Slovenia

River frontage in Ljubljana

Our thoughts have turned to Slovenia recently as we will be visiting in 2016 as part of our combined tour with Croatia. We particularly enjoyed our trip to the capital Ljubljana as it has the feel of a large European capital, although it is in fact relatively compact. We enjoyed just walking around the streets. squares and waterways of the city, which had a very laid-back feel.  

The buildings have a real mixture of styles of the medieval through to the Baroque and into the modern era. In that sense, it is very typical of any other European capital and also has all of the modern amenities you would expect in terms of shopping and dining.

Ljubljana Caslte

Away from the capital, Slovenia has a small stretch of coastline that extends north into Italy and south into Croatia. Inland, perhaps its most notable attractions are the cave systems of Postojna and Skocjan, which are spectacular in both length and depth.

Another notable area is around Lake Bled in the Julian Alps. This is a a bit of a tourist hotspot with its attractive island in the middle of the lake and with the town and castle nearby. Slovenia is a largely mountainous country and is very popular as a destination for outdoor pursuits.

As a final thought, if you need any other excuses to visit, Slovenia also boasts a thriving wine industry although very little of it gets exported so it's generally not available in the UK!