An Ad Hoc Guide to Life in Bratislava

for English-Speaking Newcomers

by People Who Have Lived There

 

Please keep in mind that this is not a fully comprehensive list of all the resources and opportunities that exist in Bratislava.  Part of the fun of moving to a new place is to discover things on your own, and to share good finds with each other.  However, these are just a few tips that have been helpful to some new arrivals, and they may be helpful to you as well.  After you have been in Slovakia for some time and you learn about something new that you want to share with others, feel free to post it here using the simple tools for contributing to this website.

 

Many of the sites are also indexed on the map at the bottom of this page (also available here: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=101897101577678007026.0004532eb5e18e421e6a4&ll=48.11766,17.11906&spn=0.008151,0.02223&t=h&z=16

 

Guides and Tools

• A good general guide to Bratislava is http://www.bratislavaguide.com/ This has a good event calendar at http://www.bratislavaguide.com/bratislava-event-calendar .
• What’s On Bratislava:  http://www.whatsonslovakia.com
• Bratislava Culture and Information Center: http://www.bkis.sk
• Wikipedia also has two excellent Bratislava site, one general at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratislava and another specifically for travellers at http://wikitravel.org/en/Bratislava
• Christina Manetti maintains a useful site at http://www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm much of which is quoted here, with her permission.
• The Slovak Spectator and annual travel magazine edition, Slovak Spectacular, is full of good information about living here and touring the country.  Sligtly dated editions of the travel editions are online at http://travel.spectator.sk/.  The newspaper itself is available at www.slovakspectator.sk 
• It might be wise to invest in a relatively good map of Bratislava.  Most of us have been lost at some time or another.  A map that comes in spiral-bound booklet form was very good and costs about 200 SKK (about $8.00) at the book section in Tesco.  Make sure you get an updated version.
• Slavstuff.com recommends the Bradt Guide to Bratislava:  "we have found it helpful with most of the stuff visitors or expats want to know, especially before you go. The same author also has one out on Slovakia now, Slovakia: The Bradt Travel Guide, but I haven't picked it up or thumbed through it, so I can't vouch its usefulness. Another recent guide is The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia, which sounds like it could be useful, but I haven't used it yet."

 

Emergency Assistance

Items marked with "+" are on the on the map marked with the Flag icon

• Medical Emergency:  Rescue Squad, Ambulance tel:  112 or 155 
• +U.S. Embassy at Tel: 421 2 5443 0861 or 421 2 5443 3338, Hviezdoslavovo namestie 4.  The embassy's website, slovakia.usembassy.gov contains a lot of information on this website that is very helpful to U.S. residents of Slovakia.   If you are an American citizen and have a problem mention those facts and ask to speak to the Consular Section.
• +U.K. Embassy at Tel: 421 2 5998 2000, Fax: +421 2 5998 2269, Panská 16, 811 01 Bratislava.  For more information, see: http://www.britishembassy.sk

 

Housing

In Bratislava, living in the center is more expensive, but really worth the difference. Rents for a two room furnished flat were ranging from about 25,000-35,000 SKK (830-1070 EUR) per month.  This included utilities and for most of us, cable TV and a washing machine.  Make sure your apartment has a washer.  You should also check with your agent about high speed internet. Finding a flat is easiest with a real estate agent but other options are possible as well.

• Several of us have used Andrea and Marek Urbanovsky of Space Reality, http://www.spacereal.sk or contact them at space@spacereal.sk. There are some mixed reviews of Space Realty but they are professional and efficient. They normally charge one-month’s rent as a fee to the tenant (they also charges the landlord a similar amount), but they have sometimes agreed to charge us academics a smaller amount. It would be a good idea to negotiate the fee before you come. Andrea and her husband, Marek were very helpful during the year in dealing with the numerous small problems which come up related to housing. Make an appointment with them for the day after you arrive, and within a day or two you will be in your new home. 
• Others in Bratislava used http://www.bratislava-apartments.sk and contacted stanka@bratislava-apartments.sk and were very satisfied with their housing.  Additionally, they saved the fee typically charged by real estate agents. Still others have got their apartments through the help of their local contact at their assigned institution.  
• Others used the real estate section of the Slovak Spectator. See http://www.slovakspectator.sk/web_inzeraty.asp?rub=11.
• Others used REMax, which charges nothing to the renter, http://www2.remax-slovakia.sk   

 

Travel Within Bratislava

Public Transportation

• Public transportation in Bratislava is not only good; it has a good English language website to show what bus, tram or trolley bus to take: http://www.imhd.sk/ba/?lang=en~ (use the "Route Finder" to figure out the best way to get from one place to another.   You need to know the name of the closest bus stop to where you live and the name of the bus stop or place you want to go, but it tells you what bus to take, the schedule of the bus and even what transfers to make and how to make them.  If you are good at reading maps and areal photopgraphs, you can find the exact street locations of bus stops using the “bus” icons on Google Earth and decide which is best for you. For general information on transportation also see http://www.bratislavaguide.com/public-transport-bratislava. 
• To use the bus or tram, buy bus tickets from kiosks or automated machines.  They are mainly either 10 minute tickets for 14 SKK/0.50 EUR or 30 minute tickets for 18 SKK/0.70 EUR for regular fare. They allow transfers from bus to bus for the amount of time purchased.  [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm] You estimate see how long your trip will take by looking at the timeline at each tram stop.  Be sure to punch your ticket as soon as you get on.  Your ticket will probably not be checked (though we've found especially frequent checks weekdays between 8 and 10am and on Saturday nights, when heavy drinkers forget to punch or dare the system) but it is good to be prepared.  If you encounter somebody dressed in ordinary (even down-at-heel) clothing walking through the bus or tram demanding to see something, show yur ticket as it is in all likelihood simply the ticket checking and not a criminal shakedown.  Children under 6 travel free.
• If you are planning to stay for a month or more and you travel by public transportation every day, it is worth it to get a transit pass.  You need to take your passport, sufficient money (around 600 SKK for a month), and a picture of a special size (a passport picture will not do) which you can get at photography shops (there is one in the courtyard at Spitalska 24 near Tesco, see map) to the Bratislava mass transit office.  There is currently a temporary office on Obchodna behind the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the intersection of Obchodná Poštová streets (see map). Very complete information in English about tickets, how much they cost, how they work and where to buy them can be found at the IMHD website, http://www.imhd.sk/ba/index.php?w=392b3433292c1f252e362f34332523ef2f262e29&lang=en.  [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm].

