Related Ljubljana Favorites Tips

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Favorite thing: In Lisbon we have Marquês de Pombal, the politician that directed the architects who rebuilt the city after the earthquake.

In Barcelona, they have Gaudi, a very strong presence with only a few works.

And...

And...

I don't know many situations where a single person could be identified with a city.

Well, now I know a new one - Jose Plecnik is the name of the architect that changed absolutely the image of Ljubljana. It's impossible to visit the city without listening his name a couple of times... per hour.

And, forgive my ignorance, I appreciated very much his work: nothing revolutionary, nothing crazy, nothing outstanding - sober but elegant forms, wise and functional spaces, modernity respecting tradition. Good work!

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Favorite thing: Especially the buildings around the Preseren Square are beautifully illuminated at night. Among them is the Franciscan Church and the Art Nouveau style Centromerkur department store.

Apart from these also well worth seeing by night are the Market Colonnades, the Cathedral and most buildings along the river Ljubljanica.

Favorite thing: Ljubljana's city centre is packed with many architectural interesting sights from various eras. Most buildings in the Old Town were built in Baroque style.

The department store Centromerkur near the Preseren Square is a fine example for Art-Nouveau style. Ljubljana's most famous architect Joze Plecnik has designed many sights for his city. Among them are the Market Colonnades, the Cobbler's Bridge or the Levstik Square.

Favorite thing: The river Ljubljanica, which flows through the city centre of Ljubljana, can be crossed by several interesting and worth seeing bridges from various periods of time.

The most famous bridge is the Triple Bridge (Tromostovje) which spans the river near the Preseren Square. Other beautiful bridges are the Art-Nouveau style Dragon Bridge (Zmajski most) and the Cobbler's Bridge (Cevljarski most) which was designed by Joze Plecnik.

Favorite thing: I have HORSCHECK to thank for introducing me to the 'In Your Pocket' series of tour guides, which we first had the opportunity to 'road test' in Tallinn (when the hotel we stayed in provided a copy of Tallinn In Your Pocket in each room).

For my money, it's a much more useful travel guide than the Lonely Planet or Rough Guides that we tend to use when we travel. In many ways, it's an unfair comparison, as the 'In Your Pocket' series focus on a single city, and are updated every couple of months, so, as you would expect, it is more current - particularly on events - and can provide information on a wider range of attractions than a regional guide which is only updated every couple of years. Also, you do have to have identified the city (rather than just the country) that you want to visit before the In Your Pocket guides come into their own, so I would suggest using a conventional tour guide for your initial planning and then supplementing this with the more local insight these publications offer.

For me, the strength of this guide is that it is written by English-speaking writers who are resident in the city. This means that the descriptions are livelier than often awkwardly phrased tourist material which is clearly translated from another language. I also thought that the mix of attractions and events listed was varied and would appeal to a range of interests and ages.

At present, the In Your Pocket series tends to focus on cities in Central and Eastern Europe, although new titles are continually being added.

For the Ljubljana guide, follow this link: http://www.inyourpocket.com/slovenia/ljubljana

Favorite thing: The Roman Emperor Augustus founded in year 34 a settlement which was called Aemona. That is the modern Ljubljana, which got its city rights in 1416. Between 1809 and 1849 was it the capital of Illyria, and from 1918 on is it the capital of Slovenia.

The dragon was not in the coat of arms from the beginning (1416) but is a later addition.

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Favorite thing: Tourism Office

* Ljubljana Tourist Information Centre (TIC) (both pics)
Stritarjcva Ulica
1000 Ljubljana

- Tel.: (+386) (0)1 306 12 15
- Fax: (0)1 306 12 14
- E. mail: tic@visitljubljana.si

* Ljubljana Tourist Information Office at the Railway Station
Trg Osvobodilne fronte 6
1000 Ljubljana

- Tel.: (+386) (0)1 433 94 75
- Fax: (+386) (0)1 430 05 51
- E. mail: ticzp@visitljubljana.si

* Slovenian Tourist Information Centre (STIC)
Krekov trg 10
1000 Ljubljana

- Tel.: (+386) (0)1 306 45 75, 306 45 76
- Fax: (+386) (0)1 306 45 80
- E. mail: stic@visitljubljana.si

* Some websites:
- www.visitljubljana.si
- www.ljubljana.si (City Hall)

Favorite thing: (It is not my "favourite thing about Ljubljana" - it's just that these templates lack imagination ;)

That's travel advice you don't hear often, do you?

Well, I am glad to tell you that, at the time of this writing, Ljubljana still is blessed with excellent tap water.

It is very "hard" water (i.e. with a high calcium content), which is bad news for washing machines, but since not many washing machines will be reading this, it shouldn't concern you.

It is good, healthy water - which is remarkably rare for a capital of a European country, so... knock yourself out! ;)