Move over Prague and put this secret Eastern European gem on your travel list

Don't get me wrong. I like Prague. I mean, everyone likes Prague. But ... Bratislava.

The capital of Slovakia shares the same fairytale architecture and cobblestone lanes, a common history, and even very similar food. What it doesn't have (yet) is tourist fatigue, long queues, an epidemic of influencers or inflated prices.

Arranged around a series of squares punctuated by trees, fountains and statues, Bratislava's Old Town architecture spans the Gothic, Art Nouveau, Baroque and Ottoman periods. Everything has been meticulously restored and refreshed, including the paint colours, which range from butter yellow to pale pink and mint green.

Bratislava's Old Town is far more compact than Prague's, which makes it a pleasure to explore on foot. Sadly, a large chunk of it disappeared from the map in 1968, when the communist authorities razed the historic Jewish quarter to build a highway and bridge across the Danube. Their legacy is the "UFO", a spaceship-like building high above the bridge's metal span, with a restaurant, bar, and sweeping views of the river and the Old Town. Interestingly, the period when Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia under communist rule is not covered at the Museum of the City History. In the Old Town Hall, once a burgher's home, the vast collection of time-period presentations starts from the Middle Ages and ends in the 1930s. Parts of Town Hall itself date from the 13th century, and there are well-preserved original interior features, such as stained-glass windows and lavishly decorated ceilings, while below are dungeons, where prisoners were kept shackled to heavy stone balls, as well as original medieval ice-pits; filled at the end of winter to keep the family's food fresh all year.

Remaining unscathed by the communists, although they did raze many of the outbuildings, is Bratislava Castle, on a knoll overlooking the river. Originating in the 11th century, it was rebuilt several times, with its most modern iteration in the Baroque style. It's a bit of a walk up, but worth it for the postcard views of the Old Town and the lovely Baroque garden, designed by the architect of Empress Maria Theresa.

Another Bratislava landmark is the Gothic St Martin's Cathedral. Consecrated in 1452, it's one of the country's oldest churches. Ten kings, a queen and seven royal wives from the Habsburg dynasty were crowned here, a fact celebrated by a gold-plated 150-kilogram crown instead of a cross on its steeple.

We also take a bus just out of the city to visit the 13th-century Devin Castle, or rather the remains of it. In 1809, it was largely destroyed by Napoleon's troops. Sitting at 212 metres above sea level at the confluence of the Danube and the Morava rivers, the castle houses several permanent exhibitions, including a compelling history of the region during the Cold War, when it was part of "The Forbidden Zone" and border guards patrolled with the authority to shoot on sight. After visiting the exhibition and the windswept ruins, we walk the road ringing the castle in the village of Devin itself, where there's a concrete arch pocked with bullet marks, a monument to the more than 400 people who died trying to escape Czechoslovakia to Austria across the river between 1945 and 1989.

While there are plenty of restaurants and cafes in the Old Town offering "authentic" Slovak cuisine, always in unmanageably generous portions, we choose to go beyond the walls to dine at a typical old pub. We try kapustnica, a delicious sauerkraut soup with sour cream, and pork knuckle with a side of sinus-clearing horseradish and pickled vegetables. Other typical dishes we enjoy during our stay are bryndzove halusky, a small gnocchi-type dumpling served with smoked sheep's cheese and bacon; garlic soup served in a cob loaf; Slovak cream cake, like a fancy custard slice; and the glazed horseshoe-shaped, poppyseed-filled sweet roll, Bratislavske rozky.

Despite its small size, Slovakia boasts six wine-producing districts and a history of winemaking that dates back to the 6th century BCE. At the National Wine Salon of the Slovak Republic in an ancient cellar, we take a four-glass sommelier-guided tour, trying a pinot gris, a riesling, a gruner veltliner, and a wine made from an indigenous grape called nitranka. When I ask the sommelier jokingly if anyone ever takes up the option that allows you to taste 72 wines from across the country in 100 minutes, he's affronted.

"Of course! It is our most popular package," he says.

Smaller and more intimate than Prague, Bratislava has a lived-in charm that reveals itself most in the evenings when the Austrian daytrippers and cruise crowds have slipped away. It feels disarmingly authentic, with all the romance but none of the negatives that plague places that have inadvertently become victims of their own success.

The writer travelled at their own expense