The Slovenian viewpoints that are worth the climb

Ojstrica, the most famous viewpoint

If you have seen Lake Bled from above, island in front and castle behind, it was almost certainly taken from Ojstrica or Mala Osojnica. Both sit on the western shore, and the tourist board reckons on 20 to 30 minutes up from Velika Zaka. It is not a mountain hike, but it is a short climb through the woods, so trainers rather than sandals. The details are on my Ojstrica viewpoint page.

Go at sunrise if you can. The water tends to be still, the light comes in low and the day-trippers have not arrived yet.

Which viewpoint suits your trip

If your trip is just Bled and Ljubljana, Ojstrica and the castle tower are enough. Driving to the Soča, Vršič is both the road and the view. And on a coast-and-Karst trip, Socerb and Piran’s walls give you the sea without needing walking boots. For the rest of the itinerary, my list of things to do in Slovenia puts the main sights in order. Without straying far from the capital, the ruins of the old castle at Smlednik, in Medvode, also give fine views over the plain.

City viewpoints with no climb

The tower of Ljubljana Castle is 400 m above sea level and, according to the tourist board, a third of the country is visible from it on clear days. Take the funicular or walk up the hill, and you will see how the city wraps around its river.

Other towns have their own. In Piran the lanes climb to the medieval walls, one of the most photographed views on the coast. Kamnik’s Little Castle is known locally as the town’s balcony. In Radovljica a platform on the edge of Linhart Square looks across the Sava valley to the Julian Alps, Triglav included. Ptuj’s town tower rises 54 m over the old centre, and Novo mesto’s cathedral belfry has 53 m of stairs above the bend of the Krka.

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

Viewpoints you can drive to

The big one is the Vršič Pass, which at 1,611 m tops every other road over the eastern Julians. Coming up from Kranjska Gora you pass Lake Jasna, with its 6 m wooden lookout, and the Russian Chapel of 1917, then drop into the Soča Valley on the other side.

On the coast, Socerb Castle sits right on the edge of the Karst, with the gulfs of Koper and Trieste spread out below and a restaurant inside. If I wanted the Adriatic at sunset without going down to a beach, this is where I would head.

Cable cars and towers

At Bohinj the Vogel cable car rises with Triglav in view, and in winter the top station serves the longest ski run in the country. At the opposite end of Slovenia, out on the Pomurje plain, the Vinarium Tower is described by the tourist board as the tallest observation tower in the country, with four countries visible. In Brda, the 23 m Gonjače tower rises above the vineyards.

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