48 Hours in: Ljubljana

Ljubljana

Ljubljana is cheap, accessible, and ignored by mass tourism. There is plenty going on in the summer including a world music festival from 31 May to 8 June; an international music festival from mid-June to mid-July; a jazz festival in late June, and a beer festival in October. Most of these events are at the summer theatre . Details are available from the tourist office (00 3861 306 1215; www.ljubljana.si).

Ljubljana

Ljubljana is cheap, accessible, and ignored by mass tourism. There is plenty going on in the summer including a world music festival from 31 May to 8 June; an international music festival from mid-June to mid-July; a jazz festival in late June, and a beer festival in October. Most of these events are at the summer theatre . Details are available from the tourist office (00 3861 306 1215; www.ljubljana.si).

There are flights from Gatwick to Ljubljana with Adria Airways (020-7734 4630; www.adria.si). Return fares start from £214. A cheaper route is to fly from Stansted to Trieste in Italy with Ryanair (08701 569 569; www.ryanair.com), followed by a train to Ljubljana's main station or from 27 June, from Stansted to Klagenfurt. For train times, call the Slovenian tourist office (020-7287 7133) or www.eurorail.com.

The Grand Hotel Union (Miklosiceva 1; 00 386 1 308 12 70; www.gh-union.si) is one of the best hotels, built in Art Nouveau style at the start of the 20th century, and recently restored. It is in the new town, near Presernov Square . Singles start at €127 (£79), doubles at €163 (£102), including breakfast and taxes; there is a 20 per cent discount at weekends. A cheaper option is the Hotel Park , at Tabor 9 (00 386 1 433 13 06), a large, modern hotel five minutes walk from the river and the Dragon Bridge . Singles start at €43 (£27), and doubles at €54 (£34), including breakfast and taxes.

The capital is a small city consisting of an old town, dominated by Ljubljana castle , and the more modern centre; the two parts are divided by the Ljubljanica River which is crossed by several bridges, of which the busiest is the Tromostovje .

Although Ljubljana's most dominant monument can be reached on foot, the climb to the castle is a steep one, and the easiest way to get there is on the little train that runs every hour on the hour from outside the church of the Annunciation on Presernov Square . It rattles across the Tromostovje or Triple Bridge , through the old town and up the hill to the castle, from where there are some lovely views across the city.

The path from the castle leads down to the city close to the Town Square (Mestni Trg) , and this part of the old town is good for a quick lunch. Ribca , underneath the colonnade next to the fish market on Pogarcarjev Trg, is an excellent fish bar. If you want a sandwich, there are plenty of cafés, including Nostalgia , in the Old Square, Stari Trg, but for something more substantial, try Sokol , at 18 Ciril-Metodov Square (00 3861 4396 855)), for local dishes including goulash and sausages.

A walk around the city will introduce you to two of Ljubljana's most famous names: Preseren and Plecnik. Start in Preseren Square , named after the writer France Preseren, and where a monument was erected in his honour. Stand at the monument and look down Wolfova ulica: the figure of a girl appears to be peeping out of the window at number 4 ; this is a statue of the love of Preseren's life, Julija Primic. The other name is that of the architect Jose Plecnik, who transformed Ljubljana in the first half of the 20th century, redesigning the river banks, building the Central Market, Triple Bridge and the National and University Library

Ljubljana's first department store, Centromerkur, opened nearly a century ago and is still doing good business on the corner of Presernov Square. But a better area for shopping is Stari Trg , where there are a number of interesting shops, including several selling antiques. There is also a flea market every Sunday morning on Cankarjevo nabrezje .

The tourist office (00 386 1 306 1215) organises guided walks around the city, starting at the town hall , in Mestni Trg, every day at 5pm during the summer season (June-September). There is an additional 11am walk every day during July and August, as well as on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during June and September. Outside the summer season, walks take place at 11am every Sunday.

In a city where there is no shortage of bars, the liveliest area to go for a drink – a glass of Slovenian wine or the local Union beer – is around Preseren square. A popular spot with the locals is Konjski Rep , on the southwestern side of the square.

The best restaurant in town, and one of the nicest spots in the city, is As (00 386 1 425 8822), tucked away at Copova ulica 5A, but with many of its tables set out underneath a vast acacia tree in the garden. There is a selection of local hams and cheeses, but the house speciality is fish; the best dish is the black risotto made with squid ink. There are plenty of local wines, most of which are extremely drinkable, yet unknown outside Slovenia.

The ornate cathedral is decorated in baroque style, with many of the frescoes in its chapels showing the miracles of St Nicholas, to whom the church is dedicated. Particularly striking is the Ljubljana door, made in 1996 and cast in bronze with the figures of six bishops and archbishops. It commemorates the suffering of the church in Slovenia under communism, and was dedicated by the Pope.

Tivoli Park is a pleasant green spot not far from the centre of the city, reached through a subway at the end of Cankarjeva cesta . Hidden away in it at Cesta na Roznik 18 is Pod Roznikom (00 386 1 251 3446), which opens at 11am. The menu concentrates on grilled meats, as well as a variety of vegetable and cheese starters. The restaurant is pleasantly decorated, but in the summer it is much more enjoyable to sit in the garden, whiling away the afternoon with food and a bottle of wine.

Tivoli Park is a good place in which to escape from the heat of the city in summer. As well as plenty of open space, it has a zoo and a couple of museums. The Museum of Modern History , which traces the history of Slovenia during the last century, is definitely worth a look.

If you have some spare time, it is worth making the hour-long bus journey from Ljubljana's main bus station to the village of Bled, set beside a lake in the Julian Alps. This is the archetypal picture-postcard setting. A castle clings to the mountaintop overlooking the village, and there is an island in the centre of the lake, reached by a gondola, whose church was a site of medieval pilgrimage.

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