June 17, 2018
The longest day and shortest night will soon be upon us, and, to be honest, we haven’t made the best use of our time this year, working rather too much and relaxing too little in the city we call home. But that’s the nature of our other business, which tends to peak before the summer holidays and then collapse, as our clients decamp to Croatia to work on their tans, leaving us in town to mingle with the tourists and wonder what to do with free hours now at our disposal.
Those in town and wanting to watch the World Cup with others should have no problem doing so, as most cafés and bars seem to have big screens set up inside and out for your pleasure.
The June in Ljubljana Festival continues until the 21st, the PDF schedule is here. Monday is circus day, with shows in Kongresni trg / Congress Square / Zvezda Park, Tuesday there’s free ballet at the SNG Opera in Balet, and Thursday is world music day, taking place all over the centre of town.
Pride Festival also continues, with all the details here. The focal event is the annual parade through the city, taking place on Saturday and starting at 17:00 in Metelkova and going along Masarykova, Slovenska cesta, Zoisova cesta and ending in Novi trg at 19:00 with music, performances and a DJ set. This year the event is being promoted as a protest as much as a celebration, given the high levels of homophobia still present in Slovenia.
Friday to Sunday there’s Afriška VasFest 2018, three days of African music, food and more at Piknik pri kozolcu, Podutik, Ljubljana, with the details on Facebook.
Saturday, June 23rd, there’s a village festival just out of town in the village of Savlje. The Facebook page is here and a previous edition can be seen below.
Something new we added to the site last week was a look at the outdoor pools in town, which you can read here.
Ilirija pool
And if you're bored with the Old Town, why not take a walk, cycle or boat ride to nearby Špica and enjoy the riverside life. Learn more about that here.
visitljubjana.si
Some of the other events on around town are presented below. As ever, clicking on the venue name will get you more details with regard to the time, price and location, as well as other events on this week, and if you want to get a Ljubljana Tourist Card, which gives you travel on the city buses and entry to a lot of attractions, then you can read more about that here, and if you want to use the bike share system, as useful for visitors as it is for residents, then you can learn more by clicking this.
CINEMA
You can read about all the cinemas in town here, while a selection of what’s playing this week is below, and note that kid’s movies tend to be shown in dubbed versions, so do check before driving out to a multiplex and dropping off the young ones. (And if you like watching trailers with Slovene subtitles, then catch up on some from earlier this year here.)
Kinodvor – The arts cinema not far from the train station, but still rather tucked away, especially with the current street repairs, is showing, among other features, the comedy The Death of Stalin, Una mujer fantástica, Šum Balkana and Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami.
Kinoteka – The revival house is showing various classics, including a short season of David Lynch movies, with Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Inland Empire, and Mulholland Drive, along with a couple of documentaries on the man himself, one being Blue Velvet Revisited.
Kolosej – The multiplex out at BTC City Mall is playing all the big movies, which this week include Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Overboard, Blockers, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Book Club, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Bookshop , Love, Simon and Ocean’s 8. There’s also The Incredibles 2, but note that it’s dubbed. New movies include Loving Pablo and Hereditary.
Komuna – The cinema in a basement behind Nama department store is showing Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Book Club, The Bookshop, Ocean’s 8, Loving Pablo and a dubbed version of The Incredibles 2.
CLUBS
Channel Zero – Monday night is Dub Lab night, and this week it’s Ohoroho, promising roots, reggae and dub.
Klub Cirkus – The more commercial end of clubland has a night called Vseštudentski VIP summer opening on Wednesday, which is a student affair. Friday night there’s TRIP ft. Kosta Radman, while on Saturday you can thrill to PLAY with Special PA Performances, which this time is, I kid you not, a tribute to Justin Bieber.
Klub K4 – K4 offers Uradni after Praznika glasbe 2018 on Thursday, with Lavka (Lost Tapes), Marin (Just Us), Levanael & Kik playing “dance”. Friday then sees Dirty Sprite VI with an all-nighter of trap, phonk (sic) and Memphis rap, as spun by Tikach (No Balance, Hr), Bor$aleano, and Cookie. The final event of the week is Saturday’s SOLVD Closing, with house and techno being played by Evident, Alex Ranerro, and Christian Kroupa / Alleged Witches.
EXHIBITIONS
Please note that public galleries and museums are closed on Mondays.
The Balassi Institute (The Cultural Centre of the Embassy of Hungary) – This is at Barvarska steza 8, Ljubljana, not far from Dragon Bridge, and hosts various events. Until August 6 it’s also showing photos by Ora Hasenfratz.
Jakopič Gallery – Fans of Magnum and photography in general will wish to check out the Marc Riboud show here, as detailed in an earlier story, and on until October.
Marc Riboud. Huangshan, 1985. On the right, the pine named Flower-Formed-on-the-tip-of-a-Dream-Paintbrush. On the left, the Sublime Peak. ©Marc Riboud – all rights reserved.
Cankerjev dom – On until June 24 is a show with photographs of Ljubljana by Igor Andjelić, telling “a story about the artist’s embeddedness in Ljubljana’s urban existence, his intense engagement in the city’s artistic circles and street life.”
International Centre of Graphic Arts – Running until July 29 is David Lynch: Fire on Stage, presenting seventy lithographs from the director who’s made a fine career in movies on and on TV, with classics such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, but who started off as a painter and never left that world behind.
City Museum – In addition to the large permanent exhibition on the history of Ljubljana, the museum is offering guided tours of its collection every Sunday, 16:30, until the end of August, with the price included in the regular entrance fee. Details here.
