Lifestyle
STA, 29 January 2020 - There are some 800 UK citizens living in Slovenia and their main concern about Brexit is whether they will be able to continue their lives as before, UK Ambassador to Slovenia Sophie Honey told the STA, stressing that their rights were protected under the December EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement.
The agreement protects the rights and status of British citizens in Slovenia but also Slovenians in the UK, the ambassador told the STA in an interview.
The ambassador explained that the embassy has been in regular contact with the British community in Slovenia, updating them on the latest developments, and explaining them what the Withdrawal Agreement means for them. It has also been working very closely with the Slovenian government.
"The Withdrawal Agreement protects the rights of all those who are legally resident in Slovenia by the end of December to continue to live and work in Slovenia as they do now. So it protects their residency status, but also their rights to access healthcare and social security, to access their pensions as previously."
To be eligible, UK nationals have to be legally resident in Slovenia, whether as temporary or permanent residents, by the end of 2020.
As for travelling, holiday, and business visits, the ambassador said everything would remain the same after the implementation period, in 2021. "It is already agreed that there will be visa free travel for short visits."
Arrangements for British people coming to live permanently in Slovenia after 2020 and vice-versa, are yet to be decided. But the ambassador believes "the UK will always want to welcome talented individuals, so there will still be significant flow of people. For instance this week the UK launched a new visa scheme specifically for people in science and research."
During the transition period, the UK and EU will negotiate the new relationship, including new arrangements that will apply in areas like trade.
"The transition period means that there would be limited impact for businesses and people who are travelling during 2020. That means that current EU rules apply. That gives us the opportunity to agree the new partnership between the UK and the EU that will start on 1 January next year.
"There we are looking for a really positive and constructive partnership given our shared interest, our shared history, and values. So we are looking for a broad free trade agreement covering goods and services, but our prime minister has also spoken of the need to work as partners in other areas, for instance to tackle climate change, and to build cooperation in education and science," Honey said.
David Limon, a retired professor from the Faculty of Arts, applied for Slovenian citizenship in March 2019 but it looks like his application may be rejected due to what he thinks is a technicality, relating to his income as a self-employed translator since leaving the faculty.
He has been living in Slovenia since 1998 but his connections with Slovenia go back to 1983 when he married a Slovenian. Both his wife and their daughter, who was born in the UK but educated in Slovenia, have dual citizenship.
"It is clear that the Interior Ministry applies very strict (even unfair) criteria for citizenship applications. I am very disappointed about this after contributing for over 20 years to Slovenian society (as an academic and a translator), learning the language and even climbing Triglav."
He expects travel within the EU to get more complicated for British passport holders after Brexit. "It is also possible that if the British government makes life more difficult for EU citizens, reducing their legal rights, then EU countries will understandably reciprocate," he told the STA.
Chris Wherry, English programme moderator at Radio Slovenia International, is a permanent resident and this will not change regardless of the relationship between the UK and the EU.
He came to Slovenia in 2002 and is married to a Slovenian. Both of their two children, 15 and 11, are registered British citizens so they will be able to choose where they wish to live after their education.
Asked about any concerns regarding Brexit, he said there were many. "I believe the UK has much to lose by operating alone. I further treasure the EU free movement of people as a way of allowing individuals to access the best education and personal opportunities.
"Cooperation between countries is vital to resolve many international issues and trading as a more powerful block makes real sense. Both the EU and the UK will be weaker unless they come to significant agreements over the next 11 months regarding these issues."
Paul Steed, editor and writer for Total Slovenia News, has been in Slovenia for five and a half years, moving here from Taiwan. He has permanent resident status, is married to a Slovenian, has a child and owns property here, so he plans to stay after Brexit. He would like to get dual nationality, to "further confirm my status in Slovenia, but this is complicated because of Brexit".
"My concerns regarding Brexit are wide and varied. But on a personal level I'm worried about dual nationality, and pensions and healthcare in the future," he told the STA.
With regard to Slovenia, he noted that the direct trade links with the UK were very small, and would get smaller in the future. "The increased barriers to trade, if only in terms of rules of origin paperwork in a tariff- and quota-free deal, will make things more difficult, especially for smaller firms."
On the positive side, Slovenia has strong automotive and pharmaceutical industries, two areas that will be hurt in the UK if London does not opt for close regulatory alignment with the EU, so the country could maybe benefit there, he said.