 

Taxis

One strange thing about Bratislava is that cabs you order by phone or internet are about half the price of taxis just waiting at a taxi stand on the street. They are usually more able to speak English and less likely to try to overcharge.

As for specific taxi companies, participants here have had good experiences with

• Paladio Yellow Cab. They have an easy on line ordering process. See http://www.paladio.sk/eng/objednavka.php   or call 02/4444 1111.
• Profi taxi: 16222
• Taxi Caribic: 16555 
• Other numbers for taxi companies without personal recommendations include 16300, 16016, 16077, 16100 (ABC taxi), 16777 (Fun taxi), 16022 (Euro Taxi), 16000 (VIP Taxi), 16916 (MB Taxi)

 

Travel Into and Out of Bratislava

Items marked with "+" are on the on the map marked with Bus, Train or Airplane icons.

A good general transportation guide is www.busy.sk or www.cp.sk . This is a website for finding both busses and trains around Slovakia. Some find it easier to use than the webpage strictly for trains; as it will reveal the best combination of travel options.  Its coverage goes outside of Slovakia as well, to places like Vienna 

 

Trains 

Train travel is a good option for reaching many destinations.  Bratislava has two train stations, the chaotic and not particularly pleasant +Main Station (see map) which serves nearly all of Slovakia, and the quiter, newer +Petrzalka station (see map) which serves only a few destinations in Slovakia but has frequent departures to Vienna and hence to the rest of Europe

• Slovak trains are online at http://www.zsr.sk/generate_page.php?page_id=221.
• If you are traveling within Slovakia by train, you can check how much the fare will cost on this nifty fare calculator: Train Fare Calculator [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]
• The German rail guide is particularly good and covers other countries other than Germany. http://www.bahn.de/p/view/international/englisch/international_guests.shtml
• The Austrian Rail (OBB) website at www.oebb.at/en/ is also quite good
• Trains are a good way to get to Vienna.  A roundtrip train ticket costs approximately 390 SK, which includes an all-day transit pass in Vienna (without the Vienna transit pass it is a bit cheaper.) You can leave from either Bratislava’s main train station or the Petrzalka station. The main train station (Hlavna Stanica) has a window to the right as you enter the platform area where you can get a map of the transit system.  This proved to be very helpful.
• If you are traveling to countries that do not immediately border Slovakia, you may wish to check the budget airlines, as these are now often cheaper than the train service, or you may wish to investigate Eurail Passes or the like, which may prove cheaper than individual tickets even for round-trip train travel to France or Italy. 

Buses

There are many bus connections from Bratislava's +Main Bus Terminal (see map) to destinations both in Slovakia and abroad.

• EuroLines (http://www.eurolines.sk) operates international bus routes from the terminal to the bus station in central Bratislava. They charge for each piece of luggage you check in the luggage hold of the bus (30 SKK/1 EUR per bag). [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]
• Slovak Lines: search for connections  [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]
• Eurolines: list of routes 
• Here is a Czech ministry of transportation website where you can check both train and bus connections: Bus & Train Connections [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]

Airlines

Europe has a number of discount airlines you may want to use and several of these fly into Bratislava or Vienna airports. To find out which one flies to where you want to go see http://www.whichbudget.com/  Be sure to check both +Bratislava (BTS) (see map) and +Vienna (VIE).

• Sky Europe, which is a Bratislava based airline is excellent. See http://www1.skyeurope.com/en/ They also fly out of Vienna.
• Ryan Air also flies from Bratislava. http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/ 
• Air Slovakia flies to a handful of places as well, the most useful of which, perhaps, is Birmingham, UK
• With all budget airlines (but especially Ryan Air),  know that prices are never as they seem.  Taxes and fees are usually more than the ticket price itself and there are added (sometimes quite extensive) fees for checked luggage, priority boarding and so on.  Know, too, that the airports Ryan Air uses are often small and quite distant from the cities they allege to serve, adding costs and time for transport.

The Bratislava airport is small but has become surprisingly functional in recent years, particularly because of the budget airlines.  

• For a guide to the Bratislava airport see http://www.bratislavahotels.com/bratislava-airport-guide 

• It is actually not difficult to get to and from the Bratislava airport by regular city bus.  +Bus 61 (see map) runs from in front of the terminal building (just go across the crosswalk outside the arrival hall, Terminal C), with connections to trams in the city center, and it terminates at Hlavná stanica (main train station). There is an automated machine by the stop that dispenses all types of tickets (including the two- and three-day tickets).  If you do not have coins, there is a newspaper kiosk in the main check in of the airport where you can get buy tickets (or at least buy something to get some change for the automated machine). The bus trip takes about 22-25 minutes so be sure to buy one of the 30 minute tickets (18 SKK or about .70 EUR).  [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]

• In 2008, taxi rides to the airport from the downtown area with Taxi Caribic (16555) cost 150-200SKK depending on the number of people and amount of luggage.

