24 hours in Ljubljana

Our top tips for how best to spend 24 hours in Ljubljana

Now that you’ve booked your mountain bike tour or E-MTB Tour in Slovenia with us you need to begin planning your travel to Ljubljana, and the start point of your European adventure with our 24 hours in Ljubljana guide.

We always recommend that you arrive at least one day before your adventure begins to allow for any travel or luggage delays. It’s also good to acclimatise to local time and recover from your journey before you start turning the pedals.

To help you make the most of your extra time in Slovenia, we’ve pooled our collective local knowledge to create this handy city guide for how best to spend 24 hours in Ljubljana before you set off on your fantastic adventure in Slovenia.

24 Hours in Ljubljana: Morning

After breakfast head for a morning stroll past the Modern Gallery and through Jakopic Promenade into Park Tivoli and stop for a second morning cappuccino at Colnarna Park Tivoli.

If you feel energetic you can continue up the Roznik hill to reach Cankarjev vrh. There you can try some homemade apple strudel to top up your energy levels until lunchtime.

If you happen to be in Ljubljana on a Saturday morning, then first visit the Ljubljana Market place – it is vibrant and colourful from early hours on, and serves the best fresh fruit and veg in the city.

Afternoon

Return back to the city centre to stroll along the river side and peek into Tozd to see what is currently on display and on sale. Tozd is the only coffee place in Ljubljana where everything is for sale, including a rainbow fixed-gear bike! They also have craft beer and tasty mojitos, served in an interesting way.

A good stop for a great midday snack is also at Slovenska Hisa Caffee, that offers typical Slovenian ‘tapas’ – try a plate of cured cheeses and meats, cheese dumplings and a traditional Turkish coffee.

Evening

In the evening take a cable car to the Castle Hill and visit the museum, or simply just visit the Pipers’ Tower and enjoy the view of Ljubljana spread out below you.

For an elegant dinner try the Strelec Restaurant in the Archer’s Tower of the castle, or for something a bit more cosy, Restaurant Na Gradu at the castle courtyard.

5 Local Phrases

‘Zhivjo’ (zheevio); Ljubljana dialect for ‘hello’

‘Ja’ (yah); Ljubljana dialect for ‘yes’

‘Ne’ (neah); ‘No’

‘Hvala’ (ˈkwɛaːla); Slovenian for ‘thanks’

‘Na zdravje’ (na szdrouhyeah); A common drinking toast

Accommodation Options

Ljubljana has a great mix of small boutique and modern hotels and guest houses in the historic city centre.

Here are a few of our favourites;

B&B Slamič (meeting point on day 1)

Hotel Cubo

Hotel Vander (pedestrian zone, less convenient if bringing your own bike)

Hotel Mrak

Ljubljana Transport Links

Ljubljana is a beautifully compact city and you’ll be able to negotiate most of it by foot. If you’re travelling to Ljubljana by train, bus or plane, here’s how to get to the city centre:

Train/ bus – If you arrive to Ljubljana by train or bus then luckily you’ll already be in the city centre and all our recommended hotels are only a short walk away (10-15 min).

Air – Ljubljana airport is 21 miles from the city centre and is well served by bus links, shuttle vans and taxi services. The shuttle bus operates every hour (5:00am to 8:00pm) during the week and every couple of hours (7:00am to 8:00pm) on the weekends, and costs around 5 EURO.

A shuttle van operates at variable times (depending on current departures/arrivals) and generally runs when there is a full van of passengers. Price ranges from 9 to 20 EUR per person.

The airport taxi is likely to cost around 45 EUR. Sometimes they charge 10 EUR for bikes.

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