A day in Ljubljana

While organising two road trips in Slovenia in 2019 and 2021, both years we passed through the country’s capital: Ljubljana. And after two visits, we can say we’re starting to know the city well! It’s one of the smallest European capitals with only 293,000 inhabitants and you can feel it: there really aren’t too many people in town, which is rather pleasant to start a stay. The first time we went there, we immediately felt good in this green city where a sort of Slovenian dolce vita almost reigns. The city isn’t huge and the points of interest are all grouped together in the centre, so it’s possible to stay just one day and one night.

Getting to Ljubljana from Paris

For our two trips to Slovenia, we booked our flights to Ljubljana with Air France: we left from Paris Charles de Gaulle (from the small terminal 2G) with HOP!, one of the airline’s subsidiaries. In 2019 (trip from 1 to 13 August), we had paid 169€ per person (a total of 338€ for the two of us, direct flight). In 2021, we took our tickets at the end of May for a trip from 22 July to 8 August, for 141€ per person (a total of 282€ for the two of us, direct flight), which is a very reasonable price especially for the month of August.

As you land, you feel straight away plunged into the country’s atmosphere: the plane touches down on the runway surrounded by fir trees and mountains, it’s magnificent! The airport is very small (so much so that on the road, the signs say “Aerodrom”), you can’t get lost in it. To get to Ljubljana, you have two options:

• the city bus, which takes about 50 minutes to get into town, with several stops.
• the shuttle taxi from the company GoOpti, which we took both times. The shuttles are opposite the airport exit, you can’t miss them. How it works: for 10€ per person (payable in cash or by card), the driver takes you to your accommodation, in about twenty minutes (a bit like the Uber Pool idea! ). In 2019, the journey went very well because we were in the front and we took the chance to chat with our driver, who gave us some information about his country. We highly recommend taking this means of transport, which will get you to the city centre faster, and above all straight to your accommodation.

What to see in Ljubljana

The castle (Ljubljana grad)

On both our visits, we went up to the castle in the early evening at sunset. The easiest way is to take the Reber staircase, running perpendicular to the main street (stari trg), which already gives a lovely view over the city. Once at the top, you can head straight for the castle overlooking Ljubljana: the view isn’t sensational but it makes you realise that the capital is surrounded by forests and mountains. Since our visit in 2019, the castle surroundings have changed: the whole esplanade has been renovated and a café/restaurant has moved in.

We carried on our walk on the castle hill, which is fairly wild. Heading towards the Ljubljana vineyard (gradski vinograd), we were able to admire a prettier view over the city from this southern side of the hill. As for the vineyard, it’s a truly peaceful and rather unusual place to see in the middle of a city: not to be missed during your visit to the castle hill, especially at sunset!

Along the Ljubljanica river

The Ljubljanica river is present everywhere: you can cross it in the south on the Šentjakobski most (St James Bridge), the Šuštarski most, the very well known triple bridge Tromostovje, the padlock bridge Mesarski most and finally the Dragon bridge, Zmajski most. It’s really one of the most pleasant places in the city where you can just stroll about, stop for a drink and admire the monuments from the banks.

The historic city centre

Ljubljana’s city centre is entirely pedestrian, which makes the walk very pleasant because you aren’t bothered by cars. With its colourful houses and cobbled streets, the centre is very picturesque and you want to take photos at every street corner. We took the very beautiful street gornji trg, which brought us out onto the square where the Hercules fountain stands. Then you have to turn right onto stari trg, which is the city’s main street where the most beautiful monuments and all the restaurants are. We were able to admire the mestni trg, the main square, as well as the Fountain of the Three Carniolan Rivers and finally St Nicholas cathedral. We quickly realised that the city was very small and everything could be visited within a ten minute walk!

Everywhere, music in the street, people on terraces, having dinner or simply having a drink: a lovely summer atmosphere that smells of holidays. On the other side of the bank, you can discover a pleasant tree lined promenade dotted with small restaurants, which opens onto the square of the Church of the Annunciation, which you can spot from afar thanks to its reddish colour. And from there, take Miklošičeva cesta to walk past Art Deco buildings such as the Vurnikova hiša. The other side of the city centre is also pleasant with Congress Square, the Opera or the National Gallery, on the way to Tivoli park.

