Petržalka has a reputation as a sea of panel blocks, but it's where a lot of local families go to let kids run. Just across the Danube from the old town, the district has big riverside parkland, a lake for summer swims, fenced playgrounds, bike and pump tracks, and indoor play for wet days. We keep this list current with the places and kids' events there.
A short Slovak-language show from Divadlo MaKiLe about Kika, a big sister who finds her crying little sister a pain, until the little one decides to run away from home. Kika promises to be a better sister, and then it's time to play rocket and fly through the whole apartment.
Made for kids who can't yet sit through a full-length play.
Folko the ant loves to dance and Fialka the fairy loves to sing, and in this show they get kids doing both. It's packed with catchy Slovak children's songs, simple dance moves and interactive moments where kids become part of the story. The duo are friends of Smejko and Tanculienka, the popular Slovak kids' act. The songs are in Slovak, but kids who don't speak it can still follow the dancing.
Spievankovo is the Slovak kids' song project behind a long run of videos, albums and books. Light of Christmas is its new holiday musical: the residents of Spievankovo are so busy getting Christmas ready that they forget what matters most, and the audience helps put it right. Expect live music, dancing, costumed characters like Píšťalka Tidlalka and a light show.
PumpPark Petržalka is an asphalt pump track with nearly 600 m of track, which its builders call the largest of its kind in central Europe. Riders move by pumping their body over the bumps instead of pedaling, on bikes, scooters, skateboards or inline skates.
Separate zones suit beginners, intermediate and experienced riders. Volunteers from the cycling group OZ Pedál built it on a run-down BMX track.
Veľký Draždiak is a 13-hectare lake left by gravel digging, ringed by lawns, a stony shore and a small trial sand beach. Swimming is allowed at your own risk: it is a fishing ground, not an official bathing area, and a summer water rescue team watches the shore.
There is a playground with a drinking fountain, changing cabins, loungers, snack bars, and swans and ducks on the water.
Jama is a public sports and play ground built by the Petržalka borough at the junction of Vyšehradská, Šášovská and Vígľašská streets, reopened in October 2017 after a long-awaited rebuild. The whole 1,700-square-meter yard is covered in soft polyurethane surfacing with play features built into it, and it is laid out for toddlers, teenagers and parents at once. Benches and bike racks line the edges.
A large playground on the bank of the Chorvátske rameno, split into a toddler zone and a zone for bigger kids. Both have swings, slides, climbing frames and merry-go-rounds, and a toy train gives kids something to climb aboard. Tall trees shade much of the play area, and there are plenty of benches for parents.
Janko Kráľ Park is a 25-hectare landscape park on the Danube bank between the Old and New Bridges, laid out for the public in the 1770s. Wide lawns sit under plane trees about 200 years old, and paths link the Janko Kráľ statue, the Fountain of the Drinking Dove and the top of a Gothic church tower, now a garden pavilion.
A bouldering gym (climbing low walls without ropes, over soft landing mats) in the EINPARK building on Einsteinova. More than 100 problems suit first-timers through strong climbers, one wall is reset every week, and there is a Kilter Board. Kids get a large climbing zone of their own plus a play corner with toys, and parents can sit in the cafe. Climbing shoes and chalk are for rent.
A cafe and bar on the Chorvátske rameno canal with, by its own account, one of the city's largest kids' play corners, plus an outdoor trampoline. Kids play while parents sit with coffee from a Slovak roastery and cakes. Evenings turn into a wine bar.
Two rooms with AV equipment host birthday parties, where the cafe can add catering, decorations, face painting, craft workshops or a magic show.
The UFO is the saucer-shaped pod on top of the pylon of Most SNP, the bridge over the Danube. An elevator inside the pylon rides up in 45 seconds to an observation terrace 95 m up, with a 360° view of Bratislava Castle, St. Martin's Cathedral, the old town and the river. On clear days the view reaches up to 100 km.
