City Guide: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Castles, dragons, wine & hospitality
Hi friends!
Paulina here. When Chef James and I were planning our trip to Northern Italy in January of 2026, we were assembling our itinerary and deciding between driving to the alpine city of Bolzano or spending more time in Verona. I was leaning towards Bolzano, despite the snowy drive and the hubbub of the Olympics, when Chef recommended we drive to Ljubljana for a few days instead. I was skeptical at first, not knowing much about Slovenia aside from the few (delicious) wines I’ve tasted. I’m so glad he pushed for it because I loved our time there and can’t wait to return.
Slovenia is a relatively new nation that is culturally still coming into itself after 1,000 years under the Habsburg rule and 80 years as part of Yugoslavia. Their ‘Ten-Day’ war for independence was in June of 1991. Ljubljana is the capital city and the largest city, with a (mostly) car-free city center flanking the Ljubljana river with restaurants, bars, museums and community spaces. The moody Castle of Ljubljana looms over the city which romanticized our winter stay and made us crave a cold beer and a sausage from the Christmas market. The food scene is young, embracing local dairy and artisanal charcuterie products. The tension between high-brow/low-brow dining and drinking is fun and approachable. We were equally impressed by the composed dishes in a bistro as we were with the goulash at the dive bar down the street.