There are many partnerships between British and Slovene businesses, including in high-tech, the pharmaceutical industry and the automotive sector, and around 4500 Slovenian companies importing goods and services from the UK. According to Ambassador Honey, she is not aware of any British company thinking about leaving Slovenia because of Brexit.
"We have a really strong and growing bilateral partnership with Slovenia", the ambassador told the STA, highlighting growing trade and education ties, and the first Slovenia-UK Friendship Day in 2019. "So I want to see all of those trends continue, as we continue to build a new and positive relationship between the UK and EU as a whole."
STA, 28 January 2020 - Roughly half of some 5,000 Slovenians living in the UK have applied for settled or pre-settled status so far ahead of Brexit, according to the British Home Office. Slovenian Ambassador to the UK Tadej Rupel expects the number of Slovenians in the UK to "drop somewhat, but not drastically".
Most of the Slovenians that have already applied for the post-Brexit status have opted for the settled status.
EU citizens that have been living and working in the UK for less than five years can apply for the pre-settled status, while those who have been in the UK for more than five years can apply to stay in the country under the settled status scheme.
Some Slovenians have acquired British citizenship and are thus not obligated to enter into any of the two schemes, Rupel told the STA. On the other hand, some have left the UK due to Brexit-related reasons.
The deadline for applying is 31 December 2020, however there have been political and public assurances that EU citizens will not be automatically deported if they fail to apply for the status by the deadline, said the ambassador, adding that settled and pre-settled status applications were mostly granted.
The UK is interested in keeping EU citizens who work and contribute to its economy, he added.
Slovenians in the UK are "well-organised and keeping track of the Brexit-related circumstances", Rupel said, adding that they did not seem to be panicking.
There are some doubts and questions remaining in terms of marriage registration, getting citizenship, the validity of IDs and options for crossing the border.
The Slovenian embassy has regular contacts with the British authorities and informs Slovenian citizens living in the UK of their replies. Last year, it also held a couple of events with British legal experts, informing the public about the situation.
Moreover, the embassy's social media is another platform to provide relevant information, however Rupel expressed concern that the elderly and other vulnerable groups would find it more difficult to access the information.
He explained that everyone who would move to the UK until the end of this year would be entitled to the pre-settled status scheme, while next year a new immigration mechanism would probably enter into force.
No immediate drastic changes will follow the latest Brexit deadline, 31 January, said Rupel, with a transition period taking place.
Some 5,000 Slovenians live in the UK, according to the embassy's data, most of them (85-90%) in the south-east of the country or the London area. They work in the City or at universities, study there, some of them are artists, doctors and entrepreneurs. A small part of them came to the UK in the mid-20th century.
Janja Hadalin, a 35-year-old Slovenian working for an NGO helping the disabled on the outskirts of London, has been living in the UK for almost four years. Even though she is content there, Hadalin does not plan to apply under the pre-settled status scheme since she would like to return to Slovenia.
According to her, most Slovenians living in the UK she knows are planning to stay. Signing up to the scheme is not difficult, she added.
Meanwhile Lana Mak, a 26-year-old working as purchasing officer and living in Bedford near London, plans to stay since she has settled in the UK and started a family there. She sees no difference between living in Slovenia or the UK. "When you settle somewhere, you get used to it," she said.
She and her partner have not yet applied for the settled status, but expect to get it since they have been living in the country for more than five years. Mak has not noticed any Brexit-related changes in day-to-day life.
Žan Florjanič Baronič, a 20-year-old studying medicine at UCL in London, has already applied for the status. He does not know any foreigner living in the UK who has not yet taken care of that - there was even a "mild hysteria" regarding that last summer, he added.
Florjanič Baronič estimated that Brexit would affect UK science funding in the long-term, which might bear on his career as well since major UCL research projects have been mainly EU-funded.
Moreover, following Brexit, EU citizens could pay international tuition fees to study in the UK, which might deter them from enrolling in UK universities, said Rupel.
Currently, there are between 500 and 700 Slovenian students studying in the UK.
