![]() ![]() ![]() Take the glass elevator up a wooded hill to visit Ljubljana Castle (Grajska Planota 1 386-1306-4293 ljubljanskigrad.si 8 euros), a medieval complex that has served as both a Hapsburg royal residence and quarters for Napoleon’s army. Next door, Marjeta Groselj (Tavcarjeva Ulica 4 386-1231-8984) has been making stylish and colorful handmade purses in this location for 46 years (200 to 640 euros), while Akultura (Tavcarjeva Ulica 5 386-1432-1075 akultura.si), across the street, focuses on creations made from soft lambskin, like a striking olive green leather jacket (295 euros). Koda 386 (Tavcarjeva Ulica 4 386-5903-3350 ) opened this spring, and sells clothing and accessories from three inventive Slovenian labels: Nina Susnjara, M*Faganel, and Firma by Sanja. Then explore Ljubljana’s homegrown fashion scene, centered nearby. People-watch over coffee and a pastry at Kavarna Union (Miklosiceva Cesta 1 386-1308-1270 gh-union.si), an atmospheric fin-de-siècle coffeehouse with crystal chandeliers and portraits of haughty aristocrats. Vinoteka Movia (Mestni Trg 2 386-1425-5448 movia.si), across the river, is a cozy affair housed in a part of the baroque Town Hall, which offers many wines from the 192-year-old Movia winery. Begin your lesson in local wine at Dvorni Bar (Dvorni Trg 2 386-1251-1257 ), where patrons choose from about 80 wines by the glass, like a lusty Teran red from the Karst region (2.90 euros), and clink glasses in a room with caricatures sketched on the wall and jazz on the speakers. There are dozens of artisanal winemakers in Slovenia making wines on a par with those of neighboring Italy. Passers-by often halt midstride to scope out the pastries in the window, chiefly the three-inch-tall gibanica (4.50 euros), an apple, poppy seed, raisin and walnut layer cake. The house specialties are Prekmurje bograc, a traditional goulash of spiced beef, pork and venison (6.50 euros), and bujta repa, a succulent hotpot of pickled turnips and pork (4.50 euros). The terrific Gujzina (Mestni Trg 19 386-8380-6446 prekmurska-gostilna.si), which opened in July, serves dishes from Prekmurje, a region abutting Hungary that is celebrated for its gastronomy. Visitors can peruse works like Tanja Ostojic’s fascinating “Looking for a Husband With EU Passport,” which catalogs the many responses the Serbian artist received to the personals ad she posted, and then watch footage of the early Slovene punk scene in the collection’s dedicated Punk Museum. The most recent arrival, the Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova (Maistrova Ulica 3 386-1241-6800 mg-lj.si 5 euros, or $6.25 at $1.25 to the euro), opened last November and specializes in cutting-edge multimedia art from Eastern Europe. The city’s new museum quarter has turned several 19th-century barracks that once served the Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav armies into cultural spaces. Such juxtapositions contribute to the city’s distinctive character. 15 share a block with boxy Communist office buildings and Art Nouveau mansions from Austro-Hungarian times. Elsewhere, remnants of a Roman wall built around A.D. There are also surprisingly offbeat facets of the city, like Metelkova City, a cluster of clubs and galleries that opened inside a complex of former military buildings after Slovenia declared independence, in 1991. With the country surrounded by Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, the national cuisine is infused with a cornucopia of influences the capital’s latest restaurants are bypassing novelty and getting creative with traditional Slovenian fare. ![]() In the last few years, Ljubljana has seen several notable museum openings, a new public bike-rental program and a major renovation of its Hapsburg-era opera house. But this walkable capital (population 280,000) also has a rich cultural scene that would be impressive in a city twice its size. SLOVENIA’S first city, Ljubljana, has its fair share of charming Old World plazas, baroque churches and dramatic castles.
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