Slovakia Travel Guide: Capital, Map and Things to Do

Slovakia is in the Schengen Area, so the same entry rules apply as for Austria and the rest of Schengen; check your own passport's requirements before you go. There are no border checks between Vienna and Bratislava, but ID checks can happen on trains, so carry your passport.

Slovakia is located in Central Europe and has no coastline; its capital is Bratislava. It has five neighbours: Czechia to the northwest, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south and Austria to the southwest.

Bratislava lies at the western end of the country on the Danube, with the Austrian and Hungarian borders just outside the city. The map above marks where we went.

• Currency: Slovakia's money is the euro, the same as Austria; nothing to change when you come from Vienna.
• Time: Central European Time, the same as Vienna; clocks go forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October.
• Language: the official language is Slovak, a Slavic language very close to Czech (official info, 24 October 2026).
• Plugs: types C and E, 230 volts.

In the morning we had croissants and coffee at Café Mayer on the Main Square; the croissant was genuinely good. At lunch, at the highly recommended Slovak Pub, we ordered garlic soup in a bread bowl, goulash and a plate of three traditional dishes, with the pub's dark beer. The goulash and the beer were good; honestly, the rest of Slovak cooking didn't win us over, but try it yourself, you might love it.

Some traditional plates come with bacon, including bryndzové halušky (often written haluski), Slovakia's national dish of potato dumplings with sheep's cheese, so ask if you don't eat pork. More in the food section of our Bratislava guide .

Most visitors arrive via Vienna: Vienna International Airport has far more flights, and the REX train from Vienna to Bratislava takes about an hour, with two departures an hour (official info, October 2026). That's how we came, early in the morning.

From March to November the Twin City Liner boat sails down the Danube from Vienna in about 75 minutes (official info, October 2026). Slovakia's main airport is in Bratislava (BTS), with far fewer routes than Vienna; the second largest is in Košice, in the east.

Train, boat and bus options are all in the getting there section of our Bratislava guide .

Bratislava is the city we explored in Slovakia, on foot from 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon. Give it a full day if you can and you'll see it comfortably.

• The Old Town and Hviezdoslav Square: the Main Square, leafy Hviezdoslav Square and the old St. Martin pharmacy shop, still fitted out like an apothecary. See the card in our guide .
• St. Martin's Cathedral: a Gothic nave and a crypt you see through a glass floor; it closes over lunch. Opening hours in our guide .
• Slavín and the Slovak Radio building: the war memorial on the hill and the upside-down pyramid of the radio building. The Slavín card .
• Bratislava Castle: on the hill above the Danube, with its courtyard and baroque garden; we didn't go into the museum. Hours and tickets in our guide .

We didn't make it to Devín Castle, west of Bratislava where the Morava meets the Danube; boats run there from the city. We haven't been to Košice, Slovakia's second-largest city, the High Tatras mountains or the castles further east either.

Is Slovakia safe? On our day in Bratislava the Old Town felt relaxed and easy to walk; just keep the usual eye on your bag in crowds, such as at the Christmas market.

We didn't stay overnight in Slovakia; we based ourselves in Vienna and came for the day. For a night in Bratislava, the Old Town, Staré Mesto, is the right area; on a budget, Petržalka across the Danube; for trains, the main station area. All five areas, the 5-star hotels and where to stay at Christmas are in our guide on where to stay in Bratislava .

Bratislava Christmas (Bratislavské Vianoce) runs from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027; the main Christmas market opens on 26 November 2026 and fills the Main Square, Hlavné námestie, and the neighbouring Františkánske and Primaciálne squares (official info, 24 October 2026).

Opening hours haven't been published yet. Dates can change; check the market's official page  before you go. We haven't been to Bratislava at Christmas ourselves. Slovakia's weather is continental, warm in summer and cold in winter, so bring a warm coat for the market evenings.