Center Ljubljana – All our local tips

Ajdovo Zrno is a mini vegetarian restaurant hidden in a small courtyard, about 1000 chickpeas away from the main square. I am not really fond of their fried dishes (I mean – isn’t vegetarian supposed to be healthy?) but boy; I love their salad bar. It looks almost like an RGB colour palette in Adobe Illustrator – such a big variety of colours and tastes.

What I like most is that all ingredients are neutral and they don’t have pre-prepared salad combinations, so you can spice up your bowl just like you want: with seeds, cheese, lemon juice, different kinds of oils or home made dressings. Yummy!

It is not expensive. If you are in search for something fast, fresh and healthy, this is the place. Oh yeah, don’t forget to try chestnut puree for dessert!

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Ajdovo Zrno | Restaurants (Vegetarian) | Lunch € 6.00
Trubarjeva cesta 7 | Center | +38612301615
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00

Sometimes you can get a feeling that Ljubljana dies during the weekends, especially on late November Sundays. When it gets really depressing, you just have to bump into the Flea Market, where you can say to yourself: “oh this is the place where all the folks went!”

Ljubljana is well known for its antique shops, but the very best is held every Sunday on Cankarjevo nabrezje. You can by different things, from really expensive old furniture to retro sunglasses and badges from the Tito era or just an old postcard. Even if you don’t have a plan buying any of those things, you have to visit it. It is Ljubljana’s “social life” centre on Sundays and you are able to just sit in a café and watch people go by.

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Antique Flea Market | Art & culture, Relaxing, Shopping |
Gallusovo nabrezje | Center
Sun 08:00 – 14:00

At this time of the year, this is probably one of the best places to make snowmen,  greeting people on the city centre streets. This park is located just next to one of them.

So you won’t need to arrange for any extra transportation, your feet or city bus will bring you there. Just take gloves and some good will, and bring out the kid in you and play!

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Argentina park | Relaxing
Slovenska cesta | Center
Daily

This tiny bookstore in the old town centre is run by the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, so what you can mostly get there is academic literature.

The place was almost too small, so they moved it next door. That doesn’t compromise the atmosphere, which is truly cozy and besides coffee (which you can get free if the sellers are in a good mood), you can almost smell all the knowledge that the shelves store. There’s a really good English language selection on philosophy, apart from books on cultural studies and anthropology, arts, history, gender studies and even comic books.

Check out for books by Slavoj Žižek, the most prominent and notorious Slovenian philosopher of all times!

Azil is also a bookcrossing zone, so you might even find some free books or leave your own behind. In front, there’s a bench perfect for relaxing and watching the people pass by on their daily routes. Soon a café will be opened in the inner court.

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Azil | Art & culture, Shopping
Novi trg 2 | Center | +38614706475
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 20:00, Sat:10:00 – 14:00

I am quite happy to announce this bar, which has opened a few months ago. Why the excitement? In my opinion, it has almost everything a bar should offer. Let me start with the goodies. Do you feel like jamming? They have a jam stage waiting for you. You can also rent a bike for free! With all this goodies, free Internet doesn’t really sound much, but still I need to mention it.

A really big attraction is also a very cheap beer. You get it for € 1.50 if you order it between 17:00 and 19:00. A small tip: Show up at a bar a few minutes before 19h and order beers for all night, you will get the next one served cold when you will have drunk the previous. But don’t tell this to everyone! When you get hungry, there are panini waiting for you.

The bar with a really nice atmosphere is located in a hidden corner of Ljubljana centre. This summer was really lively there, with small gigs and DJs performing often.

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bar CONESTOGA | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | 0,5 l beer € 2.20
Trubarjeva 43 | Center
08:00 – 01:00 daily

On the eastern side of Presernov trg square along Petkovskovo nabrezje bank of Ljubljanica River less crowded bars are situated. One of the first here was Caffe Promenada.

This bar, which is one of my favorite bars for afternoon coffee, shows it has been here for some time already with quite an old wooden sign. It isn’t the sign that makes you notice the place but the tables and chairs in front of it with promenade passing in between even though we are in winter time. The café’s front view offers you a beautiful sight over the river of Ljubljana’s main market, designed by very important architect for our city, Plecnik.

This place, though situated in exact center of the city, still gives you reasonably calm option to have coffee and watch the river flow by. If you are more into finding yourself some company, just turn around, people are passing by.

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Cafe Promenada | Bars, Coffee & tea | Coffee with milk € 1.30
Petkovskovo nabrezje 9 | Center
07:00 – 01:00 daily

I first discovered this place one cold winter night when my friend invited me for a cooked wine. I was surprised to get hazelnuts floating on the top of the cup’s content and right away I knew the place hides more than it’s seen on the first sight.

Later on I discovered it’s also a lovely restaurant with chill out bossa nova music and great fusion food. My favourite: chicken quesadilla with guacamole sauce. Mmm, yummy.

In the night the place transforms into a classy, but not too fancy place with a big variety of alcoholic beverages…Can I give you another tip? Only one word: Margaritas! Hmm, actually I don’t even know why the place is called “cafe” – never had one there…

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Cafe Romeo | Bars, Restaurants (Fusion) | Cassadilia € 5.50
Stari trg 6 | Center | +38614269011
11:00 – 01:00 daily

Near tea heaven you will find coffee heaven!

Cafetino is a cute little café on Stari Trg with a large choice of coffees from all over the globe. Well… the southern part of it. In wintertime it doesn’t offer a lot of room, just 5 or 6 tables. But when the sun starts warming the city streets, there is a lot of room outside and it’s better for those, who can’t live without a coffee and a cigarette (In Slovenia it’s forbidden to smoke inside).

I’m sure that you will find your favorite coffee in Cafetino! They have all kinds of espressos, cappuccinos, Turkish coffees, lattes and others. And you get your Turkish coffee served the way you get it in Sarajevo. It’s absolutely the best coffee in town.

