Cathedral of the Assumption

Koper

　　Plumb on Titov trg is the Cathedral of the Assumption and its 36m-tall belfry, now called the City Tower, with 204 climbable stairs to superb views. The cathedral, partly Romanesque and Gothic but mostly dating from the mid-18th century, has a white classical interior with a feeling of space and...

Titov Trg

Koper

　　In the centre of old Koper, Titov trg is a Venetian-influenced stunner; mercifully, like much of the Old Town’s core, it is closed to traffic. On the north side is the arcaded Venetian Gothic Loggia built in 1463 (a perfectly placed cafe lives here); attached is the Loggia Gallery, with...

Kanin Cable Car

Bovec

　　This cable car whisks you up to the Bovec Kanin Ski Centre in a number of stages. It's most often used as an access for winter skiing or summer activities, but it's equally rewarding for sightseers – the views from the top station and en route are sweepingly beautiful. In...

Kluže Fortress

Bovec

　　Built by the Austrians in 1882 on the site of a 17th-century fortress above a 70m ravine on the Koritnica River, Kluže Fortress is 4km northeast of Bovec. It was the site of an Austro-Hungarian garrison during WWI, right behind the front line of the Isonzo battlefield. Exhibitions outline its...

Boka Waterfall

Bovec

　　With a sheer vertical drop of 106m (and a second drop of 30m), Boka is the highest waterfall in Slovenia – and it's especially stunning in the spring, when snowmelt gives it extra oomph. It's 5.5km southwest of Bovec – you can drive or cycle to the area and park...

Plečnik House

Ptuj

　　This small house in Trnovo is where local architect Jože Plečnik lived and worked for almost 40 years. There's an excellent introduction by hourly guided tour to this almost ascetically religious man's life, inspiration and work. ...

Praetorian Palace

Ptuj

　　On the southern side of Titov trg is the white Praetorian Palace, a mixture of Venetian Gothic and Renaissance styles dating from the 15th century and the very symbol of Koper. Now serving as the town hall, it contains a reconstructed old pharmacy and the tourist information office on the...

Posavje Museum

Ptuj

　　Housed in Brežice Castle, the Posavje Museum is one of provincial Slovenia’s richest museums, particularly for its archaeological and ethnographic collections – and for its stunning fresco-filled Knights’ Hall. 　　From the courtyard, ascend the staircase; its walls and ceiling are illustrated with Greek gods, the four Evangelists and the coat...

Mt Triglav

Ptuj

　　At 2864m, Mount Triglav is Slovenia's highest peak and a symbol of the country itself. It appears on the country's flag and one of Slovenia's former presidents once stated that it was the duty of every citizen to stand on the summit at least once in their lives. It is...

Plečnik Colonnade

Ptuj

　　This renovated covered walkway along the Ljubljanica River forms part of the city's Central Market. ...

Odprta Kuhna

Ptuj

　　The 'Open Kitchen' is an amazing food fair, with local and international specialities cooked on-site from many of the best restaurants around the city and beyond. Try to time your arrival away from traditional meal times, or prepare for long lines. ...

Mokrice Castle

Ptuj

　　Mokrice Castle, 10km southeast of Brežice, is the loveliest fortress in the Posavje region. The castle dates from the 16th century, but there are bits and pieces going back to Roman times built into the structure. The castle is home to a hotel with an 18-hole golf course but its...

Central Market

Ptuj

　　Central Market is Ljubljana's larder and worth a trip to stock up on provisions or just have a good snoop (and sniff) around. Go first to the vast open-air market (Tržnica na Prostem) just across Triple Bridge to the southeast of Prešernov trg on Vodnikov trg. Here you'll find a...

Vintgar Gorge

Ptuj

　　One of the easiest and most satisfying half-day trips from Bled is to Vintgar Gorge, some 4km to the northwest of Bled village. The highlight is a 1600m wooden walkway through the gorge, built in 1893 and continually rebuilt since. It criss-crosses the swirling Radovna River four times over rapids,...

Lipica Stud Farm

Ptuj

　　The stud farm can be visited on very popular, 50-minute guided tours. The interesting, informative tours are available in a number of languages; a tour covers the farm's unique heritage and the breeding of the horses, and visits the pastures and stables. It ends at the very good, hands-on museum...

