Ljubljana is not only just the capital of Slovenia but also the country’s largest city. The city may be a fairly small capital, however, do not let this put you off from visiting. It is one beautiful city; full of green spaces, a river, lots of bridges, and beautiful architecture.
If you are planning a visit, one full day will be enough time to see all the main attractions, and what the city has to offer. We only had an afternoon to explore the city. We felt this was enough time for us, however, if you are wanting to go up to the castle or do a boat ride, you will need the full day. Everything, within the city centre, is within walking distance.
Accommodation
Ljubljana offers a wide range of accommodation, suiting everybody’s type of budget. We choose to stay in the InterContinental Ljubljana. A beautiful 5-star hotel, located close to the Old Town. One of the main reasons we choose this hotel was for the pool and spa area. The view from the pool was incredible! You could see for miles across the city. Along with the pool, they also have a restaurant and bar with a terrace, located on the 20th floor. This also provides excellent views across the city and of the castle.
If you require car parking as we did, you can either pay for car parking at the hotel, or you can pay for a car parking garage close by. We decided to pay for parking in the car parking garage opposite the hotel. This was slightly cheaper than paying for the hotel car parking.
Places To Eat
If you are after some local food, here are my top 2 places to eat in Ljubljana:
Gostilna Šestica
Gostilna Šestica is a beautiful Slovenian restaurant, located opposite the Skyscraper. It sells the traditional Carniolan sausage (Kranjska klobasa). The Carniolan sausage is a protected sausage since 2015. It represents a Slovene culinary specialty that can be produced by no more than 15 Slovene producers, who have obtained a certificate, for its production. As a traditional food product, it is protected by geographical indication in the country of origin and represents a symbol of cultural heritage. The Slovenes are justifiably proud of it too. The sausage is made from pork and bacon and tastes delicious. I highly recommend giving it a try.
Slovenian House
The Slovenian House, located near the Skyscraper, is a beautiful, traditional Slovenian restaurant. I had a traditional pasta dish and it was delicious. I cannot remember what it was called, however, if you do visit, the dish was under the traditional local dishes on the menu.
What To See And Do
Ljubljana is a city full of culture, history, and beautiful architecture. As we only had the afternoon to explore the city, we were not able to do everything, the city had to offer. Here are just my top recommendations on what to see and do in the city and the order we did them visited them:
Nebotičnik Skyscraper
The 70-metre high, Nebotičnik Skyscraper is a venerable example of architecture between the two World Wars. The completion of the building was in 1931 and at the time, it was the highest building in Yugoslavia and the 7th tallest in Europe. Today, other surrounding buildings in the city, tower above it. Even though it may now be not the tallest of buildings in Ljubljana, it is still worth a trip up to the top. It is free of charge and they have a lovely cafe to enjoy a cup of coffee and a slice of cake while enjoying the panoramic views across the city.
Vurnik House
The Vurnik House is one of the most famous buildings in Ljubljana. It was built in 1921, to a design by the architect, Ivan Vurnik. Today, it is considered to be one of the finest examples of Slovenian national-style architecture. The other name for the Vurnik House is the Cooperative Business Bank building.
Prešeren Square
Prešeren Square is basically the central square. A square, which on our visit was used by protesters, protesting about 5G, the new super-fast internet. Other times of the year, it is used for festivals, the Ljubljana carnival, concerts, and sports. It is the major meeting point, in the old town.
The Franciscan Church of the Annunciation
Located in Prešeren Square, is the famous Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, or the red/pink church as some of you may know it as. The red colour is meant to be symbolic of the Franciscan monastic order.
Triple Bridge
The Triple Bridge is just how it sounds, 3 bridges running next to each other. Here’s why: once there was only the middle bridge. However, it got too congested with cars. To solve the problem, they built another 2 bridges for pedestrians, instead of knocking the existing bridge down and building a bigger one. Why I do not know! Maybe it was cheaper for them? Today, it’s all pedestrian-only. You can pick anyone you want, to walk across.
Dragon Bridge
Dragon Bridge is a bridge with a dragon made out of stone, on either side. They once believed a dragon was killed here, in the city. This is why today, the dragon is the well-known symbol of the city.
Cobblers Bridge
The Cobblers Bridge is one of the oldest bridges in the city. It connects the old town to the new town. The bridge was built in the 1930s and got its name from the 16 shoemakers, who lived and worked on this bridge, to catch the traffic and avoid paying town taxes. Basically, they were the medieval version of duty-free.
Cankarjevo Nabrežje
Cankarjevo Nabrežje is a street along the river, full of colourful houses, bars, and restaurants. A perfect place to stop and rest your tired feet and grab some good snaps on your camera. For some of the best views of the houses, head down to the opposite side of the riverbank.
Gallusovo Nabrezje
Gallusovo Nabrezje reminded me of Amsterdam. A row of narrow, cannel-style houses, is located down beside the river.
For more information on Slovenia, please visit their website: https://www.slovenia.info/en
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Further Reading
My book, How I Tamed the Wolf, Living with Lupus is available on Amazon via this link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09M73X2JQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MWAF58981F0VVMNRV1WN
For more information on what else there is to do in Slovenia, check out some of my other guides: Slovenia