All our stories on Brexit and Slovenia are here
How does Ljubljana rate compared to other cities with regard to burnout and general stress among those in employment? A website that sells mattresses, Savvy Sleeper, recently commissioned an analysis that looked at nine different factors – work-related stress, employee presenteeism, lack of motivation at work, annual work hours, vacation time, working more than 48 hours a week, the prevalence of mental health disorders and substance abuse, getting less than 7 hours of sleep, and time spent commuting – and used data from sources such as Glassdoor, UBS and the International Labour Organization – to rank 69 cities, from those with the highest to lowest levels of burnout.
For anyone struggling in Šiška, exhausted in Vič, or feeling underemployed in Trnovo the results may come as a surprise, along with the shocking realisation that things could be worse. For others, who skip to work with a song in their hearts and sleep soundly at night, they’ll confirm that the city is one that manages to balance development with a slower, more manageable pace than in many other capitals, with life still lived on a human scale.
Screenshot: Savvy Sleeper
More specifically, out of 69 cities Ljubljana is said to have the second lowest level of burnout, with the related text on the best three being as follows:
The lowest scoring global city for work burnout is Tallinn, Estonia. The city offers a generous amount of vacation, with an average of 29.1 paid days off. Plus, just 5.6% of the population work more than 48 hours a week.
Ljubljana, Slovenia (68th) has the second-lowest risk of employee burnout. Just 5.5% of Slovenia’s population works more than 48 hours a week. While commuters spend only 27.93 minutes in traffic to and from work, compared to the average of all analysed cities, 40.10 minutes.
Oslo, Norway (67th) has been reported to be one of the happiest places in the world according to the World Happiness Report. Work-life balance is taken very seriously in Norway and just 4.2% of the entire population works 48 hours or more a week.
However, within this it should be noted that Ljubljana has relatively high levels of lack of motivation at work (#11), and that no data was obtained for work-related stress from Glassdoor for the city.
Looking at the end of the scale, the top 10 most stressed cities are said to be Tokyo, Mumbai, Seoul, Istanbul, Manila, Jakarta, Hanoi, Taipei, Los Angeles, and Buenos Aires, with seven of these being in Asia. Looking at the EU, the most stressed cities are London (at #14), Rome (#21) and Athens (29).
It’s an interesting list to consider as you think about the trade offs between living in a 24-hour cosmopolitan metropolis and a smaller city in a relative backwater, and the different opportunities they provide for development and peace of mind. You can see the full list, and more details, here.
STA, 27 January 2020 - The coordination group for monitoring and managing contagious diseases discussing the coronavirus outbreak announced in Ljubljana on Monday that Slovenia was braced for a potential outbreak. It is monitoring the situation carefully and cooperating with all WHO member states in efforts to prevent the spreading of the virus.
Mojca Gobec from the Health Ministry asserted that the country was prepared for a potential outbreak. "It is very important that we are ready because we can expect imported cases," said Gobec, the head of the public health directorate at the ministry.
It is essential that the system contains the infection and reduces the risk of the spreading of the virus to a minimum, she pointed out a press conference after today's meeting.
Medical staff has been acquainted with the procedure to prevent further contamination in case the virus occurs in Slovenia, said the head of the Ljubljana clinic for infectious disease, Tatjana Lejko Zupanc.
Maja Sočan from the National Institute of Public Health urged against travelling to China, noting that the country had run out of protective masks and that transport had been hindered because of the virus.
She noted that measures introduced at airports to prevent the spreading of the virus from China such as the measurement of body temperature were not efficient, because the disease can be spread before the symptoms occur.
"Thermal cameras seem to be a very agreeable measure at first glance, but we must be aware that most passengers arrive by land," she said.
Lejko Zupanc said that such infections were nothing new, noting that primarily at risk were the people with chronic diseases and those who are fragile.
The pneumonia-like illnesses from the newly identified coronavirus, which appeared in December in Wuhan, central China, has so far claimed at least 80 lives. More than 2,700 people have been infected.
Cases of infections have been recorded in several other countries as well, including the US and France.
STA, 27 January - President Borut Pahor is in Poland to attend a memorial marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp, accompanied by Slovenian camp survivors. He will lay a candle to honour the victims at a memorial plaque which features an inscription in Slovene since 2008.
The delegation includes Sonja Vrščaj, Elizabeta Kumar Maurič, Marija Frlan and Lidija Rijavec Simčič, who were deported to the camp, as well as Janez Deželak, one of hundreds of Stolen Children, who were separated from their parents after Nazi occupation.
