Myself in Ljubljana – A 5 minute introduction to Slovenia!
I was intrigued to be visiting Slovenia so we based ourselves in the capital city of Ljubljana and spent a whopping seven days.
Seven (7) days!
And you know what?
It wasn’t anywhere near enough!
I know!
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This is what I have written about Slovenia so far..!
Me drinking bubble tea in Taiwan because I’m weird and I like going to interesting exotic places!
Because I’m weird and I like going to interesting exotic places!
Seriously though, the reason why I wanted to go to Slovenia is because I’d heard such a lot of wonderful things from practically everyone! And remember, just two years ago, I hadn’t heard of any of the Baltic or Balkan States. In fact, I couldn’t even pronounce them!
But the other reason that I wanted to visit was because of Ljubljana. I was hearing mixed messages and that some “experts” were saying that Ljubljana wasn’t worth more than a few hours!
When I hear things like this, it makes my blood boil!
However, I am a strong supporter of Europe, and I have a weakness for tiny countries in the middle of beyond! Besides, I had such a wonderful time in Croatia, why wouldn’t I want to go to it’s “sister country” – Slovenia – too!
How to visit the Balkans: Introducing Croatia – the dream of Game of Thrones!
We spent a jam-packed week in Slovenia, and not once did we get anywhere near bored!
Slovenia is a very green country and like Croatia, amazingly beautiful. I wanted to spend some quality time with The Tall Young Gentleman, and I think Slovenia was the perfect place to do it.
Dragons in Ljubljana – Slovenia, can be seen literally everywhere!
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and has a population of just 278,789 people!
It was first mentioned at the beginning of the 12th century and was the historical capital of Carniola, a Slovene-inhabited part of the Habsburg Monarchy from the Middle Ages, until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918!
The dragon is believed to be adopted from England’s patron saint – Saint George – who is also the patron of the 15th century chapel in the Ljubljana Castle!
The dragon is found on the top of the tower of Ljubljana Castle, on the Ljubljana coat of arms, on the Dragon Bridge, otherwise known as Zmajski Most, and can be seen literally everywhere!
We had a very fine time using the Ljubljana Card.
We wanted to spend some time rambling through the cobbled streets and running from one museum or local attraction to another, using the Ljubljana Card.
Thanks very much!
Here’s what we did:
We rushed out & went for a stroll & a bit of a ramble in Metelkova City in Ljubljana – one of the most successful urban squats in Europe!
Ljubljana is tiny. Go for a walk! After checking into our hotel – Hotel Park – Urban & Green – we rushed out and went for a stroll and a bit of a ramble around the local area, poking into every nook and cranny!
Eat Slovenian meat!
Check out Metelkova Mesto! Metelkova City is an abandoned army base and one of the largest, and most successful, urban squats in Europe!
Go on a Ljubljana city tour. We were lucky to have a private guide so that we could get inside knowledge from local experts on the things that interested us. However, regular Ljubljana city tours usually include a walk around the historical city centre, exploring major attractions, an opportunity to taste traditional Slovenian dishes as part of a brief tasting session, a return funicular ride to Ljubljana Castle, and a visit to the outer part of Ljubljana Castle!
Visit street and food markets! One particular evening, we were passing through the Central Market and saw one person pick up a fiddle, and start playing! And then a few people just sort of joined in and started dancing! We were the only tourists present so I didn’t take any photos, as it felt slightly intrusive!
Do a walking tour of Plečnik’s Ljubljana: Jože Plečnik was a native of Ljubljana and considered one of the world’s most important pioneers of modern architecture with buildings not only in Ljubljana, but Prague and Vienna too!
Make sure to visit the Triple Bridge: You’ll see why!
Go to the Town Hall: It’s one of Ljubljana’s most striking Baroque monuments and if you’re lucky, you might even see one of the guides dressed in Slovenian traditional costume!
Visit the Antique Flea Market: It’s held every Sunday on one of the bridges further down the street!
Take photographs of the splendid buildings in the Old Town!
The Tall Young Gentleman & his almond-covered ice-cream in Ljubljana – Slovenia!
Have ice-cream! There are many ice-cream parlours and the servings are huge! Yum!
Get free WiFi! You can have free wifi access anywhere in the city for up to 60 minutes a day! In fact, if you have the Ljubljana Tourist Card, you can have free access for 24 hours with the code on the card! Mind you, we found logging into the WiFree Ljubljana network directly on your phone far easier!
Explore the history and architecture of Ljubljana which you can see all over the city!
If you’re broke, make your own independent walking tour, go to any of the two Tourist Information Centres (TICs), pick up maps, and as many booklets as you need, then take off!
“The Tall Young Gentleman” at the elegant 19th century University of Ljubljana – Slovenia!
Be impressed by the elegant 19th century University of Ljubljana!
Visit the very grand-looking national museums and galleries. And if you use the Ljubljana Card, many of them are free!
Marvel at the many palaces, not only in Ljubljana, but in the surrounding area too!
Or take a ride up the funicular, and take in the city view
One of the costumed characters / castle guides at the Ljubljana Castle in Slovenia!
If you do nothing at all, make sure you go to the Ljubljana Castle. We spent half a day there and really had a fantastic time. It’s free with the Ljubljana Card!
