2 Days In Ljubljana, Slovenia: Bike Tour, Art District & More

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I lost a day in Ljubljana before I ever got there.

Cancelled flight out of Raleigh, then a delayed one, then an overnight reroute through London that ate the extra day I’d deliberately built into the front of the trip. My airport shuttle broke down on the way in, and we sat waiting for a replacement. I finally reached the hotel mid-afternoon with two days of travel on me and one thought in my head, which was coffee.

So, I walked. Two blocks down to the river. And I stood there thinking, oh no. I’m going to love Ljubljana and I’ve got no time.

I ended up with one evening at the start of my Slovenia trip and one full day and evening at the end. That’s what this post is built on, plus the things I ran out of time for and would put straight into a second day. If you’re planning one or two days in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia in Central Europe, this is the shape I’d give it.

What Ljubljana is actually like

The Ljubljana River runs right through the middle and it’s narrower than you expect. Still, quiet, green, with trees leaning over it and boats going up and down and cobblestone walls on either side. Restaurants have seating on little platforms down at water level. I watched paddleboarders go past while I was drinking an Aperol Spritz.

Both banks are pedestrian and the streets on either side of it form part of the historic district. Cobblestones, market stalls, rainbow-colored buildings, church steeples, and above all of it the castle sitting on its hill. It’s small enough to walk end to end and big enough to keep turning up something.

I’d call it laid-back and social. Everybody’s outside, everybody’s eating, and the whole place gets better after dark rather than winding down.

One thing worth knowing before you plan: Ljubljana is not particularly touristy. I never once felt like I was queuing behind a tour group. In July.

Day 1: The Bike Tour

I love seeing a city on foot or on a bike, and I’d found a bike tour on Airbnb Experiences led by a local before I even left home. I’d never used Airbnb Experiences. I was impressed. The listings are small, local and specific in a way the big tour platforms usually aren’t.

I was supposed to do this on my first day. I had to cancel because of the flights, and Klemen refunded me without me having to ask. When the last day of the trip came free, I booked it again.

The details: 3 hours, about $41, bikes provided. Small group, and there were only 2 other people on mine. We met at the pink church on Prešeren Square, which is the landmark everyone in Ljubljana gives directions from. It’s the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation, and yes, it really is pink.

Klemen started us at a scale model of the city and pointed out how the whole thing fits together, where the castle sits, which bit came first. Then the history: Austro-Hungarian Empire, then Yugoslavia, then independence in 1991. He kept feeding it to us in pieces as we rode, which is a much better way to take in a country’s history than standing in one spot listening to it.

What we stopped at

The bronze door of the Cathedral of St Nicholas. It was made in 1996 for Pope John Paul II’s visit and it tells Slovenia’s story down its whole length. At the bottom there’s a face of the artist (his signature move), and it’s rubbed gold and shiny because everybody who walks past rubs its nose for luck. Rub it with your left hand.

A water fountain hidden in Locksmith Alley. Down a side street in the middle of the downtown, so tucked away I’d have walked past the entrance a hundred times. Klemen challenged us to figure out how to get the water to come out of the hand. In case you can’t, turn it.

The Monument to Edvard Kocbek in Park Tivoli. Kocbek was a Slovenian writer and he’s sitting on a park bench, life-size. On the armrest opposite him is a tiny second version of himself. Klemen said it’s his conscience, sitting across from him. I stood looking at that for a while. Slovenians put a lot of thought into their public art.

Dragon Bridge. I found it a bit boring, if I’m being straight with you. Four copper dragons on a bridge, everyone stops for the photo. What I liked was the story underneath it. The legend goes that Jason, of Jason and the Argonauts, sailed up the Ljubljanica with the Golden Fleece, found a dragon living in the marshes, and killed it. The dragon became the city’s emblem and it’s now on the flag, the coat of arms and about half the souvenirs in town. The bridge itself went up in 1901 as part of rebuilding the city after the 1895 earthquake, and the original plans had winged lions on it. They swapped them for dragons.

The botanical gardens, and the beehives. This is where I fell for the country properly. Klemen stopped us at a couple of hives and started talking about beekeeping, which in Slovenia is not a hobby so much as a national characteristic. About 1 in every 200 Slovenians keeps bees. Ljubljana alone has around 300 beekeepers and more than 4,500 hives inside the city limits. The city was named European Green Capital in 2016, roughly 75% of it is green space, and close to 60% of the whole country is forest, which puts Slovenia third in Europe behind Sweden and Finland.

I biked away from that stop liking Slovenia about 30% more than I had 10 minutes earlier.

Križanke. A cultural center with an outdoor amphitheater that was being set up for a concert, so we could only look through the glass doors. It looked like a wonderful place to see something. The Ljubljana Festival was running while we were there.

