Sensorium festival takes place in the beautiful Old-Town of historical Bratislava. Main part of the programme is housed by Pistori Palace, a hidden gem of the city. Read more about it at the bottom of this page. Bratislava is a charming, walkable city where you can enjoy great gastronomy, for great prices (large beer is around 1,50 euros) and see some of the coolest pieces of brutalist architecture!

Addresses:

Sensorium Talks, Augmented Attention Lab, installations: Pistori Palace, Štefánikova 26, 811 05 Bratislava

πTon installation: Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

City Stage: SNP square, in front of The Old Market

Workshop AI for Augmented Creativity: Goethe-Institute Bratislava, Panenská 682/33, 814 82 Bratislava

Flying

You can fly both to Bratislava and Vienna airports which are both very well connected to the Bratislava city center and oprated by low-cost companies starting at 25 euros for a return flight from major european cities.

Bratislava airport - continental flights

Transport to the city center (20 mins, bus/taxi): you can get local public transport or download Bolt and order a ride which should be around 5 euros. Bolt prices around the city should be usually 3 - 5 euros.

Low-cost flights to Bratislava are operated by: Ryanair, WizzAir

Vienna Schwechat airport - continental and intercontinental flights

Transport to Bratislava city center (1 hour, bus): buses for Bratislava are leaving every 15 or every 30 minutes 24/7 straight from the Vienna airport entrance and cost 5 - 7 euros. Get off at the SNP Bridge (Most SNP) stop to reach the city center.

Low-cost flights to Vienna are operated by: EasyJet, RyanAir, Level

Where to stay in Bratislava?

The city has a great amount of low-cost, great quality accomodation. AirBnB is definitely an option, but we have few other tips for you, book soon, the capacities are limited!:

Hotels

Film Hotel Matyšák Virgo

Bed and breakfast

Dolce Vita Petit

Hostels

Backpackers Blues

How to get around the city?

Walk if you are already in the center. You can reach most places in up to 20 mins on foot. The weather in june should be spectacular so make sure to walk around and see the city.

Cycle if you'd like to speed it up. You can use the newly launched city bike scheme for just a couple of euros per day/week. More info and registration with your bank card on this website https://slovnaftbajk.sk/en.

Public transport is very affordable - 0,70 euros/ride for an adult ticket but in te city center it will usually be faster and more convenient to walk or cycle. If you would be using public transport, you can find your connections through google maps and tickets are easy to buy in ticket machines at some bus stops or via the IDS BK app on your phone, plus you get a 10% discount on all tickets if you use Masterpass for payment!

Taxi is usually much cheaper when you call one than getting the ones standing at stations or around the city, those can get way more expensive. The most convenient way is just to use Bolt or Hopin apps on your phone. Prices should be 2 - 5 euros.

Some other taxi services are 5etaxi Easy Taxi Green Taxi Fun Taxi

Use the alternative map to Bratislava that will guide you through the coolest, wierdest and nicest places of the city: http://mpba.sk/en.

About Pistori Palace

It was Felix Pisztory, a pharmacist of Jewish origin, who built the palace in the eclectic style in the 1890s at a city boulevard that was just being built at that time. Aside from this place, Pisztory also owned the historical house with the Red Crayfish Pharmacy, which now houses a museum of pharmacy, in the Old Town. Part of the palace’s premises was a garden stretching up to what is today the Slavín monument. Pisztory grew herbs there for his medicaments.

Pisztory, however, did not live long enough to see the palace completed, as he died in 1891. During the Second World War it was the seat of the embassy of Nazi Germany. It was exactly at this place that decisions were made about transports of Slovak Jews, or the way to suppress the Slovak National Uprising. After the war the palace was nationalised and fell under state ownership. Then the Museum of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was launched in 1952. In recent times, a slightly larger-than-life statue recalled this part of the history of the palace.

The building became a protected national cultural monument in 1963.

After the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the totalitarian communist regime in 1989, the museum lost justification for its existence and part of the premises was used by the House of Foreign Slovaks. This organisation was the last tenant in the palace for numerous years. Afterwards, the building stood vacant for 12 years and in disrepair, as the Old City did not have the money for its reconstruction.