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Cafetino | Coffee & tea | Coffee from € 1.60
Stari trg 5 | Center | +38614222950
Mon – Fri 07:30 – 19:00, Sat 08:00 – 14:00

Cankar – king of Ljubljana street spots, is from the very beginning meeting place or better conjunction point of all street riders. Used every single day by (mainly) skateboarders and bmxers, place gained its popularity because of its diversity; it is providing different lines in and possibilities to find new ones in its urban landscape.

Well, it is also very convenient because of its central location, we can not deny that, but still, being able to not get boring is hard, especially if you are just a bunch of asphalt, ledges and stairs.

Another plus is that it touches Maximarket. In their basement they hide all kinds of good food, snacks and cold beer, that you need after a hot summer skate session.

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Cankar | Relaxing | Free
Presernova cesta 10 | Center
24 hours daily

My last time in Cankarjev dom, I was going to an international movie workshop… but it’s in general the ultimate culturale house in Ljubljana. Located straight in the centre, in front of parliament actually, it gives you the elegant way of escaping from politics or shopping in the city centre stores.

It’s a perfect getaway on a rainy day too. There’s always something happening: exhibitions, workshops, music and dance performers, theatre,…

The only thing that might be worth to add is that the place is still kind of holding to that classy style it established in the socialistic times, so it might best fit to those who are a bit pickier than average or who long for some true classical cultural experience. Also in a sense of dressing up nicely and bringing a wallet. Yes, yes, this is the right address for you.

For a virtual tour go here.

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Cankarjev dom | Art & culture, Cinemas, Music, Theaters, Festivals & events
Presernova cesta 10 | Center | +38612417100
Opening times vary depending on show

This out and in-door central market place is best address when it comes to food. Here you will find all and everything. Most of it is home made, from veggies to fish, flowers, meat, cheese, spices and so on. Mostly traditional Slovenian products, together with architecture of the place, give the market special charm in my opinion.

I love to eat breakfast here – a few different sheep and goat cheeses and still a bit warm home made bread are like a small private feast. Sitting on a stairs, eating and observing people moving around like little ants with flower bouquets, big bags of fruit and fresh fish is my favorite ‘city center’ sport.

If you don’t mind eating with plastic fork you can also enjoy nice lunch here – in the kiosk near Zmajski bridge they offer fresh grilled fishes and calamari for low prices.

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Centralna Trznica | Shopping, Snacks | 1 kg of apples € 1
Vodnikov trg, Pogacarjev trg | Center | +38613001230
Mon – Fri 06.00 – 18.00, Sat 06.00 – 16.00

When I was in high school, we went practically every day for our morning coffee or afternoon groaning in Bar Cinkole (named after the owner), because it was one of the closest places.

Some say that they have the best coffee in Ljubljana and some just like the atmosphere.

Inside there are a lot of smaller rooms, all of them decorated with pictures of Marylyn Monroe, James Dean etc. The best room is the last one, with 4 famous pictures of Monroe done by Andy Warhol, colorful walls and a sofa. They also have a lot of tables outside.

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Cinkole | Bars, Coffee & tea | Coffee with milk € 1.20
Poljanska cesta 17 | Center
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 08:00 – 23:00

You know the saying; the same crowd on a bus leads to atmosphere in a bar. Well, that is definitely true in K4!

It is always crowded there because of two things: the program is good and the place is small. Well, small in comparison with giant clubs in other capitals, but 2 floors or better 2 rooms are more than enough for me and obviously for all the other regular visitors. I love the intimacy and the comfortable feeling that you always know where you and your friends are located.

They introduce modern electronic music and urban culture to the people, promote visual artists, DJs, musicians and graphic designers. My favorites are d’n'b and break beat evenings, but I promised myself that I will also try something new this season. Sometimes it is good you don’t know exactly, what you’re going to get.

It is also one of the rare places that hosts gay&lesbians evenings – more known as “Pink nights” every Sunday evening.

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Club K4 | Bars, Music | entry fee € 10.00
Kersnikova 4 | Center | +38614380261
See the program

Strolling the cobbled stone streets in the old part of Ljubljana always leaves me with a great time.

Visiting pleasant little restaurants and chick designers’ shops. Every time you can discover something new, a door leading to a gallery hidden between old walls of middle-aged house or new collection of… soaps.

At the beginning of the main pedestrian street of this part of the town, the City hall and the Robb’s fountain in front will welcome you. Continue along the way and at the end turn left. The path will lead you all the way to the castle, where you can enjoy in a great view over the city. Definitely a pleasant choice to spend an afternoon.

For a virtual tour see here.

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Cobbled stone streets | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Shopping, Restaurants (Mediterranean)
Mestni trg | Center
24 hours daily

If I’m honest, I’m not 100% sure if this bar is called Cupiterija or Hijo de puta, I think that they use both names. The bar opened a few months ago, so it really is fresh stuff! Before that, the place used to be a really minimalist bar in white. Now you wouldn’t recognize it anymore, because Cupiterija is the absolute opposite. It’s a mixture of different colors and styles. You can say that it’s one of those Gaudi style Spanish bars that every European city must have.

There are a lot of reasons why you should visit this place, but the most important one is definitely the relaxed atmosphere. The staff is so kind and relaxed, that you can think in the middle of fall, that you are somewhere on the beach of Barcelona.

They also have some quite amazing drinks. You have to order lots of chupitos! Small drinks, pure alcohol, with different flavors like chocolate, honey, chilly, weed etc.

Because the place is so great you will probably stay there longer than you expected and you will start to feel hungry. They took care of that and you can order some really nice snacks.

