2 days in Ljubljana

Day by day

1. Day 1: Ljubljana Castle and Triple Bridge and Prešeren Square

   Ljubljana Castle, Triple Bridge and Prešeren Square, Dragon Bridge and Central Market, then Butchers' Bridge and the Ljubljanica embankments in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Ljubljana Castle

      Inside the walls are a courtyard, a chapel with painted coats of arms, a Slovenian history exhibition and a puppet museum. The viewing tower looks over red roofs to the Kamnik–Savinja Alps on clear days.

   2. Late morning

      Triple Bridge and Prešeren Square

      The square is framed by the salmon-pink Franciscan Church of the Annunciation and the statue of poet France Prešeren, who gazes towards a relief of his muse Julija on a facade in Wolfova street.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Carniolan sausage

      Sausage counters in the Old Town, market stalls on Vodnikov trg and Odprta kuhna on Fridays.

   4. Afternoon

      Dragon Bridge

      It is a five-minute walk downstream from the Triple Bridge along the market colonnade, and local legend says the dragons wag their tails when a virgin crosses.

   5. Late afternoon

      Central Market

      Plečnik's long riverside colonnade houses bakeries, butchers and a fish market on the lower level. On Fridays in the warmer months the Odprta kuhna open-air food market fills Pogačarjev trg with stalls from Slovenian restaurants.

   6. Evening

      Butchers' Bridge and the Ljubljanica embankments

      Late afternoon is the best time to pick a terrace on the shady side and watch the river traffic.

2. Day 2: Ljubljana Cathedral (St Nicholas) and Mestni trg, Stari trg and the Town Hall

   Ljubljana Cathedral (St Nicholas), Mestni trg, Stari trg and the Town Hall, Tivoli Park and Rožnik hill and National Gallery of Slovenia, then Metelkova in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Ljubljana Cathedral (St Nicholas)

      Its bronze main door, cast for the 1996 papal visit, shows the history of Christianity in Slovenia, while the side door carries the faces of 20th-century bishops.

   2. Late morning

      Mestni trg, Stari trg and the Town Hall

      Small shops sell Slovenian design, honey and salt from Piran, and the Town Hall courtyard is usually open to look into.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Štruklji

      Traditional gostilnas (inns) around the Old Town and specialist štruklji counters near the Central Market.

   4. Afternoon

      Tivoli Park and Rožnik hill

      The Jakopič Promenade shows large outdoor photography exhibitions, Tivoli Mansion houses the International Centre of Graphic Arts, and there are ponds, playgrounds and forest paths that climb to Rožnik hill and its church.

   5. Late afternoon

      National Gallery of Slovenia

      A modern glass hall connects the two buildings and shelters Francesco Robba's original fountain, moved indoors to protect the marble.

   6. Evening

      Metelkova

      Visit by day to see the art properly, then return after 11pm on a Friday or Saturday if you want the club scene.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in National Museum of Slovenia (Center): Go straight to the archaeology rooms for the flute and the situla, then decide whether to see the rest.
• Swap in Plečnik House (Trnovo and Krakovo): Pair it with a walk over the Trnovo Bridge and along the Gradaščica stream to Krakovo.
• Swap in Slovene Ethnographic Museum (Tabor and Metelkova): Look for the painted beehive front panels, a uniquely Slovenian folk art.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 11–14 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 8.7 hours in December to 15.7 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Prešeren Square, the Old Town, the Central Market and Congress Square are all within about ten minutes of each other, and Tivoli Park is a 15-minute walk from the Triple Bridge.

More or fewer days

• One day in Ljubljana
• 3 days in Ljubljana
• 5 days in Ljubljana

Questions travellers ask