Visit Ljubljana

First impressions of Ljubljana

Ljubljana is one of the loveliest small European capitals — a compact, car-free, deeply green riverside town of around 290,000 people, with a fairy-tale hilltop castle, a beautiful baroque Old Town curving along the emerald Ljubljanica river, and the unmistakable architectural signature of Jože Plečnik, the visionary 20th-century architect whose work shaped much of the city's modern character. The river is the spine of the city: walk its banks from the iconic Triple Bridge (Tromostovje — Plečnik's 1932 masterpiece of three connected bridges fanning out from the central Prešeren Square) past the Dragon Bridge (with its four Art Nouveau dragons), the Cobblers' Bridge, and the Butchers' Bridge with its modern love-locks. Above, the hilltop Ljubljana Castle (reached by 5-minute funicular) offers the iconic panorama over the orange-tiled rooftops. Don't miss the brilliant Central Market (also Plečnik-designed, with the open-air Open Kitchen food market every Friday from March to October), the dramatic National and University Library (another Plečnik building), the moving Tivoli Park (the green lung of the city, designed for casual long walks), and Metelkova — the autonomous former military barracks converted into Europe's largest squatter art collective, with brilliantly chaotic graffiti and lively nightlife.