2019-09-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

CUT

THIS

OUT

AND

TAKE

IT

WITH

YOU

BEEHAPPY

TEAR OUT GUIDE

PHOTOGRAPH:

JUSTIN

FOULKES.

WITH

CONTRIBUTIONS

FROM

BECKY

OHLSEN,

CHARLES

RAWLINGS-WAY

LJUBLJANAIN

NUMBERS

DATEOFBIRTH:

1161

thoughtheareahadbeen

inhabitedforat leastthree

millenniabeforethat

SIZE:

63

squaremiles

POPULATION:

290,000

NUMBEROF

DRINKING

FOUNTAINS:

40

CAPITALOF

SLOVENIASINCE:

1991

Weekend in

Ljubljana

ESSENTIALS... Use the stored-value Urbana card for bus rides around town – a flat fare of £1.20 lasts 90 minutes (lpp.si/en)

Sloveniais oneof the

biggestproducersof

honeyandhoney-

relatedproductsin

Europe,andHoney

Housestocksenough

varietiesof thesweet

stickystuff,including

liqueur,to satisfyany

taste(honeyhouse.si).

CENTRALMARKET

Vodnikovtrg

Gofirstto thevastopen-air

market(TržnicanaProstem)just

acrossTripleBridgeto the

southeastof Prešernovtrgon

Vodnikovtrg.Hereyou’llfind

a daily(exceptSunday)farmers’

market.In theneighbouring

squaretherearealwaysstalls

sellingforagedwildmushrooms

andforestberries,honey and

farmhousecheeses.

LJUBLJANACASTLE

ljubljanskigrad.si

Crowninga 375m-highhilleast

of theOldTown,thiscastle

is anarchitecturalmishmash,

mostof it datingfromtheearly

16thcentury.It’sfreeto ramble

around;you’llhaveto pay

to entertheWatchtowerand

theChapelof St George,

andto seetheworthwhile

SlovenianHistoryExhibition,

visitthePuppetTheatreand

take the Time Machine tour.

PREŠERNOVTRG

Thecentrepieceof Ljubljana’s

wonderfularchitectural

aestheticis thiselegantsquare,

thecity’sfavouritemeetingpoint.

Takingprideof placeis the

PrešerenMonument(1905),

erectedin honourof Slovenia’s

greatestpoet,FrancePrešeren

(1800–1849).Immediately

southof thestatueis thecity’s

architecturalposter-child,the

TripleBridge.To theeastof

themonument,at number5, is the

ItalianateCentralPharmacy,

anerstwhilecaféfrequentedby

intellectualsin the19thcentury.

BARKALJUBLJANICA

barka-ljubljanica.si

Therearemoreandmoreboat

toursupanddowntheriver,

butonlyBarkaLjubljanicasails

a woodenvessel.It’s 10 metres

longandcarriesupto 48people

pluscrewona 45-minutetour.

Boardit onthewestbankof the

river,justdownfromNovitrg.

LJUBLJANANJAM

ljubljananjam.si

Amongthebestof several

companiesofferingfoodwalking

toursin Ljubljana:epicureIva

Grudenwillhaveyoueatingout

of bakers’hands,nibblinggoat’s

cheesein themarket,scoffing

Carniolansausageand slurping

fairtradeespresso.

EKBISTRO

facebook.com/bistro.si

Ljubljana’stopspotforbrunch,

in thiscasebigservingsof

avocadotoastonhomemade

bread,bowlsof muesliand

yoghurt,andeggsBenedict

onjust-bakedEnglishmuffins.

Accompanywitha glassof

freshly squeezed something or

aflatwhite.Theflowersonthe

tableslookgreatagainst

thedistressedbrickwalls.

GOSTILNANAGRADU

nagradu.si

InsidetheLjubljanaCastle

complex,NaGraduis far

toostylishto bejusta gostilna

(inn-likerestaurant).The

award-winningchefsuse

onlySlovenian-sourced

breads,cheesesandmeats,

andage-oldrecipes,to

preparea mealto remember.

KLUBDAKTARI

daktari.si

Thisrabbitwarrenof a watering

holeat thefootof thefunicular

to LjubljanaCastlehasretro

decor,withshelvesof oldbooks

anda pianoin thecorner.More

a culturalcentrethana club,

Daktarihostslivemusicand

otherculturalevents.

WINEBARŠUKLJE

winebar.suklje.com

Thiscentralupscaletasting

roomis a greatspotto sample

winesfromaroundSlovenia.

Theowneris a winemaker,and

hasa knowledgeablepalate

forassemblingtastingflights,

notto mentionmeatandcheese

plates.Youcanalsobuybottles

fromthefamilywineryin the

southeasternregionof Bela

Krajina,andfromselect

producers around the country.

Thepint-sizedcapitalof

Sloveniapunchesaboveits

weightwitha thrivingcultural

scene,buzzingriversidebars

andcafés,andanOldTown

that’strulyphotogenic.It’sa

charmingdestination for

a weekend hop.

Looking

downthe

Ljubljanica

River

Trythe

tasting menu