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Čupiterija | Bars, Snacks | chupitos € 3.00
Mestni trg 4 | Center
09:00 – 01:00 daily

Located in the center, near the Parliament and Cankarjev dom, it is certainly a must visit restaurant. It has nice Thai food (I even heard someone say it is one of the best Thai restaurants in Europe), a lot of absolutely fabulous cocktails and a great modern design put into a commie building.

Although this is one of my favorite places to eat, I don’t really get their menu. The restaurant opened about 2 years ago and they changed the menu like a dozen times! First there was only one list of things they can offer, and then they got a weekly menu, after that they got a “real” more page menu and now… well I think that now they have 3 different menus… The only problem is that they don’t explain their system on a web page, so I will help you with this one.

The first menu is the student menu. It’s available for Ljubljana students with coupons, and is the cheapest. There is no time limit for this menu. But don’t forget – if you are not a student of any Slovene university you cannot get this menu.

The second one is a menu at lunch time. It has more reasonable prices (still a bit more expensive than student menu), but not a lot of different options per day.

The third one is the one where prices go over € 10.00. It comes in the evening hours and has a wider range of options.

Now you can choose the right one for your wallet and choose the time of your visit. Enjoy!

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DA BU DA | Bars, Restaurants (Thai) | Pad Thai (lunchtime) € 6.50
Šubičeva 1a | Center | +38614253060
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 23:00, Sat 12:00 – 23:00

This newly renovated and polished deli in -1 floor of Maximarket shop is now quite a sight; I was positively surprised when I set foot inside for the first time after the reincarnation from just an ordinary food market, crowded in the weekends with youngsters buying alcohol for parties, to definitely the no.1 gourmet place in Ljubljana.

They have a huge range of Slovenian wines, oils and meat products proudly promote our culinary culture. Yeah, we surely know how to eat good; it is not just Italians and French who kick ass. What you definitely won’t find in these two countries is great pumpkin oil, that comes from our North East flat region.

An almost black thick liquid, known just in some parts of Austria and Hungary, is tradition in our little country; a bowl of salad can hardly manage without it. Small „fancy desert” recipe, hard to believe or with other words „don’t judge just try”, is to sprinkle few drops of oil on vanilla ice cream – it tastes fantastic!

When it comes to top five things to bring home, you have to include this oil, Karst prosciutto, Karst sheep cheese, Teran liqueur and few bottles of Slovenian wines.

When hunger unexpectedly strikes and you are looking for something fast and cheap, it is also worth to stop here. Fresh pizza slices, sandwiches, pastries, cakes and fruits can manage you to survive on a very low budget.

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Delikatesa Maximarket | Shopping, Snacks | Slice of pizza € 1.00
Trg republike 1 | Center | +386614766800
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 21:00, Sat 08:00 – 17:00

On Streliska Street, eastern of the old center of Ljubljana and near the Castle hill, you will find the best Spanish restaurant in the city. It will await you with kind waiters, relaxed atmosphere, Spanish music and of course with tasty and inexpensive Spanish cuisine.

Don Felipe is one of those modern fusion-Spanish restaurants spreading all over Europe. In their menu, you can find a lot of different tapas: vegetarian, meat and seafood and a lot of Spanish wines. During lunchtime (from 12:00 to 16:00) you can take a 3 course meal which costs € 8.60. They also have some really nice desserts, but the best one is “tarta del muerte” – the cake to die for.

The restaurant is very popular among students and businessmen, so the shortage in place is quickly noticed. For this reason, it is better to make a reservation for lunch as well as for dinner. You also need a reservation if you want to check the flamenco night.

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Don Felipe | Restaurants (Spanish) | Lunch € 8.60
Streliska ulica 22 | Center | +38614343862
12:00 – 23:00 daily

If you would take a part of Amsterdam and transform it into Habsburg city mixing Mediterranean atmosphere, you would get Gallus bank. It has narrow houses like Amsterdam, Baroque architecture like Vienna and a part of feeling you get in Italian cities with the outside cafés.

The bank is located in the centre of Ljubljana, southern of the Cobblers Bridge. Here you can relax, buy some gifts for you and your friends in great shops with old vinyl, CDs with ethno, funk, jazzy music, wooden toys etc. There are also some nice places where you can eat, from pancakes to steaks, sit down and order a cappuccino or just buy a beer and go down the stairs to Ljubljanica river.

The whole area is reserved for the pedestrians, except for the most southern part of the bank which is a parking space of the residents. You don’t have to worry to be hit by a car; just be careful if there are any cyclists near you.

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Gallusovo nabrezje | Art & culture, Bars, Shopping
Gallusovo nabrezje | Center
24 hours daily

In the city centre, close to the hotel Lev and for younger people in front of more known discotheque K4, this lovely hidden spot is located. It’s a tea and coffee house, with a simple name of both beverages, KavaCaj (”CoffeeTea”).

The ordinary door, facing a bit boring street may not reveal much, but once you’re inside there’s many little pleasures to indulge yourself into. Let’s say, one of their delicious teas for instance or cocoa with sweet cream…

To make it enjoyable also for smokers in this colder months, they provided the tables outside on the terrace with heaters and blankets too.

Just come and enjoy your late sunday morning.

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House KavaCaj | Coffee & tea | Hot cocoa & cream € 2.30
Kersnikova 1 | Center | +38614338233
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 22:30, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 00:00

Gajo was founded by Drago Gajo, ‘a guy who’s always there’, a guy that leads, develops and represents majority of Slovenian jazz scene. The place is, in a way, his ‘child’, 14 years old if we are precise, where many jazz lovers feel at home.

During the summer everything happen outdoors in a garden in front of national gallery. During the winter, logically, because we don’t want to see musicians with frozen fingers, shows are indoors in club itself.

Every Monday club Gajo hosts student jam sessions, that are for me, since I am totally uneducated kid knowing just jazz classics, a bit too extravagant and ‘new age’. But full tables show that a lot of people enjoy jamming performances, and sometimes, when the atmosphere is just right, Gajo joins the session by playing drums.

