The capital of Slovakia, Bratlislava is a charming city of 600,000 on the banks of the Danube river, located between Vienna and Budapest. Bratislava’s historic center is on the left bank of the river, with its maze-like streets, hilltop Castle, and impressive grounds of the capital area. There are also some nice spots across the river in Petržalka. The four bridges (MOST=Bridge) between the left and right banks are Apollo Bridge, Starý (Old Bridge), Novy (SNP) Bridge, and Lafranconi. There’s wonderful running in Bratislava, owing to lovely river paths, numerous parks, lakes, and forest lands of the little Carpathians right at the city’s doorstep. If you’d like to have an in-person guided running experience in Bratislava, we highly recommend our friends at Go! Running Tours.
The best places to run in Bratislava center around the Danube, including 10 km of paths on the left and right banks right in the city and extensive paths heading south along the river in dammed areas. There are also several lovely lakes with running paths, including Kuchajda and Draždiak lakes. Great parks for running are Orchard Park and Horský Park. There are two extensive preserves with a variety of trails close to the city center: the ‘urban forest’ of Železná Studnička, and the popular spot of Kamzík mountain. We’ve also put together an enjoyable ‘runseeing’ tour of Bratislava.
Most of our routes are accessible via Bratislava’s solid transport system, the MHD, which consists of buses, trams, and trolleybuses.