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Capital and largest city of Slovenia
Photo: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ljubljana ("lee-oo-blee-AH-nuh") is the small but delightful capital of Slovenia. While the city's population had grown to 295,500 in 2020, the sights and amenities are concentrated in the charming old centre. It's full of artists, museums, and galleries, it's friendly and easy to reach, and it's a good base for exploring the rest of the country.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Tromostovje
The central span is from 1842: it became a bottleneck so in the 1930s footbridges were added on each side, fanning out slightly. On the north bank these lead into Prešeren Square, adorned by the statue of the national poet France Prešeren (1800-1849). It's the obvious rendezvous point in town; the area is pedestrianised. The TIC is south end of the bridge.
The old town has two squares, Mestni trg (City square) with the Robba fountain and the city hall behind it, and, further on, Gornji trg (Upper square). Well preserved medieval buildings now house local designer shops, and several popular cafes and restaurants. Although they may look creepy, the perfectly safe narrow lanes lead to charming little squares and buildings.
Zmajski Most
Completed in 1901, designed by Croatian Jurij Zainovich. It is guarded by four detailed dragon statues from the city's coat-of-arms. Look out for the dragon motif throughout the city. Be careful around the Dragon Bridge area, as it is on a major busy road just outside the pedestrian zone and near misses (and worse) between inattentive tourists and traffic are common. The dragon bridge is located at the end of the Ljubljana Open Market, just a block or two down the river (north-east direction) from the Triple bridge.
The tower has magnificent views all over the city. You can also see the Sava River and Kamnik Alps in the distance. Included is a 3D Movie of the history of Ljubljana from a pre-historic settlement to Roman Empire to modern times (€6.50 for adults, €3 for students, seniors).
Where crowds gathered as Slovenia announced its independence from the Yugoslav Federation in 1991. The square has significant importance for Slovene history, as it was a place of important public gatherings (and demonstrations) in the past. Across the road is the Slovene Parliament. Its façade is decorated with artistic nude statues of Slovenes at work and leisure. The square also houses the International Business Centre.
A short walk west of the centre of town are the remains of the Roman City Walls, including a number of pillars from an entrance gate.
A village-like part of the city connecting the centre to the Trnovo suburb.
A self-declared autonomous culture place to gather for alternative artists, many subcultures and youth. What used to be a military barracks is now full of underground artists, bars and nightclubs. Metelkova can get crowded on Fridays and Saturdays. It is within 5 minute of walk from main Train Station, and it is home to a renowned hostel Celica.
One of the most beautiful zoos in Europe.
Ljubljana Botanic Garden is the oldest Slovene cultural, scientific and educational institution. It was founded in 1810, the time of the Illyrian Provinces, as a garden of native flora and a section of the Central School (École Centrale). In the garden is also tropical glasshouse.
a tomb and a monument for the national heroes of the World War II resistance struggle in Slovenia, created in 1949.
A Baroque style church built between 1718 and 1726.
Kongresni trg
One of the central squares, built in 1821. In 1988 the first free mass demonstration was held here, which was the start of the Slovenian spring, leading to the declaration of Slovenia's independence in 1991.
A 13 storey high-rise.built in 1931, designed by Vladimir Šubic, with a cafe & bar on the top floor.
Cerkev sv. Cirila in Metoda
An Orthodox Church has five domes with golden crosses at their top. It was built from 1932 to 1936, with interior frescos painted between 1986 and 1997.
Frančiškanska cerkev Marijinega oznanjenja
Built between 1646 and 1660, with a later front facade and bell tower.
ljubljanska stolnica
St. Nicholas's Church (cerkev sv. Nikolaja) was built between 1701 and 1706 on a site dating back to 1262. The fine interior includes fresco painted by Giulio Quaglio between 1703 and 1723.
An intricate set of buildings, the first mosque in the country.
MAO
Hosts a permanent exhibition of Jože Plečnik's works.
Plečnikova hiša
Devoted to great Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, who lived in this building from 1921 to 1957. The house contains rooms with the artist’s valuable original furniture and personal objects, an archive of his sketches and plans and a collection of clay, plaster and wooden models, a library, Plečnik’s correspondence, a photo archive, thesis projects of Plečnik’s students and an archive of the Academy of Architecture Collection. Access only by guided tour of not more than 7 people, booked at least five days in advance.
MG+
For those who prefer contemporary art, MG+ houses the national collection of 20th-century Slovene art (paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photography, video and electronic media collections), a collection of works from the former Yugoslavia, and the Eastern European collection "Arteast 2000+.".
