Top City Breaks
2012 Special Events
Vienna Philharmonic Sea & Music Cruise - July 2012
London Olympics 2012
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Ljubljana is becoming increasingly popular on the city break scene. It is not as built up as cities like Prague and Bratislava and is a perfectly preserved example of baroque architecture.
It is a bustling city with many quaint pavement cafes from which visitors can watch the world go by. You will find a medley of trendy bars, clubs and a vibrant Modern Art movement, fuelled by the 35,000 students of the university. Unspoilt and uncrowded, Ljubljana is a perfect city break just waiting to be discovered.
For more information and to book, please visit the Ljubljana City Break page
Slovenska, which cuts across the city centre, boasts big name shops and the Nama department store is a popular shopping boulevard. However, a far more pleasant and relaxed experience can be found in the old town squares of Stari trg, Mestni trg and Gornji trg, where beautiful medieval and baroque buildings house eclectic boutique shops selling everything from jewellery, perfume, shoes and clothes to traditional crafts and designer gear made in studios behind the stores. The right and left banks of the Ljubljanica River are also increasingly home to boutique stores and small art galleries.
The largest of its kind in the country, the giant BTC features not only some 450 shops selling everything you could possibly imagine, but also boasts restaurants, bars, a post office, multiplex cinema, indoor go-cart racing, a comedy theatre, billiards, volleyball courts, an enormous water park, conference facilities and its very own business district housing some of the best known local and international companies.
Regarded by many locals as the city's best restaurant, Gostilna As combines first-rate service with understated luxury and great food with dishes like sea bass laced with fresh truffle.
Long a favourite of visiting businessmen, this classy fine dining retreat tests the credit card; but the food is excellent.
A funky new addition to the Ljubljana dining scene located by the river in the old town. Chic décor is backed up by friendly service and a fresh, creative menu that turns its eyes firmly towards the Mediterranean. Truffles in season (autumn and early winter) are a highlight.
A thirty minute's drive west of Ljubljana, Škofja Loka boasts a well-preserved old town, where the local authorities have invested in English information plaques and revamped the castle's museum. The most interesting streets are the rectangular 'squares' of Mestni trg, Cankarjev trg and Spodnji trg.
Lake Bled, a 14,000-year-old alpine lake an hour's drive northwest of Ljubljana, is simply stunning, a glacial lake fringed by pine trees and vaulting peaks all around. It may bustle with tourists for much of the year and there are some unsightly developments dotted around the lake's banks, but on a serene morning when the mists clear and the alpine peaks reflect across the water, it is hard not to be spellbound by Bled.
Ljubljana Castle looms above the city. It can be reached by a tourist train or a modern funicular, but a better option is to walk up the steep slopes and make the most of the view of the city and surrounding mountains in the distance. From June to September, the castle's history is bought to life by guides who lead visitors through the various halls, chapel and the dungeon. Year round, a hi-tech audiovisual show delves into the history of the city.