This post is the continuation of a recently started series that document our travels through a part of the underrated country of Slovenia in the European spring of 2026. We had started the trip in the capital city of Ljubljana where we had spent the first half day and the second early morning just walking around the compact but pretty City centre of Ljubljana ( A Morning Walk Through Ljubljana City Centre – Serene Slovenia, Part 1 ).
We returned after our morning walk with our appetites built up and returned to our hotel for our first buffet breakfast there. The breakfast spread was huge and varied. There were a lot of vegetarian options for the better half to enjoy while I enjoyed my usual cheese, cold cuts and croissants while sampling a little of the vegetarian options. Special mention to the Slovenian Yoghurt and honey that was just amazing and we would devour a fair amount of it during our stay in Ljubljana.
My first filling of the breakfast buffet at the City Hotel, Ljubljana
As we finished breakfast we noticed the light outside get significantly better from the overcast conditions in which we had finished our morning walk. The overcast start to the morning was very quickly taken out by a beautiful sunny spring morning. That made a good day in Ljubljana better. The main sightseeing agenda for that day was a visit to the Ljubljana Castle / Grad that stands guard over the City on a hill right in the City Centre. We booked tickets online for the Castle and the funicular ride up and down ( saving our legs from climbing the hill ) ( https://www.ljubljanskigrad.si/en/tickets ). It saved us time standing in line to get tickets at the ticket office and as an added bonus it was 10% cheaper online than buying it at the ticket office itself.
With our tummies full and tickets bought and downloaded we headed off to the funicular station at the base of the Castle hill just as it opened and took one of the first funicular rides up to the Castle. We got off the funicular and immediately stopped to take photos with the dragon wings painted on the walls. ( you can’t go an hour in Ljubljana without seeing anything Dragon themed!)
Taking the funicular up to the Castle in Ljubljana
Immediately you are greeted by a wire Dragon!
Stopping to take photos with the Dragon wings painted on the walls of the Castle
We then went up and entered the main courtyard of the Castle. If you walk up to the castle the main courtyard is free to enter and the ticket is only for the clock tower and various museums and exhibits inside the castle. As far as the history of this castle goes, a Castle or fortress has existed at this spot in some form since the 11th century. It went through a lot of modifications and rulers over the centuries and even functioned as a prison for political prisoners and even used to house the poor of Ljubljana till as late as 1963 when restoration works began. So the current castle is a 20th century reconstruction, making it a very new castle as far as European castles go. Where the castle lacks in historical buildings it make up for in the superb location giving 360 degrees view all around from the Clock tower, which was what we were looking forward to the most.
At the courtyard of the Ljubljana Castle
We first went to the Chapel of St George which has existed in the Castle since 1489 and has a ceiling painted with the shields of all the noble houses of the region and has been beautifully restored. We did our church routine of sitting in the pews in silence for some time before we resumed our exploration of the castle.
The Chapel of St George at the Ljubljana Castle
The ceiling of the chapel painted with the shields of the noble houses of the region
We then briefly went through the prison section of the castle before heading to the Panoramic tower which was rebuilt after the original tower crashed down the hill and whose purpose was to keep a watch over the city and warn the city if any fires broke out as you could see for miles around from this position. We always enjoy our tower climbs and this one was unique because of the double helix staircase which meant there was one staircase going up and a totally separate one going down. Solving the main problem in these towers of finding space when people ascend and descend along the same narrow spiral stairs.
In the Prison section of the Castle where prisoners were kept in dark cells
The views from the Panoramic tower were spectacular and we were glad it had turned into a relatively clear day so that we could see not just the City of Ljubljana below but right uptown the Julian Alps in the distance. We spent a fair few minutes enjoying the expansive view all around and identifying all the streets and bridges below that we had walked through in the morning. We clicked away to glory at what was undoubtably the best viewpoint in all of Ljubljana. As we had come early we had the tower to ourselves for the entirety of our time on top.
View of Ljubljana city centre, the modern city and the Julian Alps beyond
The Castle courtyard from the Panorama tower
Selfies at the best viewpoint in Ljubljana – On top of the Panorama tower at the Castle
The better half enjoys the view right upto the Julian Alps
The beautiful double helix spiral stairs on the way down
The spiral stairs with a unique double helix structure
Happy us after our visit to the Panorama Tower at the Ljubljana Castle
We then waited for the next show of the “Story of the Castle” 4D video which had a very interesting way of telling the story of the castle from its origin to present day. We enjoyed the video with a few other fellow tourists who had gathered for the same and after it ended we returned our 3D glasses and went out into the courtyard again. We then visited the other exhibits in the Castle complex including the Wall of defence with its free viewing Gallery that was much more crowded, and ticketed exhibits like the Slovenian History museum & Slovenian Puppetry Museum which had some interesting exhibits on display.
At a small well in the smaller courtyard below the Panorama Tower
The free art exhibit in the Powder tower of the Ljubljana Castle
The Courtyard now has more groups with the Panorama Tower in the background
A scale model of the Castle in the courtyard
The view from the defence walls free viewing gallery – Not as good as the Tower
View of the Castle Courtyard from the Defence Walls
A selfie at the free viewing terrace
A silly little exhibit at the Slovenian history museum
We spent more time than expected at the Museum of Puppetry as it had some pretty quirky puppets on display and a few interactive displays where you could control a simple puppet . All in all some good fun. When we finally had our fill of the puppets we walked out into the Courtyard and said out goodbyes to the Castle and took the funicular down.