You get a very quick sense of how much this city is built around its culture. One of the other 2 people on my tour was a pianist, a professor at a university in Kansas City, in Ljubljana on his way home from teaching in Italy. He’d come specifically to hear one of the world’s best pianists play the following night. That’s who else is on a Tuesday afternoon bike tour here.

The rooftop

Klemen took us up Nebotičnik, which means “skyscraper” and which was, when it opened in 1933, the tallest building in the Balkans and the 9th tallest in Europe. It’s 70 meters. The rooftop cafe bar at the top gives you a full 360, the colored buildings, the castle, and the Julian Alps stacked up behind everything.

He’d arranged Slovenian cake for the group. I’m gluten free so I couldn’t have it, and without me saying much about it he went and got me a flat white instead. Small thing. It’s the kind of small thing that tells you what a guide is like.

We sat up there for 20 minutes and talked. Before leaving Klemen took us to check out the cool spiral staircase in the building. Don’t miss it!

Metelkova, and the moment

Then we rode to AKC Metelkova mesto, and this was my favorite part of the day.

It’s a block of run-down buildings covered wall to ceiling in murals, sculptures made of scrap, and work by local artists who come in and keep adding to it. There are small studios inside that you can wander through when they’re open. One rule Klemen gave us: don’t photograph the artists. It isn’t appreciated. Photograph the walls all you like.

The buildings were an Austro-Hungarian army barracks, finished in 1911, used by the Yugoslav army until 1991. The city decided to demolish them in 1993, and a network of artists and activists squatted the site instead. It’s been a self-governing autonomous zone ever since, seven buildings and 12,500 square meters of it. There’s a skate park. There were kids hanging about on it while we were there.

From roughly midnight until 8am it turns into the nightlife district, bands playing in the street and in the buildings. Way past my bedtime. If dancing until 8am is your thing, this is where it happens.

We finished at Center Rog, an old bicycle factory now converted into a makerspace with 9 workshops, project studios, a library branch, a cafe and a park out the front. Then back to the riverfront to drop the bikes, with Klemen giving us his dinner recommendations on the way.

He was quirky and funny and completely in love with his city. That’s the whole thing you’re paying for. Book your bike your here.

Worth knowing: Klemen also runs a walking tour that includes a river cruise, 2 hours, about $34. He came straight off it onto our bike tour. Do both. They cover different ground and between them you’d have the city and the water in a single day for under $80.

Day 1 evening: the riverfront

Go down to the river at night and just walk.

Every table is full. Nobody has a phone out. People are eating and talking and laughing and it builds as the evening goes rather than thinning out.

Cross the river and go down one of the smaller cobblestone side streets. I did that on my last night looking for a gelato place I’d found on a map, and what opened up was row after row of alfresco dining, hidden squares with restaurants and bars in them, no cars. It reminded me of Rome. That’s where I’d eat if I had my time again. I picked a restaurant on the main riverfront instead, went for Indian because I wanted to see how Slovenia handled a different cuisine, and it was a miss.

A few of us went for gelato and ended up standing in the square talking to strangers for the best part of an hour. It started because we asked a group of men where they’d gotten theirs. Some were locals, one was from Turkey. They gave us advice about our Mount Triglav hike, told us stories about Slovenia, and we stood there in the warm dark with our gelato like we’d all known each other for years.

That happens more easily when you’re traveling. I’ve noticed it happens far less often at home in the States, though Raleigh is getting better at it.

→ This is what a Your Limitless Adventures women’s trip looks like from the inside

Day 2: the castle, the cruise and the market

This is the day I had planned and then lost to a cancelled flight out of Raleigh. I’d researched it before I left, I heard about most of it from the women on my trip who did get to it, and Klemen filled in the rest. So, I’m giving it to you the way I’d have run it, with the sources named as I go.

Start at the market (produce and artisan)

The fruit and vegetable market runs along the river under Plečnik’s colonnade and it’s a morning thing. I only ever saw it shut, because I arrived too late on my first afternoon and the coffee trailer I’d come for was the last thing still trading. Go early, eat there, then walk.

We walked along on last morning in Slovenia, and the market was bustling. There was also a row of local artisan stores lining the riverfront. It’s the place you want to be if you like gift / souvenir shopping or just want to peer into the local arts culture.

The part I loved most was the beehive panels. Slovenians paint the front board of the hive, and it’s a folk art that exists nowhere else in the world.

The oldest surviving one is dated 1758 and the tradition ran hardest through the 1800s. Around 3,000 panels are still around, carrying more than 600 different motifs between them. Some are biblical. Plenty are scenes out of folk tales, and a good number are straight village satire, which is where they get funny.

