Winter Getaway To Zagreb, Ljubljana, & Lake Bled [Part 2: Ljubljana]

Loo-blee-ahh-nah. I knew you were wondering how to say it. 🙂

Ljubljana is the capital and the largest city in Slovenia.
Where in the world is Slovenia? To the right of Italy.

In many ways it reminds one of Venice. A river runs through Ljubljana, so the city has plenty of unique and beautiful bridges (some highlighted below), and a nice canal. Historic streets are lined with vibrantly colored baroque buildings containing a large variety of stores, restaurants, and bars.

Unlike Croatia, Slovenia does not offer Uber. If you need transportation to a hotel, you will need to find a taxi. As long as you get a hotel near the city center (because luggage isn’t very easy to walk with), all other locations are quite walk-able, even from the train station. For this reason alone, it is good to have a few Euros handy.

We arrived here from Zagreb via train (visit raileurope.com). We had our own little cabin and took a nap on the way. I found it very comfortable and affordable.

The stay:

City Hotel

Perfectly located. Great rooms. Another amazing breakfast bar. Staff was phenomenal. Mat accidentally left his passport on the train, and they helped us immensely by calling the station (we couldn’t get out on our phones) and telling us what we needed to do. Not everyone in Ljubljana is great at speaking English, but the staff was fluent and could speak so many different languages. They also kept our luggage safe as we departed after checkout time.

What to check out:

1.) Dragon Bridge– I’m going to be honest: this was way cooler than what I pictured it to be. The 4 copper dragons that line this bridge are such artwork. With the castle in the background, the dragons almost seem real and very reminiscent of a medieval city.

2.) Butcher’s Bridge– Also known as the bridge with all the locks of love.. Before taking a stroll here, I’d recommend buying a unique lock, engraving you and the love of your life’s name onto it, chaining it to the bridge as proof of your love for all eternity, then throwing the key in the river with all your heart’s flaming desire. Or you could be like me and just come to check out a nice view of the city, some interesting sculptures, and wonder about the lives of all of the lock owners and if they are still together, in their own little corner of the world wherever that may be..

3.) Ljubljana River Lock Gate– Plecnik. If you don’t know his name before visiting, you will after. He was a famous architect from Ljubljana. He liked Roman and Greek architecture a lot. So basically when deciding to come up with a way to regulate the flow of the river in the city center, he came up with this masterpiece reminiscent of those styles. It was designed as a monument dedicated to the Ljubljana River on its departure to the outside of the city. Neat to see, though not really a prominent point of interest of the city.

4.) Preseren Square– The central location of Ljbuljana, this is right near Triple Bridge. The monument here is of France Preseren, a poet from Slovenia. He faces the window of where his beloved used to live. You can also see the Central Pharmacy, the pretty white building on the right and the colorful Franciscan Church of the Annunciation here. Crossing the bridge you get a pretty great view of the castle, and will find plenty of places around here to eat (like Pop’s, mentioned below).

5.) Cathedral of St. Nick– This was probably the prettiest cathedral we visited the whole trip! You could go in “to pray only,” so this is a borrowed picture.

6.) Central Market– Right outside of the Cathedral, you’ll find the central market. Full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers, it’s a refreshing find in the middle of the city.

7.) Neboticnik– Want to see all of Ljubljana easily? Take a ride to the rooftop observation deck of the Neboticnik, meaning “skyscraper”. It was formerly one of the tallest buildings in Europe (9th upon its completion), which is funny looking at it now, since it has a whopping 13 floors. At the top, you can either stay inside in the warmth and enjoy views from glass windows, or go outside on the patio. Other blogs mentioned you had to purchase a beverage (you can get something for as little as $3), but we were there on a very cold day and were able to walk outside without purchase easily. It costs absolutely nothing for these views, and some pretty cool travel photos. Great starting point to orient yourself to the layout of the city as well.

8.) Ljubljana Castle– dating from the 11th century, the castle provides a beautiful backdrop to most all of Ljubljana. The walk there through the city center offered the second best views of the city (following those from the Neboticnik). The entrance to the castle is free of charge, yet most sections of the castle cost money to enter. Those that were free and neat to check out were the jail cells (castle was used as a prison from 1815 to WWII), and St. George’s Chapel. The castle is used mostly for weddings today. It is beautiful from the outside, but a little bare on the inside. If you decide to go here, don’t allot for a great amount of time. Time will be best spent elsewhere.

9.) Old Town– To me, the best thing to do in Ljubljana is to walk around the town. This lively city is very picturesque. Restaurants with adorable outdoor terraces line the canal (which you can take rides on during the summer). There’s so much to discover, yet it’s not overwhelming.

 The grub:

1.) Sarajevo ’84– This place has great Balkan food. Do yourself a favor and get the cevapcici v pol lepinje (small portion) with onion and cheese added on. This was one of the best meals of the whole trip. Cute little hole-in-the-wall restaurant too.

2.) Pop’s Place– Sometimes you just want food that reminds you of home. Pop’s place offered this in a very tasty way. They have delicious burgers and Parmesan cheese fries. My mouth is watering remembering this meal..

3.) Most– sophisticated restaurant near Butcher’s Bridge, offering high-quality and beautifully dished plates. The rack of lamb was delicious.

Our time in Ljubljana was a little shorter than the other two cities, but we did well at seeing a lot in 2 days or less, at temperatures around freezing. It was a pretty and colorful addition to our vacation.

Check out part 1 of this trip to Zagreb here.
Part 3 to Lake Bled coming soon!