Have a gourmet lunch on the Archers’ Tower of the Ljubljana Castle wall! Whilst there, we noticed a fancy restaurant – the Strelec Restaurant – and decided to spend our last night spending the rest of our money! The food was fantastic and the service attentive. I’ll tell you more about it in a few weeks!
Fill up your bottle with fresh water! Unlike many countries in Eastern / Central Europe, you can actually drink water from the tap!
Hang out with the guides & locals in Ljubljana! Good times!
Relax and take a break at Ljubljana’s largest and most beautiful parkland at the Tivoli Park!
Sail across the waters on a river cruise in Ljubljana – Slovenia!
Sail across the waters on a river cruise! It’s included in the Ljubljana Card, but we opted to pay €2.00 more and go with the tourist boat called Ljubljana. It was a little further away from the other boats but it left at 12:00, instead of 17:00, so I was alright with it!
If you’re extremely active you can either go kayaking, rowing, or stand-up paddling down the Ljubljanica river!
Wander around Cobblers’ Bridge, and look for the organ grinders and other musicians!
Go shopping!
Experience many of the numerous museums & galleries in Ljubljana – Slovenia!
Experience many of the numerous museums and galleries. If you use the Ljubljana Card, entrance is free!
Make sure you check out the Museum of Illusions that turned out to be one of our favourite museums and such a lot of fun! Go there, and you’ll see what I mean!
Go to the City Museum of Ljubljana and learn about the history of Ljubljana, which we enjoyed very much, but had to rush as we had spent too much time at Ljubljana Castle!
If you’re looking for something different go on the Union Experience Brewery Museum and tour! We didn’t go, but I believe families are welcome!
Myself in the mountains of Kamnik on a day trip in Slovenia!
One of the amazing things about travelling to a country that is extremely small, is that you can do day-trips to other regions of the country, fairly easily!
You can take a bus or train out to Lake Bled. More about that in a few weeks!
You can go to the beach or even go wine-tasting!
You can get off the beaten path and discover the unknown parts of Slovenia. Even with 7 days, we didn’t have time to do that, but if you’re determined, YOU certainly can!
And lastly,
You can do all the activities above and more, or do nothing at all, and simply enjoy the moment! Why not?
Travel through Europe by FlixBus – the bus-coach company!
The best way to travel to travel to Slovenia depends simply on where you’re coming from!
If you’re flying in, Ljubljana is connected by air with flights from most major European cities flying into the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU), also known as the Brnik Airport!
If you’re coming from Italy, Austria, Hungary or Croatia, you can either take the train or drive.
I like excitement and making things more difficult for myself, so we decided to take the fourteen and a half hour (14.5) hour journey by FlixBus – the bus-coach company!
The padlocks of love on Butcher’s Bridge in Ljubljana – Slovenia!
This article is part – sponsored, and even though I’m working in partnership with Ljubljana Tourism, absolutely all opinions, and the tremendous time that we had, are my very own!
Please note that there are now affiliate links (for the very first time) connected to this post. Please consider using the links, because every time some sort of accommodation or travel insurance is booked via my links I get a little percentage, but at no extra cost to yourself!
A win-win for all!
Thanks a million!
51 things to do in Ljubljana. That’s right!
Have you ever been to Ljubljana? Was there any activity that surprised you? Let me know in the comments below!
See you in Berlin.
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17 Comments on “51 things to do in Ljubljana. That’s right!”
Wow Victoria…you have been a busy bee. When is the best time to visit? This place wasn’t even on my radar before, but it certainly is now. The ice cream looks lush😄
It really is! I had an awesome time in Ljubljana, and can’t wait to visit again. In fact, it was rather funny as other international bloggers were like “are you going on a press trip?” and my reply was “Noooo. I’m on holiday!”
Yep! 51 things is a hell of a lot, and that was entirely my point, that there’s plenty to do in Ljubljana, and not just for a few hours! 😉
Sausages and wine! Totally! Seriously though, my favourite part was the Ljubljana Castle, and the marvellous food we had everywhere. Except for breakfast!
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I'm a British girl from Manchester living in Berlin with my German husband and my half British – half German son.
My blog is a lifestyle expat travel blog and puts a focus on my promotion of culture, history, travels around the world, Europe, Brexit, the Royal Family, British-German life and being British in Berlin - I am The British Berliner!
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Wow Victoria…you have been a busy bee. When is the best time to visit? This place wasn’t even on my radar before, but it certainly is now. The ice cream looks lush😄
Thanks so much Gilda!
Best time to visit? Anytime at all!
p.s. Absolutely each and every ice-cream we had was scrummy! 😀
Ljubljana seems so versatile and like it has lots to offer. Thanks for the inspiring post, Vic!
Thanks so much Agness!
It really is! I had an awesome time in Ljubljana, and can’t wait to visit again. In fact, it was rather funny as other international bloggers were like “are you going on a press trip?” and my reply was “Noooo. I’m on holiday!”
And I was! 😀
51 things?!? That’s really a lot. Which one was your favorite? I think I would just find a nice place to sit down, eat a sausage and drink wine:):)
Thanks so much Sanne!
Yep! 51 things is a hell of a lot, and that was entirely my point, that there’s plenty to do in Ljubljana, and not just for a few hours! 😉
Sausages and wine! Totally! Seriously though, my favourite part was the Ljubljana Castle, and the marvellous food we had everywhere. Except for breakfast!
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