Firstly- this is NOT a tourist town! Even the offical guide stretches it to suggest that a walking tour of all the major sites may take as long as 5 hours including coffee breaks. We were there for 3 days and resorted to comparing shopping centres. The Old Town is beautiful and being gradual restored. All the streets can be walked, without traffic, in around 2 hours. Having done that, do it again slowly. We did it the second time in the pouring rain and, to be honest, it was totally breathtaking with the reflections and effective lighting.

Bratislava Castle. Mmm.. Not a lot to see on a cold, wet October. The rather brutal architecture of the 20th C. castle reflected perfectly in the facial expressions and attitude of the ticket lady and coffee shop staff. As with the majority of public buildings that we found, the interiors belay the plain concrete lines of the outside. The staircase inside the main entrance is beautiful - it's just before the ticket lady blocking the way with a line of chairs and helpful grimace straight from Siberia. The Maria Kristina café is charming inside with a latte at 70SSK and pancakes at 60ssk. The hot chocolate here is genuinely an experience .. Real melted chocolate ...mmm! Take a table swiftly - the staff stand at attention next to you as soon as you arrive !

Entry to the castle is only 100ssk and there is a rather nice souvenir shop on the right of the ramp going in.

Coffe&Go in the Old Town is very good, with free wifi if you ask for a password at the till.

On a wet day in Bratislava there is not a lot to do after the castle and cathedral , so we tried shopping ... Ouch! The Polus Shopping Center not worth the effort. Banks, shoe shops and fashion shops in equal measure with a very poor food court. Has a very large Carrefore which is dirty and untidy with loose floor tiles and not even the organization of Tescos to recommend it. Incredible to discover that shoes (well my wife has to spend her Koruny on something ..) were more expensive than at home. Most other prices (iPods, CD's) are the same. Food is much cheaper. Tesco sell the same stuff in Bratislava for half the price at home.. and that's after exporting it

Far better as a shopping centre is Aupark. A very short hop across the bridge by many buses . 100's of shops and coffee stops and a supermarket .

St Martin's Cathedral is worth a visit. It only costs £1 entry including the crypt.

The restaurant in the street just after St.Michael's Gate is OK, priced average . Portions large. Slightly spoiled by 42'' plasma showing Eurosport Sumo and loud pop music.

Then, on our last night , we found it... The jewel in the old town which restored our faith in the effort we expend to discover such places! It is called Gazdovsky Dvor and is the restaurant on the ground floor of the Perugia Hotel. Décor is smashing ...sheepshed chic! Lots of wood, false ceiling modeling a barn and enormous tables. Total fun. No plasma TV and the music was bearable. Staff friendly and helpful. Best of all, food incredible . We started with mushroom soup served inside a hollowed out loaf of bread. A bottle of local cabernet sauvignon accompanied my platter of beef, pork and liver with roast potatoes (Budapest Tanier.) My wife had Vienna Schnitzel and potatoes . With a side salad as well we could not finish it all and to forgo pudding in favor of expresso. Total cost? £22 or 1070SK. There is an Italian downstairs as well. Go through St. Michael's Gate follow the street past the squat statue/monument thingy in the middle of the street and turn left into Zelena. It's on the right

On our last day we had to find a snack mid-day before heading for the airport. We searched town for a pizza or some sort of hot snack. We ended up in the Perugia pizza café having goulash and chips with drinks for under £10

Limosine transfer 600sk or €18. Very nice. Airport totally lacking facilities landside so don't be early .

We stayed in the Ibis. When you book an Ibis you know what to expect- clean, efficient.. The Centrum Bratislava is no different and also has a great location. Slap bang between the castle and the old town. OK, staff a bit over efficient- takes an effort to make them smile on the reception desk- but then they work like trojans. The room was clean and plenty large enough. The bathroom could have done with a little more attention to detail with a great deal of black growth around the seal in the shower. The trams never disturbed us- soon got used to it.

Overall we grew to like this City which has yet to find it's place in the 'new tourist cities' of new Europe. I wouldn't go back but I would urge you to visit- just not for 3 days.