Ljubljana City Guide

Ljubljana may have long been one of Europe's forgotten cities but the vibrant Slovenian capital is more than making up for lost time after the country joined the EU in 2004 and budget airline flights started up the same year, helping tourists discover what is one of the continent's most charming capitals.

In recent years, many a newspaper travel page has hailed Ljubljana as the ‘New Prague' and at times Ljubljana does feel a bit like Prague, but also Amsterdam, Riga, Salzburg or Vienna, making it a sort of greatest hits of European architecture.

While seminal Slovene architect Jože Plečnik shaped the core of how the city looks and feels, Ljubljana has also been heavily influenced by other nations, with the Hungarians, Austrians and the Italians all rumbling through this strategic hub over the centuries.

These eclectic influences permeate many aspects of city life including its food and drink, with enjoying an Italian-style ice cream as much part of the Ljubljana experience as savouring some hearty Hungarian goulash or quaffing a hoppy pilsner.

Despite the weight of its history, Ljubljana also has one of the youngest populations of any European capital and it is awash with strutting young locals decked out in the latest designer fashions.

The business future for Ljubljana looks bright partly due to its strategic location, with easy access through a rapidly improving network of motorways to Austria, Italy, Hungary and Croatia, as well as easy access to Slovenia's own Adriatic port of Koper, which give it an importance and potential above its modest size. It is also crucially the capital of an EU member state with direct access to the untapped economies of the Balkan region, and gained kudos by becoming the first of the new EU members to hold the EU presidency in 2008.