In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Old Town Hall (Stará radnica) on Main Square (Hlavné námestie) houses the Bratislava City Museum. Full admission costs €8 for adults and €4 for concessions, covering the council rooms, medieval dungeons, the Apponyi Palace viticulture museum and the 45-metre clock tower view. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 and closed on Mondays. A tower-only ticket costs €4. Or book a tour: a small-group Old Town walking tour with wine tastingad from €55 or a guided Old Town and castle walkad from €2.10 is sold on GetYourGuide; neither includes the museum ticket.
⚠️ Closed on Mondays. The Old Town Hall and its tower shut every Monday. On a Monday, go to Bratislava Castle or Michael’s Gate and Tower, both of which close on Tuesdays instead.
Ticket prices and opening hours
The Old Town Hall and the adjoining Apponyi Palace are run by the Bratislava City Museum (Múzeum mesta Bratislavy, MMB). Tickets are sold at the reception desk in the courtyard:
| Ticket Type | Official Price | Inclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Full Adult Admission | €8.00 | City History Museum, dungeons, Apponyi Palace, clock tower |
| Concession (students, seniors 65+, children 6–15) | €4.00 | Valid student ISIC or age identification required |
| Family Ticket (2 adults + up to 3 children under 15) | €18.00 | Full access to all museum sections and the tower |
| Mini Family (1 adult + up to 2 children under 15) | €10.00 | Single-parent family discount |
| Tower Only (Adult or Concession) | €4.00 | Climb the 45-metre clock tower viewing balcony only |
| Children under 6 | Free | Must be accompanied by an adult |
| Bratislava CARD | Free | Free single entry to the permanent exhibitions and tower |
The ticket counter is in the Renaissance courtyard, reached through the arched gateway from Main Square or from Primaciálne námestie. Bratislava CARD holders enter free on showing their card; the pass is covered in public transport in Bratislava.
Opening hours and last admission
- Operating Days: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00.
- Last Entry: 30 minutes before closing (17:30).
- Mondays: Closed all day year-round.
- Public Holidays: Closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 November, 24 December and 25 December.
The Renaissance arcaded courtyard of the Old Town Hall. Photo: Pudelek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Tours and guided walks of the Old Town
Guided Old Town walks pass through Main Square and cover the coronation history and local wine-making.
Small-group walking tour with Slovak wine tasting
From €55 · 5 stars from 18 reviews · 2.5 hours · wine tasting, groups of up to 8
A walk from the castle to the Old Town with a licensed local guide, in a group of up to eight, ending with Slovak wine at a historic winery. Bratislava: Old Town Walking Tour with Slovak Wine Tastingad
Old Town and castle walking tour
From €2.10 · 4.7 stars from 929 reviews · 165 minutes · Old Town and castle
A guided walking tour of Bratislava’s Old Town and castle area. Bratislava: Old Town and Castle Walking Tourad
Old Town and Blue Church guided walk
From €25 · 5 stars from 3 reviews · 1.5 hours · Blue Church
A walking tour of the Old Town that includes the Blue Church, led by a local guide. Bratislava: Old Town & Blue Church Walking Tourad
Official tickets vs guided tours: price comparison
| Option | Official Box Office | Third-Party Tour Option | What to Know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Museum and clock tower visit | €8.00 per adult | Independent visit | Buy at the courtyard desk |
| Tower climb only | €4.00 per person | Independent climb | For the view of Main Square only |
| Guided historical walk + wine tasting | €8.00 museum ticket only | Guided tour from €55.00 | Licensed guide and Slovak wine at a historic winery |
| Old Town walking overview | Free to walk Main Square | Walking tour from €2.10 | Civic history before you enter the museum |
Inside the Old Town Hall complex
The Old Town Hall is a cluster of buildings assembled over six centuries. In the late 13th century, Bratislava’s hereditary mayor (Richter), Jacobus, built a fortified two-storey stone townhouse with a defensive tower. Over subsequent centuries, the city council acquired adjacent merchant properties:
- Architectural styles: The facade facing Main Square features Gothic stone portals, an oriel window from 1422, Renaissance arcades dating from 1581 and a baroque clock tower rebuilt following an earthquake in 1599 and a fire in 1733.
- The Council Chamber: The upper floors preserve the historic council rooms where city magistrates held court from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The rooms have carved timber ceilings, baroque frescoes, municipal seals and the iron city measuring rods embedded near the entrance gates.
- The Medieval Dungeons: In the vaulted basements the museum displays judicial torture instruments, rack irons, executioner swords and prison records of trials held in Pressburg.
- The Napoleonic Cannonball: On the tower wall facing Main Square, look to the left of the upper Gothic oriel window. A cast-iron cannonball is wedged in the stucco, left in place from July 1809, when Napoleon’s artillery bombarded the city from the opposite bank of the Danube.
The view of Main Square and Roland Fountain from the Old Town Hall tower. Photo: Pudelek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Climbing the Clock Tower
The 45-metre tower is reached by 86 narrow stone and timber stairs that wind past the clockwork mechanism to an open-air gallery:
- The View Over Main Square: Looking straight down, you see the cobblestone patterns of Main Square, Roland Fountain, cafe terraces and the stalls of the winter Christmas market.