Vienna Schwechat Airport (VIE) is 40 minutes away and is not home to many budget airlines, but it is often the best destination airport for trans-Atlantic flights or others involving more traditional airlines.  

• There is a flight planner from the Schwechat airport website, where you can check to see from which cities you can fly to Vienna: Vienna flight planner  [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]

• Euroline Bus to the Vienna Airport, www.eurolines.sk, leaves and arrives from from the main bus station, A.S. Nivy, or Einsteinova in Petrzalka.  A round trip ticket costs approximately 400 SKK
• Blaguss Bus http://www.blaguss.sk/ba_wien.php leaves and arrives from the Bratislava airport and the +Novy Most (new bridge) city bus terminal under the castle (see map).
• Ordinary taxi to Bratislava is extremely expensive (2000 SKK to 3000 SKK / 660-1000 EUR) but the Schwechat Express, http://www.schwechatexpress.sk/products.html  charges approximately 1400 SK  for 1 or 2 people for front door pickup and deliver to Schwechat airport
• Some use Branislav Straka whose company is called Airport Shuttle. Email: b.straka@airportservice.sk  His cell phone is: 0903-780- 067. His English is good, he is very dependable and he’s a great guy. He charges SK1600 for the Vienna airport (pickup or delivery) and SK400 for the Bratislava airport. For more information, see http://www.airportshuttle.sk/en/main.html . He takes credit cards. 

Driving

• Car Rental.  Renting a car can be a problem in Slovakia.  In a city as big as Nitra (80-90,000), for example, there are only local car rental businesse, and working with them can be off-putting: in one case, we found that they didn't take reservations (we had to show up on the day we wanted the car, and just hope); in another case, we found out that they had no inventory, and would require advance notification of more than a week.  The US company www.autoeurope.com has a couple of branches in Bratislava, however, and renting a car there is very convenient. They advertise "the lowest rates available" and offer to meet any competitor's price that is lower.  They use National Car Rental in BA, which has offices in the +Devin Hotel downtown and at the airport.  They have all styles of cars, English is the main language of communication, and the personnel are very helpful and understanding.  When we arrived an hour after the turn-in deadline for our rental period, we were assessed no additional charge; once when we arrived late for a pick-up, again they adjusted the times with no penalties.  Note for bargain hunters: if you get in touch directly with the National Rental Agency number at either location, you can save yourself a small commission fee that is charged if you work through the website.  Others of us simply made arrangements through Orbitz and picked up our car at the airport.  It worked well. 
• Stickers for your windshield must be purchased in Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic to drive on the highways. They can be purchased at a gas station as soon as you cross the border. 
• The travel-guide firm Michelin at www.viamichelin.com offers an amazing website offering information on driving in Europe (best routes, mileage and time information, relevant road taxes, etc.) 
• It would be a good idea to get an International Drivers License from your local AAA before you leave, as it is required to rent a car in a number of countries in Europe, including Slovakia.  

Finding lodging In other cities

• In Slovakia, try www.limba.sk which has a number of lodging options.  Limba has relatively quick response time but does not allow you to connect directly to those offering lodging.  You may, however, be able to use keywords from the limba description and map to locate the hotel or B&B yourself once you have found it on Limba
• Outside of Slovakia, try www.homelidays.com, a good source for renting homes, apartments or rooms directly from owners in cities around Europe

 

Shopping

Food

Items marked with "+" are on the on the map marked with the Grocery Basket icon

The grocery stores do provide rather flimsy plastic bags, but if you are carrying your groceries any distance, it would be a good idea to bring several sturdy canvas or nylon bags with you to put your groceries in.  

Big stores

• +Tesco on Kamenne namestie 1 in the center is well-stocked, but the basement supermarket can get pretty crowded.  For daily needs you might prefer a Teta, Billa, or another smaller, quieter market. 
• +Billa, just across from the presidential palace, in the modern Tatra Bank building and at the corner of Jesenskeho and Sturova, as well as other places around,  offers a pretty nice selection of cheese, meats, pastries and other groceries. 
• +Teta, south of Tesco, also offers a more pleasant shopping experience—but with more limited produce. 

Alternatives

• +The Stara Trznica on SNP square for produce.  The trznica also has a good butcher shop.
• +Fruit and vegetable market (biggest open air market): "Miletička" - on Miletičova street (a convenient connection from downtown is trolleybus 207 from the Presidential Palace on the TatraBanka side stop); also has many others selling cheap clothing, as well as stalls selling diary products, raw meat, roasted chickens, bryndza cheese, Slovak fast food, flowers, bread, toiletries, etc. The main market days are Tuesday and Saturday, closed Sundays. Fridays and Saturdays very crowded. Go early for best selection and most sellers, by the late afternoon, things are wrapping up. [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]
• +For organic food shop at Zrnko on the hill down from the castle, at Mikulášska 29.
• +There is another organic food shop on Karadzicova near the Main Bus Station on the first floor of the tall grey and dark-red BMW building.
• +For vegetarian needs there is a modest but useful shop on Grösslingova: Vegetariánske lahôdky a potraviny, Grösslingova 20, Tel.: 02/529 678 32
• For herbal products, 
  • +Natur Vidal, across from the vegetarian shop is a place specializing in herbal teas, remedies, essential oils, etc., which also carries Weleda products: Natur Vital, Grösslingova 33, 811 09 Bratislava, tel. č.: 02 / 5296 3494
  • HANUS, Bylinné prípravky, Ľ. Okánika 2, 949 01 Nitra , tel. + fax: 037 / 652 48 64 , 037 / 733 24 79, www.hanus.sk According to Slavstuff.com, "Hanus supplies herbs for Natur vital, and the nettle I got from him is the best I've ever had. I don't know if he grows produce, beans, or flour -- the website might tell. I believe that Natur Vital gets at least two shipments/dropoffs a week from him." He has very good extracts (essential oils, such as Tea Tree, rosemary and lavender oils) at very good prices. [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]
  • Herb lady (BYLINKÁRKA) at the "Miletička" open air market (see below): There is a woman who sells herbs (dried and fresh) at the "Miletička" market on Wednesdays. She leaves promptly by 2pm, so be sure to get there early. She has her stall along the central GREEN METAL (I think) WALL of the market - down the middle, the wall that divides the food section from the clothes section of the market. [Courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]

