocktails you can enjoy Latin parties as well;

CHILL-OUT BARS & LIVE DJS

- although there is not much space to dance, they are open every night until early hours and cosy atmosphere is their must;

- we particularly recommend Radost (Obchodna), one of the longest running and most successful bars in Bratislava, Nu Spirit bar (Medena) a.k.a. „the Buddha bar“ and you will be also pleasantly surprised with Azyl (Zidovska), a bar located underneath the old castle stairs;

CITY CENTRE CLUBS

- Rio Club (Panska) is a Latin flavoured nightclub situated in the basement of a restaurant. It’s open from Wednesday to Saturday and always full of people /No entrance fee/;

- Pucha Club Elegante (Rybarska brana) is one of the newest places and even though it might seem a bit posh but the atmosphere inside is really friendly and definitely worth the „act“. Thursdays belong to oldies and on Saturday house music is on /Entrance around 4-5 EUR/;

- Channels (Zupne nam.) is one of a very few dance clubs that are open every single night, it’s free to enter and it’s a great place to meet people or spend the night out with your friends - it’s nothing posh, but definitely fun;

- Infiniti (Stefanikova) is open almost every night and although it`s bit further from the downtown it is worth to pass the distance - good music /dance and hip-hop/, fun atmosphere and the cheapest drinks /shots for 1 EUR, long drinks for 3 EUR/;

HIGHER REQUIREMENTS

- all girls like to dress up from time to time and guys like dressed up girls, therefore we have also places that require some dress code;

- Trafo Music Bar (Venturska) is fighting hard to get the title of the most posh club in Bratislava and is always packed on the weekends; the music is usually commercial and changes during the night so you never get tired;

- Fashion Club (Rybne nam.) is the most fancy and expensive club in Bratislava, sometimes the dress code is required, but for those who don’t mind higher prices will definitely enjoy this posh atmosphere;

ALTERNATIVE

- Subclub (Nábr. arm. gen. L. Svobodu) is a former nuclear bunker located right underneath the castle fortification, which hosts many concerts and Live DJ acts. Those who like electronic music, house or techno will enjoy this unique atmosphere till the early morning hours;

- Aligator (Laurinska) is a classic rock-pub in the city centre with occasional live concerts. Rock lovers will for sure also appreciate the prices and costumes of the staff;

- Harley Davidson (Rebarborova), a treat for groups and big parties, is a rock bar with lots of place to dance, great food and fantastic parties;

TOP TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF YOUR NIGHT

1. Check the drink card before you order – the prices might vary and you might end surprised

2. If you want to take a taxi, fix the price before you get in

3. Don’t drink in public places – it’s not legal

4. Barhop – all the clubs and bars are close to each other - if you don’t like one, just pick another

Staying in touch with your family and friends

- there is a free Wi-Fi and also computers with free internet access in our Hostel Blues available for our guest 24/7;

- if you`d like to surf the web or send emails while being out in the city as well, INTERNET CAFES can be found in the centre and the surrounding areas, general rate per hour being 1,50 EUR– 4 EUR;

- for those having their own notebooks WI-FI HOTSPOTS are available for, e.g. at the Primate Square, Main Square or Frantiskanske Square;

Where to get answers for your questions

- in case this mini guide didn`t answer all questions you might have, feel free to contact us at Hostel Blues anytime by mail at bookings@hostelblues.sk or by phone +421 905 204 020, or contact the BRATISLAVA CULTURE AND INFORMATION CENTRE at +421 2 16 186.