Vic Ljubljana – All our local tips

Just 15 minutes walk from the city center, you’ll find a modern coffee bar, with an interior design that could easily fit in some newly decorated spa lobby corner.

The name of the place might be misleading (except when you are an egoist:)), the atmosphere is definitely not. With it’s soft veiled lights, it welcomes you in its cosiness.

Now, in winter time, their thick hot chocolate is back on the run. I’m telling you, you can’t go wrong with that order!

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Egoist | Coffee & tea
Trzaska 37b | Vic | +38612418901
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 08:00 – 23:00

All meat lovers unite! You will love this place. The only vegetable they use in this restaurant is onion (and yet only for the sake of better meat digestion), so it is not really vegetarian friendly. Also don’t expect fancy wine card or French desserts – here the only drink is beer and as a desert you get strong traditionally cooked Turkish coffee together with ‘old school’ Drina cigarette, packed with nicotine. Healthy food is for pussies anyway.

The menu is simple: grilled meat (cevapcici and/or sudzukice – a kind of sausages), home made bread, also a bit grilled, onion and kajmak – a special sort of cheese that you melt over meat.

And that’s it – that’s the whole magic. If you will try & eat everything you will have successfully passed the basic introduction course of traditional Balkan food. Congratulations!

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Harambasa | Snacks, Restaurants (Balkan) | Cevapcici € 5.00
Vrtna ulica 8 | Vic | +38641843106
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 22:00, Sat 12:00 – 22:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00

France Preseren’s art and cultural center is one of the most important locations of Ljubljana alternative scene. It is located in Trnovo, near Plecnik museum and Trnovo church. In the building of this center you will find a gallery, a bar and a stage.

KUD also houses the studio of radio Student. On the stage of the center there are a lot of different events going on throughout the whole year, for example improv theater, different concerts, workshops and movies.

Since the summer of 1992, KUD France Preseren hosts the international Trnfest festival on the courtyard of the center in August. It’s the main event in Ljubljana in that month. There, a lot of bands and theatre groups from Slovenia and abroad, are performing.

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KUD France Preseren | Art & culture, Bars, Music | Beer € 2.00
Karunova ulica 14 | Vic | +38612832288
Mon – Sat 10:00 -01:00, Sun 14:00 – 01:00

Located at the southern part of Roznik in the middle of the woods, Ljubljana zoo is perfect for a Sunday trip from the city center. You can walk there from Tivoli Park or use the city bus that drives from the main train station to the zoo, but only from May to October. There is also a lot of parking space around the zoo, if you are using a car.

The zoo is separated into 2 parts: the lowlands and the highlands. In the lowlands you have all of those typical zoo animals like giraffes, zebras, kangaroos, chimpanzees and the elephant. Our elephant is the cutest old thing. Her name is Ganges and she is an Indian elephant. She’s one of the biggest attractions of the zoo.

And then we have the highlands. If you don’t like walking through the hills and if you are not a big fan of lynx, ibex, chamois etc you can just skip the second part, and stay longer in the first part watching lions or leopards.

There’s a new great wooden playground in the zoo, so you better find your inner child and try it out!

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Ljubljana zoo | Relaxing | Adult € 6.00
Vecna pot 70 | Vic | +38612442188
Nov – Feb 09:00 – 16:00 | Mar & Oct 09:00 – 17:00 | Apr & Sep 09:00 – 18:00 | May – Aug 09:00 – 19:00

This is one of the most useful spots in Ljubljana. We all heard stories about Ljubljana, how idyllic city it is, how cute, romantic etc. But how will this romance help you, when you will need to buy milk and box of cereals at 22:00 or even worse, on Sunday at 16:00 pm?

The truth is, that there are not a lot of places that are opened till midnight or on Sunday (not counting gas stations with ridiculous prices).

Mercator is the most common grocery store in Slovenia and this one on Tržaška cesta 37B is opened every day from 06.00 till midnight (including weekends and holidays!).

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Mercator Tržaška cesta 37b | Shopping
Tržaška cesta 37B | Vic | +38612414054
06:00 – 00:00 daily

Restaurant Mirje is one of those restaurants that are really busy during weekdays around lunch time. So don’t be surprised to see people waiting in front of this yellow house to get an empty seat.

It is quite common to join the table if there are any empty seats. Of course you should be polite and ask to do so, but don’t be shy we’re all doing it. So it’s almost certain you won’t be eating by yourself. Besides, this is great opportunity to get to know Slovenian students. During summer and on Saturdays it’s much more quiet.

They offer mainly Italian cuisine and serve daily menus (for € 5.50), where you can always choose between three options, at least one is vegetarian. They also have really good pizza, properly made in a real pizza oven.

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Mirje | Restaurants (Italian) | Meal € 6.50
Trzaska cesta 5 | Vic | +38614266015
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 22:00, Sat 12:00 – 22:00

The first time I was here was in spring, when all the flowers and trees were blooming. But even now in colder months it is nice to come here, simply because this place gives away this special vibe of peacefulness and purity of playing kids, who are brought to this park by their grandmas.

This small patch of green (ok,, white right now ) is located near more known Roman wall (probably you’ll find it in the most travel books). It is my oasis in the middle of city bustle, a place where I can think, dream or have a deep conversation with my friends.