Predjama Castle

Ptuj

　　Predjama Castle, 9km from Postojna, is one of Europe's most dramatic castles. It teaches a clear lesson: if you want to build an impregnable fortification, put it in the gaping mouth of a cavern halfway up a 123m cliff. Its four storeys were built piecemeal over the years from 1202,...

Škocjan Caves

Ptuj

　　Touring the huge, spectacular subterranean chambers of the 6km-long Škocjan Caves is a must. This remarkable cave system was carved out by the Reka River, which enters a gorge below the village of Škocjan and eventually flows into the Dead Lake, a sump at the end of the cave where...

Postojna Cave

Ptuj

　　The jaw-dropping Postojna Cave system, a series of caverns, halls and passages some 24km long and two million years old, was hollowed out by the Pivka River, which enters a subterranean tunnel near the cave’s entrance. 　　Visitors get to see 5km of the cave on 1½-hour tours; 3.2km of this...

Church of the Holy Trinity

Ptuj

　　What attracts most people to this little church is the famous Dance of Death or Danse Macabre, a fresco that shows 11 skeletons leading the same number of people forward to a freshly dug grave. A 12th holds open a coffin. The doomed line-up includes peasants, kings, cardinals, and even...

Vršič Pass

Ptuj

　　Sitting at a view-enhanced elevation of 1611m, this mountain pass is about 13km southwest of Kranjska Gora, via a storied road that zigzags madly and passes numerous sites of interest as it climbs. From the pass itself, the peak-tastic views take in Mojstrovka (2332m) to the west and Prisojnik/Prisank (2547m)...

Maribor Cathedral

Maribor

　　Maribor's cathedral faces the square named after Anton Martin Slomšek (1800–62), the Slovenian bishop and politician beatified in 1999 and the first Slovene to earn such distinction. Parts of the imposing structure date from the 13th century, and it shows elements of virtually every architectural style from Romanesque to modern....

Maribor Regional Museum

Maribor

　　Housed inside 15th-century Maribor Castle, this museum has one of the richest collections in Slovenia, though much of it is not on show. The most interesting section is the ground floor with archaeological and ethnographic exhibits, including 19th-century beehive panels with biblical scenes from the Mislinja and Drava Valleys, models...

Old Vine House

Maribor

　　Learn about Maribor's 400-year-old vine and Slovenian viniculture at Old Vine House, where you can taste local wine from its enormous collection. And don't miss the lovely new floor mosaic tracing Maribor's history. ...

National Liberation Museum

Maribor

　　Housed in a stunning 19th-century mansion, the collections here document Slovenia’s struggle for freedom throughout the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the work of the Pohorje Partisans during the Nazi occupation. Riveting. ...

Plague Pillar

Maribor

　　In the centre of Glavni trg, Maribor's marketplace in the Middle Ages, is perhaps the most extravagant Plague Pillar found anywhere in Central Europe. Designed by Jožef Straub and erected in 1743, it includes the Virgin Mary surrounded by half-a-dozen saints. ...

Synagogue

Maribor

　　Just north of the pentagonal 16th-century Water Tower on the waterfront, a set of steps leads up to Židovska ulica (Jewish St), the centre of the Jewish district in the Middle Ages, and home to this 15th-century synagogue. It contains Gothic key stones and tomb fragments; the special exhibitions and...

Glavni Trg

Maribor

　　Maribor’s marketplace in the Middle Ages, Glavni trg is just north of the river and the main bridge crossing it. In the centre of the square is Slovenia’s most extravagant plague pillar, erected in 1743. Behind it is the town hall, built in 1565 by Venetian craftsmen. ...

Old Vine

Maribor

　　About 150m east along the Pristan embankment is Maribor's most celebrated attraction, the so-called Old Vine, which still produces between 35kg and 55kg of grapes and about 25L of red wine per year, despite being planted more than four centuries ago. It is tended by a city-appointed viticulturist, and the...

Punta Lighthouse

Piran

　　Punta, the historical ‘point’ of Piran, still has a lighthouse, but today’s is small and relatively modern. Attached to it, however, is the round, serrated tower of the Church of St Clement, which evokes the ancient beacon from which Piran got its name. The church was originally built in the...

Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum

Piran

　　Located in the 19th-century Gabrielli Palace on the waterfront, this museum's focus is the sea, with plenty of salty-dog stories relating to Slovenian seafaring. In the archaeological section, the 2000-year-old Roman amphorae beneath the glass floor are impressive. The antique model ships upstairs are very fine; other rooms are filled...