They’re historical records as much as decoration. Somebody’s beliefs and somebody’s joke about the neighbors, painted onto the front of a beehive and still readable 200 years later. If you want to see a proper collection of them, the Museum of Apiculture is in Radovljica, about 10 minutes from Lake Bled.

Ljubljana Castle, mid-morning

Walk up through the old town or take the funicular from the base, right by where our group ate on the first night. The funicular is around €6 return and takes about a minute. The castle opens daily from 9am, until 8pm in summer, and the funicular runs later than that. There’s a restaurant at the top that people kept telling me about.

Here’s my one piece of first-hand advice on the castle. It’s a warning. My bike tour finished at 6 and I had dinner at 7:30. I looked up at the hill, decided 90 minutes wasn’t enough, and went and had a mediocre meal instead. It was enough. Take the funicular, give it an hour, come down for dinner. I’m still annoyed with myself. Especially after seeing that image above (Sourced Yay Images) Sunset is the time to be up there!

Book your Castle Entry Ticket with Optional Funicular Ride

Ljubljana Walking Tour & River Cruse

Klemen’s walking tour with the river cruise, afternoon. 2 hours, about $34. It goes into the sites and the history at a pace the bike tour rides past, and the cruise is the answer to the thing I sat wishing for every time I looked at that river. Book it alongside the bike tour and you’ve covered the city properly for under $80.

Here are a few other Ljubljana River cruise options: An electric boat tour, a Boat & Craft Beer Tasting Tour, and a Wine Tasting Boat Cruise

Explore the river district slowly

Then the river, slowly. Cross to the far bank, get lost in the side streets, and have dinner in one of the hidden squares rather than on the main riverfront. More on that below, including the mistake I made.

One to write down for next time

People paddleboard on the Ljubljana. I watched them go past from a bar chair with an Aperol spritz in my hand and put it straight on the list. If I get back here, I’m on that river. You may even want to squeeze it into your two-day Ljubljana itinerary. Just be sure to report back to me what it was like. Here is a stand-up paddleboarding tour of Ljubljana River.

Swap an hour for a Thai massage, if your legs are ruined

After 8 days of hiking, canyoning, paddleboarding and e-biking, our bodies were wrecked. I found a Thai massage place, Bee Thai Massage, and booked myself, Sena and Mel in. €45 for the hour, and one of the best massages I’ve had in years.

Thai massage is my favorite kind. Firm, deep, lots of stretching and rolling. Lying there getting my legs pulled around, I worked out why I’ve never liked a Swedish massage. Thai was my first ever massage, decades ago, so that’s the baseline I set. A Swedish massage feels to me like somebody politely declining to touch me.

I’ve come home wondering why I haven’t been chasing this down in Raleigh. And I cannot wait to get to Thailand next year, where I plan to have one every single day.

If you’ve only got two days and you’re choosing, go up the castle. If you’ve come to Ljubljana off the back of a week of hiking, book the massage.

Day trips, if you’d rather get out of the city

Slovenia is small, so Ljubljana works well as a base. Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle are the classic pairing and 2 of the women on my trip did them as an afternoon while I was on the bike tour. They came back full of it.

Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj are also doable in a day. One of the men on my bike tour was heading out to do exactly that the next morning because he had 24 hours to spare, though I’d give those lakes far longer if you can. This tour also includes Savica Waterfall, which I recommend. You may also want to combine Lake Bled with Vintgar Gorge, which I loved!

Where to eat and drink in Ljubljana

Coffee in Ljubljana

Tri Marije is a coffee trailer down by the fruit and vegetable market and it was the first thing I did in Slovenia. I could tell from the care the barista was taking that the flat white was going to be good, and it was. He also tried to teach me to say thank you in Slovenian. Took me a few goes before he said “much better,” and I used hvala for the rest of the trip because of him.

Afrika v Ledini is a couple of streets back from the river. Chris and I sat there for an hour while the others were having their massages, and the flat white was very good. Time it with a massage if you’re doing both.

Stow Specialty Coffee Roasters was another I had noted down but did not get a chance to experience. They are known for high-quality beans and sustainable practices! They have several locations but one is right near the pink church!

Gluten free in Ljubljana

Zrno do zrna is a small organic supermarket with a case of gluten free pastries, savory and sweet. I had an apple strudel on my first afternoon and went back on my last day for a pesto pastry that was a twisted knot. Slovenia in general was excellent for gluten free. Menus flag allergens with a numbering system that’s consistent across restaurants, so I mostly didn’t have to ask, and every piece of gluten free bread I ate in 10 days was good. That does not happen to me in America.

Gelato in Ljublijana

Gelateria Romantika is down a back street, a tiny shopfront between the alfresco restaurants, decorated in pink. Artisan flavors like sour cherry, banana sorbet, bourbon and vanilla pumpkin. I had pistachio and hazelnut chocolate, and it might have been the best gelato of the trip. Under €4 for a big cup, and they do gluten free cones.

