Southwestern Slovenia
The jaw-dropping Postojna Cave system, a series of caverns, halls and passages some 24km long and two million years old, was hollowed out by the Pivka…
Must-see attractions in Southwestern Slovenia
Southwestern Slovenia
Touring the huge, spectacular subterranean chambers of the 6km-long Škocjan Caves is a must. This remarkable cave system was carved out by the Reka River,…
Southwestern Slovenia
Predjama Castle, 9km from Postojna, is one of Europe's most dramatic castles. It teaches a clear lesson: if you want to build an impregnable fortification…
Southwestern Slovenia
What attracts most people to this little church is the famous Dance of Death or Danse Macabre, a fresco that shows 11 skeletons leading the same number of…
Southwestern Slovenia
The stud farm can be visited on very popular, 50-minute guided tours. The interesting, informative tours are available in a number of languages; a tour…
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Southwestern Slovenia
You can explore most Slovenian caves on foot, but Križna (Cross) Cave, one of the most magnificent water caves in the world, is one of few where you can…
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Piran
The pastel-toned Tartinijev trg is a marble-paved square (oval, really) that was the inner harbour until it was filled in 1894. The statue of a nattily…
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Piran
A cobbled street leads from behind the red Venetian House Tartinijev trg on to Piran's hilltop cathedral, baptistery and bell tower. The cathedral was…
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Koper
In the centre of old Koper, Titov trg is a Venetian-influenced stunner; mercifully, like much of the Old Town’s core, it is closed to traffic. On the…
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Koper
Plumb on Titov trg is the Cathedral of the Assumption and its 36m-tall belfry, now called the City Tower, with 204 climbable stairs to superb views. The…
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Koper
On the southern side of Titov trg is the white Praetorian Palace, a mixture of Venetian Gothic and Renaissance styles dating from the 15th century and the…
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Piran
The Cathedral of St George's free-standing, 46.5m bell tower, built in 1609, was clearly modelled on the campanile of San Marco in Venice and provides a…
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Piran
This exciting new multimedia, interactive museum takes you on an innovative journey through Piran's historical story, with a 'time machine' and numerous…
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Southwestern Slovenia
Since ancient times, periodic Lake Cerknica (Cerniško Jezero) has baffled and perplexed people, appearing and disappearing with the seasons. Cerknica is a…
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Slovenian Coast
This 750-hectare saltpan-studded area, criss-crossed with dikes and channels, has a wealth of birdlife – 290 species have been recorded here.
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Slovenian Coast
For centuries the people who lived at Strunjan, a peninsula halfway between Izola and Piran, were engaged in salt-making. Today the old salt-pan area is…
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Piran
Trg 1 Maja may sound like a socialist parade ground, but it was the centre of Piran until the Middle Ages, when it was called Stari trg (Old Square). The…
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Piran
One of Piran’s most eye-catching structures is the mid-15th-century Gothic Venetian House, with its tracery windows and balcony, in the northeast of…
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Southwestern Slovenia
This 222-sq-km park is a real biodiversity hotspot and holds within its borders a good deal of the region's karst phenomena, including the intermittent…
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Koper
Linked to Titov trg to the east, Trg Brolo is a wide and leafy square of fine old buildings, including the late-18th-century baroque Brutti Palace, now…
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Piran
Located in the 19th-century Gabrielli Palace on the waterfront, this museum's focus is the sea, with plenty of salty-dog stories relating to Slovenian…
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Koper
One of the most colourful streets in Koper, Kidričeva ulica, starts at Carpacciov trg, where the Column of St Justina commemorates Koper’s contribution –…
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Southwestern Slovenia
Surrounded by parkland, the restored 16th-century Renaissance Snežnik Castle is one of the loveliest and best-situated fortresses in Slovenia. Entrance is…
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Southwestern Slovenia
Rakov Škocjan is a beautiful, 2.5km-long gorge lying some 6km west of Cerknica. The Rak River, en route to join the Pivka River at Planina Cave, has…
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Koper
On the north side of Kidričeva ulica are several churches from the 16th century, including the Church of St Nicholas, plus some restored Venetian houses…
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Southwestern Slovenia
Planina Cave, 12km to the northeast of Postojna Cave, is the largest water cave in Slovenia and a treasure-trove of fauna (including Proteus anguinus)…
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Southwestern Slovenia
Just near the entrance to the Postojna Cave is the Vivarium, the cradle of a special branch of biology: speleobiology. Postojna provides shelter to dozens…
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Piran
Punta, the historical ‘point’ of Piran, still has a lighthouse, but today’s is small and relatively modern. Attached to it, however, is the round,…
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Koper
The 17th-century Italian family who erected the fountain in Prešernov trg was named Da Ponte; thus it is shaped like a bridge (ponte in Italian). At the…
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Southwestern Slovenia
This project, which opened in 2015, aims to preserve the cultural and natural heritage of the Notranjska Regional Park, and to that end it stages public…
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Southwestern Slovenia
In the village of Dolenje Jezero you will find the Lake House Museum, with a 5m-by-3m, 1:2500-scale working model of Lake Cerknica. It shows how the…
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Southwestern Slovenia
This well-designed, kid-friendly space displays details of karst phenomena in an engaging manner, and tracks cave exploration. Most interesting is all the…
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Izola
Izola’s most beautiful building – albeit looking a little worse for wear – is this late-baroque palazzo below the Parish Church of St Maurus. Built…
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Southwestern Slovenia
One of a number of small galleries to have opened in Hrastovlje in recent years, this quiet space exhibits works by sculptor Jožeta Pohlen (1926-2005),…
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Koper
Atmospheric Čevljarska ulica, a narrow commercial street for pedestrians, runs south from Titov trg. As you walk under the arch of the Praetorian Palace,…
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Portorož
Perched atop the Seča Peninsula south of town (beyond the marina), Forma Viva is an outdoor sculpture garden with some 130 works carved in stone. The real…
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Piran
The Minorite Monastery has a lovely cloister, and the attached Church of St Francis Assisi was built originally in the early 14th century but enlarged and…
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Koper
At the end of Čevljarska ulica and down the stone steps is the Almerigogna Palace, a painted Venetian Gothic palace (now with a very basic pub on ground…
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Koper
The 17th-century Belgramoni-Tacco Palace houses the Koper Regional Museum, whose history collection spans prehistory to more recent times. In beautiful…
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Piran
Tartini House was the birthplace of composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini. Today it's the base of Piran's Italian community and is used for cultural…
