Ljubljana
From World travel guide
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia.
Contents |
Understand
Slovenia is, arguably, the cutest of the formerly communist countries, and Ljubljana, literally "the loved one", is a great little city full of charm. It's pretty easy to have a good time here. It's full of galleries and museums and young artists.
Orientation
The Ljubljanica river flows through the center of town, past Baroque buildings and under the ramparts of the ancient castle on the hill. The new city and modern-day commercial core lies to the west of the river, while the east side has Ljubljana's old city and the castle. Connecting the two are a number of bridges, the most famous of which is the Tromostovje (triple) bridge.
Get in
By plane
Ljubljana airport is the country's main international gateway and the hub of Slovenian national carrier Adria Airways.
Adria Airways flies to Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London-Gatwick, Manchester, Moscow, Munich, Paris (with Air France), Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Vienna (with Austrian Airlines), Warsaw (with LOT), Zurich.
Easy Jet has flights to Ljubljana from Berlin and London-Stansted.
Ryan Air flies to Klagenfurt, across the Slovenian border in Austria.
CSA connects to Prague and Malev to Budapest.
Lufthansa connects to Frankfurt.
By train
Trains run through Ljubljana between Budapest and Trieste, where you can change trains coming from other Italian cities such as Venice (only 4 hours away). The train station is at the western edge of downtown, at walking distance to most hotels.
Get around
Ljubljana has a good bus system, but it's small enough that you will be able to walk everywhere in the centre. You can pick up a free city map in one of the Tourist Information Offices either in the train station or in the city centre (Adamič-Lundrovo nabrežje 2).
The train and bus station are within easy walking distance of the centre of town - which is roughly speaking the "Three bridges" area. From the station take any of the roads heading into town and this will lead you to this area.
Taxis are very cheap here, and between two or three people it can be a convenient way to get back to the hotel if you're not in the centre. Taxi Laguna 080 11 17 and Taxi Metro 080 11 90, are considered the cheapest. These are free numbers, so can use a phone box to call them.
See
- Old Ljubljana - monuments, historic buildings.
- Stari trg - This street has local designer shops, trendy cafes etc. If you are up for an alternative, interesting buy then the so-called 'old Ljubljana' is your cup of tea. It is situated on the east side of the river (cross Tromostovje bridge, go straight ahed for 30 metres to the City hall then turn right into the narrow street surrounded by medieval houses). The street is called Mestni trg, it changes to and later to Gornji trg.
- Triple Bridge
- Ljubljana Castle
- National Museum of Contemporary History. Celovška cesta 23, tel. 01 300 96 10, fax 01 433 82 44, [1]. 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 WWI bomb bunker, with sound effects. In another room, a portrait of Stalin lies smashed on the ground. You walk through a pretty park to get here.
- Tivoli Gallery - International centre of Graphic Art. Pod turnom 3, tel. 01 241 38 00, [2]. Specialised in art shows, often in collaboration with international institutions. Open Tu-Sa 10.00 - 18.00, Su 12.00 - 18.00, Mo closed.
Do
Water City of Atlantis is water park offering 14 pools, thermal baths, slides and saunas. Special section is dedicated for children.
Eat
- Gostilna Sokol. Ciril Metodov trg 18, tel. 01 439 68 55 [3]. This restaurant deals up authentic Slovenian cuisine, complete with all waiters and waitresses dressed up in traditional costume. The food is hearty and served in generous gut-busting portions and very good value for money. The fish cooked in a paper bag with vegetables is highly recommended. There is plenty of meat, fish and vegetable dishes to choose from. The only downside was the house red, which is very sharp and quite cold, but this is a minor quibble.
- Špajza. Gornji Trg 28, tel. 01 425 30 94. Closed Sun. This restaurant is much larger than you first expect when you initially enter. You walk through several candlelit rooms before you reach the outside terrace. The waiters are initially quite attentive, serving you a nice little aperitif to get you started. The food is a mixture of Slovenian and European, and the menu is kept to a handful of choices for each course. Because of the service, surroundings and food this felt like an expensive restaurant, although by Western standards, it was quite reasonable. An average main dish is 25-3500 SIT.
- Luka Gourmet Lunch Cafe. Stari trg 11. One of a line of cafes on Stari Trg with outside seating. Serves up tasty, mainly pasta dishes with reasonable prices and friendly service. Most lunch dishes are about 1300 SIT.
- Julija. Stari trg 9. Right next to Luka’s, serving similar fare of Italian pasta and risotto dishes. Not quite a nice as Luka’s but still a good filling meal, and at a reasonable price. Pasta or risotto dishes are under 1500 SIT
Drink
Most of Ljubljana’s bars tend to cluster on the streets running parallel to the river, radiating from Prešernov trg, which is the main square in Ljubljana. The more interesting bars tend to be on the backstreets, rather than directly facing the river. Part of the joy of this city is stumbling across these places, but these are few to start you off.
- Čajna Hisa. Stari trg 3. 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.
- Vinoteka Movia. Mestni trg 2. 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 for the privilege. The prices can vary from modest to a remortgage.
- Okrepcevalnica Makalonca. Hribarjevo nabrežje. The unenticing entrance leads down some steps into a small underground bar that sits level with the river. You can sit inside on stone steps (cushions provided) looking out at the water, or sit outside right by the river. It feels like your own little discovery.
- BI-KO-FE. Davčna Številka. A lively little bar that plays excellent jazz music (CD, not live). There is outside seating, but inside is where it seems to be happening. It looks like the place the youngish locals hangout to drink the night away.
- K4 is a nice clubbing spot at 4, Kersnikova Trg. National and international DJs play electronic music. Opens Tu-Sun, 10 pm - 2.30/4 am.
Sleep
Budget
Ljubljana offers two all-year hostels (Celica and Bit Hotel) and several student's homes, that function as hostels in the summer.
- Celica is located 10 minutes from the main railway station and 15 minutes from the city centre. It is very interesting hostel, a redecorated military prison in fact. It was part of a military base Metelkova, which got squatted after the Yugoslav Army abandoned it. Two years ago, the cells of the former prison were assigned to several Slovenian artists, who designed every one of them individually.
- Autocamp Jezica, Dunajska 270, (3 km north of the centre, take bus 6 or 8 for 150-210SIT), +386(1)568 3913 (fax +386(1)568 3912, email ac.jezica@gp-ljubljana.si). Pleasant location near river Sava. You can pitch a tent or hire a bungalow. Swimming pool, sauna, fitness centre, badminton, volleyball, bowling, children's playground, restaurant, snack bar. Double bungalow is 15000 SIT/night including breakfast.
- Park Hotel, Tabor 9. (1)300-2500 (fax: (0)1 433-0546, hotel.park@siol.net). This 2-star hotel in fact also a HI hostel and its accommodation is split between hotel and "hostel" rooms. The latter are cheaper but have only an outside bath and no TV. Staff may request to keep your passport at check in, so it might be useful to have a copy to hand in.
Get out
- Postojna Caves - 20 km of underground galleries, chambers and corridors. Guided tour on special cave train takes one and half our. The temperature in caves is always 8 C. Start of guided tours is at 10.00, 12.00, 14.00 from October to April and on every hour on the hour between 9.00 and 18.00 from May to September.
- Bled
- Julian Alps
- Crossing the border. Ljubljana has very good links with Croatia, there are regular trains running to Zagreb and Rijeka. Journey time is about 2.5 hours.
Hitchhiking
- To the coast (Koper, Izola, Piran)
- Get to Dolgi most by bus 6 and hitchhike at the entrance point of the motorway to Koper, using your thumb is OK, but a sign with big friendly letters saying KP is better.
Internet access
- Free access
- Cyberpipe located at Kersnikova ulica 6, it is closed in summer
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering located at Trzaska cesta 25
External links
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