Petržalka has a reputation as a sea of panel blocks, but it's where a lot of local families go to let kids run. Just across the Danube from the old town, the district has big riverside parkland, a lake for summer swims, fenced playgrounds, bike and pump tracks, and indoor play for wet days. We keep this list current with the places and kids' events there.
A short Slovak-language show from Divadlo MaKiLe about Kika, a big sister who finds her crying little sister a pain, until the little one decides to run away from home. Kika promises to be a better sister, and then it's time to play rocket and fly through the whole apartment.
Made for kids who can't yet sit through a full-length play.
Folko the ant loves to dance and Fialka the fairy loves to sing, and in this show they get kids doing both. It's packed with catchy Slovak children's songs, simple dance moves and interactive moments where kids become part of the story. The duo are friends of Smejko and Tanculienka, the popular Slovak kids' act. The songs are in Slovak, but kids who don't speak it can still follow the dancing.
Spievankovo is the Slovak kids' song project behind a long run of videos, albums and books. Light of Christmas is its new holiday musical: the residents of Spievankovo are so busy getting Christmas ready that they forget what matters most, and the audience helps put it right. Expect live music, dancing, costumed characters like Píšťalka Tidlalka and a light show.
PumpPark Petržalka is an asphalt pump track with nearly 600 m of track, which its builders call the largest of its kind in central Europe. Riders move by pumping their body over the bumps instead of pedaling, on bikes, scooters, skateboards or inline skates.
Separate zones suit beginners, intermediate and experienced riders. Volunteers from the cycling group OZ Pedál built it on a run-down BMX track.
Veľký Draždiak is a 13-hectare lake left by gravel digging, ringed by lawns, a stony shore and a small trial sand beach. Swimming is allowed at your own risk: it is a fishing ground, not an official bathing area, and a summer water rescue team watches the shore.
There is a playground with a drinking fountain, changing cabins, loungers, snack bars, and swans and ducks on the water.
Jama is a public sports and play ground built by the Petržalka borough at the junction of Vyšehradská, Šášovská and Vígľašská streets, reopened in October 2017 after a long-awaited rebuild. The whole 1,700-square-meter yard is covered in soft polyurethane surfacing with play features built into it, and it is laid out for toddlers, teenagers and parents at once. Benches and bike racks line the edges.
A large playground on the bank of the Chorvátske rameno, split into a toddler zone and a zone for bigger kids. Both have swings, slides, climbing frames and merry-go-rounds, and a toy train gives kids something to climb aboard. Tall trees shade much of the play area, and there are plenty of benches for parents.
Janko Kráľ Park is a 25-hectare landscape park on the Danube bank between the Old and New Bridges, laid out for the public in the 1770s. Wide lawns sit under plane trees about 200 years old, and paths link the Janko Kráľ statue, the Fountain of the Drinking Dove and the top of a Gothic church tower, now a garden pavilion.
A bouldering gym (climbing low walls without ropes, over soft landing mats) in the EINPARK building on Einsteinova. More than 100 problems suit first-timers through strong climbers, one wall is reset every week, and there is a Kilter Board. Kids get a large climbing zone of their own plus a play corner with toys, and parents can sit in the cafe. Climbing shoes and chalk are for rent.
A cafe and bar on the Chorvátske rameno canal with, by its own account, one of the city's largest kids' play corners, plus an outdoor trampoline. Kids play while parents sit with coffee from a Slovak roastery and cakes. Evenings turn into a wine bar.
Two rooms with AV equipment host birthday parties, where the cafe can add catering, decorations, face painting, craft workshops or a magic show.
The UFO is the saucer-shaped pod on top of the pylon of Most SNP, the bridge over the Danube. An elevator inside the pylon rides up in 45 seconds to an observation terrace 95 m up, with a 360° view of Bratislava Castle, St. Martin's Cathedral, the old town and the river. On clear days the view reaches up to 100 km.
