Ljubljana, the small capital you can see on foot

Things to do in Ljubljana

I would start with the river. The Ljubljanica flows under the Triple Bridge, the Dragon Bridge, the Butchers’ Bridge and the Cobblers’ Bridge, and its whole course is part of the Natura 2000 network. Then Ljubljana Castle, on its hill for around 900 years, with a tower at 400 m above sea level. And between the two, the old town, with the cathedral, the town hall and Prešeren Square.

The rest depends on your tastes. The National Gallery has the country’s biggest holding of Slovenian art, running from medieval times to the 1900s, Metelkova is the city’s alternative arts centre and Tivoli Park opens onto the Rožnik and Šiška hills. I rank the lot, with marks, in things to do in Ljubljana.

How many days, and when to go

One day covers the centre. Two leave time for museums, Metelkova and the park without clock-watching. If you are planning day trips, I would stay three or four nights. Official statistics give averages of 0.4 °C in January and 21.9 °C in July for 2001 to 2010, with September the wettest month.

Summer belongs to the Ljubljana Festival, with concerts and opera at Križanke, and in October the city marathon takes over the streets, closing even some central car parks. In December the streets fill with Urban Modic’s light installations and Christmas market stalls.

Getting around the city

Mostly on foot. LPP city buses take no cash, so use a contactless card or buy an Urbana card from machines, newsagents or the bus station. For short hops there are BicikeLJ public bikes, and the Urban electric train loops past the main sights with an audio guide in eleven languages. Jože Pučnik Airport is at Brnik, north of the city, with shuttles, taxis and buses.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Ljubljana before prices climb.

Where to stay and where to eat

For a first visit, stay central, because everything is walkable and so is the bus station. My comparison of districts lives in where to stay in Ljubljana. For food, the central market and the Friday Odprta kuhna, from March to October, are the two fixtures I would not miss, and the city has restaurants in the Michelin guide. My picks are in where to eat in Ljubljana.

Day trips from Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the best base in the country. Every day more than 20 buses leave the bus station for Bled, which the tourist board puts at 50 km, plus others that drop you right outside Postojna Cave Park. Kamnik is 23 km away with Velika planina above it, and in winter you can ski at Krvavec, only 42 km off. All the options, with how to reach each one, are in day trips from Ljubljana.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Ljubljana before prices climb.

Plečnik and a capital on a human scale

UNESCO puts it best. Plečnik’s works, built between the two world wars, turned a provincial town of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into the symbolic capital of the Slovenes through human-centred urban design. Squares, parks, streets, promenades, bridges, the national library, churches, the market and Žale cemetery have formed a World Heritage Site since 2021, which I explain in Plečnik’s Ljubljana.

Add to that a municipal choice you notice on every corner. Only the tourist train and the little electric Kavalir cars may drive through the centre, and the tourist board puts public green space at over 542 m² a head, close to half of it forest. Small wonder it was European Green Capital in 2016.

The history runs deep. At the foot of the castle hill stood Roman Emona, whose walls went up in AD 14 and 15 and which had about 6,000 inhabitants, according to the castle itself. From 1809 to 1813 the city was the seat of the governor of Napoleon’s Illyrian Provinces, the government notes. And the tourist board enjoys noting that its name sounds almost like «ljubljena», Slovene for beloved.