After challenging couple of days we finally arrived in Slovakia on Friday. We left home at 3 AM to arrive in Bratislava at lunchtime. We had a lunch date with our friends, but we also had a bit of time to explore the old town and enjoy the atmosphere of the Christmas market there. It was a long drive and we were tired, but we were still excited to be back in Slovakia.
I haven't been to the Christmas market in Bratislava before and I was honestly surprised to see how well it was organized. The organizers kept some traditional elements which was great as even though it is a commercial event it was somehow genuine as well.
Let's have a look!
We started our tour at Hviezdoslavovo námestie, right in front of the old theatre. There was a large elegant Christmas tree in the middle of the square. It looked like it was a meeting point too as we saw many groups gathering next to it. There were also groups of school classes that took turns and the kids sat underneath the Christmas tree for group photos.
The rest of the square was full of stands where people enjoyed their food and drinks.
From there we continued to Hlavné námestie or the Main square where we were welcomed by the statue of Schöne Náci. It's a life-sized statue of a beloved Pressburg's (this is how Bratislava was called in the past) resident called Ignác Lamár. Ignác was a kind man from a poor shoemaker family. Often, he didn't have money to buy food, but he always made sure to dress properly and spread smiles in the streets of Bratislava. He was famous for taking off his hat and bowing in front of ladies. He greeted them with Ruky bozkávam which translates to I kiss your hands. This is how gentlemen greeted ladies in the past. The smiling statue was created in his memory so that he can keep spreading smiles forever.
Hlavné námestie was full of Christmas stalls. I was surprised to see that there were not so many stalls with traditional arts and crafts, but their focus was on food. There was so much food and drinks! In Switzerland, we could count the types of mulled wine on one hand, and in Bratislava we saw at least twenty. One of them was called 'liquid jumper' - whatever that means 😊
It looked like a cute Christmas village...
Right in front of The Old Town Hall was this beautiful Christmas tree. I liked that its decoration was rather simple with some lights and traditional Slovak ornaments painted on wood.
As this part of the Christmas market focused on food there were many covered stands for food and drinks around the main square. We were surprised to see how clean it all was. There were many people walking around and collecting trash, and there were also several stations where you could separate your trash. There was always somebody who could help you with the separation if you were not sure. It was greatly organized.
It was almost lunchtime and more and more people were coming...
It was also not too cold, so it was a great time to meet friends outside.
After Christmas, the tree will be sent to the local zoo to feed animals.
We continued to Primaciálny palác or The Primate's Palace which is only a few steps away from the main square, and the atmosphere there was very different. It was called The cosy zone and it focused on people who don't like crowds, but still want to enjoy the atmosphere of the Christmas market. You can get your food and drink at the main square, and come here to enjoy it away from the crowds. What a great idea!
We also walked through The Christmas Forest which is an amazing project organized by the city. The trees are decorated with handmade ornaments by children from local elementary, art and special schools, and later donated to various charitable institutions or families that cannot afford one. The visitors can vote which tree should be donated where.
Then we walked to Františkánske námestie or The Franciscan Square where the concerts of new artists and literal events are organized. There is a program for the entire holidays season and you can join whichever event you like for free. There are also readings from children's book and as the drinks are sold only a couple of steps away I can imagine that many families are using this opportunity. Kids enjoy the reading and their parents can enjoy some mulled wine.
There is a 'cloudy' platform for the performing artists...
All trees are decorated with the fairy lights. It must be so pretty at night.
Let's walk around a bit more before going for lunch...
It looks like it was the evening already, but it only became temporarily dark because of the dark clouds...
Good food, Christmas carols, lots of chatter - the only thing missing was a bit of snow...
We met our friends in Brixton which is one of the coolest restaurants that we have ever visited. There are various 'rooms', and you can either go for lunch or simply enjoy a drink after work.
Each part looks like a different restaurant...
Or a trendy living room...
We took the brunch menu which included this delicious avocado toast with chips from purple potatoes. It was yum!
We spent about 2 hours with our friends, and then we had to leave as we had a few more hours of driving ahead of us.
The Christmas market in Bratislava might not be as popular as Christmas markets in other European cities, but it is definitely worth a visit. There are various stands across the old town, so it doesn't get too crowded, and I'm sure that everyone will find something to enjoy there.
See you next time!
Jsem rád, že jste se v pořádku dostali na Slovensko (v zimě to cestování autem bývá všelijaké) a přeju klidné a příjemné svátky strávené v rodinném kruhu ;) Zastávka v Blavě se zjevně vydařila, vánoční trhy tam mají fakt pěkné! Určitě bych si je užil víc než ty natřískané ve Vídni, Drážďanech apod. I v Praze bývá na Vánoce hlava na hlavě a v Krakowě to asi normálně bývá taky tak (za covidu jsme si ale užili úžasný vánoční Krakow úplně bez lidí - tady pár vzpomínkových fotek z centra, že nekecám :D ;)
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Prekvapivo sa nám tam veľmi páčilo. Bratislava sa v posledných rokov veľmi snaží 😊 A ako vravíš, človek si to užije omnoho viac ako keď je tam hlava na hlave. V Krakowe som na Vianoce ešte nebola, ale počula som, že je to tam tiež pekné. No nie všetko počas Covidu bolo zlé 😉 Takéto prázdne ulice sa mi veľmi páčia 😁
Držím palce, nech si počas sviatkov stihnete aj trošku oddýchnuť 😊 Veľa šťastia dnes u doktorov, snáď je všetko v poriadku 😊
What a beautiful, clean, and well-organized market. I personally liked the Christmas tree project done by the kids, it's actually a good way to showcase the creativity of the kids. The story of the statue kinda made me emotional, it's a heart-touching story though. The restaurant atmosphere looks very cozy and nice... Thanks for sharing such a great market and restaurant with us...
It's a beautiful market, and I didn't expect that Bratislava did it so thoughtfully. Everyone can find something there, and we also loved that it was so clean.
Thank you for stopping by and I wish you a lovely Thursday! 😊
Yes cleanliness really amazed me...Have a good week...
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Lovely. A Christmas Market looks like something I would like to do someday.
Don't you have them in the US at all?
Maybe? I have never been to one. I would think that if anywhere the east coast would be most likely.
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Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Your post has been manually curated by the @pinmapple team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!For a 'not be as popular' Christmas market, it looks fantastic
I think it's not so popular as it doesn't have such a long tradition as let's say markets in Dresden, Koln, or Vienna, but I'm afraid that in a few years it will be as crowded in Bratislava as it is in other big cities..
These photos are wonderful :) I feel like it's so much more organized and clean than what happens in my town in Jersey. Around here there's kids in mud and rain and crowds hanging outside of bars ... and lots of traffic
The market in Bratislava is organized in the old town which is car free zone. It's great as it feels safe. Also, the city invested lots of resources in this market and they did a great job. I haven't seen a Christmas market with a cosy zone and trash segregation before 😁
Thank you for stopping by!