Some of the photogenic exhibits at the Museum of Puppetry
One last photo of the brass scale model of the Castle
Taking the funicular back down to Ljubljana City Centre
We then walked to the outdoor market in the square behind the Cathedral and bought a box of strawberries as we usually do in these local markets. With a box of strawberries we then walked all the way to Burek Olimpija near the Bus station which sold Bureks – A Balkan Puff Pastry with a variety of fillings ranging from meat, cheese, spinach, potato and even apple! Burek Olimpija is famous for staying open 24 hours and is the oldest such shop in Ljubljana. We had enjoyed Bureks during our time in Croatia ( I know I haven’t written about it! Maybe soon!) so we decided to try out these for our lunch that day in Ljubljana.
Filling water at a Kangaroo shaped water fountain near the funicular
The outdoor market in the square behind the cathedral where we bought strawberries
At Burek Olimpija they were out of potato ones so we bought 1 each of Meat, Cheese and Pizza Bureks which were very reasonably priced. As the guy cut the servings of Bureks, I immediately knew that we had ordered too much as the servings turned out to be huge! Bureks would be not just our lunch but also dinner that day!
We returned to our hotel room and I enjoyed the Meat Burek while the Better half could only finish half of the humongous Pizza Burek. We polished off most of the box of strawberries and we still had more than enough food left for dinner!
The Huge Meat and Pizza Bureks from Burek Olimpija
I enjoyed my Meat Burek
Couldn’t resist buying a Dragon Soft toy souvenir in Ljubljana !
With the heavy Bureks in our tummies we slept off for a little afternoon siesta. We woke up and it was still a beautiful evening so we decided to walk to the most well known and largest green space in Ljubljana – Tivoli City Park at the edge of the City Centre. I also wanted to see the Sts Cyril and Methodius Church which was an Orthodox Church which have architecture similar to churches in Eastern Europe. It was just across the street from the Tivoli City Park, so that was how we decided to spend that beautiful sunny evening in Ljubljana.
We reached the Sts Cyril and Methodius Church which has Onions domes topped with crosses but nothing else that shows the beauty hiding inside.
The relatively plain interiors of the Sts Cyril & Methodius Church in Ljubljana
We walked inside and it was a riot of colours from dome to floor. Brightly coloured religious murals covered every inch of the walls. Hanging from the dome was a huge and ornate chandelier. The altar and the choir had saints painted in the Orthodox style, everything was extremely photogenic and I clicked away to glory. I will just let the photos do the talking.
The beautiful Sts Cyril and Methodius Church in Ljubljana
Happy us after our visit to the Sts Cyril and Methodius Church in Ljubljana
Happy at having chosen to see this pretty little church we used the underpass and crossed the street into Tivoli City Park. We walked around a small part of the huge and well maintained green space stopping at the 18th century Tivoli Castle which was a mansion with a pretty little fountain in front of it and bronze statues of 4 founds at its gates.
The better half poses at the Tivoli Castle inside the Tivoli Park in Ljubljana
A pretty little fountain in front of the Tivoli Castle
Enjoying a beautiful evening at Tivoli City Park
Statues of 4 hounds at the gates of the Tivoli Castle – extremely cute!
We continued walking through the park for more than a hour passing through well manicured lawns, tree lined avenues and pretty flowerbeds. We always enjoy these green spaces in European cities and always try to visit one in most cities where we have enough time to wander around. Tivoli park had been the perfect way to spend that beautiful sunny evening. (In retrospect it was great that we visited it that evening as it would rain when we returned to Ljubljana after our time in Bled)
Some glimpses of a beautiful evening spent in Tivoli City Park in Ljubljana
The Sts Cyril and Methodius Church from near the underpass out from Tivoli Park
A monument to Trubar who was an important contributor to Slovene language
We returned from Tivoli City park and decided to use the free drinks voucher provided by our hotel for not getting the room cleaned that morning. We usually get it done every third day (if we stay 3 days at a place!) but this was the first time we were getting something for it in return which I thought was a wonderful initiative to make people stop demanding new towels every day! (You don’t use new towels at home every day!).
We sat at the cafe downstairs and enjoyed our free beer and soft drink respectively at leisure before returning to our room where we would finish off the Bureks and strawberries for dinner.
Enjoying our free drinks at the Cafe of the City Hotel Ljubljana
We would have gone out again after dark but the weather changed again, this time for the worse as it started raining. So we decided to conserve our energy and go to bed early that night.
The next day we would be leaving for Bled by bus taking only part of our luggage leaving our big backpack in the luggage storage at the hotel. The weather for the next day was more rain which was disappointing. We would be spending 3 nights in Bled, so I was optimistic that we would get at least one beautiful sunny day at the beautiful Bled Lake.
If my optimism would be rewarded is subject for future posts, some other time, some other day!
Till then,
Čao!