Beer

Zlaty Bazant on tap, or Topvar or Pilsner Urquell. You can also get Budweiser (not the American Budweiser, but the far superior Czech Budweiser from Budvar). Of course, for Czech beer also try Krusovice, both light and dark.  A good dark beer from Eastern Slovakia is Šariš Tmave.  Can be hard to find but worth the search.

 

Clothing

• Clothing for sale in Bratislava appears mainly at the far ends of the spectrum: fairly cheap and poorly made and nice but extremely expensive.  Good, inexpensive mid-range clothing is hard to find and it is a good idea not to count on thi. 
• Winters have varied between mild and cold and long. During those winters, several of us were forced to buy wool overcoats here. 
• Note that most Slovaks wear slippers in their houses and remove shoes at the door.

 

Books and videos

• +Used Paperbacks in English  Visit Café “Next Apache”  (You’ll get the pun after you’ve been here a while.) on Panenska.  Have a beer or coffee and browse.  If you buy and book, read it, and return within a certain time you get money back toward another.
• +Eurobooks, Jesenského 5-9, Bratislava (http://www.eurobooks.sk). This is a bookshop devoted to foreign-language (and primarily English-language) books, which also sells online. They carry an extensive selection of travel guides (and not only for Slovakia/Central Europe), as well as foreign language learning materials (again, not just for learning Slovak). [See www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]
• Video rental:  There are several throughout the area. The price is usually 70 skk per movie for one night only (24 hours). Remember that the DVDs here are for the PAL system and Region 2 (Europe). DVDs you bring from the States will usually not work on the European DVD players although they will work on your laptop.  Movie Rental Marianska (near the intersection with Spitalska) is open from 11:00 a.m. to midnight.  Movie rental fees are 70 SK for an overnight rental.
• +Library Garden, a summer reading room (area/garden) with newspapers in Old Town: http://www.mestskakniznica.sk/rak.html For a list of reading room's holdings: http://www.mestskakniznica.sk/oznamy/nacrak.xls  A very nice garden with an attendant tending a stand of the most recent editions of 12-15 periodicals.  There is no fee or membership requirement [See www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm]. Enter from corridor next to Cuban restaurant up from Michalska brana on the right.
• Libraries: There are many libraries in the city but they are not all connected to the same system and they charge a relatively modest membership fee.  Several have relatively-small English-language collections. See http://www.mestskakniznica.sk/english.html and http://www.mestskakniznica.sk/sluzby.html.  The +University Library (univerzitna kniznica) on Michalska (the yellow building south of the passage rather than the grey one north of it) has a substantial and well-chosen English-language collection donated by the U.S. embassy when it clsoed its public reading room, and will in some circumstances allow foreigners to register for library cards, charging a not-insubstantial fee (about 200 SKK / 13 EUR) and requiring a picture for preparation of the ID card

 

Communication

Mobile phones

Although some people didn’t have a cell phone at home, they really used it here. Some US calling plans have international options but these become very expensive very quickly.  Getting a number avoids this expense (though calling is often not cheap) and prevents every call to the local pizza parlor from being international call.

 

If you wish to get a local number, the two major networks are Orange and T-Mobile, although with a third, O2 expanding into the market. Which you pick depends on who you plan to call. Calls within network are cheaper, so see which network predominates among your colleagues and friends. There are +T-Mobile, +Orange and +O2 offices on SNP square (see map with "phone" icon) and others in various places around the city.

 

After resolving the question of network, you will need to figure out the mode of phone usage that works best for you:

• If you will be in the country for a long time, 18 months or more, it may be in your interest to purchase a phone plan with a long-term contract.  These often include significant discounts on phones and on calling to others within the network.
• If you are in the country for a shorter time, a cheaper option is probably short-term pay-as-you go SIM cards.  All of the major providers offer this option and you can purchase the cards relatively inexpensively (as little as 300 SKK /10 EUR for a startup) and recharge them at the company offices or, in many cases, at ATM/Bankomats.  None of this requires signing on to a plan, but know that calls to those outside the network can be surprisingly expensive (10-20 SKK / 0.33-0.66 EUR) per minute.  Your phone should tell you how any impulses each call has used so you can plan accordingly.  You generally only pay for calls you make and not for those you receive.

