Bezigrad Ljubljana – All our local tips

Zale is an interesting place to visit from architecture point of view. It’s designed by one of the most worldwide reputable Slovene architect Joze Plecnik (who by the way also built a big part of Prague and Vienna). This is one of his many significant memorials you can find in Ljubljana and also a final resting place of many prominent figures from Slovenian history.

The creator himself wanted to name the place The All Saints Garden, however city notabilities decided to put forward the old slavic word “zale”, which in translation signifies “cemetary”. At the beginning of 21. centrury Zale was proclaimed as the cultural memorial of Slovenia on the national level.

For a virtual tour see here and here.

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Cemetery Zale | Art & culture, Relaxing
Na Zalah 1 | Bezigrad
24 hours daily

One of those, a bit forgotten, places is hippodrome, a few kilometres from centre. It can be easily reached by all means of transports, among others it is also really easy to get there with public transport.

There is also a bar, but what I prefer is to sit on the stands of the hippodrome watching people training with horses. The view over the track is just the beginning, behind it there is a beautiful panoramic view over Kamnik – the Savinja Alps soon to be covered with snow.

This is also the place where really big events are being held, like the mass by Pope John Paul II in 1996. In August we were expecting Madonna to perform here, unfortunately the show was cancelled.

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Hippodrome Stožice | Relaxing | Free
Hippodrome Stožice | Bezigrad
During the day

As morbid as it can sounds this cemetery is actually a really nice place to visit. I bet that more than half of the natives haven’t even been here so you might find this as a challenge.

Built just before Second World War architect Plecnik had the idea to create a monumental shrine housing tombs of the most deserving Slovenians, also called a Slovenian pantheon, was given the name Navje, derived from Slavic mythology.  It consists of an open arcaded classical building rebuilt from an old pavilion and a surrounding memorial park.

Just behind the main train and bus station this calming and relaxing place invites you to go for a short stroll between the tombs. There is no problem to sit on the grass and read and when it gets dark it can be a perfect place to play hide and seek.

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Navje | Art & culture, Relaxing
Robboca Ulica | Bezigrad
Winter 09:00 – 17:00, Summer 08:00 – 20:00