Slovenia

Slovenia is one of Europe's greenest countries, with forest covering more than half its land. In a very small area it holds Alpine peaks, a slice of Adriatic coast, wine country and a karst plateau riddled with caves. It is clean, safe and easy to travel, and it works very well as part of a longer journey between Austria, Italy and Croatia.

Ljubljana, the capital, is small and walkable. The river Ljubljanica runs through the centre, lined with cafés and crossed by the Triple Bridge, while the castle looks down from its hill. Much of the city's look comes from the architect Jože Plečnik, and the centre is largely car-free. Less than an hour away, Bled is the postcard view: a lake with a tiny island church and a castle on a cliff above. Lake Bohinj, the Vintgar Gorge and the Postojna and Škocjan caves are all within easy reach. On the coast, Piran is a small Venetian-style town on a narrow peninsula, and the Lipica stud farm, home of the Lipizzaner horses, lies on the karst plateau nearby.

Slovenian cooking takes something from each neighbour: Austrian strudels and sausages, Italian pasta and prosciutto, Balkan grills. Bled cream cake (kremšnita) is a must, as is potica, a rolled nut cake. Wines from the Vipava valley and Goriška Brda are excellent.

We offer Ljubljana city breaks and a private guided walk of the capital. Slovenia also appears on several private van tours that combine it with Central Europe, Italy and the Balkans, and on our Eastern Europe self-drive itinerary from Vienna. Distances are so short that you can wake up at Lake Bled, lunch in Ljubljana and watch the sunset in Piran, which makes Slovenia ideal for a self-drive stretch.