Venetian House

Piran

　　One of Piran’s most eye-catching structures is the mid-15th-century Gothic Venetian House, with its tracery windows and balcony, in the northeast of Tartinijev trg. 　　There is a story attached to the stone relief between the two windows – a lion with a banner in its mouth and the Latin inscription...

Trg 1 Maja

Piran

　　Trg 1 Maja may sound like a socialist parade ground, but it was the centre of Piran until the Middle Ages, when it was called Stari trg (Old Square). The surrounding streets are a maze of pastel-coloured overhanging houses, vaulted passages and arcaded courtyards. 　　The square is surrounded by interesting...

Mediadom Pyrhani

Piran

　　This exciting new multimedia, interactive museum takes you on an innovative journey through Piran's historical story, with a 'time machine' and numerous exhibits that take a fresh look at the town's fascinating history. Archaeological finds and restored interiors add to the atmosphere. ...

Bell Tower

Piran

　　The Cathedral of St George's free-standing, 46.5m bell tower, built in 1609, was clearly modelled on the campanile of San Marco in Venice and provides a fabulous backdrop to many a town photo. Its 147 stairs can be climbed for fabulous views of the town and harbour. Next to it,...

Cathedral of St George

Piran

　　A cobbled street leads from behind the red Venetian House Tartinijev trg on to Piran's hilltop cathedral, baptistery and bell tower. The cathedral was built in baroque style in the early 17th century on the site of an earlier church from 1344. 　　The cathedral's doors are usually open and a...

Tartinijev Trg

Piran

　　The pastel-toned Tartinijev trg is a marble-paved square (oval, really) that was the inner harbour until it was filled in 1894. The statue of a nattily dressed gentleman in the centre is of native son, composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770). East is the 1818 Church of St Peter. Across...

Town Hall

Ljubljana

　　The seat of the city government and sometimes referred to as the Magistrat or Rotovž, the town hall was erected in the late 15th century and rebuilt in 1718. The Gothic courtyard inside, arcaded on three levels, is where theatrical performances once took place; it contains some lovely graffiti. One-hour...

Cathedral of St Nicholas

Ljubljana

　　A church has stood here since the 13th century, but the existing twin-towered building dates from the start of the 18th century. Inside, it’s a vision of pink marble, white stucco and gilt and contains a panoply of baroque frescoes. Have a look at the magnificent carved choir stalls, the...

Žale Cemetery

Ljubljana

　　This cemetery, some 2km northeast of Tabor, is Ljubljana’s answer to Père Lachaise in Paris or London's Highgate. It is 'home’ to a number of distinguished Slovenes, including Jože Plečnik, but is best known for the ornamental gates, chapels and colonnades at the complex's entrance designed by Plečnik himself in...

National Museum of Slovenia

Ljubljana

　　Housed in a grand building from 1888 – the same building as the Slovenian Museum of Natural History – highlights include the highly embossed Vače situla – a Celtic pail from the 6th century BC that was unearthed in a town east of Ljubljana. There's also a Stone Age bone...

Prešernov Trg

Ljubljana

　　The centrepiece of Ljubljana's wonderful architectural aesthetic is this marvellous square, a public space of understated elegance that serves not only as the link between the Center district and the Old Town but also as the city's favourite meeting point. Taking pride of place is the Prešeren monument (1905), erected...

Triple Bridge

Ljubljana

　　Running south from Prešernov trg to the Old Town is the much celebrated Triple Bridge, originally called Špital (Hospital) Bridge. When it was built as a single span in 1842 it was nothing spectacular, but between 1929 and 1932 superstar architect Jože Plečnik added the two pedestrian side bridges, furnished...

National & University Library

Ljubljana

　　This library is architect Jože Plečnik’s masterpiece, completed in 1941. To appreciate this great man’s philosophy, enter through the main door (note the horse-head doorknobs) on Turjaška ulica – you’ll find yourself in near darkness, entombed in black marble. As you ascend the steps, you’ll emerge into a colonnade suffused...

Ljubljana Castle

Ljubljana

　　Crowning a 375m-high hill east of the Old Town, this castle is an architectural mishmash, with most of it dating from the early 16th century when it was largely rebuilt after a devastating earthquake. It’s free to ramble around the castle grounds, but you’ll have to pay to enter the...