Nova Gorica, the young town joined at the hip to Gorizia

Europe Square, the reason to stop

In front of the railway station lies Europe Square, Trg Evrope, divided between two towns and two countries. Here you can put one foot in Slovenia and the other in Italy, and the tourist board uses it as a model of two border towns living together. For a town that anchors a whole border region it’s small, a reminder of how small Slovenia’s population is overall.

That idea drove the 2025 European Capital of Culture, the first ever split between two towns in two countries, which shared the year with Chemnitz in Germany. The programme, GO!2025, turned a kilometre-long strip along the old border, between two former customs houses, into a cultural district. Its flagship is EPIC, a platform on 20th-century European history with a permanent exhibition, in the old railway warehouses next to the square. Maribor had held the title back in 2012.

Brda, the Vipava and the Soča from Nova Gorica

Nova Gorica’s position is hard to beat. Across Solkan Bridge, just over 15 km away, Goriška Brda begins with its vine-covered hills. To the east opens the Vipava Valley, with more native grape varieties than anywhere else in Slovenia, the walled village of Vipavski Križ and the Otlica natural window. Follow the Soča upstream for about 40 km and you reach the Julian Alps. Trieste is 34 km away. The tourist board adds that more than two thirds of the land around the Vipava and Nova Gorica is protected, much of it Natura 2000.

Solkan, Sabotin and the First World War

On the edge of town, at Solkan, trains cross the Soča on a bridge whose stone arch, says the tourist board, is longer than any other. Beside it are the national whitewater kayaking centre and a zipline across the river. All of that is under Solkan.

Above town rises Mount Sabotin, riddled with galleries, trenches and caves during the First World War. It now hosts the Park of Peace, with walkable galleries, a war collection and an office of the memorial trail, plus views as far as the Alps. The same trail climbs Škabrijel and Cerje, with its imposing Monument of Peace.

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What to eat and drink

This is where Mediterranean Slovenia begins. The tourist board names Dam and Pikol in town, both in the Michelin Guide, and nearby Zemono Manor with the Michelin-starred Gostilna pri Lojzetu. The town also has casinos, which the tourist board lists among its entertainment. The valley next door feeds the kitchens with fruit and vegetables almost all year, and Decanter singled out three traditionally made Vipava wines as among the best natural wines in the world. Lonely Planet once put the Vipava Valley in its top ten European destinations for the year, which tells you how much it has to offer for such a small area.

Cycling and hiking nearby

The tourist board pitches the area as cycling paradise, with a season that runs nearly all year and routes from village to village with food stops. For walkers it suggests Nanos, the Otlica window, the Trnovo plateau and Cerje, where you can see the sea. The slopes of the plateaus above the Vipava are flying country too, with registered launches at Lijak and Kovk, transport to the top and tandem flights. At Solkan you can paddle the Soča by kayak or canoe. And the dish that goes with all of it is Vipava jota, a stew made with turnip fermented in grape pomace.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Nova Gorica and pick one that fits your day.

Getting there and how long to stay

From Ljubljana it’s 126 km by road and from Trieste 34 km. Trains arrive on the Bohinj line, coming down from Jesenice along the Soča, and the station opens straight onto Europe Square. I’d give it two or three nights as a base, with a day for Brda, a day for the Vipava and an afternoon for the town, Sabotin and Gorizia.

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