One Day in Ljubljana Itinerary: The best of the city in 24 hours!

Spend the rest of the morning exploring Old Town! This pedestrian-only section of Ljubljana is sandwiched between the Ljubljanica River and the towering Ljubljana Castle. And it’s filled with cobblestone streets and alleyways, colorful buildings, unique bridges, various sculptures and fountains, and plenty of shops and restaurants. 

You will have already walked through some of it, but make sure to check out these spots if you have yet to see them:

• Mestni Trg: The heart of Old Town, with the Town Hall, historic fountain, and obelisk. 
• Gornji Trg: Just a block away from Mestni Trg, this cute street is a bit quieter, but equally as quaint. It’s also home to another coffee shop we love, Črno Zrno Specialty Coffee.
• See all of the bridges! Some of our favorites were Triple Bridge, Butchers’ Bridge (covered in locks), Cobblers’ Bridge, and Dragon Bridge (the city’s symbol is a dragon!).
• Locksmith Alley: This alley is home to a unique water fountain, with a 700 bronze faces on the ground, all with different expressions.
• Prešernov trg: This pink church is right across the river from the main part of Old Town and hard to miss! It’s located in a roundabout with other beautiful buildings surrounding it. Plus “The Area With Ljubljana’s Own Weather,” an art installation that makes it rain right in the center of the roundabout! 

If you happen to be in Ljubljana on a Friday from March to October, check out Open Kitchen! In fact, we’d highly suggest planning your trip so you’re in town on a Friday just so you can attend this!

Open Kitchen is an outdoor market that features tons of stalls from Slovenian restaurants across many different cuisines. And while you can stroll the stalls on your own and pick your favorites, if you want to take it to the next level you can order a Gourmet Ljubljana Tasting Menu. These are specially designed menus featuring a variety of dishes from a handful of local chefs. With your order you’ll get seated at a private table at the market and get to meet the team behind the menu.  

To enjoy one of the tasting menus, you’ll need to put in an order in advance at this website or in person at the Tourist Information Center.

Important to know: Since this is an outdoor event, it is canceled if the weather is bad. Which is unfortunately what happened for us. 😭 But we hope to check it out next time!

Not visiting on a Friday?

Head to Klobasarna for lunch! This quick spot features quite a few traditional Slovenian foods. We enjoyed their Carniolan sausage, Jota (sauerkraut, turnip, and bean soup), and Ričet (barley, bean, and vegetable soup).

Now that you’ve wandered around the city on foot, it’s time to see it from the water! And to do this you have two options, with the first being a boat tour!

There are many boat tour providers, but we suggest the Barka Ljubljanica. It is the first and only hand made electric wooden boat on the river! The tours are offered at several different times throughout the day and last about 50 minutes. If you’re visiting in the colder months, Emonca Boat would be a better choice, as it’s heated.

You also could go on a paddleboarding tour on the river (March-mid October)! This experience includes a guide to show you how to use the paddleboard, a short guided paddle on the river, plus photos to remember the experience! 

Depending on the tour schedule, you may need to do this earlier or later in this one day Ljubljana itinerary.

Want to save some money on this tour or experience? Join Tripadvisor Rewards to earn 5% Trip Cash on any hotel or experience booking made in their app, which can be applied to future in-app bookings!

To end the day, head up to the 12th floor of Neboticnik (take the spiral staircase!), which was the first skyscraper built in Slovenia. While it’s technically free to go to the top, to sit and enjoy the view, you will need to purchase something from the cafe/bar on the rooftop. They offer different non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, plus sweet treats, which you can enjoy while sitting on a terrace with wraparound glass. This makes for the perfect sunset spot!

Important to know: The glass is sometimes a bit dirty, but there are some openings between the glass where you can snap a photo without any smudges. Also, make sure to arrive early on a sunny day for a spot for sunset!

For dinner, try more traditional Slovenian food! There are many different options you can choose from in town, but here are a handful we recommend:

• Druga Violina for dinner and a great cause! This restaurant employs people with disabilities or special needs and serves a changing menu of traditional Slovenian foods. 
• Julija has a local menu with pasta, grilled meat and vegetables, and seafood. Including one of our favorite Slovenian dishes, Idrijski žlikrofi!
• Burek Olimpija (or Nobel Burek) for Burek, a pastry made with thin and flaky filo dough and filled with different ingredients, like meat, cheese, or spinach. It’s a cheap and quick dinner. Make sure to order a yogurt drink to go with it!
• And if you didn’t visit Klobasarna earlier, this is a great option for a quick dinner!

If you’re only spending one day in Ljubljana, we suggest staying near the Old Town for the ultimate convenience. Most of the stops on this one day in Ljubljana itinerary are within walking distance to here, so you’ll be able to easily explore!

And since your stay in Ljubljana will be short, we think a hotel would be the easiest option, as you’ll likely be out exploring all day and not need much space. Plus, they can hold your bags if you arrive early or want to check out late.

During our visit we stayed at the Eurostars uHotel, which was just a block or two away from the river and Old Town. And it was great! Our room was spacious and remodeled. Plus our rate came with a large breakfast buffet, which was nice to have for a quick bite before hitting the town!

Here are a few other options in the area that look nice!

• City Hotel Ljubljana
• The Hotel Ljubljana
• Bloom Hotel

Ljubljana Card

Many of the best things to do in Ljubljana are included on the Ljubljana Card, a city pass that gives you free entry to 30+ attractions, free travel on city buses, and a free city tour. You can purchase this for either 24, 48, or 72 hours. If the attractions included interest you, this is a great value! But make sure to add up what all you want to visit and their costs to ensure you’ll get your money’s worth first.

We personally did not purchase the card, as we mostly chose free activities (and ate food!) during our one day in Ljubljana.

Learn a bit of Slovenian 

The local language for Slovenia is Slovenian, which is kind of a tricky language, from our experience. However, most locals in Ljubljana will speak some (or a lot of) English, so communication is relatively easy. Even so, we believe in learning some words to show respect. A couple good ones to know are Dober dan (good day) and hvala (thank you).

Bring a reusable water bottle

One thing we love about traveling in Europe is all the water fountains around town. And just like many other popular cities in Europe there are plenty of fountains in Ljubljana. So be sure to bring a reusable water bottle to fill up and drink from throughout the day. We love our Yeti water bottle!