+MSUM
Opened in 2011 in the former military barracks complex this is complementary museum to the MG+. Opening hours and prices same as +MG. Adult combined tickets available.
Definitely worth visiting if you care about art. It exhibits two important permanent collections that include works of some of the best and most renowned Slovenian (impressionist) painters (Jama, Grohar, Jakopic, Azbe). You can also see there a restored original of the Robba Fountain, a monument of national cultural heritage.
The oldest and the largest Slovene museum. It was founded in 1821. Existent museum building on the Museum street, was built in 1888 and was the first, building, assigned solely to culture in Slovenia. Today its stores a rich collections of valuable objects. The oldest spring back to the Stone Age, but there are also the newer ones, which are still used in our everyday life. Important columns of museum activity are also rich museum library and unit for preservation and restoring.
In the new building of the National museum of Slovenia on the Metelkova Street, are exhibited collections of the applied art heritage of Slovenia. The permanent exhibition brings together objects of applied arts from the 14th century to the present day.
Muzej novejše in sodobne zgodovine
Slovenia's 20th-century history museum gives you a real sense of the country's roller-coaster ride through regime after regime. Its immersive exhibits include a walk-through World War I trench. The last exhibit shows the events around the Declaration of Independence from Yugoslavia and the Ten Day War with the Yugoslav Federal Army. All exhibits are translated to English and some to German too.
Features an almost complete skeleton of a 20,000 year old mammoth found near Kamnik in 1938, a 200-million-year old fossil fish skeleton found in Triglav National Park, and a new, 13-m skeleton of a fin whale. Also has a large mineral collection.
Specialised in art shows, often in collaboration with international institutions. Normally on nearby sites but MGLC Tivoli Mansion is closed for renovation.
Mestni muzej Ljubljana
City history and temporary exhibitions.
Železniški Muzej
Covers all aspects of the railway, Great selection of steam locos.
Hiša eksperimentov
A hands-on science "playground" for kids.
Balonarski center Barje
These launch at sunrise for one-hour flights, weather permitting. The launch spot is chosen on the day so the wind carries you over the historic centre. The whole programme is about 4 hours so reckon on a very early start.
They play soccer in PrvaLiga, the top tier. Their home ground (capacity 16,000) is off the ring road 2 km north of city centre.
A water park offering 14 pools, thermal baths, slides and saunas. Special section is dedicated for children.
Offers open-air pools during the day and themed parties at night.
Enormous arts and convention centre with concerts and performances.
Slovenska Filharmonija
Orchestra dating back to 1701.
Poletno gledališče Križanke
used for summer festivals.
Mestno gledališče ljubljansko
Opera, ballet and theatre festival held in July and August.
Ljubljana's charming film museum where they have at least two movies a day. The movies range from classics to cult movies, from trash and horror to artistic masterpieces. All movies are presented in the original audio language, and equipped with Slovenian subtitles, sometimes also English. On Saturday mornings they have special projections for children. There are also some special events, round tables, premiers etc. all the time. It's a must visit for every film lover. It has also a nice little cafe with small prices
This is a small and very cool cinema that shows mostly new movies that are not playing in the blockbuster movie complexes. It has also a lot of special events, a great cafe and movies for children (Sundays).
A great place to spend an evening. Main features include bowling, pool, laser games and a state-of-the-art 3D XpanD cinema theatre.
A Multiplex.
Houraway offers high-quality bike rentals, including e-bikes, road bikes, and gravel bikes, along with guided and self-guided cycling tours. Their expertly designed day and multi-day tours cater to all fitness levels, showcasing Slovenia’s scenic landscapes, from peaceful countryside paths to challenging mountain routes.
Odprta Kuhna means "open kitchen". It's a collection of food stalls on Pogačarjev trg, just south of Triple Bridge.
Horse-burger chain with four city outlets. Huge burgers and other dishes; you order and pay first at the machine.
Open non-stop, so it's popular late at night. Different kinds of burek (a leafy dough pie filled with mince meat or cheese).
Hole-in-the-wall fast food restaurant serving seasonal Slovenian soups with traditional sausages and bread. You order and pay first at the machine.
Self-service buffet with vegetarian and vegan Indian food, great value.
Kavarna Kapri
A cozy cafe in the very center of Ljubljana, just a few steps away from the famous Dragon Bridge, offers healthy, delicious and inexpensive breakfasts and brunches. All dishes here are made from scratch and prepared fresh. Full bar always available with variety of any drinks: fragrant coffee, tea, fresh squeezed juices and homemade lemonades, Italian and Slovenian wines, beer, spirits and cocktails.
Vegan self-service restaurant. Food sold by weight.
