Ljubljana was a surprising stop for me and one that to be honest, I had very few expectations for. It’s not one I came across often on Instagram or Pinterest and so I was quite excited to explore on my own and see what I could find. I spent 3 days in Slovenia and based myself in Ljubljana. While I did a couple of shorter day trips from there, majority of my time was spent in this charming capital city. It’s what you would think of when you think of most European capitals: cobble stoned, a major river and pretty buildings. There are plenty of things to do in Ljubljana and if you only have one day in Ljubljana you’ll still be able to get in a decent amount of sightseeing as the downtown Old Town core is quite compact.
I stayed at Hostel Most which was located quite centrally and an easy walk from the train station and to the center of town. I was able to walk throughout my entire stay in the city and walked to and from the train station for my day trips.
Ljubljana and Slovenia were one of the countries I travelled in solo and overall felt very safe. My only kind of iffy moment was that there wasn’t a ton of street lights down the road where my hostel was and that felt a little creepy at night but otherwise I didn’t have any issues and would highly recommend the city as an inclusion on any Eastern European itinerary.
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Is Ljubljana worth visiting?
Short answer? Absolutely yes. Like I said at the beginning, Slovenia was a random addition to my Europe itinerary and one I was so pleasantly surprised by that I absolutely plan on going back for a much longer trip at some point. I think Slovenia is definitely still a hidden gem when it comes to European itineraries so if you’re looking for something a little less crowded then this will be right up your alley. The city has plenty of choices for good food, great architecture and sightseeing. Old Town is very compact and overall the city is super walkable. Public transit is easy so it’s a great place to base yourself for exploring more of Slovenia as well.
Only have one day in Ljubljana?
Well since that’s the point of this blog post, I obviously think one day is enough to get a proper feel for the Slovenian capital. If you’ve only got one day in Ljubljana and looking for a more leisurely pace I would visit the Ljubljana Castle, walk around Old Town crossing the bridges and the rivers and exploring the Central Market.
I found Ljubljana very walkable and saw plenty in my first full day there. If you’re a person who can handle a full day you’ll have no issue squeezing in both Tivoli Park and exploring the art in Metelkova. I would start the day at the castle as this is arguably the stop that takes the most amount of time and then head down back down to Old Town to grab lunch from the market and then start your exploring by walking around. You can certainly pop into a couple of the churches mentioned below as I personally think they can take as long or as little time as you’d like them to.
Believe it or not, I actually managed the whole itinerary below in one (long day) and then went back and walked around further on my second and third day so while you can definitely cut some things out if you’ve only got one day, it’s definitely doable. This would free up the rest of your itinerary for the museums which I skipped on my visit.
Things to do in Ljubljana
Grab some food at Central Market and Open Kitchen
I love a good market and it’s one of the things I seek out in every city I visit so I was really excited about the Central Market. There are multiple portions to this market. The indoor portion is housed in the building sometimes referred to as Plečnik’s Market. The upper floor houses catering businesses and businesses selling Slovenian goods. On the lower floor is where you’ll find an art gallery, a fish market and a fish restaurant. The ground floor has vendors selling meat, bread, pastries, cheeses, nuts etc.
The outdoor portion of the market takes place at Vodnikov and Pogačarnev squares. This is closer in vibes to a farmer’s market where you’ll find fruits and vegetables, flowers and plants and dried meat products.
Open Kitchen is a large food market that takes place on Fridays between sometime in March and October. It’s hosted at Pogačarjev square and has 50 (!) different vendors from across Ljubljana and Slovenia. It’s a great way to sample both local and international cuisine. The market’s been running since 2013 and is quite popular. It gets busy but you can get your food to go and find somewhere close by to eat it!
Get a drink from a Mlekomat (Milk Vending Machine)
This was one of the most fun things I came across in Ljubljana. Like the name suggests, mlekomat (milk vending machine), this is a vending machine that allows customers to get fresh milk. There are multiple machines across Ljubljana (and Slovenia in general) but the one that you’re most likely to come across is the one by the Central Market. The one I visited only took cash so make sure to have some euro coins. The milk is full-fat, fresh, raw milk as far as I could gather.
