Four Days Around Ljubljana, an Itinerary
Slovenia is a fantastic spring/summer/fall destination. Well known in Europe, it is just starting to be recognized in America. Although it is primarily a destination for outdoors lovers, given its wealth of mountains, lakes, rivers, canyons, caves and the various attendant sports, it has something for everyone. Having traveled to a dozen countries and over two dozen cities in the past year, it’s still one of our favorites.
If you come to Slovenia, you’ll most likely be based out of Ljubljana — a cute, safe, green city with a small-town feel. Its other selling point is the great variety of activities within just an hour’s drive of the city. Thus, over a few days you can see several amazing but very different landscapes. Here is a four day itinerary (really the minimum) to make the most of your trip to Slovenia.
Day 1
Take a walking tour with a boat ride and learn about all the different empires that encompassed Slovenia over time, and which Pope is pictured at the top of those gates; also why there are dragons all over the place
Have lunch in Tabar, a chic and rather upscale lunch place and sample their extensive local wine list. Say hi to Rok -- he does the best wine tastings!
Take the funicular up to see Grad (the city’s main castle) and get the best views of the city. There is a restaurant, cafe, and several small museums. Tours are available to give historical context. For an extra kick, take the costume tour
Come down and get some excellent gelato at Vigò a block away from the triple bridge
Lounge in a café along the river and grab some dinner at one of the many restaurants there -- I would suggest Second violin
Walk the streets in the evening and enjoy the positive energy of this vibrant young town that just keeps going at 10, 11 and past midnight
Day 2
Rent a car or take a bus to Velika Planina. It was one of our favorite days out of the entire six week stay. You can make it as easy or challenging as you want (there is a hiking trail from the bottom of the kilometer mountain), but the rolling green hills, friendly strolling cows, and the the mega swings over the hillsides totally won us over
Come back in the late afternoon and check out the quirky creativity at Metelkovo Art collective
Have dinner at Breg along the river
Stroll the streets along the river at night, grab some gelato from Romantika, have a high end cocktail at Kolibri or a craft brew at Lajbah.
Day 3
In the first part of the day, if you are up for a hike and some traditional Slovenian cuisine, go up Smartna Gora and have an early lunch at the top. Bizarrely, the best authentic Slovenian food is only available in places like this or travel inns
Alternatively,
Chill at Café Čokl across from the central market — they have cutely innovative coffee drinks
Check out one of many museums at Ljubljana — for kids or adults
Have lunch at Friday’s Open Kitchen fantastic food market — lively and amazing. Do it early on in your trip — and then keep coming back
In the afternoon, take a bus or a car to Postojna caves and Predjama castle
Day 4
Take the first bus (or drive a car) to Bled and start with a walk through Vintgar Gorge. It’s about an hour’s walk through gorgeous (😁) scenery no matter how many gorges you’ve been to before
Get back to town, and head up to Bled castle for the view before getting lunch back in town. Although Bled probably has the highest concentration of tourists in Slovenia, it’s still beautiful enough to warrant a visit
After lunch, rent a kayak or SUP or any other water conveyance and get out onto the lake — be one of those dots!
Dry off and ride the toboggan all the way down the mountain with the lake in front of you
Finally, if you are taking the bus back to Ljubljana, especially on a weekend, resist the urge to take the last bus, as there may not be enough seats (or so the rumor goes).
Where to Stay
Staying in downtown Ljubljana is a great option, as you’ll be able to just walk to most attractions. Booking.com works well here.
You can also stay a bit out of town, as there are many buses and taxis are cheap, and it’s a small city anyway. I would recommend the west side of town under Tivoli park.
Here is a Google map we ended up with, combining tourist attractions around the country with restaurants, bars and cafes in Ljubljana. Most of these we visited and enjoyed, some are strong recommendations that we didn’t get to.
Want to know more? Check out our Slovenia month itinerary and read our travelog posts.
Have a great trip!
