Siska Ljubljana – All our local tips

Colnarna or Boathouse lies by the small Tivoli park pond and actually has no boats to let. Instead you can have drinks and sweets, like ice cream and cakes. This time I won’t mention coffee.

The main thing in Colnarna is its garden, a big garden, which sometimes seems too big for the waiters. So don’t come if you are in a hurry. You should come here when you have time to relax and enjoy the sun. Especially on sunny afternoons it is great, because it faces west. So if you are in a romantic mood it is a perfect place to watch the sunset.

The bar is usually very full on weekends and late afternoons, after work, when a lot of people from Ljubljana come for a stroll in the park. Quite a lot of them have dogs with them. At the moment there is an open air library right next to it, where you can read books for free.

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Colnarna | Bars, Coffee & tea | Cappuccino € 1.40
Cesta 27. Aprila 2A, | Siska | +38612511160
09:00 – 21:00 daily

There are a lot of reasons why Godec (Musician) Pub is a perfect place to spend your evening.

First of all, it’s hidden from the mass of tourist and filled with locals. Also, beer is not as expensive as it is in the center. It’s located in Siska near Celovska Street, so it’s great for those staying in Siska who are not in the mood to go in the center.

But the most important reason to go here is the rock rock rock. Actually, you will hear all kinds of rock. From glam, progressive, indie, hard rock to brit and american punk. And you can pick the song you’d like to hear because they have a jukebox.

So for all you rock lovers out there: visit Godec pub. You won’t regret it.

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Godec Pub | Bars, Music | Beer € 1.90
Celovška cesta 68 | Siska | +38640520622
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 00:00, Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 17:00 – 00:00

By the Koseski bajer pond (see the Koseski bajer pond article), bar Pri Cvicku is situated. The lovely bar is called after Dolenjska’s (Lower Carniolia – Slovene region) great “Cvicek” wine. It offers great views of the pond.

Gostilnica Pri Cvicku is a simple bar, quite known among the locals and it attracts a crowd that wants to enjoy their coffee or a glass of wine Cvicek. This rosé wine is bought directly from wine producer so you shouldn’t be disappointed, but be prepared, this wine could be  quite dry for some tastes.

They also offer dried sausage with minced lard, which is traditional Slovenian, but obviously it is not suitable for vegetarians since it’s made of bacon and spices.

Bar Pri Cvicku can be an excellent stop on your way around Ljubljana on The Path of Remembrance and Comradeship.

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Gostilnica Pri Cvicku | Bars, Coffee & tea | Coffee € 1.30
Marjekova Pot 23 | Siska | +38615174095
09:00 – 22:00 daily

Šiška is becoming a better and better place to live and CUK (center urbane kulture/ center for urban culture) Kino Šiška earns much of the credits for this. It opened last fall, but already has a huge impact on the Ljubljana scene. In the last few months it hosted a lot of important musicians from Slovenia and abroad (Josipa Lisac, Lollobrigida, Isis, Pan Sonic, Juno Reactor…). They have mostly music events, but also photo exhibitions, theater and dance events, some workshops…

In the past Kino Šiška was a cinema (kino in Slovene) and was build as a part of Šiška municipality center.  When Ljubljana got a new cinema complex in 2001, the majority of smaller cinemas closed their doors. They wanted to renovate Kino Šiška into a multipurpose hall for different kinds of contemporary events and almost a decade later we finally got it!

My favorite events in Kino Šiška are YU GO! Nights. Each of them presents 3 or 4 bands from ex-Yu area and can also be tagged as nu yu scene. YU GO! is on every third Thursday in month.

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Kino Šiška | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Music, Theaters, Festivals & events
Trg prekomorskih brigad 3 | Siska | +38630310110
Depends

Klub SubSub is keeping up with all the best electronic performers and inviting people to share their love for electronic beats. With ample parking space, and only a 5 minutes walk from the center, SubSub is highly accessible. Much like its music, the club is almost literally underground. Guest performers come from all over the world, DJ-ing all sorts of music from Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, Jazz, R&B, World Music, House, Deep house, New Wave, Electronica, Disco House, Jungle and more.

Guest performers usually play on the same bill as up-and-coming Slovenian DJs, giving our patrons a chance to see their favorites as well as exposure to some of Slovenia’s best local DJs.

Klub SubSub has changed names at least 4 times in last 30 years, so don’t be surprised if some locals forget the name. Just remember that the club you’re looking for is near the Tivoli sport hall. If dancing makes you hungry, right next door you will find a 24 hour food station. Its called the Horse Burger- no need to explain what their specialty is. If your sight happens to become blurry by the time you are ready to leave the club, just follow the crowd and go downhill.

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Klub SubSub | Bars, Music | Entry fee from € 5.00
Celovska c. 25 | Siska
Mon – Wed 17:00 – 02:00, Thu – Sat 17:00 – 05:00. Sun 15:00 – 02:00

At the moment I can still say that I had lived in Šiska district for more than half of my life but one of the best things for us when we were children – not that we wouldn’t do that as an adults, just the winters are rarely that cold as they used to be – was Koseski bajer which is a pond in Koseze neighbourhood.