The machine is a big shiny box with cows painted on it. There are English instructions on it but it works the same as any other vending machine. You insert coins and it dispenses fresh milk. You can get it in jugs or you can get small cups to just sample. I tried the smallest amount (a dL) and it was definitely fresh even though it did feel weird to be drinking a glass of milk in public on the street. The best part is that it’s open 24 hours a day so if the urge for fresh milk ever strikes you’ll never be out of luck.
Take in the views from Nebotičnik (Skyscraper)
Nebotičnik is a 13-story skyscraper located close to Tivoli Park. It was built in 1933 and at the time it was the 9th tallest building in Europe. There is a cafe/restaurant at the top floor with a great terrace view overlooking the city. When I visited you could walk out on the terrace to take in the view without being a patron of the cafe/restaurant. This may have changed since I visited but it’s worth a try because of how centrally it’s located anyways. The opening hours are:
- Night club and Café: Sunday to Wednesday between 9:00 and 1:00, Thursday to Saturday between 9:00 and 03:00
- Restaurant: Mondays to Saturdays between 12:00 and 22:00, Sundays and and public holidays closed.
There are shops on the bottom floors of the building that you can explore as well. Floors 6-9 are residential floors. It’s one of the only high-rises in Ljubljana so it provides a great view. The spiral staircase also makes for a great picture.
Stroll around Congress Square
Congress Square is one of the nicer squares in town and is a great place to get a picture of Ljubljana Castle from below. The square is surrounded by the former Provincial Palace that is now a university building, the Slovenian Philharmonic Hall and a building housing Slovenia’s oldest publishing house. The center of the square is Zvezda park which has highlights like a music pavilion, monuments and statues.
Relax in Tivoli Park
Tivoli Park, or Tivoli City Park, is the largest park in Ljubljana. It’s located on the west side of the Old Town core. There’s a number of attractions in the park like the International Center of Graphic Arts which is located in the Tivoli Mansion and the Museum of Modern History. The Zoo is located in the southwest portion of the park as well. There’s also a number of monuments in the park but in general it’s just a really nice park to stroll through.
There are lots of open lawns for relaxing, paths for strolling and benches to relax on.
Visit Ljubljana Cathedral/Church of St. Nicholas
The Ljubljana Cathedral, or the Church of St. Nicholas as it’s officially known, is a Roman Catholic church located in the very center of Ljubljana and can be found only a few minutes walk from the Central Market. The exterior of the church is yellow and the interior of the church is quite intricately decorated. The church has been mentioned as early as 1262 but suffered fire damages in 1361 and was fully burnt down in 1469.
There is an admission fee of €3 to visit but it is worth it in my opinion. There are multiple masses every day of the week so you may have to take your chances on whether you can visit or not as most churches won’t allow visitors during masses. According to the Visit Ljubljana website masses are hosted from Monday to Saturday at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:30 and 18:30 and Sundays and national Holidays 6:30, 8:00, 9:00, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 16:00 and 18:30.
Explore Metelkova
Metelkova, or AKC Metelkova mesto, is an art center in Ljubljana. It’s the former military headquarters of the Austro-Hungarian Empire army and then the Yugoslav People’s Army. In 1993 around 200 volunteers squatted in a portion of the building to prevent them from being torn down and ever since then the space has grown into an artistic center. There are clubs that host concerts, club nights, art performances, exhibitions and so much more. I visited during the day as I was mostly interested in the street art all around the buildings and all the art pieces that had been built. There’s lots to see and to me this was one of the highlights in Ljubljana.
Walk past the United States Embassy
The United States Embassy in Slovenia is located between Nebotičnik (Skyscraper) and Tivoli Park. It’s specifically at Prešernova cesta 31. You for obvious reasons can’t visit but the building is beautiful and if you’re passing by make sure to take a quick peek at the exterior.
Explore Mestni trg, Town Hall & Robba Fountain
Mestni trg, or the town square, is a big square located in the Old Town in Ljubljana. It’s a great spot to take in the older buildings on the street from. One of the most prominent buildings in the square is the Ljubljana Town Hall.
