Wandering Ljubljana’s Old Town and Castle
Summary
Ljubljana is a lovely city to wander around for a day with its pedestrianised streets looking over the river, the famous 3 bridges and in particular the Ljubljana Castle area which is a delight to walk around. Max you need though is a day and I would prioritise the idyllic picture-prefect lakes near Lake Bled ahead of it
highlights
#1 Walking along the pedestrianised area of the Ljubljanica River, which has been beautifully restored and a great spot for food and drinks
2. Views from the Ljubljana Castle Watchtower of the town and surrounding Julian Alps. Especially if get there early and have to yourself!
#3 Checking out the various spots in Ljubljana Castle, in particular the chapel with it’s wonderful roof painting
#4 Walking through the Castle’s garden grounds, which make you feel very much away from the city centre and an underrated spot
Travel Tips
- Head up to the castle for when it opens (9am, €7.50) and before the main tourists arrive from the funicular transport up the hill (which also starts at 9am, €10 including castle entry). I started walking up castle hill (which is a nice walk) at a leisurely pace around 830am from the centre of town and found the castle itself almost entirely to myself to enjoy the chapel, the watchtower and the other areas
- The gardens around the castle are definitely worth having a wander around and checking out. Very pleasant and some great views of the town and surrounding mountains
- Walking along the river is lovely in both directions, so head off to find some nice spots
- Food Market on the River – there is a cracking spot just in between the Three Bridges area and a Ljubljana Cathedral which has a food market. Mainly burgers and that sort of thing (although also many vegan options). Great place to grab something to eat
- Accommodation – I stayed at the uHotel and was pleasantly surprised. Great central location and would recommend
- I did enjoy my time in Ljubljana – it’s very cute and worth a visit – but I would prioritise your time to focus on Lake Bled, which I just thought was magical. For more details see Lake Bled
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Pretty City Experiences
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone