Experience in Maribor, Slovenia by Luka

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

Maribor is Slovenia's second biggest city, but in a country of just 2 million inhabitants you can't expect great urban areas. But anyway, Maribor with it's 150. 000 inhabitants gives you everything that you need with good position to travel, a lot of green areas and places for recreation and leisure. I would recommend it for all the people that like calmer and family like student life, since the students here are very connected. Although the city is small there is about 500 international students per semester.

What is the student lifestyle like in Maribor?

Student life in Maribor is a student life in a real sense of the word. Everything on the reach of the hand, walkable distances, cheap accommodation of good quality, student coupons in restaurants around the city and good ESN team that organizes great events.

How much does it cost to live in Maribor?

The living expenses in Maribor are not that high. Shared room in a dormitory costs about 100-150 €, single room in private flat from 150€. You probably won't spend a lot of money on food and will gain weight anyway. There is a subvention food system in Slovenia for students, with an application on your phone that provides you cheaper meals in most of the restaurants in the whole country. You can use 2 coupons per day and the prices are from 0, 00 (! ) - 4, 00€ for a full meal. So you can basically get the food for free also!

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

Every student coming to Maribor will be contacted from the Student dorm office and will get an option to stay in one of their rooms. If you choose a private accommodation you can find it quite easily. There is a lot of webpages that offer you apartments all over the town.

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

Traditional Slovenian food is a mixture of Austrian, Italian and Hungarian and Balkan cuisine, so a lot of sausages, sauerkraut, soups and salads. The special oil, called "Bučno olje" or pumpkin seeds oil is a must have in every home in the Maribor region. It will be served as a salad dressing in all the restaurants as well. The other things you have to try are Kranjska sausage, potica cake, and wild mushroom soup...

What places would you recommend visiting in Maribor?

Pohorje is a ski resort at the southern edge of the city, the peak is about 1000 m high and it has a lot of opportunities for sports activities in all the seasons, from skiing in the winter till adrenaline park in the summer. One of the biggest sightseeing attractions is the Old vine- the oldest vine tree in the world, that grows there for about 500 years. The old town with the castle and narrow streets leading towards Drava river are also worth of visiting. There is big park just 5 minutes walking from the city centre with aquarium and terrarium, and big wine cellar under the square of the liberty, as well.

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

The food is very good. As I said you can eat in restaurants for a very cheap prices. So no mother in Europe shouldn't be concerned about that when her child goes to Slovenia. You can choose among Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Slovenian, Balkan, Italian, etc restaurants. The really good traditional Slovenian is called "Štajerc". You can eat in the restaurant in the campus that is called "Piano", and there is a lot of good Chinese restaurants and also Mexican like "Takos" or "Rico Torres".

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

There are several clubs in the city centre, some of them are oriented on a specific type of music such as Latino clubs "Fuego" or "Takos", then there is "Kmš" where all the international parties are held. In the campus there is a student club called "Štuk". Near the campus there are also "Mango" and "Trust". For all the alternative music lovers there is "Satchmo", "Kgb" or "Pekarna" - with more little houses with different alternative music. So there is a lot of choices where to go and what to do.

What advice would you give future students heading to Maribor?

Enjoy, get to know the local people, culture and make it unforgettable because it is the best thing in a one students life. Maybe the city is not big but with the capitals like Vienna, Budapest or tourist destination like Venice just 2-3 away by car makes Maribor even better than some big metropolis.