Maribor and Ptuj, two towns in Lower Styria

Our journey through Slovenia continued in the east, in the Lower Styria region. There we mainly discovered Maribor, the country’s second city, and Ptuj, one of the oldest towns in Slovenia.

What to see in Maribor

We spent the morning and had lunch in Maribor: we really liked both the buzz and the calm of this city. The pedestrian city centre is quite lively and well stocked with shops and restaurants.

A few points of interest to see in Ptuj: its town hall square with the superb Plague Column (Glavni Trg), its Gothic cathedral, without missing the Lent district along the Drava, where you can admire a vine more than 400 years old!

We loved walking along the banks of the Drava, moving away from the noise of the city. If you go to see the old vine (Stara trta), don’t miss going into the shop-museum which offers wine tastings.

For lunch, we went to the city park (Mestni park) which is actually a very lovely arboretum on a hill. This “green” side gives the city a certain character and makes it very pleasant, especially in summer when the sun is beating down!

For the next stage of this road trip, the road from Maribor to Ptuj crosses hills and vineyards and follows the Drava, which makes it very photogenic.

What to see in Ptuj

Ptuj looks like a small provincial town, nestled on the banks of the Drava river, which gives it that postcard setting typical of Slovenia. You recognise Ptuj by its red roofs, which bring a certain charm to the town. Visiting Ptuj is fairly quick: so we devoted a few hours to it in the afternoon.

A few points of interest to see in Ptuj: the Monastery of the Friars Minor, turned into an art centre, its castle, its main square (Slovenski trg) and of course the view of the opposite bank, by taking the bridge (Most za pešce in kolesarje).

We didn’t visit the inside of the castle but we were able to admire the view from the courtyard in front of the entrance. It gives you a lovely perspective over the Drava and the red tiled roofs of Ptuj.

Our accommodation in Maribor

For this one night stage in Lower Styria, we chose to set down our bags in Maribor. Our accommodation booked on Airbnb was very nicely decorated and looked like a small loft. We recommend it without hesitation. It is in a quiet spot, five minutes from the city centre by car or about twenty minutes on foot. For 47€ a night, it’s a real gem!

Our favourite spots in Maribor and Ptuj

• Gostilna Pri treh ribnikih: a very good spot for lunch, listed in the Gault-et-Millau, right in the heart of Maribor’s park. The lunch set menu with starter, main and dessert costs only 15.50€!
• Muzicafe: a lovely spot (a youth hostel and café) in the centre of Ptuj to drink an iced tea or a juice, on the leafy terrace or in the garden at the back.

What we thought of Maribor and Ptuj

Maribor and Ptuj are two charming towns to discover on a road trip in eastern Slovenia. A certain calm reigns there, no doubt due to the fact that there are still very few tourists over there too.
So we recommend visiting these two towns, why not on the same day!

Planning a trip to Slovenia? Read all our articles about our road trip!