Every Season a Good Reason
Spring in Bratislava is full of markets, summer is lively with culture and festivals, autumn is charcteristic by wine events and winter is full of Christmas markets and cozy winterland atmosphere.
Spring
Bratislava is a green city, an extensive area of which is covered by parks and especially woodlands, forests and vineyards. They all reach almost into the city centre. Half of Bratislava is flat and the other half is hilly. These halves even have different climates. Come the end of March, whilst the forests, ten minutes from the city centre, are still covered in snow, the lowland plains are blooming with spring flowers. The presence of woods and forests on one side and the Danube with its floodplain forests (a national park) on the other side provide this city with an exceptional quality of life. In spring, try canoeing on the quiet banks of the Danube or go paddling through flooded lowland forests and islands, just like on the Amazon.
Summer
Bratislava’s summer season offers a lot even to those for whom passive viewing of monuments or tasting of wine and local specialties is not enough. Events within the Bratislava Cultural Summer take place from mid-June to mid-September. During them, the streets of the city come alive with international festivals, street theaters, smaller concerts and a traditional fair where artisans sell their products. Many of them will be happy to show you how they can be made.
Autumn
Between September and November, it gradually cools down, the crowds of tourists thin out, and the beginning of the vintage in the Little Carpathians brings a lot of wine festivals. For visitors who venture outside the sights in the historic center, they offer a great opportunity to experience the locals in a natural setting as they go about their day-to-day business, something they would be hard pressed to experience during the busy summer season.
Winter
In winter, you can even ski on the outskirts of the city in a mini ski-slope of Koliba or put on your cross-country skis and explore tens of kilometres of prepared trails in beautiful countryside. In summer, you can get on a bike by the Danube and, within thirty minutes, be in a raft with your friends trying white water rafting in one of the best water-sports centres in Europe.