Cacao is the one on the riverfront everyone knows, with a big terrace and a queue out the door. Huge servings, very good, priced like the popular place it is.

Dinner Restaurants in Ljubljana

There are so many restaurants in the river district and the many streets that meander through the historic area near it. Research beforehand or just wander and choose one that looks good! Here are a couple of suggestions:

Restavracija Vodnikov Hram is where our group of 15 ate on the first night. It sits at the base of the funicular under a clock that works like the astronomical clock in Prague, little characters coming out to dance on the hour. In Prague there are 300 people watching that. Here there was nobody, and we sat and ate and watched it on our own. Lots of Slovenian dishes with local ingredients, most of which I couldn’t eat, so I had the salmon on the waiter’s recommendation, and it was excellent.

Klemen’s 2 picks, which I’d take next time. Baščaršija on Trubarjeva for Slovenian barbecue, which he said is where locals go and is well priced. And Restavracija Breg on the riverfront, more elevated, Michelin recommended, and when I looked at the prices afterwards they were very reasonable. I wish I’d gone.

Where to stay in Ljubljana

I stayed in two places, one at each end of the trip. Both of these hotels in Ljubljana are good. Heritage is the one I’d book again.

City Hotel

City Hotel was our group hotel on the first night. Modern and comfortable. The rooms are small, which matters very little in a city where you’re barely inside them. Great location, easy walk to the old town, 2 blocks back from the river.

There’s an outdoor terrace where we all met each other for the first time, which you can drink on while watching the street below. The breakfast buffet was outstanding, hot and cold, pastries, oats, yogurt, and more gluten free options than I’m used to getting anywhere. Check prices and reviews on Expedia

Hotel Heritage

Hotel Heritage is where I booked myself for the last night, on Sena’s recommendation after she’d done the research. Boutique, more character, more design, steps from the river in the pedestrian zone. Stylish room, very comfortable, excellent shower.

We had a 4:30am airport run so we missed the breakfast that other women on the trip had raved about, and the hotel packed us breakfast to go instead. They made me a gluten free sandwich, and the bread was so good I’m still wondering if they bake it themselves. Check rates and reviews on Expedia. That’s where I booked from!

Here are some Airbnb options, plus you can check out the list below for more hotels in Ljubljana. 👇

Practical things worth knowing

• From the airport. About 30 minutes by taxi or shuttle, and roughly €15 per person if you share. There’s also a bus. Christina organized our shuttle through the hotel, which was easy.
• How long to visit Ljubljana for. 2 days is workable and 3 is better. The city is small and you’ll see it quickly, and then you’ll want the other kind of time, the sitting in a coffee shop watching people kind, which is how you actually work out what a place is like.
• Walkability. Very. You can walk to the parks and gardens I biked to. Bike rentals are everywhere if you’d rather ride.
• Base yourself here. Slovenia is small enough that you can stay put in Ljubljana and day-trip out rather than changing hotels every two nights. See the day trips above.
• Best time of day. Night. It comes alive after dark and that’s when you should be wandering.
• Getting around Slovenia. Check rental rates and availability through Discover Cars (who we personally use for best rates)

The bit I keep coming back to

Cycling through that art district is the moment that stuck.

Up to then I’d had a beautiful riverfront, good coffee, an alfresco dinner. Lovely, and I could have got a version of that in a dozen European cities. Metelkova gave me the other side. Urban and rough at the edges, with an underground music and theater scene that takes over the streets at midnight. Then the view from the top of a 1933 skyscraper, then a park full of beehives.

That’s a lot of personality for a capital city of fewer than 300,000 people. And all of it moving at a pace that never once felt hurried. I got the shape of Ljubljana in a day. I want the depth of it. I’ll be back for that.

Would I add days on either side of a group trip again?

Always. Especially somewhere I’ve never been.

I’m already doing it. I’m arriving earlier to Fez for my Morocco trip, and I’m adding days in Bangkok before Thailand even though I’ve lived there and know it well, purely to wander and eat and get a Thai massage every day.

Ljubljana taught me that lesson the expensive way, by taking the day back off me before I arrived.

How I did this trip to Slovenia

I went to Slovenia with Your Limitless Adventures, a women’s adventure travel company run by my friend Christina McEvoy. I’ve since become a trip leader with them, and I’m leading 3:

→ What a Your Limitless Adventures trip is actually like

More Slovenia

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Did you go up to the castle? Tell me what I missed. I’m still annoyed about it. Boo Hoo to cancelled flights. BTW, Airhelp is a service I only just learned about that can help you get reimbursed for cancelled flights. And make sure you have travel insurance – it covered the costs I incurred because of my delays!