- The Rooftop Panorama: To the west, the white block and Crown Tower of Bratislava Castle rise above the tiled roofs of the Old Town. To the north are the forested Little Carpathians, and to the east you look into the courtyard of Primate’s Palace.
Apponyi Palace and the Museum of Viticulture
Included in your €8 museum ticket is admission to Apponyi Palace (Apponyiho palác), situated at Radničná 1 directly adjoining the town hall. Built in 1761–1762 by Count György Apponyi as a city residence, the palace has Rococo stucco ceilings, silk wall coverings and restored salons:
- Museum of Viticulture: The ground floor and cellars exhibit the history of grape cultivation in the Bratislava region from Celtic and Roman times through the medieval guild systems. Displays include historic carved wooden grape presses, cooper tools and ceramic drinking vessels.
- National Collection of Wines (Národný salón vín SR): In the vaulted brick cellars beneath the palace, the National Collection of Wines showcases the top 100 Slovak wines selected annually by professional sommeliers. Visitors can participate in structured wine tastings with an expert sommelier (flights from €9 for 2 samples to €36 for 8, or 80 wines in 100 minutes for €40, per salonvin.sk); tasting is booked separately with the cellar and reservations are required.
Roland (Maximilian) Fountain on Main Square. Photo: Stimoroll, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Exploring Main Square (Hlavné námestie)
Main Square has been the city’s market and civic centre since the 13th century, and the setting for coronation banquets, tournaments, public executions and political rallies:
1. Roland (Maximilian) Fountain
The Renaissance fountain at the centre of the square was commissioned in 1572 by Emperor Maximilian II. After a fire during the coronation festivities in 1563, the emperor ordered a public reservoir built for fire-fighting. A circular stone basin surrounds a 10.5-metre central column, crowned by a sculpture of the emperor in knight’s armour leaning on a sword. Local folklore says the statue turns and bows towards the town hall at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
2. Historic Palaces and Cafes
Palaces along the edge of the square:
- Palugyay Palace: A neo-baroque mansion built in 1882 for wealthy wine merchant Franz Palugyay, whose sparkling wine Château Palugyay was served on the Titanic.
- Roland Palace: A 1912 Art Nouveau building designed by Ödön Lechner, formerly the Hungarian Commercial Bank, now housing the Roland Cafe.
- Kutscherfeld Palace: A 1762 Rococo palace on the square’s southern edge that today serves as the Embassy of the French Republic.
3. The Napoleonic Soldier Statue
On the western edge of the square a life-sized bronze Napoleonic soldier (Napoleonov vojak) leans over a wooden park bench. He is shown barefoot, in a French uniform, with his bicorne hat pulled down over his eyes. He is one of the street bronzes described in our street statues walking guide.
Practical visiting advice
- Accessibility: The Old Town Hall is only partly accessible. The ground-floor courtyard and Apponyi Palace viticulture exhibits can be reached step-free. The clock tower and upper dungeon vaults require climbing steep, narrow medieval stairways and are not wheelchair accessible.
- Visiting Duration: Allow 45 to 60 minutes for the City History Museum and clock tower, or 90 minutes if including the Apponyi Palace salons.
- Luggage: Small coin-operated lockers (returnable deposit) and a cloakroom are situated adjacent to the ticket desk. Large suitcases are not permitted in the exhibition halls.
- Tower photos: Climb around 11:00 or in the late afternoon, when the sun lights the western facades of Main Square and the castle.
What to see next
- Primate’s Palace: through the town hall courtyard to the Hall of Mirrors.
- Michael’s Gate and Tower: the city museum’s other tower.
- Bratislava Street Statues Walk: from the Napoleonic soldier to Schöne Náci and Čumil.
- Bratislava Christmas Market: how Main Square looks in winter.
- Bratislava City Hub: all Bratislava sights and tickets.
Common questions
How much are tickets to the Old Town Hall in Bratislava?
Standard adult admission is €8, concessions (students, seniors 65+ and children 6–15) pay €4, and family tickets cost €18. A tower-only ticket is available for €4. Children under 6 and Bratislava CARD holders enter free. Tickets include the Museum of City History, the medieval dungeons and the Apponyi Palace.
When is the Old Town Hall open?
The Old Town Hall is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30. It is closed every Monday year-round.
What is the cannonball in the Old Town Hall wall?
Embedded into the front facade of the yellow clock tower, to the left of the Gothic oriel window, is an iron cannonball fired by Napoleonic French artillery during the bombardment of Bratislava in 1809.
What is the Apponyi Palace next door?
Connected directly to the Old Town Hall via an internal passageway, the 18th-century Rococo Apponyi Palace houses the Museum of Viticulture and the National Collection of Wines, where visitors can taste Slovak wines in the historic cellars.
What fountain stands in Main Square?
The Roland Fountain (also called the Maximilian Fountain), erected in 1572 by order of Emperor Maximilian II as a public reservoir for fire-fighting, after a fire during his coronation festivities in 1563. It features a Renaissance stone sculpture of the emperor depicted as a knight.
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