Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia, is a great city to visit. It’s small, pretty, and a great place for food and drink. Here’s how to spend one day in Ljubljana, with the top things to see and do.
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Ljubljana is a great place for a city break. The centre of Ljubljana, the Old Town, is small and compact. So it’s possible to see the top sights in Ljubljana in just one day. With one day in Ljubljana, you’ll be able to enjoy the top things to see and you. You’ll also have the chance to enjoy some of the city’s best food and drink – there are so many places in Ljubljana’s Old Town to enjoy local Slovenian food, as well as places to eat ice cream and drink.
What is the best time of year to visit Ljubljana?
Ljubljana is a city that can be enjoyed all year around. My favourite time to visit Ljubljana is the spring. May and June are my favourite months in Ljubljana. Warm, sunny days mean you can enjoy the city’s top sights and outside bars and cafes, without it feeling too hot. Autumn can also bring a great combination of sunny days and pleasant temperatures, although there is a higher chance of rain.
Ljubljana in summer is also nice, but it can get very hot, with temperatures over 35 degrees, or even over 40 degrees in July and August. In these temperatures, you can still enjoy all of the top sights, but you’ll need to be careful with the heat. You’ll definitely need a lot of breaks for cool drinks as you explore.
What is the best itinerary for one day in Ljubljana?
Ljubljana can be explored in one day. Of course, there’s always more to do and you can easily fill more time in the city. But if you’re short of time, you can get a great flavour of the city in just one day.
If you’d like to explore the city of Ljubljana with a guide, I recommend this walking tour of Ljubljana (affiliate). Or you can try this similar walking tour of Ljubljana here (affiliate), or this tour that also includes food tastings (affiliate). All of these tours will show you the highlights of the city, and tell you all about the history of the city.
Or, if you’d rather explore the city yourself, here’s your ultimate one day itinerary for one day in Ljubljana.
Start your day at Prešernov trg
Start your day at this square, right in the centre of the city. It’s a great place to start your day, and you’ll find you’ll keep coming back here as you explore so it’s good to have it as a reference point. The square is a lively place, with locals, tourists and cyclists constantly passing through. The square often has live Slovenian music, played by a man sat near the bridges.
Prešernov trg is instantly recognisable by the large, pink Church that’s opens out right onto the square. This pink square is the Franciscan Church in Ljubljana.
Go inside the Franciscan Church
One of the top things to do in one day in Ljubljana is to go inside the Franciscan Church. The entrance to the Church is through the small shop to the side of the main doors. You’ll need to pay a small entrance fee to go inside, but it’s definitely worth it.
The inside of the Franciscan Church in Ljubljana is really impressive. It’s a beautiful space, with an elaborately decorated altar and beautiful ceiling paintings as well.
Cross Triple Bridge to see views of the river
Back outside the Church in the square Prešernov trg, you can head across the square to the river. The bridge right next to the square is called Triple Bridge. As it’s name suggests, it’s actually three bridges. The Triple Bridge is a great place to see views of the river. The river runs straight through Ljubljana, and is a central focus point for your one day in Ljubljana.
Walk up the river to Dragon Bridge
Walk alongside the river, up to Dragon Bridge. It’s a short walk, as the centre of Ljubljana is so small. It only takes about five minutes to follow the riverside path from Triple Bridge up to Dragon Bridge. The river views are lovely the whole way along.
Dragon Bridge is another of Ljubljana’s top sights. It’s a really nice bridge. And, as it’s name suggests, there are dragons on the bridge. I enjoyed seeing the carvings of the dragons. Dragons are a popular symbol in Ljubljana because local legends. The legend of Jason and the Argonauts tells the story of how Jason slayed a dragon near Ljubljana – and that’s why dragons are such a strong symbol here, as a symbol of courage and strength.