The name is a clue. They also offer mezze dishes.
Pink Elephant
Restaurant/takeaway offering tasty & healthy Thai meals with a choice of beers & soft drinks. they are also at a few other locations in the city. Some vegan options.
This is a B&B in the eastern burbs, known as a Serbian restaurant - good for meat lovers. Loud live music at weekends.
Thai food and cocktail bar, great atmosphere.
Popular place serving pony steaks, horse goulash, and traditional Slovenian food.
Flamboyantly decorated pizzeria and salad restaurant.
formerly Pod Rožnikom
Specialises in grilled dishes from the Balkans; good value.
Authentic Slovenian cuisine, with serving staff got up in traditional costume. So inevitably it's touristy, but good food in huge portions and very good value for money.
Popular Mexican restaurant.
Filling fare of Italian pasta and risotto dishes.
Riverside cafe, the pancakes are their specialty.
Family-friendly reliable comfort-food place in the burbs.
Pizzeria with nice patio overlooking the river, the quality of food is uneven.
Mostly trad and Med fare, with vegetarian options.
Serves hearty meat dishes such as sausages, horse fillets, and steak as well as pasta and risotto.
It's larger than it looks from the street, with several candlelit rooms leading to the outside terrace. Trad cuisine, good reviews for quality and service.
Decent Chinese restaurant near Dragon Bridge.
Huge range of Slovenian fare, generous portions.
Trendy spot with two areas, for casual dining or the restaurant. Mostly positive reviews.
Med cuisine, earns consistent good reviews.
Modern international fare, pricey by local standards, and mixed reviews on food quality.
Good seafood restaurant.
Excellent traditional dishes with slick friendly service.
This is within Archer's Tower of the castle, with a terrace overlooking the city. So you're paying for the great location but the food also scores.
Fine quality vegan restaurant
Great ambiance - bare wooden floors, high tables and stools, and vaulted ceiling.
The Tea House
This is a quirky little coffee and tea room, offering many variations on those warm beverages as well as basic breakfasts and lunches. The background music is impeccably cool, and the atmosphere is ideal for some elegant loafing. Linked to the café is a teashop selling drinking paraphernalia and loads of different fruity flavoured teas by the 100g.
Very popular corner cafe.
Really cool colourful spray-painted cafe/bar along the canal. The place also serves as a hostel.
Cafe with great ices and pastries.
Lively pub with raucous atmosphere. Usually has live music.
Main sports cafe/bar with sports regalia along the wall and a good, mixed crowd on most nights. Shows international rugby, all sorts of football games (European, English, Italian and other leagues) and other live sports. Has the best TV coverage in the city, ranging from Sky Sports to local TV stations.
Žmavc's neighbor and my brother's pal aka Žmavc
Markets to the "creative urban type." Burgers, coffee and alcoholic drinks.
Popular student pub with an almost 150-year-long tradition, frequented almost exclusively by locals. Loud music.
Anyone with any interest in wine should visit here. The cosy, candlelit wine bar comes with knowledgeable barmen who can recommend a wine based on your tastes. The wine glasses are huge, so it's hard to tell if they were being stingy or if it has simply spread out. Be careful about asking for ‘samples’, as they will charge you full price. The prices can vary from modest to a remortgage.
Located in the Art Nouveau part of Ljubljana city centre, offers more than 120 beer varieties and a large choice of teas and wines. It is vibrant in the evenings, particularly when it hosts themed events and beer tastings, while during the day it has a more coffee house-like atmosphere, offering its guests an opportunity to browse through a newspaper or read a book in peace. The staff speak several languages. Free wireless internet access is available.
Beer hall with outdoor area. Large choice of craft beers & mainly Asian food.
Bar with coffee & craft beers
Microbrewery & bar close to railway station. Brewery tours available.
Pub at the Union brewery. food available. This is the opposite of a micro brewery.
Popular quirky bar with a 1961 Chrysler Newport as part of the seating.
It's a squat with 6 clubs, each with its own style of music and programme. Gala Hala is the biggest and the music is very diverse - from funk nights to hip-hop and indie to rap and strange fun music. It has also concerts and an outside garden where they also grill in the summer. Gromka is a smaller one usually admission free and the music also differs from night to night. Usually it's rock/alternative hits or rockabilly or fun 90s music. It has also concerts. Menza pri Koritu is the most alternative and it has mainly alternative, metal, punk concerts and after parties. Channel Zero is more about electronics (also concerts) - d'n'b, dub, electro, house. Jalla Jalla is the smallest one with sometimes obscure, experimental music. Tiffany is a gay club with usually electronic parties. In Metelkova everybody can find a place for himself (usually the most is happening on weekends) and you can just walk from one to another club and see what is going on (if there is no admission).