The Ljubljana Town Hall, Mestna hiša, is a Gothic style building where the municipality is run. You can enter the first floor of the town hall to look around but for a full tour you need to go to the Ljubljana Tourist Information Center. I didn’t look into the tours for my visit but based on information online it looks like they were offered on Saturdays at 1 pm in both Slovenian and English. They appear to have run for an hour and be free of charge. As of February 2026 the tours are currently not running but you can keep checking on the Ljubljana Tourism website for updates.
In the square, and in front of the town hall, you’ll find the Robba Fountain (Robbov vodnjak). The fountain is a replicate of the original that has been around since it was made in 1751. It was renovated in 2006 and moved to the National Art Gallery and the replica was made and placed into the town square location.
Visit the Saint Cyril and Methodius Church
Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church is an Eastern Orthodox Church that’s located in Trubar Park which is a small park located just across from the bigger Tivoli Park. At the time of my visit there was no admission fee and the church was open to visitors daily between 8 am and 7 pm.
The church was completed in 1936. It’s not the biggest church but I really liked the exterior architecture and the main altar on the inside is very nice. It’s worth a quick visit on your way to or from Tivoli Park.
Explore the Ljubljana Castle
Ljubljana Castle, located on Castle Hill, is definitely one of the bigger things to explore and see within the city. It stands above downtown Ljubljana and can be accessed either with a walk or a ticketed funicular ride. The walk up from Old Town is approximately 10-15 minutes but it is a steep walk. The funicular takes about 1 minute to the top. More on that below.
There are multiple things to view within the castle including the Puppetry Museum, the permanent Slovenian history exhibit, temporary exhibits, the Viewing Tower, the 4D film and the video mapping. The basic castle tickets include all of this. You can pay additional fees for an audio guide, an interactive guided tour or an escape game. Tickets bought online are cheaper than at the gate and can be found here.
Personally, I went with the audio guide as I didn’t think there was a lot of signage and it was a great way to learn more about it. I found the Puppetry Museum weirdly creepy but it could have been the whole travelling solo thing. By far my favorite part of the castle is the view of the city from the outer walls of the castle.
There are washrooms and places to get food on site. There’s a 1 euro fee to use the bathroom but this gets reimbursed into a voucher you can use in the gift store.
The castle is open year-round between 9 am and 7 pm in January, February, March, April, October, November, December. It’s open between 9 am and 10 pm in May, June, July, August and September. You can see up to date hours here.
Ride the Funicular
While the funicular is most popularly used for visitors to access the castle you don’t require a ticket to the castle to use it. You can take the ride up just to look around and then walk back down or take it back down. The lower funicular station can be found at Krek Square which is located across from the Central Market.
The funicular consists of only 1 cabin but fits 33 people at a time. It’s only a 60 second ride each way so even if you don’t fit into the first one you’re probably not going to be waiting too long on the next one.
Adult tickets are priced at 3.30 euros each way or 6 euros for the round trip. Child, student and senior tickets are cheaper. Updated ticket prices and online bookings can be found here.
The funicular runs year-round and runs between 9 am and 7 pm in January, February, March, April, October, November, December. It’s open between 9 am and 10 pm in May, June, July, August and September. You can see up to date hours here.
Stroll along the Ljubljanica River
The Ljubljanica River runs through Ljubljana. It runs through the center of the Old Town and you’ll pass it multiple times while sightseeing around town. There are boat rides you can take to explore the town from the river if you want to but you’ll be able to stroll along and get great vantage points from any of the bridges.
Cross the Historical Bridges
The Ljubljanica River is a focal point of downtown Ljubljana and runs through old town and most of the areas you’re likely to be sightseeing. You’ll come across the famous 3 bridges all within a 5 minute walk of each other although taking into account walking across the bridges it may take you longer to make your way across all of them.
Triple Bridge is arguably the most famous of the 3 bridges and is located right in front of the Franciscan Church. The bridge was originally a single bridge built in 1842 but was expended in the late 1920s/early 1930s to include 2 pedestrian bridges. It’s a well trafficked bridge and was probably the part of Ljubljana where I saw the biggest crowd.
Dragon Bridge is another one of the 3 bridges. It’s called so because of the pair of dragons that sit at each end of the bridge. It’s one of the most photographed parts of Ljubljana and it’s easy to see why. This bridge was built in 1901.