Browse the stalls at the Central Market
After enjoying Dragon Bridge, cross the road to the Central Market. This huge market is right next to Dragon Bridge. It’s an interesting place to walk around and browse the stalls. There’s are several stalls selling lots of colourful fruit and vegetables. And other stalls sell clothes, hats ang bags, and lots more. Take some time to browse the market stalls and see if you want to buy anything.
Get the funicular up to Ljubljana Castle
Ljubljana Castle is at the top of a short but steep hill. You can walk up to the castle, but if the weather is hot, you can easily get the funicular up to the castle. It leaves from close to the Central Market. The funicular up to Ljubljana Castle costs 6 euros for a return trip. You can buy a combined ticket that includes the funicular and the castle, if you know you want to go inside the castle at the top. Or, you can just buy the ticket for the funicular and decide whether you want to go into the castle when you get there. A lot of the castle can be accessed free of charge, but there are some parts you need to pay.
The funicular only takes a minute or so to get to the top of the hill. The views back down to the city from the funicular are lovely.
Enjoy Ljubljana Castle – especially the views
For me, the best thing about Ljubljana Castle is the views over the. There’s a free viewpoint that you can access without needing to buy a ticket for the castle. From this viewpoint, you can see over some of the city. You can also walk around the castle courtyard without a ticket as well.
However, for even better views over the city, you’ll need to go up the viewing tower. You’ll need a ticket for the castle to get to the viewing tower, so you can decide if you think it’s worth the 15 euros. I thought it was worth it, and I glad I payed to be able to go to the best viewpoint. There’s quite a lot of steps to get up to the top of the viewing tower, but it’s easily manageable. And the view from the top is great.
It was really nice to see the river and the whole Old Town from the top of the tower of the castle. I enjoyed looking down to the Franciscan Church and the bridges that I’d walked over earlier in the day.
With your castle entrance ticket, there are other rooms you can go into as well. These rooms are part of the museum of the castle. Ljubljana Castle doesn’t have a preserved castle interior, but instead the interior houses a museum. You can go inside some of these rooms and learn more about Slovenian history. When you’ve finished looking around the castle, you can either walk or get the funicular back down to the city centre.
Eat lunch at Lana’s Corner
For lunch, I recommend going to a small bar/restaurant called Lana’s Corner. It’s slightly tucked away from the main tourist area, so it’s a lot quieter and less tourist-y than the bigger restaurants next to the river.
Lana’s Corner sells amazing Pinsa. Pinsa is an Italian flatbread, that’s similar to pizza but a bit lighter so perfect for a lunch. Lana’s Corner sells several different varieties of Pinsa, as well as a great selection of drinks. It’s a lovely place to stop for lunch on your one day in Ljubljana.
Walk along the river to enjoy views of Ljublana Castle
After lunch, spend some more time walking along the river in Ljubljana. The Old Town of Ljubljana mainly stretches from Cobblers Bridge in the south, to Dragon Bridge in the north. You can walk along the river between these bridges to see the views of the river and the city. The stretch of river between Triple Bridge and Cobblers Bridge is a beautiful part of Ljubljana, where you can see views of the Castle on the opposite side of the river.
Eat ice cream at Cacao
If the weather is hot on your day in Ljubljana, you’ll probably want a mid afternoon stop to take a break from the heat. A mid afternoon stop for ice cream is perfect. I definitely recommend visiting Cacao. It’s an ice cream shop which has lots of seating next to the river, near Triple Bridge. The ice cream here is just amazing. There are so many different flavours to choose from. One of the flavours I tried was white chocolate and pistachio. It was honestly the best ice cream I’ve ever had anywhere (and I have to admit, I even went back for more later…). It’s a lovely, peaceful place to sit next to the river as well as you enjoy the delicious ice cream.
Visit Ljubljana Cathedral
Another must-visit sight in Ljubljana is Ljubljana Cathedral. It’s definitely one of the top things to do in one day in Ljubljana. Ljubljana Cathedral is situated near the Central Market, on the other side of the river to Cacao ice cream shop. You need to pay a small entrance cost to go into Ljubljana Cathedral, but it’s only 3 euros and definitely worth it.
