the world of adventures: 7 Reasons Why You Should Visit Ljubljana

When I first planned my visit to Slovenia, Ljubljana was there merely as a resting point before I head to another destination. It was meant to allow for a few days of doing-nothing and did not expect much from the city. Boy, was I wrong.

Ljubljana is wonderfully beautiful! It boosts the charm of a riverside city but at a lower price tag. There's also so much to do in this city, I didn't even have time to take a break! Here's why you should visit Ljubljana, even if it's for a short while.

1. Amazing atmosphere and a lively city

Everywhere in Ljubljana, you'll find yourself surrounded by carefree tourists or friendly locals. It's the kind of atmosphere that makes your holiday memorable and relaxing.

The Pink Church; the centre of the tourist attraction area. Officially, this church is called Franciscan Church of the Annunciation. However, one look at the church and you'll understand why it is called the Pink Church. It's a really nice place to take your takeaway to while people watching. It seems almost everyone passes through the front of the church if they're heading to anywhere within the tourist city centre.

How cool is this pram anyway?

Had the honour of listening to these pre-school kids singing the national anthem while I was visiting the Jewish Quarter. Definitely one of the friendliest peoples I've met.

2. Home to some amazing bridges

The Triple Bridge, the most famous bridge in Ljubljana. Located opposite the Pink Church, it joins the medieval and the modern part of the city.Personally, I couldn't enjoy the blended beauty of the bridge to its surroundings until I walked away from the bridge. Night or day, the bridge is the perfect place to take a break and grab a take-away.

Across the Triple Bridge, on the bank opposite the Pink Church, you'll find a tourist centre.

That's your go-to place in case you need to find/book a tour, get a map or just get an insight of what the city has to offer. I would definitely head there first thing, just to equip myself with the essentials (maps, leaflets, etc.).

The Cobbler's Bridge.

Ljubljana loves its bridges so much it has 30+ of them. Some are famous...

...some others are just bridges. Regardless, the attract millions of visitors each year.

The Pont des Arts in Paris is well-known to tourists. No surprise that some other countries have adopted the love lock tradition as well to attract some travelling love birds, such as in Cologne (Germany), Prague (Czech) and even Ljubljana.

Ljubljana's own Pont des Arts is called the Butcher's bridge, not the most romantic name. However, same function. Let's hope the Butcher's bridge doesn't succumb to the fate of Pont des Arts anytime soon.

Also, you'll find plenty of strange (contemporary?) art at the Butcher's Bridge. I'm not one to understand the meaning behind contemporary art, so the objects were merely nicely shaped solids to me.

The dragons on the Dragon Bridge, who wags their tails when a virgin passes through (according to legend). It's either a legend or that no one is a virgin the entire time I was there looking at it.

3. Ljubljana Castle; a great view of Ljubljana

Above the city centre, you'll be able to spot the Ljubljana castle. The numerous road signs will lead you to the castle if somehow you are unable to spot the castle or if you have a really stiff neck.

I believe I took the back road of the castle because the path was quite empty.

If you're taking the back path, wear some good shoes because the loose pebbles aren't too sandals-friendly. It is also an inclining path and can get quite steep at some points.

However, you'll get a great view of the city and the shades will allow for some rest time during your climb. You could just screw walking and take the funicular instead. Again, there'll be plenty directions to show you where the funicular is.

I don't have much comment about the castle though. You'll find the castle commercialised and refurbished a little too modern for a medieval castle. There are restaurants and although the castle is free entry, certain parts of the castle or the towers are paid entries. Personally, I find most castles a little too touristy for me. I like to see those untouched and preserved ones, not those refurbished and added with a modern twist. Seriously, if I wanted to enjoy some modern architecture, I wouldn't have gone to an old-world castle, would I? However, if there's a reason to visit the castle, it should be the hilltop view of the city. It's worth it.

There is a small chapel on the castle grounds that showed all the emblems of the kings' houses. I thought it was quite interesting to see those. The chapel's architecture itself is bare minimum though.

4. A relaxing afternoon river cruise, topped with dinner by the river after

One of the best activities to do along Ljubljana's tourist district is to take a river cruise. After the cruise, the perfect way to cap is to have a meal at any of the restaurants along the river. Despite their location, they are really inexpensive. On our first night in the capital, I had take-away by the Triple Bridge; which costs me around the same as a meal by the river side restaurants.

If you are looking for seafood, walk further down the bridge, after the Triple bridge and you will find the Fish Market. Here, you will enjoy seafood, as at reasonable prices.

5. The delicious home-grown market produce

Opposite the Fish Market, you will find the wet market selling mostly fruits and vegetables. All the produce there are most home grown and they are also reasonably priced. Bought a bag of cherries and strawberries from the market. Perfect dessert after some good seafood. Actually, they are perfect anytime, everywhere!

There's conveniently a place in the market to wash the fruits before eating. It's like the perfect fruit market really. Who has the patience to bring the fruits home to wash when it smells so freaking sweet?! I munched on my 'haul' the rest of the day.

Slovenians are honest and friendly people. But for overly suspicious people, the market caters to them by placing an independent weighing scale at the edge of the market, just so they can check that they really did get the amount they paid for. No cheating, really.
Is this market super equipped or what?

6. (Novelty) Milk vending machines

A cute feature you can find near the market is this fresh cow's milk vending machine. There are a few of this machines and one of them is right at the market. It basically dispenses fresh cow's milk depending on how much you pay. I can promise you, anyone can afford this. It'll cost you a mere few euro cents. It would be cheaper still if you have your own bottle because then you would not need to purchase a bottle (vending machine on the left). It has a really rich and creamy taste, perfect for those full cream milk fans. I was told by a local that one of the ways to identify a tourist in the city, is to spot those gulping down a bottle of milk in the middle of the day.

I was told that each of this machines are supplied by a sole farmer. They come and refill the tanks and this effort is in support of the local milk farmers. The whole market is completely supportive of local produce and I find this move by the government exemplary. It's really these small things that help small suppliers/farmers sustain their business.

7. The Architecture

The capital of Slovenia does not fall behind when it comes to impressive architecture. Along side the bridges and the castle, they have many more structures that will take the air out of you. The best part of it, there's history tied to the buildings, which makes it all the more fascinating.