For now it’s still fairly unspoiled and clean, so if you promise you’ll be nice and will respect its innocence, I think I can share it also with you

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Park by the Jamova street | Relaxing
Jamova Street | Vic
24 hours daily

This little restaurant is located in Krakovo, the oldest Ljubljana suburb. It’s a bit quirky-it doesn’t have a menu and interior looks pretty much the same as a typical Slovene kindergarten, so if you have an opportunity  find a place outside.

Despite those two facts it’s still one of the best chances to eat in Ljubljana. It’s true, they don’t even have a menu, but they have the nicest staff and the waitress will tell you what can they offer you (sometimes it depends on the season), and sooner or later you will found out that they have EVERYTHING. They have all kinds of steaks, pastas, seafood, salads, desserts, soups and more.

Another advantage is that you won’t spend too much of your precious euros. An average meal costs about € 10.00.

The last but not least advantage is, that when you eat here, you eat almost in the centre, which is full of tourists, but get a feeling that you are in a cosy little village with friendly locals.

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Pri Skofu | Restaurants (International) | Meal € 10.00
Recna ulica 8 | Vic | +38614264508
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 12:00 – 00:00

A popular place for Sunday walks is also Roznik. It’s a small hill located practically in the city centre.

The highest peak of the area is called Sisenski hrib and is located less then 500m above the sea level. So piece of cake: take a walk through the woods, I bet the trees look just lovely now – covered in white and sleepy…

To refresh yourself, make a stop on the top of Cankarjev hrib, where you’ll find an old bar. One of the greatest Slovene writers from the end of 18th and the beginning of 19th century lived in that house for several years and for that reason they also put his statue on this square. Just few meters higher is a church.

For a virtual tour see here.

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Roznik | Relaxing
Surrounded by park Tivoli | Vic
24 hours daily

Sax pub is located on Eipprova Street. It was the first pub in the street. After that, a lot of other cafes and restaurants opened their doors but despite others you can’t really miss Sax pub. It’s a small house covered with graffiti.

You could call it the second jazz club in Ljubljana as it has a stage smaller than a normal toilet. It’s well known for great atmosphere, especially during the summer, when they have concerts on a stage near Gradascica River, which was made by Slovenian architect Joze Plecnik.

The place is perfect for having a break from the center if you don’t have enough time to go somewhere further away. You will find Eipprova Street south of the center in the city part called Trnovo. It is also possible to walk there from Preseren’s square, if you just walk along Ljubljanica River.

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Sax pub | Bars, Music | Beer € 2.50
Eipprova ulica 7 | Vic
Mon 12:00 – 01:00, Tue – Sat 10:00 – 01:00, Sun 16:00 – 21:00

Mmm, maybe you’ll find this post a bit out of a way, but I decided to write about student dorms in Ljubljana, because I think they have something to offer also to foreigners. Heck I’ve lived there for many years myself, so I should know what I’m talking about…

If you come to Ljubljana during the school year (from October to June), you cannot miss one of the student parties. Just sneak in, they held them all the time – the most popular at this time of the year are freshmen’s parties (pretty funny to watch ), but there are also “regional” parties (organized by students from particular region outside of the capital), parties organized by particular faculty, and of course traditional student games in May (Majske igre) – a month of events before the exam period.

So, lots of sport, concerts, drinks, laughter and FUN! Not to mention great opportunuties to interact with locals.

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Student dorms | Bars, Music | Free
Cesta v Mestni log 72 | Vic
24 hours daily

What used to be a Roman wall 2.4 meters wide and 6 to 8 meters high was renovated less than a century ago by the architect Joze Plecnik, who knew how important nature is. He designed a park inside the wall and built a stone pyramid over the gate using old roman stones from the neighborhood.

During the warm half of the year the wall is quite popular, mainly with high school students that come here to enjoy sun or maybe play guitar, rather than spend time in the classrooms, and students from the neighboring faculties.

Because of its stone structure free climbers are spending hours here, hanging on the wall, trying to learn grips. On the top of the wall you can relax, have a beer or just watch shirtless climbers training their muscles. One gets even a better view from the pyramid so don’t hesitate to climb it. Just be careful not to fall!

You can also try to play didgeridoo under the arcades of the gate, it has good acoustic. During July and August this place tends to be much calmer, because students are on their well deserved vacations.

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The roman pyramid | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
along the Mirje street | Vic
24 hours daily

Are you in Ljubljana on a lonely summer evening and Jost forgot to write what’s on this week? Don’t worry! Just buy a bottle of wine and take your friends to the “beach”!

Trnovski pristan is a popular destination among young generations and how could it not be. The stone stairs designed by Joze Plecnik offer the perfect seats and there is also a nice surrounding with Ljubljanica river. Just add your best friends, maybe a radio or a guitar and you will have a perfect night!

Just clean up after yourself because at daytime, Trnovski pristan is an important place for jogging and relaxation. In summertime there is also a library under treetops and you can sit on a chair, read a book and just enjoy the sunny weather.

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Trnovski pristan | Relaxing | Free
Trnovski pristan | Vic
24 hours daily