Ljubljana Cathedral is really impressive. It’s a huge, beautiful building. The ceiling paintings were stunning, and the decorative altar was lovely as well. It’s a really peaceful (and cool!) place to sit and rest for a while as you take in the stunning architecture.
Walk down to the Town Hall and Fountain
After visiting Ljubljana Cathedral, continue your one day in Ljubljana with walking through more of the Old Town. Instead of walking next to the river, you can explore some of the streets that are set slightly away from the river. From the Cathedral, walk towards the square called Mestni trg. You’ll walk past the impressive Town Hall building. And there are lots of shops here as well, so you can browse the shops for souvenirs.
In the square Mestni trg, you can see the Fountain of the Three Rivers – the Robbov vodnjak. This fountain is really impressive, with intricate stone carvings.
Relax with a local Slovenian beer by the river
Ljubljana really is a food and drink lovers’ paradise. There are just so many bars and restaurants with outdoor seating. As you walk around, you’ll constantly see people sat outside at the bars and restaurants, enjoying food and drink. And that made me want to join them! An afternoon beer in Ljubljana looked like the perfect idea on a hot day.
There are so many places near the river that you can sit with a beer. You can try draught beers and lagers, such as Union or Lasko. Both of these draught beers/lagers are perfect for a hot afternoon in Ljubljana. Sit with a beer and enjoy watching people pass, as you soak in the atmosphere of the city.
Eat Slovenian food for dinner
Ljbljana has so many great restaurants. You’re spoilt for choice for where to go for dinner on your one day in Ljubljana.
On a hot day, you might want some Slovenian-inspired Italian food. Pop’s Apperetivo restaurant is a great options for a Slovenian twist on Italian food. It has lots of great pizza and pasta options. Or to enjoy some of Slovenia’s famous meat dishes, or for a Slovenian twist on some Eastern European classics, go to restaurant Gostilna Sokol – you can try Goulash or Slovenian Sausage, or dumplings called ‘štruklji’. And of course, you can have a glass of two of local Slovenian wine with your meal.
Enjoy a final walk along the river at night
At the end of your 24 hours in Ljubljana, take some time to go for a walk around the city at night. Ljubljana is just as beautiful at night as it in the daytime. The city is lively at night, and the centre feels completely safe to walk around, even as a solo female traveller.
Ljubljana at night is full of solo travellers, couples, and groups of friends enjoying dinner and drinks and walks together.
In Ljubljana at night you can walk around the Old Town and the river. Enjoy views of the river, city and castle at night, and reflect on your perfect day in Ljubljana.
Exploring more of Slovenia from Ljubljana
Ljubljana is a great city, and you can easily see all of the top sights in the city’s Old Town in one day. But Slovenia has so much more to offer as well. It’s definitely worth spending several more days in Slovenia.
You can take a day trip from Ljubljana to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle. I went on this day tour from Ljubljana (affiliate) and it was great. You can find a similar tour from Ljubljana here (affiliate). It’s a 6 hour half-day trip from Ljubljana, which shows you more of this beautiful country. The caves were really impressive, and the guide told us lots of interesting facts about Slovenian history.
Or you can take a day trip to Lake Bled. I recommend this tour from Ljubljana to Lake Bled (affiliate). Or you can take this similar tour to Lake Bled (affiliate). Lake Bled was my favourite place in scenery. The mountain and lake scenery was just beautiful. If you want to find out more about Lake Bled, check out my guide to the best things to do in Lake Bled.
Enjoy your guide to spending one day in Ljubljana! If you’d like to explore more of Slovenia, check out my ultimate itinerary for one week in Slovenia, and the top things to do in Lake Bled. There’s some great food in Slovenia as well – check out the best food and drink in Slovenia.
