When I lived in Bratislava, the fountain in front of the Slovak National Theatre was a common place to arrange to meet someone; it wasn’t until near the end of my time there that I actually went inside the theatre. I saw a ballet there, and I remember being pretty impressed about how cheap the tickets were, for a great performance inside a fantastic historical building.

The good news is that even with Slovakia getting the euro, tickets are still cheap for performances held here – both the ballet and opera companies stage shows here. Check the Slovak National Theatre website before you travel, because you can book tickets online – and while the new building looks great, I guess I sentimentally recommend the shows which are on at what they call the “SND Historic building”.

To give you an idea of the value there – from ballet and opera companies which are certainly considered to be of a good standard – there are currently opera tickets on sale for Carmen which range from €6.64 to €29.87, depending on the category of seat – and that’s the most expensive opera! Ballet is even cheaper, and you could catch a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for between €3.98 and €9.96. When I was in Bratislava, bus loads of Viennese locals would take the hour-long trip from Vienna to Bratislava to see the opera or ballet here, and I imagine nothing’s changed.

Image – Wikimedia