What is there to see and do in Bratislava, Nitra, Trnava, and Banska Bystrica, Slovakia?

Answer 1

Funny you should ask that question, because I'm going to Bratislava tomorrow, which isn't hard for me, because I've moved to Prague.

Banská Bystrica is in central Slovakia. Banská Bystrica is the most important historical, cultural and economic center of central Slovakia. As you can see from the photos, it's a pretty town.

Trnava.... maybe not so much to see. Check for youself. Every town has their own website. Just put the town name into a Yahoo or Google search. For photos in the websites, look for "fotografie", and for signseeing, look for "pamiatky".

Bratislava has a beautiful (but small) Old Town center. Unless you want to take panoramic photos, or like the hike, don't make too much of an effort to go up to the castle that overlooks the town. At some point, I think the Communists ruined it. It's just very plain looking; nothing of visual interest.

But Bratislava's Old Town center is magnificent. If I had extra cash, I'd buy an apartment there for weekend getaways. Start your trip at the street that goes up from the SAS Radisson Hotel (formerly the Carlton). That's the main street, and you'll find some beautiful stores, churches, and other historical sights.

Make sure you take a walk across the "UFO Bridge". No need to explain this one..... you'll see it! It's very close to the Hotel Danube, the Hotel Devin, and the SAS Radisson. The top of the UFO turns, and there is a restaurant there.

Right next to the SAS Radisson is the National Theatre. Take a look inside. It's a smaller version of an identical building in Paris.

Make sure you try a Slovak soda called VINEA. It's better than Sprite.

Nitra, on the other hand, has a beautiful castle. Outside the city are beautiful forests.

Just read the websites below. Most have English versions.

Answer 2

ok, there's a lot to do in slovakia, but you really don't need any more then a day to see bratislava, and even less for the other towns.

i used to live in trnava, it has a ridiculous ammount of cathedrals and churches for such a small town. there's a main shopping street with plenty of stores and shops. that leads you to the main square, which is really nice. then theres a whole bunch of small windy roads that are nice to walk on and check out the buildings.

i'm living in bratislava now, and you should really just stick to stare mesto (old city). there's plenty to do there, and besides that area, and a couple of small exceptions, there's nothing too special around. just go to wikipedia or do a google search for bratislava, and you'll get plenty of info. presidential palace, national theatre, old town square, nove most, michaels gate are a few of the highlights.

banska bystrica is really cool, and there's a whole lot less tourists. but again you just want to stick to the historical section. snp square and the surroundings will offer u plenty to see. also, banska stiavnica is 30-45 minutes away and is my favorite slovak town for walking around in.

i keep saying to stick to the historical parts because unfortunately most slovak cities are set up with a beautiful center, and then ringed by ugly, blocky, soviet style apartment buildings. if you're from the usa, they look like the housing projects that became very popular in the 80's (but not dangerous like that).

other places you can try if u have a car, or don't mind taking trains and buses, would be bojnice, kosice, trencin, and zilina.

have fun!

Answer 3

I heard that there a lot of torture-for-money outfits in that area...