Live concerts are mostly on Thursdays or Fridays, but sometimes things happen also on other days, so it is not stupid to check the program on their website in advance.

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Jazz club Gajo | Bars, Music | Beer 3 dcl € 2.00
Beethovnova 8 | Center | +38614253206
See program on the website

This is one of the most popular and recognized places among locals. It’s located on the promenade by Ljubljanica River and it offers a great ambiance for feeling the vibes of the city centre. In this colder months of the year they also offer a delicious cooked wine.

Probably you never saw so many cats ending at the same place. Am I speaking metaphorically? Check it out yourself!

Happy hours in afternoons! …Cheers!

p.s.: and if you want to play a real tourist and buy a souvenir, here you can choose among big variety of cups…with cats on it, of course! Lovely!

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Kavarna macek | Bars
Krojaska ulica 5 | Center | +38614253791
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 00:30, Sun 09:00 – 22:00

My friend from Australia stayed at my place for a week and when I was telling her what to do in Ljubljana, I mentioned 2 art cinemas. She was really surprised that a small city like Ljubljana has 2 of them and Melbourne has none. I guess that we are lucky and I’m really glad, that I can spend some nice evenings in nice old cinemas with interior from the 30’s.

So those 2 cinemas are Kinoteka and Kinodvor, both in the center and really close to each other. I will present you the first one. I won’t say that it’s better but it sure has more movies on the program and it’s a bit cheaper

Kinoteka is located on the Miklosiceva Street, somewhere in the middle between the train station and Preseren square. They show movies from Europe mostly, but also from other parts of the world, like Japan or, of course, America, but never too commercial. You can find different genres, from dramas to black comedies and thrillers. At the moment, they are showing a lot of films from the 90’s and also a lot of SF. Usually they show 2 films per day and I think you can see only one film at the time, so be careful that you don’t miss your favorite movie on the big screen!

Cinema also has a nice café with some nice coffees and in the same building you will also find a French restaurant if you’ll get hungry during the movie.

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Kinoteka | Art & culture, Cinemas | Student fee € 1.50
Miklošiceva cesta 28 | Center | +38615471580
Check the program

Knjigarna Konzorcij contains a few billion letters that create a millions of words which are used in thousands of books. It is the biggest and best stocked bookstore in Ljubljana and it basically covers every possible subject.

I usually keep left where the cooking book section is, which I never can resist from peeking into. My favourite, the architectural and design department is located here too. I love to sit on an old school chair with good book and dive into different world for an hour or so, with new ideas bouncing in my head, when I dream about things which are waiting to be created. It is my favourite city hobby when it is rainy and foggy and cold and absolutely horrible to stay outside more than you have to.

Anyway, if you are in search for something particular, this is the best chance to find it. If you just like to mingle among the books, this is the best place to do so.

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Knjigarna Konzorcij | Shopping | Book € 30.00
Slovenska cesta 29 | Center | +386612410650
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 19:30, Sat 09:00 – 13:00

I know the word bookery doesn’t exist, but I simply have to make it up, because it so perfectly describes this bookstore. Like a bakery, which in the morning invites you with the warm smell of pastry, this one welcomes you with a warm interior.

It offers you words, sentences and books that answer the questions in your head or reveal the secrets you are wondering about. It always has something new for me, that I can’t resist…and why should I? I love sitting there and leafing through the content of the books.

Because of its size you won’t find everything there, but you will find enough, to keep you half an hour deciding what to take home for personal library. You will also love the atmosphere in there and it is a very simple reason why: it is a place made by book lovers for book lovers.

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Knjigarna Vale Novak | Shopping | Book € 30.00
Wolfova 8 | Center | +38614223410
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 22:00, Sat 10:00 – 17:00

On Gallus bank, we got a new CD shop in the beginning of 2008. It is not comparable with the majority of the CD shops, because in Koromandija there are no such things as Pop, Hip Hop, Rock or Metal…

Koromandija is one of those shops with world music. It has a huge variety of Afro rhythms, Bossa Nova, Balkan music, Reggae and other styles that include traditional music. You will also find a shelf with Slovenian alternative music.

The owner of the store is really kind, and if you like one band that you found on any compilation, he can make some phone calls and get the whole CD of the group.

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Koromandija | Shopping | CDs from € 10.00
Gallusovo nabrezje 19 | Center | +38640556017
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 20:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 14:00

One of those shops that I can’t really believe still exists is situated on the main pedestrian street, Čopova ulica, named after the  important Slovenian linguist Čop. It has confronted all the system changes and is a monument of the fraternal country we used to have.

If you share the adoration for chocolate with me, you should visit this shop in between haunting for the main tourist attractions in the city centre. Try “bajadera” or “ledene kocke” (directly translated as ice cubes) to gain some strength. Both have been well known sweets around here for a long time.

The shop that we refer to with the French word bonbonnière has goodies from KRAS, a Croatian company that’s been in my life since childhood. Their main chocolate brand is called Dorina, and comes in a variety of flavours. They also have a Toblerone-kind-of chocolate called Kolumbo.

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KRAS shop | Shopping, Snacks | Free
Copova ulica 3 | Center | +38614262205
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 19:30, Sat 08:00 – 13:00

Krizanke is an open air place for concerts and festivals, with „old Ljubljana” spirit and relaxed atmosphere. The final touch was made by city architect Joze Plecnik in 1956, who successfully created an environment that is popular among old and young.

During concerts you can see many people sitting around the wall under the trees, listening the music from outside with a bottle of wine from the nearest shop. I suggest you do the same, if you are lucky enough to catch a concert; it is the best way to spend easy summer evening and mingle among locals.

If you find something you would really like to hear and see you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to experience it from inside. Two best known festivals are Jazz festival and Festival Ljubljana, both going on in summer.