• To make a SIM-card work, you need the appropriate phone.  It is not a given that you can use a SIM card with an American cellphone.  In fact, there are sometimes insurmountable difficulties.  First, the handset you own must be GSM compatible tri-band or quad-band and able to operate on one or both of the frequencies used outside the United States. (currently I believe Cingular/AT&T and T-Mobile are the only U.S. national carriers that use GSM).  The Cingular and T-Mobile Web sites, as well as Telestial’s and others, list the predominant frequencies used in each country, and show if your phone can operate on one or both overseas bands. Your phone also has to be “unblocked” which allows it to make phone calls abroad and also to use a local country sim card.  You may be able to get your phone "unlocked" before you go (normally this requires getting a phone-specific code and instructions from your service provider), you can use the phone in Slovakia simply by buying a new SIM card.  If you do not get it unblocked before leaving, you may be able to do it in Slovakia as a number of kiosks (notably one on the first floor of Tesco near the escalators) promise to unblock phones.  (We cannot vouch for these services, however, as we haven't used them.) 
• An alternative is to buy a local phone. You can buy a phone locally either new or used. Without purchasing a plan, phones are surprisingly expensive, with even used older phones costing at least 1300 SKK (40 EUR) but this may still be a cheaper alternative.

 

If you want to take your newly-active phone to other European countries, there are other complications.  If you buy a plan and want to use your phone in other countries you must have it programmed for roaming and may want to go to a T-Mobile, Orange or O2 office for help with this.  [Assistance courtesy of www.slavstuff.com/tips.htm] 

 

Skype

For many of us, a big question was how we could call friends and family back home. Most of us found that the computer program Skype was the best and certainly cheapest means of communications.  Skype is a small program for your computer which can be downloaded for free at www.skype.com.   Used with a broadband connection to your laptop or compute, it can make calls anywhere in the world for free to other Skype users and for around 2 cents a minute to a cell phone or land line phone. Be sure that you try it out before you come. You do need a headset, with a microphone, but that can be purchased in Slovakia for the equivalent of $5.00 to $10.00. We even used Skype for local calls. Connected to an inexpensive video camera, it can even make video calls back and forth to the U.S., again for about $.02 per minute or free if to the other person also has Skype.   

 

Land lines

Land lines are expensive, cumbersome and difficult to obtain in comparison to mobile phones.

 

Internet

Items marked with "+" are on the on the map marked with wifi/coffee+wifi icons.

If you have cable TV in your apartment you can get unlimited internet from Chello.  We found this an excellent investment.  You may be able to ask your real estate agent to help with the order.  Some have successfully used Chello Classic. The number is 02 594 22 400.  Others were able to have the internet access added to their rent, and the agent handled all of the arrangements. Sometimes Chello requires a one year contract  but had a discount for the first few months.  Slovak Telecom (T-Com) also offers broadband internet.

If you are in town for a shorter time, you should be able to survive on free Wifi in public locations or cafes, see map

• +The hotspot in the square in front of the town hall on Primaciálne námestie (the benches here have become laptop-row) now extending also to the Hlave namestie (main square) 
• +Cafe Scherz on Palisady has excellent free wifi as well as good coffee and food
• +Next Apache Bookstore an Panenska has free wifi (to make it work, click on their link that says "1440 free minutes")
• +Tri-Sti-Ri on Palisady has wifi but it does not work on some newer machines
• Coffee and Co. cafes offer free wi-fi, 
• First Slovak Pub on Obchodná ulica. 
• For a sometimes-functional map of free wi-fi networks in Bratislava, click here.

 

Money and Banking

• Many American credit card companies charge a 3% foreign conversion fee when items are charged overseas.  To avoid this fee, some found ATM cards where the fee was only 1%.  As of 2008, Capital One cards did not charge foreign fees.  Check with your credit card company and bank to see what charges might be. There are automatic teller machines (ATMs) called 'bankomats' throughout Bratislava and any town or village big enough to have a bank.
• Others avoided fees by opening a local bank account and had funds transferred from the U.S. or deposited their funds in the local account
• We strongly recommend that you contact your bank and inform them in writing and in person that you will be living in Central Europe and possibly traveling around the area. Even after doing that several of us had problems with the banks computers arbitrarily deciding that using the ATM in different countries was not a normal or customary use of your account and therefore there was probably fraudulent use of the card. They then freeze your account and you are unable to get any money. It is a good idea to either have money in two accounts (preferably one located in Slovakia) so you have a better chance of accessing the ATM. Alternatively learn the pin number for accessing a cash advance on your credit card. Some countries such as Turkey seem to be particularly subject to problems in using an ATM.  

 

Entertainment

Dining Out

Items marked with "+" are on the on the map marked with the knife and fork icon.

This list is in no order and reflects the personal taste of the responders; prices vary! 

High-end, for the occasional splurge

• Mezzo Mezzo, just off Laurinska
• Kogo, on Hviezdoslavovo Square. good pasta and seafood.
• El Gaucho, an Argentina steak house, on Hviezdoslavovo Square
• +Au Café, in the park, across the Danube from Old Town on Tyrsovo nabrezie. Great food and the best view and ambiance around, It is situated on the Petrzalka side of the Danube river so you have a great view looking across the Danube at the Old City, www.au-cafe.sk
• Golfo dei Poeti, Italian, on Laurinska

Medium priced 

• Malecon, a Cuban restaurant, on the Danube in the Palace where the National Gallery is located. A great bar and restaurant, with occasional live music at night.
• Stefanka, Palisady 59, across from the Presidential Palace
• Casa Degli Angeli, Italian, fresh pasta. On Laurinska, near Sturova.
• Pizza Mizza-  Dobrovicova/Tobrucka—on a side street across from Komenskeho     University, near Marrol’s Hotel, it definitely offers the biggest pizzas in the city.
• Café Zwann- Panska
• Restauracia u Filipa– off main square across from Franciscan Church
• +Chez David, Zámocká 13, Jewish/Mediterranean Food near the Ibis Hotel 
• +Cafe Roland, Hlavne namestie 5, Good food (Slovak and Italian) at a medium range price in the Old City with views looking out onto the Main Square and Roland Fountain. A bit touristy, but good, reasonably priced food, in a beautiful art deco restaurant. 
• +Cafe Verne, Hviezdoslavov namestie, reasonably priced for Hviezdoslavovo nam.

