

Photos: Bologna by Vanni Lazzari, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Bratislava by C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
Bologna or Bratislava?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Bologna for
- food and drink
- culture and sights
- shopping
What lies behind each score is written up on Bologna’s own page.
Choose Bratislava for
- prices
- nature and the outdoors
What lies behind each score is written up on Bratislava’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Bologna and Bratislava.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Wins on food and drink and culture and sights with your weighting.
Wins on prices and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Bologna in July
Bratislava in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Bologna has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Bologna's sunshine is measured 82 km from the centre, at Cervia.
Bratislava has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.
Bratislava's sunshine is measured 56 km from the centre, at Wien / Hohe Warte.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Bologna: 1991-2020 normals, Bologna / Borgo Panigale (5.5 km from centre). Bratislava: 1991-2020 normals, Bratislava Ivanka (8.6 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Bologna | Bratislava |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Italian | Slovak |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | Euro (EUR) |
| Sockets | CFL230 V, 50 Hz | CE230 V, 50 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer | UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer |
| Emergency number | 112 | 112 |
| Elevation | 54 m | 152 m |
| Main airport | Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ)6 km from centre98 non-stop destinations | M. R. Štefánik Airport (BTS)8 km from centre70 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | 13 days | 15 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Bologna | Bratislava |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 387,971 | 480,902 |
| People per km² | 2,754 | 1,308 |
| Museums within 10 km | 68 | 22 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 3 | 2 |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Bologna or Bratislava somewhere new.