You can get information about program and tickets on the spot or in Cankarjev dom.

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Krizanke | Art & culture, Music | Ticket € 20.00
Trg francoske revolucije 1 | Center | +38612416026
See program

This place is not so petit (small) as the name describes, but it’s a really nice “French” spot near the famous concert place Krizanke (check the Krizanke article)

I simply love the atmosphere: great decoration on the walls, cozy chairs by the windows and great terrace outside, great vibes in the air of people coming for a snack or just having a quick look at daily paper. Not to mention their breakfasts and the house coffee – really good!

Recently they renovated it, and changed into a two storey place, but honestly, I haven’t check what’s the deal yet… maybe they will make a restaurant too? mmm, sounds good to me

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Le petit café | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Le Petit coffee € 2.10
Trg francoske revolucije 4 | Center | +38612512575
Mon – Fri 07:30 – 23:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 23:00

In this library I can get lost for hours. Especially if I try to find a book by myself (it’s so messed up! ) But usually I gave up on this idea pretty quickly, ask for  help to one of those “speedy” librarians and make better use of my free time in some other corner of this lovely place.

Really, it’s so much more than just a place for renting books and studying. In the ground floor there is a cross road of happening. Here you can get all the information about how to get around, rent books (there’s also an international section, where you might find something in your language!) or even buy them.

They have a small antique book shop – convenient for Slovenes, but maybe also nice souvenir for foreign travelers. Sometimes I come just for an exhibition or some lecture that they organize. If not that, maybe more persuading for you will be a chess corner or a cellar, where you’ll find a place for entertainment. Movies, music Cd’s, books about these arts, computer corner and a lovely place to rest!

And with rest, I literally mean taking a nap. I did it, just the other day! With lovely sounds of bossa nova in the background…

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Library Oton Zupancic | Art & culture, Relaxing
Kersnikova 2 | Center | +38616001300
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 20:00, Sat 08:00 – 13:00 (1st Tue in month 10:00 – 20:00)

Like many historically important cities, also Ljubljana has its castle. Situated in a small hill in the middle of the city and surrounded with nice green forest it represents a good relaxing point.

Don’t be lazy and walk up there. It takes only 15 minutes. Of course you can also take a funicular or a small train, but this is sooo touristy…

Recently they just finished the renovation of the towe, eventhough I can tell you the view from the lower walls is telling enough. If you’re a history lover, you can maybe see the virtual museum…

In the atrium the castle hosts events and weddings sometimes, but that’s more in the summer. For sure it will serve you with a lovely ambiance, even if you go up there just for a warm drink.

For a virtual tour by day see here and by night see here.

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Ljubljana’s castle | Art & culture, Bars, Relaxing | Tour prices € 3.30
Grajska planota 1 | Center | +38612329994
10:00 – 21:00 daily

Not so impressive inside, but so much better outside. Ljubljanski dvor, the place with the best pizzas in Ljubljana, should really think about renovating its interior. Fortunately, you can eat outside most of the time and enjoy the view of Old Ljubljana.

They have around 50 different pizzas, from those with tons of cheese to pizzas without tomato. The prices are reasonable and you never leave the restaurant hungry. There are also family pizzas – huge pizzas that I strongly recommend for those, who are thinking about ordering one pizza for 2.

On the square, where Ljubljanski dvor is found, there is also a small wooden stage and there are a lot of jazz, latino-jazz and rock concerts.

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Ljubljanski dvor | Restaurants (Pizza) | Pizza from € 7.00
Dvorni trg 1 | Center | +38612516555
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 12:00 – 00:00 (in winter closed on Sun)

Do you know the feeling when you are hungry and just want to get something quick, good and not too expensive to eat? Then you start to think about places that meet these criteria and you find out that you’ve already been in the Thai restaurant this week, you are not in the mood for Spanish, and you have had enough of pizza…In short you have no idea where to go.

This is why Lunch café is ideal! It’s not too expensive - a meal costs € 5.00 – and you have several new menu choices every day. It’s also quick and located in the old town center! The prices for a la carte can get above € 10,=, but this is still quite normal considering the place is in the old center.

They also have some really nice desserts like tiramisu and cheesecake. You should also try ginger soup… it’s absolutely delicious!

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Lunch café | Snacks, Restaurants (Lunch) | Light meal € 5.00
Stari trg 9 | Center | +38614250118
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 23:00, Sun 12:00 – 23:00

Slovenia was always a kind of a boutique country with nothing too large within its borders and our geographic diversity makes this even more true and unique. All parts of Slovenia have a thing or two to offer, from wooden to clay or even stone artifacts, depending on the area they come from, and also many food products to try.

That is the story of newly opened shop in the centre of Ljubljana with a simple but meaningful name, called Made in Slovenia.

Besides that, here you can also get tourist souvenirs such as postcards, magnets, T-shirts, homemade food goodies, natural cosmetics and a selection of handmade and unique jewellery from Slovene designers. Sometimes they organize handcraft performance in front of the shop.

The shop is next to Park Zvezda (Park Star) and next door to the Church of the Holy Trinity (Uršulinska cerkev), so you will surely pass by it during exploring the city.

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MadeinSlovenija.net Shop | Shopping
Slovenska cesta 23 | Center | +38640453221
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 15:00

Our oldest and most well known gallery is located on the main city promenade that leads from Preseren’s square to park Tivoli. It’s close to the National museum, Opera and Modern gallery.

In the National gallery you can see one of the most important art pieces of Slovenian artists from baroque to the first half of the 20th century. Works that are younger than 60 years are exhibited in the Modern gallery, which is at the moment being renovated.

Till 20 September you can check a new exhibition: Works of art from Prekmurje, from Romanesque art to Modernism.