Inexpensive (to the extent that anything in Bratislava is inexpensive these days)

• A Club, Panska.
• +Castum, Obchodna, Good food and portion sizes
• +Slovak Pub, Obchodna, good traditional Slovak food and beer
• Vinoteka Sv. Urbana. A good cellar wine bar, with good wine, cheese and other snacks.
• Vinaren Velki Frantiskane - off main square across from Franciscan Church. Good dinners and live Gypsy music.  
• Cafe Muzeum, especially delicious and well-priced denne menu
• +Govinda, Hari Krishna Restaurant, Obchodna, Inexpensive vegetarian lunches
• +Divný Janko, Jozefská 2, tel: 02/5443 0418, 11am - midnight every day of the week, 99 SKK meals 

Vegetarian

• +Góvinda, Obchodná 30, 811 01 Bratislava, Tel.: 02/ 5296 2366, www.ba.govinda.sk , http://www.govinda.obedovat.sk/, M-F 11:00 - 20:30, Sat 11:30 - 19:30, Sunday closed
• Ashoka, Živnostenská 2, 811 06 Bratislava, Tel.: 02/52444909, 0903/251 850, 0903/460 313, Fax.: 02/44633588, www.ashoka.sk , M-Sat 11:00 - 22:00, Sunday 13:00 - 22:00

Coffee and Sweets

• +Café Mayer. Hlavne namestie 4, Right on the Main Square, a Viennese style coffee shop. The coffee’s a bit weak, but pastries are great. Lots of tourists, but go early in the morning or late in the evening and it’s quiet enough.
• Zero Café Bar, Michalska. A smoke free café, coffee shop and bar, with good pastries and coffee.  ~
• Chocoladovna pod Michalom on Michalska street. A tiny joint with the best hot chocolate in the world. They have about 75 varieties. Eat it with a spoon. You’ll never go back to Nestle’s Quik. Bratislava also makes very good chocolate, Figaros, which can be purchased at any grocery or at a factory outlet store located at Racianska 44. Take the 3 ,5, 7, or 11 tram. 
• +The Café Luculus on Hviezdoslavovo namestie is oddly decorated and a bit more expensive than some others, but it seems to be one of the only places with cone ice cream in winter.  In the summer there are dozens of options. 

 

Movies

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Bratislava used to have a thriving network of large one-screen cinemas.  Many of these have since gone out of business, because they occupied valuable real estate and faced competition from the new multiplexes, so the film offerings seem about the same but more centralized (for good and for bad).  When headed for a film be sure to check whether it is dubbed or subtitled, as only the latter will satisfy a non-Slovak-speaking viewer.  Non-English-language films are also a challenge unless you know the film's original language, since there will be no English at all, except in /rare/ instances. 

• +Charlie Centrum on Spitalska 4, in the basement below an apartment/office complex just north of Tesco offers a somewhat idiosyncratic group of movies, including a seemingly never-ending offering of Monty Python films.and it is cheap and convenient. It's schedule is online at  http://www.istropoliscinema.sk/ 
• +Kino Mladost on Hviezdoslavovo namestie 17, 421 2 54 43 50 00 near the Art Institute shows a lot of indie and art films.
• +Kino Tatra, Nám. 1. maja 5, 811 06 Bratislava, 421 2 592 72 151, near the Presidential Palace also tends to show some decent films. 
• +Film Club Nostalgia, Starohorska ul. 2, 811 07 Bratislava. This club popular with students is located inside assembly hall of Faculty of Engineering of Slovak University of Technologies. Tickets can be booked at reservation line +421 2 5296 171, http://www.nostalgia.sk/

If these do not satisfy, there are the two big multiplexes, one located at the shopping mall at Aupark, the other at the shopping center called Polus City Center

• +Aupark Palace cinema: http://www.palacecinemas.sk/           
• +Polus Shopping Center cinema http://www.istropoliscinemacenter.sk/index.asp 
• Aupark hosts an international film festival in December that may be worth looking out for, http://www.bratislavaguide.com/bratislava-international-film-festival.

 

Opera, Symphony and Ballet

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Want some classical music? Bratislava has an excellent opera and symphony.

• Opera and Ballet schedules are online at www.snd.sk and tickets can be purchased at the box office, which is in a door on the Danube side of the +Historic Opera House on Hviezdoslavovo namestie. They sell tickets to both the Historic Opera House as well as to the new +Opera House on the Danube downstream from the Old Bridge, which just opened in April of 2007 after 20 years of construction.  Tickets, which run upwards of 1000 SKK for tickets purchased well in advance are greatly reduced (as low as 200 SKK) ten days before the performance and then again two days before (as low as 100 SKK). The shows keep rotating. They will perform a different opera or ballet nearly every day of the week, and repeat the cycle every month or so. You can see your favorite ones more than once. 
• The symphony schedule is also online at http://www.filharm.sk/index.php?page=concerts&fornextdays=14  Tickets can be purchased at the symphony hall. Go in the front door, up the stairs and down the hall to a door on your right. Don’t be put off if the lights are off. The box office is still usually open if the door is open.  

 

Art Exhibitions

• While Bratislava rarely attracts any of the major travelling exhibits, it does attract very good smaller exhibits. The website www.artgallery.sk offers some guidance.

