Reasons of the month · abril

What to do in Bratislava in abril

The editorial plan

Why Bratislava in abril

Slovak Easter revives oblievačka: on Easter Monday men sprinkle women with water and gently 'whip' them with a woven willow korbáč for good luck, and the Main Square markets fill with kraslice (painted eggs).

Devín Castle reopens for the season on April 1 — you climb the ruins above the Danube-Morava confluence, once the edge of the Iron Curtain.

With 15-18°C and the Old Town trees in bloom, it's the sweetest time to walk the city cold-free before high season.

Sources

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_in_Slovakia

Same place, another month

Bratislava is worth visiting other months too

enero

Ball season kicks off: the second weekend of January opens the plesová sezóna with the grand ball at the Slovak National Theatre, a Viennese legacy of waltz and evening gowns.

febrero

Fašiangy, the Slovak carnival, takes over Main Square on February 7: a masked parade from Hlavné námestie to Hviezdoslavovo and šišky (fried doughnuts) everywhere.

marzo

In Slovakia March is the 'month of books' (mesiac knihy), a tradition alive since 1955: the Old Town's bookshops and libraries fill the calendar with readings and discounts.

mayo

The Night of Museums and Galleries (Noc múzeí a galérií) opens dozens of museums until dawn in mid-May, all on a single citywide ticket.

junio

The Bratislava Cultural Summer (Bratislavské kultúrne leto) kicks off: from June 18, open-air concerts, summer cinema and the Summer Shakespeare in the castle courtyard.

julio

The Coronation Days (Korunovačné dni) fill the Old Town in late July: over 200 costumed actors reenact the crowning of Hungarian kings, with a procession and a knights' tournament — Bratislava (Pressburg) crowned 19 monarchs between 1563 and 1830.

agosto

August 29 is a national holiday for the 1944 Slovak National Uprising (SNP) — solemn ceremonies, flags and commemorations of the country's key anti-fascist chapter.

septiembre

The Small Carpathian grape harvests (vinobranie) fill Pezinok and Modra, half an hour away, with burčiak (young must), allegorical parades and hundreds of stalls — the region's wine festival.

octubre

Biela noc (White Night) lights up the Old Town in early October with over 50 contemporary-art installations, from 7pm to midnight.

noviembre

The Open Cellars Day (Deň otvorených pivníc) on the Small Carpathian Wine Route opens over 120 cellars from Bratislava to Trnava in mid-November on a single ticket.

diciembre

The Christmas markets on Hlavné námestie and Hviezdoslavovo (November 28 to January 6) smell of grilled cigánska pečienka, hot varené víno and medovina, the Slovak honey liquor.

Year at a glance