Ljubljana Castle: Not just for history buffs

The fact that Ljubljana has a castle is pretty self-evident, since you can spot it from a far, perched on a hill overlooking the whole city, just as any castle should. Over the years we have taken countless friends to visit it and soak up the best views in the city. There are a lot of other reasons for a visit.

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Beside the mentioned views, you should make the trip up the hill because most of the castle is free, it houses one of the city’s most famous restaurants, so you can have lunch or just a cup of coffee in the castle square, art exhibitions take place all the time, a pleasant walk all around, since it’s surrounded with trees, affording a much needed shade in the Summer months.

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How to get there?

  • You can do it on foot and it’s a nice walk up there, with a variety of different paths, some are steep, some take it easy on you, but either way, you can indulge in more sweets once you climb on top.
  • You can drive and good luck finding a parking space because it seems there is always something going on here (and on Saturdays due to the weddings, you’ll have no luck at all and you should skip on the car all together).
  • You can talk a funicular, which starts from the Krekov square.
  • By tourist tram. I don’t know about you, but to me they scream tourist too much and I tend to avoid them, not only in Ljubljana, where I’d have to hid from being seen by anyone, but elsewhere too. It’s OK I know there’s no hiding the fact that you are visiting a city but do you have to scream it?

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When to go?

Any time is a perfect time for a visit. But if you manage to see it while there is something else going on as well, like we did yesterday with the medieval days and reenactments of times past taking place, then it’s even better. We had so much fun walking among knights and ladies in waiting, trying out their tools and playing games. It’s really a great way to get your kids interested in history and teach them without them even knowing it. I bet my kids already know more about the Ljubljana Castle than I do. And what has stuck so permanently is the fact that there are prison cells and they better be good or we might just go there again.

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