These are the best towns and cities to visit in Slovenia
While Slovenia’s enchanting lakes and mountains never fail to amaze, Robin McKelvie reveals the magic to be found in the country’s urban spaces
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Slovenia may be best known for its epic mountain wildscapes and glorious green spaces, but this bijou charmer packs an impressive urban punch too. Those world-class landscapes provide a spectacular backdrop to its towns and cities, where mankind has made impressive, intriguing imprints of its own.
Being at such a febrile faultline, Slovenia’s population centres are like a smorgasbord of European history, culture and architecture, with Venetian and Roman influences woven in alongside a taste of the Balkans and the unmistakeable stamp of communism. Since Slovenia broke away from Yugoslavia to become an independent country in 1991, and joyfully joined the European Union in 2004, its towns and cities are strutting with renewed confidence, investment and positivity. They are the perfect foil to the glorious tentacles of Mother Nature, which still manage to wrap themselves into the urban parks and rivers. Increasingly the capital, Ljubljana, is celebrated as one of Europe’s great city breaks, but it is not the only place where tourists can enjoy a culture-filled urban adventure in Slovenia.
1. Ljubljana
The Slovenian capital is like a greatest hits of European architecture and culture. Wander by Italianate churches sharing streets with secessionist Art Nouveau flourishes and Austro-Habsburg drama, then cross the lifeblood Ljubljanica River into an old town alive with baroque and medieval influences. Ljubljana is sometimes lazily dubbed a “mini Prague”. The locals know it's the other way round – Unesco-recognised Slovenian architect Joze Plecnik dramatically revamped Ljubljana, but also worked his magic in the Czech capital.
Ljubljana today is filled with bars, cafes and restaurants reflecting the same eclectic influences. They are sprinkled around a core that is built to allow people to savour and enjoy life, with much of it pedestrianised. There are castles, Roman ruins, verdant parks, swathes of museums and galleries, and myriad day trips too. You could come for a weekend, but you would only leave frustrated, so try to give Ljubljana more time.
Where to stay
The Grand Union is a luxurious Art Nouveau wonder in the centre; book a room with a castle view.
2. Maribor
Slovenia’s stately second city is no longer content to play second fiddle. It is home to the world’s oldest vine, though it seems you need to be royalty or the Pope to taste the fruits of the hallowed harvest. Mere mortals can enjoy a wine tasting in one of the wine cellars, then wander through the old town to the even older Lent quarter, exploring the patchwork of historical buildings. The Maribor Regional Museum takes a deep dive into the city’s heritage, while the vibrant and large student community imbues Maribor with energy.
Strolls along the River Drava are de rigueur, with a sprinkling of pavement cafes and restaurants to savour. The local cuisine may not be as eclectic as that found in Ljubljana, but paprika-tinged influences from Hungary across the border swirl deliciously in. There are Michelin-recommended gastronomic temples, too. In winter there is skiing right on the city’s fringes, in the country’s biggest ski resort, the Mariborsko Pohorje; it’s a mountain biking and hiking playground in summer.
Where to stay
The comfortable four-star Hotel City Maribor lies across the river, with great views back to the city, especially from the terrace restaurant.
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3. Bled
You could say there is no Slovenian town more overshadowed by its setting than Bled, but that would be missing the point. Bled is inexorably bound to the landmark Lake Bled, one of Europe’s finest Alpine lakes, a picture-postcard wonder. You will spend a lot of your time just gazing at this improbable island-kissed, mountain-framed wonder, or puttering around on it in a rowing boat. Swimming in summer is glorious.
But Bled is about more than its lake. In winter, this resort town has its own ski run; in summer it’s a great base for hiking. Then there is the charm of its older buildings, which you can appreciate on the mandatory walk around the lake. And, of course, the sublime Bled Castle, which sets the scene for a town with a history beyond tourism. Inevitably, all things do come back to that lake in Bled, but that is no bad thing – especially if you’re savouring it with a slice of kremna rezina, the gorgeous cream cake that is Bled’s finest creation.
Where to stay
The luxurious Vila Bled once hosted Yugoslav dictator Tito. Enjoy the same epic views he would have gazed over from the lavish grounds.
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4. Piran
Stroll under the vaulting campanile of St George’s Church with the ghosts of the Venetians around a chocolate-box-pretty town that spent half a millennium caressed by the architectural finesse of the Divine Republic. Piran swoons with all the orange-roofed, Adriatic-washed charm of the more celebrated Venetian towns next door in Croatia. The strains of celebrated local composer Giuseppe Tartini echo around his eponymous square in a town in which it’s hard not to feel romantic.
There is not an endless list of sights to work through, so just enjoy the bijou galleries, admire the views from the town walls, and hike that campanile to look out for St Mark’s across the water in Venice. Then ease into the crystal-clear waters for a dip, before enjoying a boat-fresh locally landed seafood platter in one of the waterfront restaurants that burst into life as the sun spectacularly melts into the Adriatic.
Where to stay
At Hotel Piran, choose a sea-facing room, where your balcony is wafted by an Adriatic breeze. It has a decent restaurant, too.
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5. Kranj
An easy day trip from Ljubljana, the city of Kranj – capital of and gateway to the mountainous Gorenjska region – is worth a wee trip in its own right. Mountains frame a city, cut through by the River Sava, that is blessed with lashings of history and culture. This unfurls in one of the most charming old towns in the country. It’s an easily navigable affair: you can wander the narrow lanes, which date back to medieval times, while the large student population ensures that the bars, cafes and restaurants remain more contemporary – and great value.
Kranj’s most famous former inhabitant is France Preseren, a seminal poet and the author of the Slovenian national anthem. He is to Slovenia what Robert Burns is to Scotland: a national icon and a breathless romantic whose life was bathed in tragedy and unfulfilled dreams. At the Preseren House, where he spent the last years of his life, delve deeper, then impress your new Slovenian friends with your knowledge of their national poet. The Preseren Theatre is another cultural hub dedicated to the poet.
Where to stay
Layer’s Art Residences is a handy central bolthole in a 19th-century building near all the sights.
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