And to get a stunning view over the whole city and the castle, we went up to the rooftop of the country’s tallest skyscraper, Nebotičnik. In the building’s entrance, you just take the lift up to the bar: we didn’t have anything there, we only took photos!

Congress Square (Kongresni Trg) is always very lively and lots of events take place there, both during the day and in the evening. In 2019, the surprise of the afternoon was watching beach volleyball matches: a great moment of music and applause shared with the locals who had come to cheer on the teams. In 2021, we attended the international choral festival Europa Cantat, which welcomes national choirs from all over Europe.

Just before entering Tivoli park, don’t miss the orthodox church of St Cyril (Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church), which holds magnificent, very colourful paintings and frescoes.

Tivoli park

Tivoli park is in a way the green lung of an already very leafy city. Both years we went to this big park, in particular towards the Jakopič promenade and Tivoli castle. The main avenue puts on beautiful photo exhibitions every season: in 2019, the theme on offer was the Art Deco architecture you can find in Ljubljana, and in 2021, European choral music. Once at the castle, surrounded by small flowered gardens, you’ll have a lovely perspective over the Jakopič promenade.

If you have a bit of time left during your stay in Ljubljana, we can only advise you to come to Tivoli park, in the quiet, and above all to take the many paths that run through the forest. You completely forget that you’re in the middle of a city, in a capital!

Ljubljana by night

If you’re sleeping in Ljubljana, think about walking around the city once the sun has set. The monuments are all lit up, with different colours, which gives the city a slightly magical atmosphere. The best thing is to walk along the river, on the bank opposite the castle, to see the hill lit up from a distance.

Our accommodation in Ljubljana

In 2019, we chose to stay right in the city centre, at the foot of the castle, in this private room found on Airbnb (108€ for the two nights). We had the surprise of getting the whole apartment because our host went away for the two days we were there! The accommodation was spotless, nicely decorated and quiet: it was literally a few minutes from the main thoroughfare, five minutes from a Spar for shopping and about twenty minutes from the station.

In 2021, we stayed in a whole Airbnb apartment (70€ a night), a few minutes from the Dragon Bridge, on the street leading to the bus station. Newly renovated, the place was perfect for one night (with everything you need for breakfast).

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Our favourite places to eat in Ljubljana

• Landerik (2019, 2021): a lovely, fairly chic gourmet restaurant with which we started both our stays in Slovenia. The lunch menu at 19€ is unbeatable value for money: amuse-bouche, starter, main, dessert and petit four, with original combinations and carefully presented plates. We highly recommend it!
• Pop’s place (2019): a very good, nicely decorated Italian restaurant facing the Ljubljanica: we ate two pizzas, a plate of ham and burrata as well as a tiramisu for only 29€!
• Slovenska Hiša (2021): pretty bar on the banks of the Ljubljanica offering local products such as charcuterie and cheese boards (12€ for two drinks and a board).
• Cacao (2019): a good place to eat an ice cream or a cake with a smoothie by the water, opposite the covered market.
• Gelateria Romantika (2021): very good ice creams with original flavours at a gentle price (2.50€ for 2 scoops).

What we thought of Ljubljana

We really felt a gentle way of life in this city, crowned in 2016 European Green Capital by the European Commission. As the city is on a human scale, everything can be done on foot and you often walk (happily) back down the same streets and across the same squares. It’s not a city you visit at a run but one you discover by stopping in craft shops or at a terrace by the water. Nature is present everywhere and many streets are pedestrian, which means you can be in the quiet, even in the middle of the city!
So we advise you to spend a day or a day and a half there, which gives you time to discover the city centre, the castle and Tivoli park. The key word is to stroll and let yourself be guided by the lanes and the music always present in the street…

To complete your reading, we recommend the excellent blog of a French expat that we have read and reread: Slovénie secrète.