Day 1 – Ljubljana

At the end of August, my parents came visit me and I had about a week to show them around Slovenia. We had a car and I wanted to bring them to many places but didn’t want to spend too much on admission fee, so if you fall into that category, keep reading!

There’s a lot of free/low-cost interesting “touristic” alternative activities all around Slovenia and here’s just a few, that I’ve selected to show my parents.

To avoid writing one big wall of text, I’ve divided it into a series of post: “Slovenia on Budget”. Please note, this is about Places to Visit, and I don’t cover accommodations or transports.

Day 1 – Ljubljana

On the map, Slovenia looks like a big chicken. Today, we’re going to visit the biggest city and it’s in the Osrednjeslovenska region.

Ljubljana, the City of Dragon

Ljubljana is the Capital City of Slovenia, also known as the City of Dragon – a must-see.

We walked around the old town Center (Prešernov trg square, Mestni trg square, Dragon Bridge, the Triple Bridge and so much more…) and my parents took tons of photos.

Beautiful Fountain of Robba with glimpse of a Church in Ljubljana, Slovenia

There are many  beautiful statues, fountains, street arts in the old town of Ljubljana, you just have to look and explore every streets and little corners for them! I will give you a little clue: look for the street Ključavničarska ulica.

Looking up the Bell Tower of St-Nicholas Church in Ljubljana, Slovenia

And sometimes you just need to look up and around to spot something worth photographing.

Romantic Love Locks on the Butcher’s Bridge in Old Ljubljana

There’s also an Open Market, filled with locals goodies. Also, every Friday from March to September, there’s an event Odprta kuhna – Open Kitchen, in Ljubljana – where you can taste traditional Slovenian and International dishes, from 8am to 8pm.

Beautiful Ceiling and Chandelier of the St-Georges Chapel in Ljubljana Castle

The Ljubljana Castle, sitting on top of the hill, looking down on the Center.  If you don’t want to walk up to the castle, you can use the Funicular (ticket is 10€, which includes admission to the Virtual Castle, Outlook Tower and the exhibitions). We decided to walk up (of course) to the castle. It was a nice hike up, about 15-20 mins. We visit the inner courtyard of the castle for free and the St. George’s Chapel.

The largest park in Ljubljana is Tivoli Park. If you need to take a break from walking the city streets, you can enjoy a nice relaxing walk in Tivoli for free. It reminds me of Central Park in New York, a big piece of green inside a city.

And if you’re in for a coffee break, I suggest that you go to Nebotičnik – the Skyscraper, a coffee shop with a roof terrace, where you can enjoy an awesome view over Ljubljana, Tivoli Park, the mountains… at the cost of a nice cup of coffee, which you can pair with a serving of cake (I recommend to try the Famous Ljubljana Cake – Torta Ljubljana, gluten free with buckwheat flour, pumpkin seeds, almond, figs and chestnuts, and it’s covered in some yummy chocolate. Miammm…).

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Ljubljana, being the capital city and center of cultures, has indeed many more free events. Feel free to share them with me via the comment box below 🙂

Thanks for reading my blog and if you enjoyed your day in Ljubljana, follow me on my next destinations: Day 2 – Bled & Bohinj and visit my Gallery.

Let’s travel,
Anna.