Quaint cobbled streets, picturesque palaces, a rich musical heritage, and a castle on the skyline. Add in cool bars, modern European cuisine and top-class beer at keen prices – screw up your eyes, you could be in Prague. Open them and you’ll find that Bratislava has some striking differences.

Where are the crowds of tourists? The rowdy stag parties? The offhand service? Slovakia’s capital makes a relaxing alternative to its frenetically popular counterpart in the Czech Republic and is compact enough to get to know on a weekend break, as I discovered with my boyfriend, Michael.

We arrived on a sunny day and found a spruced-up Old Town, recently renovated with every cobble reset, the streets and squares a car-free zone.

Marrol’s, our centrally located, small hotel, was a few minutes’ walk from everywhere we wanted to visit. Named after Mary Ann Marrol, a doughty Scottish traveller who stayed in the house at the turn of the 20th century, the hotel also won our hearts for its helpful staff and elegance. The welcoming lobby was like a private drawing room with vases of fresh lilies on mantel shelves and sofas round the log fire.

We made for St Michael’s Gate at the northern boundary of the Old Town and climbed the tower to the balcony, passing through several floors of arms and armour exhibits.

Spread before us was a sea of red rooftops and narrow streets punctuated by church spires, the tower of the old town hall, Baroque palaces where the young Franz Liszt and Mozart had performed, and, high in the distance, the castle.

We descended to find ourselves at the door of Cokolada, a tiny café offering 60 varieties of hot chocolate. All around the historic centre we found a mix of monuments and museums, fashionable places to eat and drink alongside traditional ones, and a variety of real, rather than tourist tat, shops. Dedicated shoppers should beware, though, as stores close at 2pm on Saturdays and are shut on Sundays.

For 300 years the city was the capital of Hungary; kings and queens were crowned at Gothic St Martin’s cathedral until 1830. The Museum of Jewish Culture is in a 17th-century house in the heart of what was once a large and vibrant community. Inside is a recreation of a synagogue, and the history is told in pictures, documents and religious artefacts. In the City Art Gallery (in Palffy Palace, facing the British Embassy on Panska St) we walked through Pasaz, a disorientating installation of thousands of tightly packed books by the Slovak artist Matej Kren.

At Paparazzi, the smart set – Slovaks and expats – were having cocktails in the bar as we walked through to the airy restaurant behind. Like most modern restaurants in the city, the menu is Italian influenced, lighter and more tempting to 21st-century palates than the traditional rich and cream-laden cuisine. Authentic dishes were served by young and friendly staff. Our only gripe was that the wine list was also Italian, bumping up the bill. On our second visit we ordered the tasty Slovak house red for £1 a glass.

At UFO, reached by the footway beneath the main road bridge across the Danube, then a fast lift to the flying saucer-shaped restaurant 85 giddy metres above the river, we had an exquisite “Mediterrasian” lunch with a dazzling view of the castle and Old Town on the other bank. As we gently rocked in the wind we were served salmon with papaya salsa and black rice and monkfish with lentil ragout. This hip spot is also a great place for drinks and dinner.

Wherever we ate, we could just stroll right up on impulse – not once did we need to book a table.

So too at the Redoute concert hall, where there were tickets for that night’s performance (best seats £5) available on the day. We heard the brilliant young violinist Julia Fischer playing with the Slovak National Orchestra in the pretty, gilded auditorium. The next night we saw a passionate performance of Swan Lake. The receptionist at Marrol’s got us best seats for £14.40 each.

As we strolled back from supper, we mused that our tickets for two nights out plus our dinner afterwards came to less than one ticket in the stalls for the opera at Covent Garden.

But don’t get the idea that Bratislava is cheap. That’s not the point. It’s simply great value for money and has an atmosphere that makes you hand over your credit card with joy. So go now before the conversion to the euro in 2009 leads to the inevitable hike in prices.

Need to know

Caroline Hendrie travelled with Cox & Kings (020-7873 5000, www.coxandkings.co.uk). A three-night B&B stay at Marrol’s is from £495pp, including BA flights from Heathrow to Vienna and private transfers. From June 29 to September 2, you can stay four nights for the price of three.

More information: www.slovakiatourism.sk, www.slovakia.org, www.slovakia.com.

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