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National Gallery | Art & culture | Regular price € 7.00
Presernova cesta 24 | Center | +38612415418
Tue – Sun 10:00 – 18:00, Thu 10:00 – 20:00

Burek is a food, a very good one. Fast food actually, fatty and salty and totally unhealthy but it feels like sent from above when you need some energy refill in the middle of the night…or in the early morning before you head towards your bed.

Nobel burek is a place where they have the best burek in town and it is usually the last stop before going home after heavy night of partying. It is quite generally known that burek together with yogurt kills (or at least reduces) hangover the next day, that is why it is so popular. In my opinion it beats kebab and hamburger big time, and because of its “balkan” roots, it feels more authentic as well.

My advice is to stick with the traditional meat or cheese burek and please forget about diet because you will miss all the joy. You will find Nobel by following Miklosiceva street from Preseren square towards Central station; when you are stopped by big kitschy green yellow sign and (specially during night hours) a bunch of people, you willl know you’re there.

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Nobel Burek | Snacks | Burek € 2.00
Miklosiceva 30 | Center | +38612323392
24 hours daily

Obsession is the oldest and the best known skate shop, actually the “God-father” of this kind of culture in Ljubljana.

For more than 10 years it has been organizing events and sponsoring youth in skateboarding. The last 2 years their entrance hallway also serves as street art and photography exhibition space – to support and introduce young local artists. Located in an old house cellar, it is an interesting example of unique space and atmosphere; that’s why it is also main “check point” of all skate population, although there are 3 more of their shops in the city.

50 meters from old Obsession they opened an outlet shop called “Na pou zastojn” which means “Half Free”, where you will find same brands from previous season’s half price. Interesting thing here is that all the furniture is made out of cardboard.

In Old Ljubljana they have another shop called Tranca, located in an area that was used as a prison in the old days (tranca means prison). This shop is oriented in more fancy and specially designed skate and street wear stuff, and is worth to see because of the hand made adhesive tape graphics on the walls.

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Obsession shop | Shopping | T-shirt € 30
Trubarjeva 34 | Center | +38614305860
Mon – Fri 09:30 – 19:30, Sat 09:00 – 13:00

Paninoteka is a tiny sandwich bar with a nice chill out atmosphere and great, really great, sandwiches.

I like it because they used imagination when they created the sandwich menu. You won’t get bored by their offer even if you eat there ten days in a row. They upgraded classics or created totally new combinations, such as Popay, fresh spinach+different cheeses sandwich.

It is a perfect place for a strong breakfast before starting a “tour de Ljubljana” or a light quick lunch where you can combine sandwiches with daily soups that they offer.

The only minus is they don’t have large beers, which is why I’d rather go somewhere else in the evening. But if you are not beer person, you won’t mind this detail.

To find your breakfast follow Ljubljanica river in direction from Preseren square towards old Ljubljana; it is located near Cevljarski bridge. Bon appetit!

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Paninoteka | Bars, Snacks | Sandwich € 2.50
Jurcicev trg 3 | Center
Mon – Sat 08:00 – 01:00, Sun 09:00 – 23:00

I am well aware of the fact that you can find an Irish pub literally everywhere on this planet, but the true beer lovers know that an Irish pub in all those places is always a mixture. A mixture of Irishness and local atmosphere.

For all the beer lovers it is really important to know that they are offering 38 different beers! Not to forget whiskeys are there speciality also. I was told they have more than 30 different kinds.

They serve lunch Thursday to Saturday from 11:00 – 16:00 and have live, Irish style, music every Thursday after 9 p.m. with no entrance fee. This bar is also a good option if you are a sport lover, since they have a big screen TV for watching sports, like rugby, football, ice hockey, cricket and many more.

Their lovely slogan is: There are no strangers here, only friends who haven’t met!

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Patrick’s Pub | Bars, Music, Snacks, Restaurants (Fish & chips) | Lunch € 5.50
Prečna ulica 6 | Center | +38612301768
Mon – Wed 16:00 – 01:00, Thu – Sat 11:00 – 01:00, Sun 16:00 – 00:00

This little shop of Pekarna Pečjak offers you to try out our way of making French pastries.

Everybody know „čokoladni navihanček”, unprofessionally translated by me into „kinky chocolate pocket”, their most famous product, which you can also buy in frozen version and bake it yourself at home. I bet every Slovenian housewife did it at least once and introduced it to her husband as her own masterpiece. Pretty smart, in my opinion.

They are also creating some „healthy” versions such as whole-wheat croissant with diet marmalade, which is very good for those, who prefer „not so sweet” sweets…or not so caloric ones – as you like to interpret it. But it tastes good, so don’t worry – you wont get “tastes like wood, looks like plastic” snack. Their latest product is crispy strudel filled with tarragon and mmmmmmmmmm that is yummy!

I recommend it for breakfast or daily snack, but don’t be too late, because all the good things will be sold out. Since it is located on Ljubljana’s main street, you really don’t have any excuse, to peek in and be tempted by something. Warning: watch out for chocolate spiral – it is very hard to resist her!

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Pekarna Pečjak | Shopping, Snacks | Chocolate pocket € 0.70
Čopova ulica 5 | Center | +38612515337
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 19:00, Sat 07:00 – 13:00

A few years ago I went to France for 2 weeks, I nearly always bought my lunch or snack in bakeries – boulangeries. When I left the country I knew I would miss those bakeries, but then I remembered that we also have one of those in Ljubljana!

Bakery Žak (Jaques) is located near Slovenska street in a bulding called Metalka and there you can buy some of those French pleasures. Early in the morning you can get different kinds of croissants, pain au chocolat etc and also great baguettes and sandwiches…

It’s best to go here before noon because later you may find 2 leftover croissants and one sandwich, because it’s quite a popular spot among locals.