National and international DJs play electronic music.
Small friendly hostel.
This was the military brig, get caught in town without a pass and The Cells was where you'd spend the night. Then they got the designers in, how come Guantanamo never cottoned on to this concept? Good to know: each cell was individually designed by a Slovenian artist.
Dijaški dom
Clean friendly place in student residence, only open July and Aug. In 2023 the dorm is not available.
Small clean central place with 8- and 6-bed dorm.
Cute friendly hostel, very central.
Budget / hostel rooms in a 100-year-old villa west side of town.
Unusual hostel on 7th floor of Ibis Styles hotel. featuring tents, cabins, and capsules. Buffet breakfast available.
Basic functional place which also contains a hostel.
Decent central place with clean rooms, thin walls.
Clean central mid to budget hotel with 145 rooms. They formerly also offered "hostel" rooms, cheaper but bare; these are not on offer in 2021.
Pleasant place in a quiet district, has only five rooms.
Boxy modern place 2 km northwest of centre with neat, spacious rooms.
Clean well-run place northeast edge of city.
Colourful rooms, nice restaurant, and great central location. Doesn't have a parking lot so you'd pay pricey central parking rates.
Modern slab with 214 rooms, spacious and good sound-proofing. All rooms have air-con, safe, minibar, hair dryer, flat screen, satellite TV and radio.
Modern chain hotel with clean and comfy rooms. Their website is uninformative about pets, but it's said that in 1552 Archduke Maximilian stayed at an inn on this spot in the company of an elephant.
Splendid Art Nouveau building. Large comfy rooms though showing their age, some have views of the castle. Restaurant, fitness centre, sauna, and rooftop pool.
Glassy high rise building, smart and comfy. In 2020 / 21 it was mothballed and guests were shifted elsewhere - "re-protected" is their splendidly unctuous euphemism for this.
Central boxy modern hotel, comfy and brightly decorated. Reception is on the 7th floor: it's a "concept" apparently.
formerly Hotel Mons
4-star business hotel by the forest west edge of town, convenient for motorists. With spa and fitness centre.
formerly Avtokamp Ježica
Camping and tourer caravan site edge of town by River Sava. Also has rooms for B&B plus swimming pool, sauna, fitness centre, badminton, volleyball, bowling, play area and restaurant.
Clean modern place with restaurant, on bus route to city.
formerly Motel Grosuplje
4-star hotel handy for motorists and business travellers. Comfy rooms, restaurant, and of course the casino.
One of Ljubljana's two main shopping area.
The second major shopping district.
Two dozen or so stalls selling overpriced knick-knacks. Postcards, €10. Tito and Disney memorabilia, broken Chinese-made curios, rusty military paraphernalia.
The central, open-air market features a wide array of local produce (exact items vary depending on the season), as well as local cheeses, breads and meats in the adjacent building. If you're lucky, you may still find sellers who have wheeled in their vegetables from south of the city centre (Krakovo) by foot—although they are a dying breed. Open every morning and early afternoon except Sunday; most lively on Saturday mornings. On Fridays you can also visit the 'Open Kitchen' 08:00–21:00, March–October.
By train
Slovenian Railways website is here. For at least some routes, tickets can be purchased in advance at the OEBB 'Scotty' web site. (https://fahrplan.oebb.at/webapp/#!P|TP!H|373191)
By bus
Direct international connections: Trieste (2 hours), Zagreb (2 hours), Venice (4 hours), Banja Luka (5 hours), Bihać (6 hours), Bologna (6 hours), Budapest (6 hours), Munich (7 hours), Florence (8…
By car
Ljubljana is at the centre of the Slovenian road network, which means that if you're not driving towards the border, you're approaching Ljubljana.
By ride sharing
org, (click on "mednarodni prevozi" for international rides). The website is only in Slovene, but simple enough to navigate.
Hitchhiking
Much of the country's traffic is either heading into Ljubljana or back out. Outbound you need to know the main hitching spots:
By bicycle
There is also a system called BicikeLJ (iOS, Android apps) where you can rent bikes (first hour free, second hour €1, third hour €2, each additional hour €4). It is designed for short-term hire.
By bus
The city's transportation authority LPP operates 22 bus lines, which are clean and run frequently (every 10–15 minutes, 15–40 minutes during the weekend and summer).
By taxi
The (supposedly) cheapest taxi companies are:
By boat
You can see centre of Ljubljana also with frequent boat tour, they last around 1-2 hours.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Zgornji Brnik · International · LJU
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