 

Folklore

• Folklore exhibits and performances occur regularly in Bratislava.  See the website www.folklor.sk  

 

Popular music

• On Thursday night, there’s a pretty fine Dixieland band—Traditional Club Band—at the Hudbony Music club in Laurianska (next to a place called the Piano Bar that has good beer but never any piano music).  There is soft piano music by Gabriel on Monday and Tuesday nights.  A variety of bands perform on other nights. 
• The Alligator club, in a basement on Laurianska, has more pop/rock/folk music on most nights.  It’s small and crowded and has a younger crowd. 
• Monday nights are free blues—quite good blues too—at Divadlo Storka just two blocks past the main building to Komenskeho University.  Find it.  The place is always crowed and smoky, but the music is great and the crowd covers all ages.  And the beer is cheap! 
• The restaurant Downtown has live jazz every Thursday night.
• Prasna Basta (see list of restaurants) in the Old Town also has very good jazz on occasional Tuesday nights—and the bands play in the outdoor “garden” when the weather is good. 
• The Bastion Club, underneath the big market at Trnavske myto, also has bands on many nights.  But the music there is of quite variable quality.
• Don’t miss the Big Bastard Beat Band whenever they play in town.  They are a lot of fun.  They can often be found at Divadlo F7, next to the Restaurant Woch, just off the main square in Old Town.
• The Presburger Klesmer Band is also excellent and not to be missed.
• Peter Lipa is probably the best jazz musician in Slovakia and worth going out of your way to see.  

 

Spectator sports

• ArtMedia Petrazalka is the best of the local football (soccer) clubs.  They play their home games on Saturday morning, just across the Old Bridge (Stary Most) from Old Town. 
• The Tatra Bank Tennis open takes place in the national tennis center, just one tram stop north of Trnavske Myto.
• Ice hockey is the most popular spectator sport in Bratislava; with the local team, HC Slovan Bratislava, usually doing well in the Slovak national league.  Slovan plays its home games at Samsung Arena on Odbojarov. Tickets to regular season games cost 100 SKK to 200 SKK with prices rising for play-off games.

 

Recreational sports

• Snowboarding and Skiing. There are numerous options for skiing and snowboarding in Slovakia.  But nearly all of them require an overnight stay.  One day trip option for skiing is to Stuhleck ski resort in Austria.  You can drive there in just under two hours.  Or you can take the train.  See the website: http://www.stuhleck.com . The train departs from the Petrazalka Train Station in Bratislava at 6:50 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings and arrives at Stuhleck ski resort in Spital am Semmering  at approximately 10:00 a.m.   The return train leaves Spital am Semmering at 5:00 pm and arrives back in Bratislava at around 8:00 pm. The cost of the tickets is 32 Euro for adults; 29 Euro for students ages 15 to 19; and 16 Euro for students under 15. The ticket includes the train fare, the shuttle to the ski area, and the lift ticket. (Ski rental is extra.)  
• Rock Climbing (indoor), see http://www.lezeckecentrum.sk/  Vertigo, Trenčianska 47, Bratislava, 02/5557 1727.  There are quite a few good outdoor climbing spots in Bratislava itself, including several near the Bratislava castle and Devin castle.

 

News

• A good Slovak news source, in English, is the Slovak Spectator. You can both subscribe on line and or for the paper edition which will be mailed to you. http://www.slovakspectator.sk/

 

Church

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• +Bratislava International Church, sponsored by the Division of Global Mission of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America).  http://www.ecav.sk/intl/english/congregation.htm is an interdenominational group that meets under the auspices of the Lutheran Church, with an American Lutheran pastor. The community here is fantastic and this church in addition to its good spirit is also a good way to make friends. Service is at 9:30 a.m. Sundays. Website: http://www.evangelical.sk
• +Another Protestant church (Cirkev Bratska) is located on Cukrova ulica 4.  It has a rather unimposing entrance, but their service at 10:00 on Sundays has a simultaneous English translation.  When you go in, simply ask for some headphones and someone will help you.

 

Meeting People

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• Interested in the business and economic climate of Slovakia? Try the +American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia, at http://www.amcham.sk/ The AmCham is located in the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
• +International Women’s Club of Bratislava (IWCB): This is a good group that offers friends and lots of contacts in the community. They also have Slovak classes, great parties, and put on a big charity bazaar at the start of the Christmas season. They meet at the Crown Plaza Hotel at 10:00 on Tuesday mornings. Just show up and introduce yourself. See http://www.iwc.sk for more information.  The club also helps sponsor a Friday Play Group. 

 

Kids

Activities

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• +Bibiana: "International Art Center for Children" -- a must-do for children of all ages at www.bibiana.sk.  Changing interactive art and culture exhibits.  Small scale, hands-on. Popular with school groups in the mornings.  A real treasure for the city.  Fun for adults as well.
• +Weekly art classes for small children (2-5) at the Narodna Galeria on the Danube on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:15 a.m.  100 SKK per class per child/family.
• +Weekly Sports Class for small children (ages 1 to 6) at the Deutsche Schule/German School in Bratislava on Mondays at 4.00 p.m.  Palisady 51 but enter around the back on Tolsteho (see map).  Classes are in German but there is not much of a language component and non-German speakers are welcomed, 100 SKK per class per child/family.

