Central market, Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the sort of town (it's hard to think of it as a city, even though it is) that lends itself to picnicking, and where better than to procure your picnic provisions than the main market in town?

Slovenia is a country where you seldom run the risk of going hungry, and the market is packed with all sorts of tempting fare. The quality of the produce is terrific, and is a testament to the fertility of the surrounding farmland. When we visited (late June), the stalls were chockful of cherries and many types of berry, and our kids thought that they had been transported to paradise ... their berry-stained faces are a notable feature of the photos taken later that afternoon!

There are flowers and crafts as well as fresh produce on sale. And as with all markets, it is a splendid place to people-watch.

Now for the arduous task of finding the perfect picnic spot ... and unearthing your Swiss army knife (which I always seem to mislay until well into the trip now that we're not allowed to carry them in hand luggage)!

1 more image

This seems to be the place where people buy their fresh product, it offer cheese, meet, fish, bread, bakery stuff, flour, all kind of nuts. I even saw phillo paste in there on sale, I wish I can find it in Padova! It was really intersting to walk around and do some shopping

I am not talking about (a) shop(s) here but about the stands at the market place.

There is a market in Ljubljana every day, we here in The Netherlands are so used to go shopping for quite some days in one time and then fill our freezers..

But I always love seeing women going to market each day, to get whatever is fresh and best that day and perhaps even cheapest!

Perhaps this really appears the right thing to do in countries where summer is summer or where temps are always thus that lots of things can take place in the open air!

Look how very colourful ......

What to buy: whatever you need....

What to pay: pay for what you buy!

This market is enormous. It fills the square (Vodnikov Trg) and spills out into the lanes and streets surrounding it. It is mostly for food and flowers, but not exclusively. If you want to see/buy the best of Slovene produce in season, this is the place.

I was there on a Friday morning in late July, so perhaps the height of the fruit and veg season, but the stuff all looked wonderful. I'm not sure if it operates every day.

An interesting feature is the riverside arcade with colonnades built by famous local architect Plečnik.

What to buy: Fruit & veg!

What to pay: Sorry, I was catching the lunchtime train so I was not buying.

3 more images

Starting at the Triple Bridge and heading east towards the Dragon Bridge there are vendors outside the Colonnade selling souvenirs, honey, tshirts, ice cream and decorated glassware. Inside the Colonnade there are shops selling meat, cheese, baked good, nuts, dried fruit with a couple of bars and coffee shops.

Then there's another section that runs parallel outside the Colonnade selling arts and crafts and other items, nearby is the fruit and vegetable market and also another section selling clothing.

The Colonnade was designed by Ljubljana architect Joze Plecnik, who designed much of what you will see in Ljubljana.

What to buy: I bought a couple of hand painted vases with flowers on them, one for me and one for Jen (Jenniflower) in thanks for her hospitality while I was in London. I also bought a refrigerator magnet of one of the beehive panels and a smaller version of one for David's international trinket collection. The beehive panels are very clever, the one I bought showed a man carrying an old woman in a basket, a devil loading an old woman into a mill with a pretty young maid popping out the other side. This website has a history of the beehive panels.

2 more images

Just south of the river between the Triple Bridge and Dragon Bridge there is an outdoor market selling fresh fruit and vegetables. Very close by there is also a flower market in a narrow street/alley near St. Nicholas church. My guidebook says it is open Monday-Saturday 6am-2pm and that there is also another section that we didn't see selling fish, meat and dairy in the basement of the Seminary Building on adjacent Pogacarjev trg.

Along the riverbanks of the river Ljubljanica, in between the Triple Bridge and the Dragon bridge, is Joze Plecnik's neoclassical colonnades, just one of his mark in this beautiful city.

What to buy: This long monumental building transforms into a bustling selling point of basically anything during the day. Mostly hand made crafts made by locals....bars of soap, honey, decorative candles, wooden toys or tools, souvenirs, a lot of nice and cute stuff

1 more image

There is a covered market opposite the Plecnick colonnade. I mean quite in the centre of the market square.

It is a nice place to spend some time wandering along the various stalls or buying something that caught your eye.

What to buy: There you can buy some bread, various kind of sweets. Meat or fish and other kind of food.

What to pay: ...

Ljubljana's Market place is the most beautiful and colourful in summer time and in early autumn. Lots of vegetable, fruit spices displayed on the simple stalls. There's not just food - you can buy...a straw hat, all sorts of them, a basket ...,just view the photo.

The central market place is located in the old part of the town, from the triple bridge towards Dragon's bridge. It is open every day, exept Sunday and they say, it is one of the most beautiful. On one side by the Ljubljanica river, there are beautifully archades created by architect J.Plecnik, on the oposite site there is a monument see the photo) of Valentin Vodnik -slovenian writer.