The commemoration was held at the Oswiecim Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau under the auspices of Poland's President Andrzej Duda.
During the Second World War, some six million people died in Poland, including three million Polish Jews, mostly in concentration camps.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day is honoured every year on 27 January, coinciding with the anniversary of Auschwitz liberation.
The Nazis killed more than a million people in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. More than 2,300 people were deported there from Slovenia, with over 1,300 dying before the liberation.
Nikoli več. #NeverAgain #HMD2020 #Auschwitz75 #WeRemember #HolocaustMemorialDay pic.twitter.com/f4VQOGuiRz
— Borut Pahor (@BorutPahor) January 27, 2020
The camp was liberated on 27 January in 1945 by the Soviet troops. Merely some 7,650 ill and debilitated prisoners survived.
Pahor is attending the memorial due to its great symbolic significance, said the president's office. The Slovenian delegation is bearing witness to the horrors of WWII, which are still leaving bitter traces of memories and suffering, said Pahor in a statement.
It is our moral duty that we never forget, that we contribute to a peaceful resolution of all issues and fight to ensure that such atrocities may never happen again, he highlighted.
Meanwhile, Kumar Mavrič expressed satisfaction that the most horrible crimes of the Second World War were living on not just in the memory of the survivors but also in the memory of young generations.
Vrščaj said that the survivors' suffering was part of their fight for freedom, urging the young to love their homeland. "We never said 'if we come home', but 'when we come home'."
Another survivor, Frlan, who turned 100 today, was succinct in saying "a reminder for the young and remembrance for the elderly".
Pahor, who attended the World Holocaust Forum marking the anniversary in Jerusalem last week, will also address a memorial ceremony in Lendava's synagogue on Thursday.
He will wrap up the Holocaust remembrance series of events in May by holding an annual debate featuring the survivors and secondary school students.
Today, a series of events to honour the Holocaust Remembrance Day is taking place in Slovenia, among them a concert of songs performed in secret meetings by an internee of the Sachsenhausen camp. Moreover, the Jewish Cultural centre will screen Shoah, a 1985 film by Claude Lanzmann.
Tokyo is not a place where one would expect to find a professional oom-pah band, and even less so one which would sing in Slovenian. The East Asian love for themed events and cultural learning, however, has ensured that this aspect of cultural heritage is also represented in Japan.
Among a variety of interesting things one can experience in Japan there is the Oktoberfest in Fukuoka and other places, with German beer, dirndl dresses and lederhosen (SLO: irharce) and of course with Edelweisskapelle and their impeccable interpretations of German, Austrian and Slovenian oom-pah and oom-pah-pah.
Edelweisskapelle, which consists of professional musicians, also performs in Europe. Their last tour on this side of the world was in 2017, which unfortunately didn’t include Slovenia.
In 2015 Fukuoka and Edelweisskapelle also hosted a German accordionist Alexander Koll and Slovenian diatonic accordion manufacturer Jernej Brilej. This is what they played together:
We certainly hope to see Edelweisskapelle in Slovenia someday. Planica would be nice, or perhaps the New Year celebrations in Ljubljana?
According to the World Economic Forum’s newly developed Social Mobility Index, Slovenia ranks the highest among Eastern European countries and 13th globally, just after France and before Canada.
Nordic countries perform best, with Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland at the top, and the world’s superpowers ranked somewhere in the middle, with the United States at 27, Russia at 39 and China at 45th place.
Historically, such indexes have analysed social mobility across generations by comparing the earnings of children with those of their parents, meaning that the time difference between the measure and its effect could amount to 30 or 40 years.
The newly proposed social mobility index produced by the WEF focuses on the drivers of relative social mobility instead of outcomes. It uses 10 pillars, which are then broken down into five determinants of social mobility: health, education, technology access, work opportunities, working conditions and fair wages and finally, social protection and inclusive institutions.
Such a Global Social Mobility Index reveals that there are only a few nations with the right conditions to foster social mobility, while most countries underperform in four areas: fair wage, social protection, working conditions and lifelong learning.
For the full list, please click here.
Keep up with the daily news in Slovenia by checking the morning headlines here. What to find out what happened last week in Slovenia? Look no further.
The following schedule was prepared by the STA:
MONDAY, 27 January
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will start its monthly plenary with a Q&A session with Prime Minister Marjan Šarec and his cabinet.
