BASIC TOURS
1. Bratislava – The Fast Track (up to 2 hour) – You’ll see approximately 15 sights, which do not include the Castle, basically the shorter version of the following The Inside Track.
Departures: flexible, day and evening
Mode: walking, easy (no climbing)
2. Bratislava – The Inside Track (3 hours) – You’ll see more than 30 major sights in and near the historic Old Town and hear not only the main story, but little-known details and secrets, too. You will learn why Bratislava (Pressburg) was for long period the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom and the coronation city. You will not miss a statue with a quirky story – ones with infectious smiles, another that looks up your pantleg or skirt (and if you want to come back to Bratislava – just touch its head), others on a fountain that shows what animals lived in the “Blue Danube”, and a modernist church decorated to look like a blue cake. You’ll learn why the Cathedral has a crown, instead of a cross on top, and why an old palace was topped by a black hat. Includes the Castle and much more.
Departures: flexible, day and evening
Mode: walking, including some steep hills. Easy except the 10 minutes walk up to the Castle. If you choose to skip the uphill climb, you can wait for us in a café or bar at the foot of the hill
SPECIAL INTEREST TOURS
3. Food tour – taste local dishes (up to 3 hours) – Learn about typical local dishes and get recommendations on restaurants, wine bars, beer pubs, coffeehouses, home-made pastry shops, old fashion grocery shop that we will walk by. You visit like 4 different establishments, in one of them you to try an aperitif – the typical local drink, in the restaurant you eat 2 typical dishes accompanied by a beer or non-alcoholic drink and you end up enjoying a cake with the typical espresso coffee.
Departures: 1pm-5pm
Mode: walking, easy
Note: Food, snacks and any beverages are extra
4. Bratislava Wine tour (up to 3 hours) – Find out the history of the vineyards of Bratislava that goes back more than 2 thousand years and walk by the Museum of Wine and Wine-Growing, Learn about typical local dishes and get recommendations on restaurants and wine bars that we will walk by. Try a local appetizer and cheese, end up tasting 5 samples of local wine in a wine bar.
Departures: 10am to 7pm, except Sundays and official holidays
Mode: walking, easy
Note: Food, snacks and any beverages are extra
5. Bratislava Beer tour (up to 3 hours) – You’ll learn about typical Slovak food and get recommendations on restaurants and pubs that we walk by. You visit 3 microbreweries and end the tour in one of them, sampling the suds – and the first beer’s on me!
Departures: 10am to 7pm
Mode: walking, easy
Note: Food, snacks and any extra beverages beyond the first beer and small snack are extra.
6. Bratislava Fresh (up to 3 hours) – Visit either the open market (warm weather) or indoor market hall (cooler weather). You will see produce and dairy products for sale in the market, smell the delicious aroma of typical Slovak fresh potato pancakes with a touch of garlic coming from the kiosk, learn how Bratislava nut roll differs from Bratislava poppy seed roll, what local wine is popular there and much more. Authentic sights, sounds, aromas, and if you want you can sample some of the food and drink!
Departures: 8am-1pm (these are the market hours), closed on Sundays
Mode: walking and public transportation, easy
7. Bratislava Antique Shopping (up to 3 hours) – You’ll visit 5 of the antique shops and/or pawnshops – they’re great places to find deals on antiques.
Departures: for antique shops: Monday through Friday: 10am to 2pm;
Mode: walking, easy
Note: Most antique stores do not ship overseas, so I recommend you buy something small that you can carry in your suitcase. By law, artifacts of Cultural Value can only be exported if permission is granted by the Ministry of Culture.
8. Bratislava Quirky Museums & Gallery (up to 3 hours) – Yes, we have excellent art museums, but there are 2 unusual ones unlike any you’ve ever seen: Museum of Wine and Wine-Growing ; the Clock Museum in the charming and narrowest Rococo building in the city and the Gallery, formed Archbishop Palace turned into the Gallery showing how the families lived in the 18th century.
Departures: Tuesday through Sunday (except official holidays): 10am to 3pm
Mode: walking, easy
Note: Add approx. 14€ per person – general admission fees for all three museums.
9. Bratislava – Castle of Devín (3 hours). Visit ruins of Devín Castle, full of history, half an hour by bus from the historical center of Bratislava and few meters from the Austrian border. From the top you can contemplate the beautiful view of the confluence of two rivers and see the magnificent landscape of its surroundings. You will find out why Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its destruction, why Devín Castle is a true Slovak symbol, where its name came from, what novel Jules Verne wrote after he visited it, what movies were filmed there. Finalizing our tour you visit the nearby Iron Curtain Monument inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II and you find out what the secret services of the communist regime were concerned about.
Departures: 9:30am – 1pm (closed on Mondays and public holidays)
Mode: Walking and public transportation, medium difficulty (walking uphill).
Note: Add approx. 9€ per person (for public transportation and the Castle entrance fee.
PRIVATE TOUR CUSTOM-TAILORED JUST FOR YOU
10. Bratislava Your Way (min. of 2 hours, max. of 10 hours) – I can accompany you whenever and wherever you want to go in the city. We can go shopping, visit galleries, the botanical garden, a cruise on the Danube, walk in the city forest park, go to music venues or nightclubs. Or we can just sit and chat over coffee, wine, beer or a meal and I can answer all your questions about life in Bratislava and Slovakia. Would you like a special visit to the historical building of the Slovak National Theater, or perhaps the beautifully renovated building of the Slovak Philharmonic, or the famous Danubiana modern art museum on the Danube peninsula just outside the city? This custom tour is totally flexible in terms of departure and days of the week. The price will be quoted after you tell me what you would like to see and do.
Note: No extras included.
BEYOND BRATISLAVA
11. Historic city of Trnava (5 to 6 hours) – Sometimes called “the Slovak Rome” because of its many churches, Trnava is located 39 miles northeast of Bratislava, approximately 45 minutes by train. Trnava’ s city walls, originally built 700 years ago, were reinforced and strengthened when the Turks occupied nearby Hungary in the 16th century. There is a lovely pedestrian area, a painting that sheds tears of blood when danger approaches, a museum of the Dopyer brothers, who invented the famous Dobro guitar. We will also see the beautiful coffee house which was once the orthodox synagogue. Climb the 17th century Municipal Tower, which has a clock that has been wound every day by five generations of the same family with, and you will learn why the statue on the top faces both sides of the city.
Departures: 9:30 am
Mode: train, public transportation and walking. Easy, with the exception of the 144 steps in the Municipal Tower, which requires moderate effort. It’s worth the climb to see the panoramic view at the top. If you’d rather skip climbing all those stairs, there’s a coffeehouse where you can wait for us.
Note: Add approx. 8€ per person for public and train transportation & 4€ entrance fee for tower. Any other admission fees, food and beverages are not included.
Note:
No audio/video recording of the tour unless you ask me first!
Prices are subject to change without notice. Please contact me to confirm.
The time frame of tours is approximate.