The Julian Alps, Triglav and the Soča valley lie to the north-west; Ljubljana sits in the centre; the Karst, its caves and the 47 km of coast are to the south-west, and Maribor, Ptuj and the Prekmurje plains to the east. Every number opens its guide.
Savinjska is the Savinja valley region in eastern Slovenia: 2,301 km², 31 municipalities and 263,107 people on 1 January 2026, according to SURS. It holds two very different trips, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Logar Valley in the north, and Celje with the big spa resorts in the south, which took 63 per cent of its 576,951 arrivals in 2025.
I wouldn't try to see the whole of Savinjska from one base. I'd spend a night up near the Logar Valley and another in Celje or at a spa, because there's more road between the upper valley and the thermal resorts than the map suggests.
Sergio LeponeMy advice for Savinjska
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Savinjska covers 2,301 km², with 31 municipalities and 263,107 people.
In the north, the Logar Valley and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps.
In the middle, Celje, Slovenia's third town, and Velenje.
Spas account for 63 per cent of tourist arrivals.
My checklist before setting off
My key points
Before you go to Savinjska, this
01 Most beautiful
The Logar Valley, a great glacial valley
The tourist board counts it among Europe's loveliest Alpine valleys. The 90-metre Rinka Falls drop at its head, and the Robanov Kot valley sits right next door.
The Counts of Celje were one of the most important medieval families in Europe, according to the tourist board. Their old castle towers over Slovenia's third-largest town.
Podčetrtek, Laško, Zreče, Rogaška Slatina and Dobrna account for 63 per cent of the region's tourist arrivals. Sleeping at one of them puts the pools on your doorstep after every day out.
The tourist board gives that title to Šmartno ob Paki, where the municipality looks after three vineyard cottages from the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries.
The best scenery is at the top. The Logar Valley, in Solčava municipality, is a glacial valley that the tourist board ranks among Europe’s loveliest Alpine valleys, where the 90-metre Rinka Falls close off the valley. It’s a landscape park, and CIPRA has named it the best-managed park in the Alps. Next door is the Robanov Kot valley, and above it the 2,500-metre peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps.
Solčava, with 493 residents, is one of the smallest municipalities in Slovenia and belongs to UN Tourism’s Best Tourism Villages network. Further down the valley come Gornji Grad with its huge Baroque church, Nazarje with Vrbovec Castle, and Šmartno ob Paki, which claims Slovenia’s highest vineyards.
Celje, Velenje and the middle of the region
Celje is the town, with 38,175 people, Slovenia’s third-largest. The Counts of Celje ruled from here, a dynasty the tourist board ranks among medieval Europe’s most important, and their old castle stands among Slovenia’s great medieval fortresses. Under the Princely Court you can see remains of Roman Celeia.
To the north-west, Velenje is a different story, a new town opened in 1959 next to the coal mines, with a coal mining museum where you can eat 160 metres underground and a lake with a beach created by mining. Between the two, Žalec is the hop capital, with its beer fountain, and near Šempeter lies Pekel Cave.
Which spa should you pick?
There’s something for everyone. Terme Olimia at Podčetrtek is the most complete for families. Laško pairs thermal water with the beer brewed there since 1825, and at Rimske Toplice the Romans built pools back in AD 39. Rogaška Slatina is the home of Donat Mg water, with 400 years of spa history and one of the world’s biggest glassworks. Dobrna is Slovenia’s oldest working spa, in use since 1403, and Zreče treats guests with thermal water and Pohorje peat.
With three days, I’d spend one in the mountains at the Logar Valley and Solčava, one in Celje with its castle and a side trip to Velenje, and the third at a spa, Olimia or Laško depending on the mood. With a fourth, Rogla and Žiče round off the eastern side nicely.
Rogla and Pohorje
Above Zreče, on the part of Pohorje inside the region, is Rogla. In winter it’s a ski resort that hosts international competitions; in summer it has a treetop walk of just over 1 km with a 37-metre tower. Nearby, at Slovenske Konjice, Žiče charterhouse was in use for more than 600 years, and at Vitanje a cultural centre honours the space pioneer Herman Potočnik Noordung.
The middle of the region smells of hops. Žalec is the hop capital, with a beer fountain and an ecomuseum of hops and brewing, and Laško has been brewing beer since 1825. The tourist board also points to museums you wouldn’t expect, such as Vransko’s motorcycle museum with 140 machines, or Villa Mayer in Šoštanj, devoted to the sculptor Ivan Napotnik. Several municipalities hold Slovenia Green Destination labels too, platinum for Laško, gold for Celje and bronze for Rečica ob Savinji. It’s the kind of detail that tells you the region cares about how it’s visited, and it makes slow travel here especially rewarding.
Savinjska by the numbers
According to SURS, Savinjska had 263,107 people on 1 January 2026, covering 2,301 km² across 31 municipalities. It recorded 576,951 tourist arrivals in 2025, and the breakdown is telling. Podčetrtek, Laško, Zreče, Rogaška Slatina and Dobrna, the spa municipalities, took 63 per cent. Podčetrtek alone, with Terme Olimia, had 143,378, more than the town of Celje.
The tourist board splits it between two macro-destinations. The upper Savinja valley and Rogla belong to Alpine Slovenia; Celje, Laško, Podčetrtek, Rogaška Slatina, Dobrna and Velenje to Thermal Pannonian Slovenia. Like every statistical region, it has no government of its own.
The Logar Valley and Rinka Falls, Solčava and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, Celje's old castle, Velenje and its coal mining museum, Rogla's treetop walk, Pekel Cave and the spas at Laško, Rogaška Slatina, Olimia and Dobrna.
What is the capital of the Savinjska region?
Savinjska is a statistical region with no government, so it has no capital. Its largest town is Celje, with 38,175 people in the town and 49,802 in the municipality on 1 January 2026.
Which spas are in Savinjska?
Terme Olimia at Podčetrtek, Thermana Laško and Rimske terme at Laško, Terme Zreče, the Rogaška Slatina medical centre with its Donat Mg water, Terme Dobrna, the oldest working spa in Slovenia, and Terme Topolšica in Šoštanj.
Where is the Logar Valley?
In Solčava municipality, at the head of the upper Savinja valley, ringed by the Kamnik-Savinja Alps. Solčava, with 493 residents, is one of the least populated municipalities in Slovenia.
What is the Savinja valley?
It's the valley of the River Savinja, which rises in the Logar Valley and drops through gorges towards Celje. The upper part is Alpine, while the lower part is a plain of hop fields around Žalec.
Where should I stay in Savinjska?
Celje if you want a town, Solčava or the Logar Valley for the mountains, and Podčetrtek, Laško, Rogaška Slatina or Dobrna if you're after a spa.
Tourism graduate with a master’s in Tourism Management and Planning from the University of Málaga, who has travelled across Europe. He writes every guide from official sources and his own judgement.
1Celje 2Velenje 3Savinjska 4Laško 5Rogaška Slatina 6Podčetrtek 7Dobrna 8Zreče 9Slovenske Konjice 10Vitanje 11Šoštanj 12Žalec 13Kamnik-Savinja Alps 14Pekel Cave 15Solčava 16Gornji Grad 17Nazarje 18Vransko 19Šentjur 20Mozirje 21Rečica ob Savinji 22Šmartno ob Paki 