This small artificial lake would freeze over and we’d ice-skate on it. What used to be a clay pit, in last years serves mainly fishermen, modellers who are playing here with their favourite toys and of course to  Slovenian characteristic, which is exercising, like jogging or cycling around it. There is a footpath that goes around it with several benches along the way.

Koseski bajer lies on the foothills of Roznik and Šisenski hrib which are hills between here and the centre. These places are included in a natural protected area.  The Path of Remembrance and Comradeship passes by the pond and that’s why this altogether is Mecca for nature lovers. The only thing that might bother such a person is a block neighborhood that was built a few years ago.

In the other part there is lovely bar called after Dolenjska  (Lower Carniolia – Slovene region) wine pride Cvicek that offers great view on the pond and pristine atmosphere of Ljubljana’s suburbs.

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Koseski bajer pond | Relaxing | Free
Koseska cesta | Siska
24 hours daily

MGLC is situated in Tivoli park, at the end of famous Plečnik’s promenade, where our grandpas were seducing potential grandmas with flower bouquets in their hands 50 years ago. The former Tivoli castle is now home to many different exhibitions and workshops. Every year it also hosts the biennial of graphic arts.

The center certainly effects our visual senses, so after exhibition, I recommend you to lie down in grass in the park, close your eyes and with company of bird singing brainstorm about what you have seen. I love that kind of „after cultural education” chillin’, and this place has the perfect location to try it out!

In the wintertime the nearby hill becomes sledging place no. 1 in the city centre. Equipped with a plastic bag you can have a lot of fun competing with small children who are faster and more furious.

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MGLC | Art & culture, Festivals & events | Entrance adults € 3.40
Pod turnom 3 | Siska | +38612413800
Wed – Sun 11:00 – 18:00

Ljubljana’s main and largest park provides a nice green ‘time out’ from city concrete. Grassy areas slowly transforming into woods towards Roznik and Šisenski hill makes it more special and wilder than ordinary European parks.

You can actually get a bit lost wandering around, and if you are walking long enough trough the woods, you will eventually see glimpse of wild animal patterns, which, luckily, don’t mean you are lost in the Slovene jungle but that you just found Ljubljana ZOO.

The park itself offers quite a lot: on the main promenade (leading from Modern Gallery towards the Tivoli Castle) are constant photo exhibitions mostly orientated into nature kingdom. Left from promenade there is large children’s playground that sometimes with its cool objects tempts also the adult ones to swing or slide once or twice.

On the right edge there is Tivoli sports centre with a swimming pool, ice hockey and basketball court, tennis, bowling and in general everything that smells like sport. In between there is green, a lot of it, with some water here or there, to make the whole thing more fresh and perfect for an easy outdoor chill out!

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Park Tivoli | Relaxing | Free
Park Tivoli | Siska
24 hours daily

Gravel-paved footpath around the city Pot spominov in tovarištva is The Path of Remembrance and Comradeship sometimes also called as the Green Ring but signs on the path refer to it as POT (which means a path). Where used to be a barb wire fence which surrounded Ljubljana during World War II is now 33 km long path and crosses today’s urban area and outskirts of the city. What was built to prevent contacts between the city and its hinterland is now connecting Ljubljana.

To the people living in Ljubljana this is mainly recreational path on which you can jog, cycle or just have a pleasant walk. With a dog, if possible. In some of the more hidden parts of this Green Ring late at night some cars can be parked, searching for some privacy.

If you happen to be in Ljubljana on 9th May you can join the Recreational March along the path, which marks the anniversary of the liberation of Ljubljana after World War II.

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POT | Relaxing
Koseski bajer – pound | Siska
24 hours daily

Smarna gora is a hill at the most northern part of Ljubljana. It’s a butte and looks like two humps of camel. You can reach it with city bus number 8 ( Gameljne ). The bus drives in 10-20 minute period.

There are many ways to reach the top of Smarna gora. There are paths that are a bit steep, but take only 20 minutes. There are also more gentle paths, which are most of the time full of climbers, especially on Sundays. But if you are not walking on the main paths, you can relax and enjoy the fresh air.

Smarna gora has two peaks. Smarna gora and Grmada. The first peak is the popular one and is full of guest. On this peak you will also find an inn called Ledinek. Here you can buy some typical Slovenian dishes, a cup of tea or a beer. It has a nice view on whole Ljubljana, especially when the weather is nice.

Grmada is a located a bit higher and only a bench on the top so it doesn’t have so many visitors. It’s better if you would just like to relax, read a book or study.

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Smarna gora | Relaxing, Restaurants (Slovenian) | Tea € 1.20
Smarna gora | Siska | +3861511655
07:00 till dusk

Every local has his favorite bakery. Well mine is definitely the old bakery, located in Siska. It’s really old-older than my grandpa, but was recently renovated. Since the renovation it’s bigger and it’s really hard to choose, because everything looks so tasty.

If you ask me, you have to buy the hedgehog – something sweet with a lot of chocolate and called “jezek” in Slovene.

Another great thing about the old bakery is, that it’s not located in the center, so it’s cheaper. Here you can buy burek (see this article) for just € 1.50!

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Stara Pekarna | Snacks | hedgehog € 1.00
Celovska cesta 68 | Siska
07:00 – 22:00 daily