Wandering Ljubljana’s Old Town and Castle

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
3
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
6
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
4
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
4
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
5
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
47 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
388th/454
Bottom 20%
continent
Europe
country
Slovenia
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$40 ($10-$50 in 2021 prices)
Time of year visited
September
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐
Summary

Ljubljana is a lovely city to wander around for a day with its pedestrianised streets looking over the river, the famous 3 bridges and in particular the Ljubljana Castle area which is a delight to walk around.  Max you need though is a day and I would prioritise the idyllic picture-prefect lakes near Lake Bled ahead of it

Highlights
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#1 Walking along the pedestrianised area of the Ljubljanica River, which has been beautifully restored and a great spot for food and drinks

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#2 Views from the Ljubljana Castle Watchtower of the town and surrounding Julian Alps. Especially if get there early and have to yourself!

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#3 Walking through the Castle’s garden grounds, which make you feel very much away from the city centre and an underrated spot

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#4 The cutey quainty central area of the castle, which seemed to have regular medieval shows on display and generally a feeling of being lost in another world

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#5 Checking out the various ceilings of just about every building you walk through

Travel Tips

  • Head up to the castle for when it opens (9am, €7.50) and before the main tourists arrive from the funicular transport up the hill (which also starts at 9am, €10 including castle entry).  I started walking up castle hill (which is a nice walk) at a leisurely pace around 830am from the centre of town and found the castle itself almost entirely to myself to enjoy the chapel, the watchtower and the other areas
  • The gardens around the castle are definitely worth having a wander around and checking out. Very pleasant and some great views of the town and surrounding mountains
  • Walking along the river is lovely in both directions, so head off to find some nice spots
  • Food Market on the River – there is a cracking spot just in between the Three Bridges area and a Ljubljana Cathedral which has a food market. Mainly burgers and that sort of thing (although also many vegan options).  Great place to grab something to eat
  • Accommodation – I stayed at the uHotel and was pleasantly surprised.  Great central location and would recommend
  • I did enjoy my time in Ljubljana – it’s very cute and worth a visit – but I would prioritise your time to focus on Lake Bled, which I just thought was magical. For more details see Lake Bled
Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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