Butcher’s Bridge, or Mesarki Most as it’s called in Slovenian, is probably the simplest of the 3 bridges. It’s known for all the love locks that people hang on the bridge as well as the sculptures on it. The sculptures are based on Greek mythology and the one pictured below is the sculpture of Prometheus. This is one of the newest bridges and was built in 2010 to connect the Central Market with the other side of the river. This bridge lies in between the Triple Bridge and Dragon Bridge.
Admire the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation
The Franciscan Church of the Annunciation is located in Prešeren Square across from the Triple Bridge. You’ll probably have come across pictures of this church and it’s unique pink colour. There is no admission fee to the church. Opening times seem to vary a little bit. At the time of my visit it was open 8 am to 1 pm and then again between 3 pm but if you look online the times do vary a bit. The consensus seems to be that they close for a portion of the day around lunch-time so if you’re only here for one day, try for this first thing in the morning before the castle. It’s centrally located right in the middle of Old Town so it won’t be hard to get to.
Take a picture at the WOW Sign
The WOW Ljubljana sign is located right in front of the Ljubljana Tourism office which is down the street from the Dragon Bridge and specifically located at Krekov trg 10. It’s similar to a lot of other city signs so it’s really a quick photo stop but it’s conveniently located so it won’t be hard to come across it while exploring. I only learnt after the fact that the O contains water so if you get close to it you can hear water bubbling!
Visit Prešeren Square
Prešeren Square is the big square located in front of the Franciscan Church and the Triple Bridge. It’s pretty much the center of Old Town and a great place to start exploring from. It was one of the busier parts of Ljubljana during my visit but a great place to stroll around and do some people watching. Besides the church and the bridge, you can also see the Hauptmann House in this square which is an interesting piece of architecture.
Explore Trubarjeva Cesta
Trubarjeva Cesta is a smaller street that runs parallel to the river. It starts from Prešeren Square and runs about 1 km all the way to Roška cesta. It’s about a 15 minute walk if you walk straight through it but this is a street to take your time strolling through. I spent about an hour walking through and popping into the shops and grabbing a pastry from one of the cafes. There’s graffiti to browse, stores to shop, cafes and restaurants to try and bars to enjoy so this is definitely a must-do on your trip!
See the Hotel Union
Hotel Union or officially Grand Hotel Union Eurostars is just another example of the great architecture in Ljubljana. I didn’t stay here but was a huge fan of the exterior so walked past it a couple of times. To me it’s a very nice building but if you’re short for time it’s definitely one you can skip but it is only a couple of minutes from Prešeren Square.
Admire Jože Plečnik’s Architecture
Once you start looking into what to do in Ljubljana you’re going to come across the name Jože Plečnik A LOT. He is a Slovenian architect who had a great influence on the architecture of Ljubljana, Vienna and Prague. He designed the Triple Bridge, the Slovenian National and University Library building, the Ljubljana Central Market building, Cobbler’s Bridge and Congress Square amongst many other things. One could say he designed the city as a whole so walking around the city you’ll be sure to come across some of his work.
The collection of his work, labelled Plečnik’s Ljubljana, was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2021.
If you’re interested in more of Plečnik’s actual story you can visit his house. It’s south of the Old Town core and you do require tickets to visit but you can get more information on the website.
Other things to do in Ljubljana
I didn’t focus on museums for my visit to Ljubljana, preferring to stroll around town and take in the atmosphere but if you’ve got more time then you can definitely add the National Gallery of Slovenia, National Museum of Slovenia, Museum of Modern Art, Slovenian Railway Museum, Slovenian Museum of Natural History, City Museum of Ljubljana and National Museum of Contemporary History to your itinerary.
Map of Ljubljana
I’ve made a map grouping the attractions so you can figure out the path of exploring that would work best for you.
I really enjoyed Ljubljana and highly recommend it on any Eastern European itinerary. If you’ve got more time and you’re spending a few days I’d definitely recommend at least the day trip to Lake Bled from Ljubljana. It’s close by and a great way to take in some of the stunning nature the country has to offer.
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