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Pekarna Žak | Snacks
Dalmatinova ulica 2 | Center
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 17:00, Sat 07:00 – 13:00

Probably the most bizarre of all the bars in Ljubljana is at skeletons place. Interiors made a pretty good job for calling the customers in. Add to this the big variety of cocktails (they offer 170 of them) and voila, no more doubts about a perfect place to spent a friday night…or any other.

Reading the names of cocktails will probably leave you clueless about the ingredients but at least you’ll have a pretty good laugh. And after bringing into use their 2 for 1 offer for few times, I bet you won’t even care anymore.;)

And don’t worry, even if your friends are busy or yet non-existent in the new city, you can always count on the company of skeletons! Cheers!

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Pr’Skelet | Bars | Cocktails from € 3.60
Kljucavnikarska ulica 5 | Center | +38612527799
10:00 – 03:00 daily

Preseren square is the main square of Ljubljana and an excellent meeting point. Also for us, locals. When we get bored sitting under the statue of Preseren – our national poet, who wrote the toasting anthem – and waiting for friends, we may even notice how many sites you can actually see from this point.

The castle, the triple bridge, Plecnik’s flea market, the pinky Franciscan church, and Julia (Preseren’s muse) somewhere on a window…

Aside from vibrant movement of the people on the square, I also like it for its cultural happenings. It often hosts festivals, singers or street performers, painters or just weird installations and from time to time even sport events.

See a virtual tour here.

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Preseren Square | Art & culture, Relaxing
Preseren Square | Center
24 hours daily

What do you get if you combine location in the undiscovered part of old town, cool furniture, tables made of timber, a library with books in Serbo-Croatian and lots of cocktails with absinth? You get one of the greatest places to hang out in Ljubljana – a cozy living-room feeling café at daytime and a great party place at nighttime! You are going to worship their cocktails based on absinth.

Don’t get scared when you come to the bar and see their doors. They make you think the bar has been closed since the last millennium. Just open it and order a Supreme tonic .

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Pri Zelenem zajcu | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Supreme tonic € 4.00
Rožna ulica 3 | Center
Mon – Wed 09:00 – 00:00, Thu – Sat 09:00 – 01:00

This used to be a bicycle factory ROG, founded after the Second World War. It is today in temporary use by whomever is in need of a working and creation place. Big halls are offering a lot of space even for dance practices. But for me and for most of you this is another really cool place to hang out. I could easily say this is the real alternative place to go to.

There are mainly three options, first and the most permanent is a gallery Kljub vsemu (Nevertheless), which is on the left hand side after you enter the Rog walls. On the other, right hand side there is small building that has smaller events, like debates, film projections, alternative Erasmus hanging spot (the first one is usually in main stream bars and organized), smaller concerts and whatever you can think of.

But if you go towards the tallest building, that looks like factory halls and you follow the noise you will enter the concert hall. In this biggest hall they sell also drinks in case of an event, but you are always allowed to bring some with you. Next to the entrance to the concert hall new bar/club emerged named Trotsky. It looks like this is the liveliest place at the moment in Rog. Lately, the rumour is spreading that sthere is another one opening… I’ll let you know soon.

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ROG | Art & culture, Music, Theaters | Beer € 1.50
Trubarjeva cesta 72 | Center
24 hours daily

When you enter this place, close your eyes and breathe in once or twice. What you will smell is the smell of heaven. Pure chocolate – everywhere and in everything. The chocolate oriented sweetshop Rustika is the best when it comes to this brown gold. Cakes, pralines and ice creams – what a joy!

A word of advice: when you will start brainstorming what to bring home from holidays, don’t bother with kitschy T-shirt nobody wants to wear, but choose some dark chocolate truffles that are first: eatable, and second: not just eatable but damn good. You will definitely gain your popularity among your friends and family!

It is true what they say: chocolate makes you happy…and brown around your mouth.

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Rustika | Shopping, Snacks | Chocolate cake € 2.30
Trubarjeva cesta 44 | Center | +38659935730
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 21:00, Sat 09:00 – 14:00

Sushimama is the only good Japanese restaurant in the city. Located in the centre of Ljubljana on the Wolfova street is really easy to find. Since the street has changed into pedestrian zone, you have a chance eating outside and enjoying a sunny day.

Sushimama is not just the best Japanese restaurant in Ljubljana, to be fair we only have 2, but also one of the most stylish restaurants in the country. With a minimalist ambient, waiters dressed in black and a happy Japanese cook it has some vibrations and you could easily close your eyes and find yourself in Tokyo in the next moment.

The most popular meal in the restaurant is of course sushi. Prices varies from €5.00 for plain tuna sushi to €10.00 for Californian sushi with salmon caviar. For those who prefer cooked meal, they have a lot of dishes based on rice and noodles. If you would just like to eat something sweet, you can choose between some specialties of modern Japanese cuisine like ice cream made of green tea or mango pudding.

Food is not the only Japanese thing in the restaurant. You can also order some Japanese beer or sake.

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Sushimama | Restaurants (Japanese) | Sushi from € 5.00
Wolfova ulica 12 | Center | +38640702070
11:00 – 23:00 daily

Sweetshop Zvezda is the right address for those who want to lick the best ice cream in town.

The cookie and roche flavours rock, that’s for sure, but I am not an expert in the fruity flavours – you will just have to follow your own intuition. Their latest “invention” is rice milk ice cream and 100% fruit ice cream, which is great for those, who are looking for sweet but yet refreshing dessert. If your blood sugar is still low after that, switching to the cake department is smart option – they are all gorgeous!

A small tip: the pear and chocolate combination is the winning one. They are also good in sandwich making, coffee cooking and tea preparing so take your time and read a magazine or two while enjoying your afternoon. Now that winter is coming and we need to store some extra energy in our hips, hot chocolate is great choice too- it is soo thick that the spoon almost stands straight in it!

