Travel to Slovenia: what to see between lakes, Alps and caves

A human-scale capital, Ljubljana has closed its centre to cars and is explored on foot along the Ljubljanica, between bridges and markets designed by the architect Jože Plečnik. The castle, reached by funicular, overlooks the old town. Two days are enough, but the city is above all a base camp: Bled is about 55 kilometres away, Postojna less than an hour and the coast about 1 h 15. The Austrian border, through the Karawanks Tunnel, is less than an hour away.

Bled draws visitors with its island topped by a church, reached by pletna, a traditional rowing boat, and its castle on the cliff. Half an hour further south-west, Lake Bohinj, larger and wilder, gives access to Triglav National Park and the Vogel cable car. Climbing Triglav, the country's highest peak at 2,864 metres, takes two days and solid mountain experience. Allow two to three nights in the area, ideally from June to September, and arrive early at Bled in summer.

Flowing down from the Julian Alps, the Soča carries emerald-green water that makes it a favourite for rafting, canyoning and kayaking around Bovec from May to September. Kobarid keeps a museum dedicated to the Isonzo Front of the First World War, and the Italian border is only a few kilometres away. The valley is reached from Kranjska Gora over the Vršič Pass, at 1,611 metres, a road of 50 numbered hairpin bends usually closed in winter. Allow two days to make the most of it.

The karst plateau gave its name to a type of landscape studied worldwide. Postojna Cave is partly visited by small train, over about 1 h 30, at around 10 °C all year: bring a jacket. The Škocjan Caves, UNESCO-listed, impress with their underground canyon crossed by a suspension bridge. Predjama Castle, set into a cliff, is about ten kilometres from Postojna, and the Lipica stud farm has bred Lipizzaner horses since the 16th century. One full day is enough for two of these sites.

Slovenia has only around fifty kilometres of coastline, but Piran is its jewel: a small Venetian town on a peninsula, with Tartini Square, sloping lanes and a bell tower overlooking the Gulf of Trieste. The Sečovlje salt pans, to the south, still produce salt the traditional way. One or two nights are enough, with Koper and Izola completing the visit. Croatian Istria begins right after, so you can extend your stay on the coast. Swimming is mostly from quays and pebble beaches, from June to September.