The two cities are surprisingly close to each other so make a perfect long weekend break which is guaranteed to keep you busy. Vienna is a lot more expensive for an average tourist which is another reason why this combo makes sense. You can stay in Bratislava very cheaply and hop over to Vienna for a day’s sightseeing. You also have the two airports to play with so more opportunities to get a bargain flight. We opted for a flight to/from Vienna and then used the shuttle bus which connects both airports to get to Bratislava city centre. We didn’t book the bus and while this wasn’t a problem when we arrived (the bus was empty) on the way back the bus was full and we ended up having to get a cab to Vienna airport, lesson learned! If you book the shuttle online, it can be as little as 5 euros!
Bratislava is a fairly small city and most things can be seen on foot. The Old Town area is full of bars & restaurants and makes for a nice stroll through historic streets.
After that you can make your way up the Castle hill. It’s not a strenuous walk and you are rewarded with some great views on the way.
While walking up the Castle Hill you will notice the strange looking tower on the other side of the river, it’s the UFO viewing deck. We paid it a visit out of curiosity (you need to pay to go up, about 6 or 7 euros from what I remember). The lift going up is a bit of an experience as it goes up slightly sideways! There is a nice restaurant and the viewing platform and overall it is worth popping in for a few panoramic shots of the castle.
Another thing to do which we enjoyed was to hire bikes and go cycling for the day. Bratislava has a great network of cycling paths and we opted in to cycle along the river to the Danubiana museum. It was a great day out and the bonus is that you can stop in numerous bars along the path and sample some excellent local beer! Bike rental was about 15 euros for the day.
We set a day aside to visit Vienna and getting there was super easy. There is a regular train service between the two cities and within the hour you can be in Vienna for as little as 6 euros. The train station is a little far from the main attractions and we decided to use Lime scooters for any inside the city transport and it worked very well.
Vienna is famous for museums and there is a long list of those you should visit for sure. The Hofburg is definitely top of the list. It is the former palace of the Habsburg dynasty rulers and today serves as the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria.
The Museum Quarter is a great place for a walk and rest too. It also houses the Leopold Museum which can be a nice break from classic art as the museum has the largest Austrian modern art collections.
No visit to Vienna can be complete without the obligatory slice of cake in one of the old fashioned cafes. We opted in for Cafe Landtmann and we not disappointed. Yes, it does look a little posh and it is pricey but it’s a nice experience and you get to eat cake so it’s worth it! If you still have space for food you should have a Viennese schnitzel. It’s so tasty and also enormous that you won’t be disappointed! We had it at Figlmüller and although we had to queue up it was worth it! https://figlmueller.at/en/wollzeile/
Our final stop in Vienna was Hundertwasser House which is an expressionist apartment block and stands out hugely in the very classical looking city. It’s a fun piece of architecture and it’s worth stopping there for a quick photo.