Forget the spa, this is the place where you should treat yourself and allow yourself to sin once in a while.

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Sweetshop Zvezda | Coffee & tea, Snacks | Ice cream € 1.20
Wolfova ul. 14 | Center | +38614219090
Mon – Sun 07:00 – 23:00, Sat 10:00 – 20:00

For a long time Cha was the only place in Ljubljana where tea was served in the same way they do in England. In the last few years some new tea-houses opened, but Cha remained the cherry on the topping. It’s located on the Old Square (Stari trg) in one of those cute mansions. You can’t miss it because it has a teapot hanging in front of it.

In Cha, you can choose from a large number of black, green, red, herbal and other teas from India, China, Japan and also South America and South Africa.  If you compare prices with Ljubljana cafes, you can see that in Cha you will pay slightly more, but for your money you will get better quality and more than just a cup of tea. In summer or wintertime they also have some special offers.

In summertime you can order homemade ice teas and in December they have Christmas green and Christmas fruit tea.

Beside teas you can also order something to eat, like really good sandwiches, salads, cakes etc.

There is also a shop, where you can buy your favorite tea. Lovely, isn’t it?

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Teahouse Cha | Coffee & tea | Teas from € 1.60
Stari trg 3 | Center | +38614212444
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 22:30, Sat 09:00 – 15:00 & 18:00 – 21:00

I know, I know, I know….I’ve already written an article about one Thai restaurant (see this article) and one could ask me which one I prefer. But I can’t answer that, because I like them both.

One has better curry, the other one has better pad Thai noodles… Well, Thai Inn Pub is the one with better curry and the menu also tells you how spicy the meal is.

This one also offers you higher flexibility. For each meal, not counting vegetarian menus, you can decide if you’d like it with pork, shrimps, chicken or beef. Each dish on the menu costs €6.00 so there wont be a problem with deciding which dish will you order regarding on your budget.

At the end of the day they turn from a restaurant into a pub ( I guess this is the reason for the name…) with some nice cocktails and Thai beer.

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Thai Inn Pub | Bars, Restaurants (Thai) | Main meal € 6.00
Rimska cesta 17 | Center
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 00:00, Sat 08:00 – 00:00

The restaurant is decorated with a traditional Turkish decor; throw rugs, seats, various cultural artifacts and even the staff themselves wear traditional garb.

Besides offering meat and vegetarian dishes, they occasionally host belly dancing performances which typically take place in the evening. As it should be, one also has an opportunity to smoke some Narghilé – the famous Turkish pipe.

During the day, until 15:00, a three course lunch is served for € 7.00. It is not uncommon to smell Turkish-style coffee wafting out of the typical Slovenian home, however in the bars and cafes it is typically espresso that is served. Perhaps this is why Yildiz Han is so liked by locals here in Ljubljana. Here can you get proper Turkish coffee.

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Yildiz Han | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Music, Restaurants (Turkish) | Lunch € 6.00
Karlovska c. 19 | Center | +38614265717
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 00:00

Another remnant of the past is a small shop near the main fruit and vegetable market.  It is marked with a sign that says: Grajske pekarne. You will find it situated at the back of the statue of Valentin Vodnik on the opposite side of the street.

At first look this is small and crowded shop but at another glimpse you realize that it offers you a great deal if you are a chocolate addict, chocolate lover or you just like to sweeten your tongue every once in a while. You can get a kilo of chocolate for as low as € 4.00!

Mainly all the products are from the Slovenian Company Zito. You can check also other Slovenian products, such as bread (generally we have really tasty bread in Slovenia), snacks, candies, different flakes and similar. The most recognized brand is definitely Gorenjka, Slovenian chocolate pride.

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Zito | Shopping, Snacks
Vodnikov trg 5 | Center | +38615876100
Mon – Fri 06:00 – 18:00, Sat 06:00 – 13:00

One of the first bars with colourful decoration was bar a bar called zmavc. But the  real and definitely the most inventive name in Ljubljana: Od mavca sosed pa ud brata prjatu. The translation of this would be zmavc’s neighbor and brother’s friend.

This bar seems really suitable for creative urban type of people and some small and more alternative Slovenian celebrities are seen here. Of course this makes the price of everything a bit higher, but it has nice vibes and usually really full garden. That shouldn’t scare you away.

What I like the most about this bar are colourful walls and laid back atmosphere. It is really near the Faculty of Arts and some other faculties that make it crowded during the school year, especially during coffee time, which is from early morning till late afternoon. As I already said, Slovenians – we just love coffee.

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Zmavc | Bars, Coffee & tea | Beer € 3.00
Rimska cesta 21 | Center | +38612510324
Mon – Fri 07:30- 01:00, Sat 10:00 – 01:00, Sun 11:00 – 00:00

This is a quite new sensation in Ljubljana with fresh vibes. With colorful showcase full of animals (who would have thought…), Andy Warhol t-shirts, colorful sunglasses and my favorite:  Startas shoes. Those are also the reason for me to write an article about the store, so I will tell you some facts about Startas shoes.

As you all know, Slovenia was once a part of Yugoslavia. In those days things from the West were either hard to get or outrageously expensive! Because of that young folks didn’t drink Coca-Cola but Cockta (which you should try because it’s greatJ) and they also didn’t have (well….at least the majority didn’t have) All Star sneakers. But they had Startas shoes, made in Croatia. They were really popular in the 80’s but people forgot about them in the 90’s when Yugoslavia felt apart.

Thanks to designer Mauro Massarotto the brand got a new and fresh design in 2006. I’m a kid of new post-communist Slovenia so before the renaissance I had no idea about Startas and now that I know for those shoes and owe a pair I would just like to say: thank you Croatia!

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ZOOO | Shopping
Cankarjeva Cesta 4 | Center
Mon – Fri 09:30 – 20:00, Sat 09:00 – 15:00