Ljubljana Castle – Giampaolo Sgura, the fashion photographer, has an exhibition here until August 25, with images like the one below.
Giampaolo Sgura
MAO – The Museum of Architecture and Design is showcasing Slovenian designers in a show called Made in Slovenia, lasting until the end of 2018: “The selling exhibition aims to present good practices of Slovenian designers and companies in the creative sector.” The same venue has an exhibition based on Slovenia’s Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, called “Living with Water”, and on until November 25.
Something by Drago Tršar
Moderna galerija – The main branch of this gallery, to be found near the entrance to Tivoli Park, has a good collection of modern art, as well a nice café in the basement, and, until September 30th, a retrospective on the momumental sculptures of Drago Tršar, which you’ll recognise from around town (see more here). For even more contemporary work you can take a trip to the Metelkova branch, which until June 24 has a retrospective on the work of Milenko Matanovič, as noted here.
Museum of Contemporary History – The museum in Tivoli Park has two new shows. One is called Museum's (R)evolution 1948-2018, marking the place's 70th anniversary with an exhibition tracing its evolution through artefacts, photographs and personal stories and running until January 6 2019 (details here). There's also In Search of Freedom: 1968-2018, lookiing at the 1968 student protests.
National Gallery – The country’s main gallery has “the best” of what’s on offer in non-contemporary of modern visual arts, and is in a great location for exploring other areas, just by Tivoli Park and opposite the main branch of the Moderna galerija. Running from June 20 February 10 2019 is a show called Ivana Kobilca (1861-1926): But Of Course, Painting Is Something Beautiful!, featuring works like the one below.
National Museum of Slovenia – There’s a lull in the temporary shows, but still plenty to see in the permanent collection, from Roman times, Egypt and more.
Slovene Ethnographic Museum – There’s a number of permanent exhibitions here, and it’s conveniently located near the newer branch of the Moderna galerija and Metelkova.
FAMILIES & KIDS
You can find our Top 10 list of things to do with kids in Ljubljana here. Something that's always popular is The Museum of Illusions, which you can read about here.
Something from the Museum of Illusions
LGBTQI+
If you want to learn more about Ljubljana Pride, then take a look at our interview with its president here, while the group’s events page, often updated after this guide is compiled, is here. The programme for the festival itself is here.
Klub Monokel – A predominantly lesbian club.
Klub Tiffany – A predominantly gay club. Wednesday night there’s Cabaret Tiffany, being promoted on Facebook as follows “Goldiebag faghag and the three bears have found themselves in front of a hard choice. To follow their secret desire or to forget it forever? Join them on a journey in the cruel and glamorous world of decisive drag queens and pompous drag kings in the delicate land of LGBT scene.” Friday evening there’s then a discussion, “Pride Parade - protest, not a party”.
Pritličje – As part of Pride, Tuesday, 19:00 on, there’ll be a discussion on the theme of this year’s festival, intersectionality. On Thursday, 18:00, there’s a similar evening called Solidarity and common struggles, followed by an evening of DJ sets, including one by Tami T (and you can read more about this venue here).
LIVE MUSIC
Channel Zero Thursday night is an event called Kamizdat Rentgen: Dodecahedragraph, with the sounds provided by Dodecahedragraph, Lifecutter, Gašper Torkar and 5237.
Klub Gromka – Wednesday night you see a hardcore show by Birds in Row and The Canyon Observer, while Saturday night is a benefit show for Jalla Jalla, which was hit by an arson attack the other week, featuring the punk / rock sounds of Đornata, Drobovina, Pakt, Ceplena Mladina, Rutinska Kontrola and Sranje.
Kino Šiška – Thursday, June 21st, is the Punk in Drublic Festival, featuring NOFX, Mad Caddies, Snuff, Bad Cop/Bad Cop, The Bronx and The Mor(R)ons.
OPERA, THEATRE, DANCE
Gledališče IGLU - IGLU Theatre – Saturday night this group is usually putting on an English improv show somewhere in town, but it’s generally promoted after this is written, so check the Facebook before putting on your shoes.
SNG Opera and Ballet – Monday night there’s Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet, while Tuesday there’s a free show here as part of the June festival.
MISC.
Every Friday through the warmer months there’s the Open Kitchen in Ljubljana Market, where you can try food and drink from some the biggest names in town, and you can read more about it here.
Breg Embankment, just opposite the Old Town and by the river, has a small flea market open every Sunday morning. Learn more about it here.
If you’re in town and want to go jogging or walking in nature, why not take another look at the Castle, with a brief guide to the trails here. If you want something bigger, head to Tivoli Park.
Want to eat like a Slovene star of cinema and TV? Then check out our review of Ljubljana Well Done, by Marko Miladinović (yep, there’s a Bourdain reference, but published before the tragic news. Be sure to raise a glass to the man sometime in the next seven days and be kind to yourself and those around you. Appearances can be deceptive).
And if you want to learn 25 odd facts and features about Ljubljana, check out this popular article.
Flicker - Dave Rosenbaum CC by 2.0
Want to stretch and breath? Then check out our list of drop-in yoga classes for tourists, visitors and the uncommitted.
TRIPS
Most of Slovenia is only a few hours from Ljubljana, and you can easily visit Lake Bled, Lipica Stud Farm, Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, the coast and other locations.
FINALLY
Think you know downtown well? See how many of these details you can locate.
Photo: JL Flanner
