Bratislava, capital of Slovakia and just an hour by train from Vienna, is the comeback kid among European capitals. A generation ago, the city was virtually a ghost town. Today, Bratislava is not only thriving—bursting with colorfully restored facades, lively outdoor cafés, and swanky boutiques—but it’s also growing at an incredible pace.
World War II left Bratislava a damaged husk. Following the war, communists showed little interest in preserving the city’s heritage, razing the Jewish quarter to make way for their ultramodern New Bridge, erecting a highway that sliced through the Old Town, and even selling the city’s medieval cobbles to cute German towns, which were rebuilding after the war and trying to restore some of their elegant Old World character.
