Experience in Ljubljana, Slovenia by Franja Iva

What is it like to live in Ljubljana? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Living in Ljubljana is getting better and better by every year. It is becoming culturally, architectually, internationally more and more developed. By every year there are more things to learn and enjoy through different events, courses...

What is the student lifestyle like in Ljubljana?

I would say it is a perfect city for students. We have variety of student offers. From gastronomic offers (very cheap meals in really good restaurants), parties, language and sport courses to cheap accomodation in student dorms.

How much does it cost to live in Ljubljana?

One student meal in a restaurant costs from 0,8€ to 4,20€. Student dorm room, shared with another person, costs around 50€ per month. Coffee in the centre costs around 1,30€. You can get a beer in a shop from 0,6€ on and wine from around 1,5€ (but that is a really crapy wine). I would say it is a really low budget city in comparison to other EU cities.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Ljubljana? Is there any advice you can give?

I would say it's not that hard. You can almost definitely get an accommodation in student dorm since they're not that busy. If you're looking for a private room in an apartment it's not hard, but I'm not that sure about a whole empty apartment.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

You can get just about any international food. Indian, Chinese, Thay, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Mexican, veg... Traditional Slovenian food varies from regions, but it usually consist of meat. My favourite would be Bujta repa, zeljne krpice, different veggie soups..

What places would you recommend visiting in Ljubljana?

The castle, park Tivoli (with Rožnik), Koseški bajer (pond), Šmarna gora (the hill), old city centre, maybe Plečnikove Žale (it is actually a cemetery but it's architectually quite incredible). Well, I would say, you should visit all work of Plečnik, our famous architect.

Is it good to eat out in Ljubljana? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

Sure. As I've said, we have student offers in just about any good restaurant. I like Da Buda, Cantina Mexicana, vegetarian restaurant Govinda's, vegan restaurant Loving Hut, indian and bengali restaurant Tandoori, Foculus is a good pizza place...

Is the nightlife good in Ljubljana? Where is good to go?

I would say it is. You can find something in every day of the week for almost all tastes. We have different clubs, discos, concerts spots... For me personally Metelkova mesto (Metelkova city, literally) is the best. It is a piazza with 6 clubs, that offers alternative concerts, DJs and occasionally even commercial stuff. People mingle and hang around...

What advice would you give future students headed to Ljubljana?

People from other countries say we are quite reserved and shy. So I suggest that doesn't scare you off, because I like to believe that we are nice to talk to and all young people speak English.. We just don't know how to approach in most cases.