Parks

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• +Park behind AuPark Mall --- no shade, but very new and very nice equipment. 
• +Horsky Park -- includes numerous nature trails and a charming play space with a goat, bunnies and a horse.  Buses 203 and 207 take one to Budkova stop, or the 207 to the Ampitheater stop -- take a gentle trail along the creek less than a mile to the playground.
• +Medical Garden Park.  Especially nice for us in late winter and spring.  Good sized play scape, nice gardens.  Bus 208 -  Spitalska Stop.
• +Detska Zahdra -- On the south side of the Danube, north of AuPark Mall.  Best to simply walk across the bridge from the north side and hang immediately East.  Closed in the Winter.  Nicely shaded, charming, good food and drink options -- relaxing for adults.  Set in the larger Sad Janka Krala park --- among the oldest and grandest of Bratislava's parks.
• +Partizanska Luka.  End of the 212 line heading west.  Sprawling, brand new playscapes in a lovely, natural settings.  Beautifully maintained.  Great trails for hiking, and many options for a stroller hike.  There is a lovely, short "tree hike" - do-able for preschoolers, interesting for adults.
• +Palisady/Kozia across from the EU Information Center.  Small, but nice and frequented by the international families of the neighborhood.  Buses 203, 207, 208 all drop off at the Kozia stop.
• +Jakubovo namestie, another neighborhood park.

Indoor Playgrounds

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• +Club Palisady:  In the Maly Kostol neighborhood -- Kozia stop for buses 203, 207, 208.  This is a private play space where one pays per hour for each child.  Small scale, nice toys and equiptment.  A treat for a rainy day, and a good place to meet other parents. 50 SKK per child per hour (if money is a question, pay attention to the clock because any time over 1 hour is counted as 2.)
• +Palace Mall "Time Out" Play space:  Tram 2 or 4 gets you to the mall.  A larger version of the above.  50 SKK per child per hour.

Babysitter Service

• Nikea, Panenska 7, 811 03 Bratislava, tel: 0254643232

Doctors

• See peditricians below under Medical

Schools

Schools are a difficult topic and one to which this page (or another) will need to devote considerable resources.  English language school options tend to be expensive and distant from the center of town. 

 

Medical Needs

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Emergency

• +First Aid Station (doctor on call) in Bratislava, Hranicna 2, tel: same as above, and transportation to hospital: 4342 5451, 5341 7480, or 5341 7483 (24 hrs service)
• Medical Emergency:  Rescue Squad, Ambulance tel:  112 or 155 

Main Hospitals and Clinics in Bratislava  (24 hrs service):

• +Nemocnica s poliklinikou Ruzinov, Ruzinovska 6, tel:  4823 4113 4823 4114
• +Nemocnica s poliklinikou akademika Ladislava Derera (Kramare hospital), Limbova 5, tel:  5954 1111 , 5477 3791, 5477 3768        
• Nemocnica s poliklinikou Podunajske Biskupice Krajinska 91, tel:  4025 1111  (MUDr. Capova,  4025 1235)
• Fakultna nemocnica, Mickiewiczova 13, tel:  5729 0111
• NsP sv. Cyrila a Metoda Petržalka, Antolská 11, 851 07 Bratislava, tel: +421-2-686 71 111, 686 72 688 ,686 72 672 , 686 72 361, Fax:    +421-2-6381 1218, E-mail: paskan@npba.sk
• +Nemocnica s poliklinikou Milosrdni Bratia, SNP 10, tel:  5788 7111
• +Nemocnica s poliklinikou Petrzalka Sustekova 2, tel:  6231 7000, or 6241 1233
• Private Medical Center MEDIFERA, Sturova 12, tel: 5720 0911

Pediatricians 

• +Dr. Katarina Simovicova served our children well.  She speaks good English, has reasonably good equipment and staff and a waiting room with kids toys, centrally located in Bratislava, Mytna 5,  http://www.vasalekarka.sk, k.simovicova@slovanet.sk, Tel: 421-5249 1435,

Dentists

• +Andrea Horska, a young, English speaking dentist who has good, modern equipment and is a very nice person. She is reasonably priced and seems to be an excellent dentist.  Dental Studio J+O s.r.o., Zahradnicka 64, tel. 5556-4571. Email: dental.studio@stonline.sk 

Opticians

• +Ocna Optika at Grosslingova 12. The doctor (an ophthalmologist) speaks English, but his staff doesn’t, so go there in person and they will summon him for you. He is booked up about 3 weeks in advance, so plan ahead.

 

Other Services

Hair

• Call Karin Dinusova at 0905-212-047. She speaks good English and is very friendly. Cuts men and women’s hair, and will gladly select a nice shade of Slovak red for you. Address is Sokolska 8. Karin’s business is rather difficult to find. You need to contact her for directions.
• +Revolution Hair salon in the Tatra Bank Building across from the Presidential Palace.  Enter from within the building (where Billa is located) or from the back, lower level outside.

 

Offices

 

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Foreign Police-Oddelenie cudzineckej polície

+Hrobakova 44 (see map for shortcut)

Applicants must get numbers from machine (staffed at opening by attendant).  Lines begin forming before 5am and those wishing to be seen before 10am or 11am should arrive extremely early, at least 6am and earlier if possible.  Extended family networks of some applicants mean that even if you are the 10th in line you may get number 20 or 30.  There is a coffee machine (so bring coins) and a few places to sit.  Clerks for the most part do not speak English (or do not acknowledge it if they do) so come prepared to work in Slovak.  Bring every possible document you might need.  See: http://www.bratislavskenoviny.sk/7485/kde-vybavit/oddelenie-cudzineckej-policie

Opening Hours (in theory):

• Monday, 7:30-12.00, 13.00-15.00
• Wednesday, 7:30-12.00, 13.00-17.30
• Friday, 7:30-12.00

Fulbright Association

Fulbright provides grants to Slovaks who wish to study in the US and to US citizens who wish to study in Slovakia.  They can be found here: http://www.fulbright.sk/

+Levická 3, 821 08 Bratislava , Ph.: ++4212/5542 5606, Fax : ++4212/5557 7491, e-mail: office@fulbright.gov.sk

 

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