Tonic Trek: Bratislava

Bratislava is the only national capital that borders two independent countries (Austria and Hungary), and the 37 miles between it and Vienna make them the two closest capitals in all of Europe. Naturally, this makes Bratislava an easy addition to any Central Europe tour.

Bratislava historically reached its peak of influence under the Habsburg Monarchy between 1536 and 1783 when it served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, this legacy manifests as a city that balances classic architecture and modern buildings. The majority of the medieval towers and royal buildings are found in the Old Town area, which is where most of the major attractions are located. If you are coming to the city for tourism, you absolutely need to find a hotel or hostel as close as possible to the city's historic center.

If you visit the capital, the most important cultural sites are the castle (for the views), the Old Town squares, Michael's Gate and St. Martin's Cathedral, while I also highly recommend a visit to the UFO tower where you can have dinner, drinks or just stand on the roof and enjoy a gorgeous sunset over the Danube River. If you like a good view, there's also a TV Tower with a rotating restaurant.

Ultimately, you can visit all these sights in a full day, so for travelers hitting multiple cities, I would suggest staying just one night in Bratislava, which is what I did. The city is also so close to Vienna that, when I stayed in the Austrian capital, I saw lots of people make day trips via boat, train or bus to the Slovak city. If you do stay several days, though, you should also consider visiting the Devín Castle, the Rusovce mansion, the Little Carpathians, Bratislava Forest Park, the Botanical Gardens and nearby Cunovo for some wet 'n' wild river adventures.

Despite what you might have seen in the "Hostel" films, Slovakia is a wonderful country with a gorgeous capital, though Bratislava is a smaller city that can be covered in just a day or two of travel.