On the Sunny Side of Alps

Ljubljana is the city that I was born in. There is not really one explanation that would tell to a curious traveller what this name means, but it is very similar to the word »ljubljena« which means »the beloved one (woman)«. The name of our capital is not the only way with which Slovenes prove that our language is deeply romantic: there is a word »love« in Slovenia (Slovenija), which led to inspiring an internationally known slogan »I feel Slovenia«. We are also unique in our language that has a special feature, called »duality« which enables couples and lovers to refer to each other in a more intimate way.

The diversity

Ljubljana is the capital of our land and has roughly 290. 000 inhabitants while Slovenia has about 2 million. That might not sound a lot, but despite the fact that we are very small we have plenty to offer. Our nature is very diversified: we have mountains, part of the Alps (the Mount Triglav is also an important symbol of our nation), the Adriatic Sea, a widespread system of underground caves (which you should definitely visit, especially the Postojna caves! ), very clean rivers and still untouched forests. We are well known for our hospitality and amazing traditional food and drinks.

The amazing advent

The best time to visit Ljubljana is in the month of December. Although the city may be small, in the last years it is becoming one of the hottest points for trips in the time of advent. Of course we always first think of Vienna, Budapest or Zagreb Christmas market, but our capital is every year decorated in such a way that a visitor after the first gaze upon the stars made out of lights must be thinking he fell into some sort of fabulous fairytale. A glass of mulled white or red wine shouldn't cost you more than 2 euros. You should move from stand to stand and try different ones in order to find your favourite, and you can also try many traditional sweets and other delicacies on the market by affordable prices. The month of December is always a very busy month in Ljubljana, so make sure you book your tickets and accommodation sometime earlier.

Ljubljana in one day

If you don't have much ime at your hands once in Ljubljana, here is a list of must-see locations that you should definitely visit:

1. The Castle

The Castle is on the top of the Castle hill and you can come up with different walking paths. There are different interesting stops once you are up, such as the well where you can throw a coin and make a wish, the Museum of Puppetry and magnificent viewpoints. If you would like to learn about the darker side of history too, you can also take a walk among the jail cells underneath the castle.

2. The River Ljubljanica

The river Ljubljanica is one of the two big rivers that cross Ljubljana (the other one is called the Sava) and has 7 different names in different parts of the land. The thing is that after it leaves the capital, it sinks underground for a few times and every time it comes back up, it has a different name, such as Trbuhovica, Obrh, Stržen, Rak, Pivka and Unica.

3. The Bridges

You can cross the river on a few magnificent bridges. Each one was built at different time and it has a specific history and if you are interested in culture of Ljubljana, those are the places that you should definitely see.

First one is called a Dragon Bridge (Zmajski most) – once you see it, you will understand why. It is decorated with beautiful dragons with which you can take cool pictures! It was built in honour of an emperor visiting the city at the beginning of the 20th century.

Second bridge has a very descriptive name: it's not one bridge, but three in one, therefore it is called the Three bridges (Tromostovje). It was built by our most prominent architect of the 20th century, Jožef (Joseph) Plečnik, who has also done a lot of other work around Ljubljana (including our National Library, NUK) and some famous buildings in the capitals of Austria and the Czech Republic.

The third one is also the most recent one. It was opened in 2010 and was architecturally designed by the famous sculptor Jakov Brdar. The name – The Butcher's Bridge (Mesarski most)– may not sound very romantic, but this is actually one of the most romantic spots in the town. Many people put locks on the bridge as a symbol of their love and devotion.

The bridge, which features differents iconographic motifs (from Adam and Eve to the Devil), has got its name after a bridge that once stood at the place of the today's Dragon Bridge. As you will walk around it, you will also see that on certain spots you are actually walking on the glass. If you will be lucky, you can see a cute family of ducks swimming under your feet!

When you find yourself standing on The Butcher's Bridge and thinking: »where to go next? « you have 2 options. One is to head for Petkovškovo nabrežje (the river bank), where you can find many adorable coffee shops and bars. The second, which I also highly recommend during the daytime, is to go to the other side where you can observe the Marketplace (Tržnica), also built by Jožef Plečnik.

4. Squares

The most monumental and beautiful buildings are to be found in the city centre and are located around the most well known squares. Our main one is called The Prešeren Square (Prešernov trg). It is named after an important artist, France Prešeren, who also wrote our national anthem, called Zdravljica. Close to it are also the Congress Square (Kongresni trg) and The Republic Square, where you can find our Parliament.

5. Galleries and museums

You can start the cultural exploration with our magnificent National Gallery (Narodna galerija). It is opened from 10 am to 6 pm every day except on Mondays, when it is closed. On Thursdays it is open longer, until 8 pm. It is closed on certain holidays: 1st January, 1st May, 1st November and December 25th.

Just one minute of walking away from the National Gallery, you can also find the Modern gallery (Moderna galerija). It is located at the entrance to a huge park, called Tivoli, where you can also find the International Centre of Graphic Arts, located in the Tivoli Castle. Once you stroll around the old city centre, you cal also visit the City gallery (Mestna galerija), which always exhibits the latest artists.

At the end of your tour, don't forget to take a cup of coffee somewhere near the river bank and enjoy the beautiful view!