One way that to encourage our children to spend hours walking around cities they have no real interest in visiting, is by breaking trips into manageable sizes and negotiating more interesting stop offs for them.  When we were staying in Bratislava, we proposed visiting Bratislava’s castle, I quote one of my children who said “Oh no, not a castle. They all look the same“.  So I giggled at this because I’m pretty sure I said exactly the same to my parents twenty something years ago. So on our way to Hrad (Bratislava Castle) we decided to pop into Mačkafé Bratislava!

A Cat Cafe?

Cat cafes have been popping up all over the place since Japan made it popular in 2004. However my research tells me that Taiwan was the first city to get one back in 1998.

Cat cafes are designed to be therapeutic and relive the stress of urban life. However if you’re like us and your lifestyle just doesn’t allow for pets, they’re also a fabulous idea!!

The Mačkafé (Cat Cafe)

Mačkafé has only been open a year but it has already amassed a feedback of over 300 on facebook alone.  They must be doing something right.

All of Mačkafé’s cats have come from rescue centres too which makes it especially poignant.

How to find the Mačkafé Bratislava

Mačkafé can be found on a narrow, hilly, one-way street. We found it easier to walk everywhere within Bratislava as it is quite a small city and parking is very challenging.

This is their website

This is a Cafe With Rules

There are some simple rules and those are mostly to protect the cats.

1. Upon entering there are two doors; outer and inner. You must close the outer door before opening the inner door.
2. In the porch area is some antiseptic hand gel that they request you rub into your hands. We didn’t because I think those gels are more harmful than good, so we just washed our hands upon entering.
3. You mustn’t feed the cats, even if they come mooching for food.
4. Don’t disturb the cats if they’re sleeping.

You can even eat there…

The staff all speak English and their menu can also be found in English as well as Slovakian.

The food is home-made and they offer a really great selection of vegan alternatives. We had delicious coconut milkshakes and a fruity red lemonade and we probably had some cakes too. We were there for quite a long time!

Have we convinced you to visit?

If we have convinced you that you should visit, please do us a favour and share this post on your social media sites or add it to your pinterest board.  We do really appreicate your support.

What Else Could You Do With Kids In Slovakia?