OSWIECIM, Poland - President Borut Pahor will attend a memorial marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The delegation will include Slovenian Auschwitz survivors.
LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office will release January business sentiment figures.
TUESDAY, 28 January
LJUBLJANA - Public presentation of the amended National Energy and Climate Plan.
LJUBLJANA - The Information Commissioner will host a round table on the protection of personal data.
LJUBLJANA - AmCham Slovenia will host a panel dedicated to companies' international operations.
LJUBLJANA - The STA will host a panel on the effects of the reduced rate of VAT on books.
WEDNESDAY, 29 January
LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly will wrap up its plenary with a debate on controversial amendments that would abolish supplementary health insurance.
NEUHAUS, Austria - Cohesion Policy Minister Angelika Mlinar and the governor of the Austrian state of Styria Peter Kaiser will hold talks on the margins of a presentation Geopark Karavanke, a cross-border territorial cooperation association.
PIRAN - The Festival of European and Mediterranean Film; until 1 February.
LJUBLJANA - A comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Serbian Modernism will open at the National Gallery.
LJUBLJANA - The Alpe-Adria tourism fair will kick off; until 1 February.
THURSDAY, 30 January
LJUBLJANA - Foreign Minister Miro Cerar will hold meet with British Ambassador Sophie Honey on the eve of the UK's exit from the EU.
NOVO MESTO - Pharma company Krka will release preliminary business results for 2019.
LENDAVA - President Borut Pahor will address a ceremony marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
LJUBLJANA - Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, Finance Minister Andrej Bertoncelj and Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek will attend a meeting of the Manager Association.
LJUBLJANA - Weekly government session.
FRIDAY, 31 January
LUXEMBOURG - The EU's Court of Justice will announce whether it will admit Slovenia's suit against Croatia over the latter's failure to implement the 2017 border arbitration award.
LJUBLJANA - The Statistics Office will release tourism figures for December.
SATURDAY, 1 February
No major events scheduled.
SUNDAY, 2 February
No major events scheduled.
If you're not in town for the week of this guide (27 January to 2 February, 2020) then you can see all the editions here, and if there's event or activity you want to promote in a future edition of What's on in Ljubljana please get in touch with me at flanner(at)total-slovenia-news.com or try and find me on Facebook. If you want something a little different and easy to print, then a comprehensive PDF of events for the next seven days, as prepared by Ljubljana Tourism, is here. If you're in town and want to follow the news then check out our regular morning headlines for Slovenia here.
It’s another relatively quiet week in the city that often sleeps, with things heading into what many locals feel is the greyest, dullest month of the year. But we’d dispute that analysis, as the days are getting longer, the mornings lighter, and there’s still plenty of fun to be had around town, whether in galleries or bars, concert halls or parks, convention centres or out on the streets.
You can see more about upcoming events and festivals in Slovenia here, to fill your calendar with things to look forward to, while below is a selection of entertainments, educations and diversions on around the capital in the next seven days.
The Alpe-Adria Tourism Fair is back at the convention centre on Dunajska from Wednesday 29 January to 1 February. Learn more about it here. At the same place, same dates, there’s also Fairs of Tastes, which covers the delights of gastronomy, beverage, coffee, confectionery, bakery, catering and hospitality, ice cream and wine. More here.
Alcoholics Anonymous has an English language meeting every Tuesday, 19:00 in Poljane – email for more details: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tuesday Prulček will host Bordó Sárkány, who mix authentic Hungarian and European medieval songs with their own creative ideas.
Thursday to Sunday SNG Opera and Ballet will be performing Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty at various times, including the morning (but the same times each day, so check the schedule here)
Thursday, 21:00, the stage at Kino Šiška will be owned by BaBa Zula, “the unrivalled masters of so-called Istanbul psychedelia”. The show is a pre-MENT event, and you can learn more about that upcoming music festival here. Friday to Saturday the Ljubljana Blues Exchange is back for a long weekend of music and dancing, with the website here
2nd Ljubljana Blues Exchange from Ivan Lovrić on Vimeo.
.Friday night is Jazz at the Castle, and this week it’s the turns of Ljubljanski Jazz quintet saksofonov. Saturday evening Orto Bar has show from Potnik, presenting their first album
On Sunday, 2 February, the 4th Winter Festivalv opens, with a focus on pianists. The first show features Imogen Cooper (piano) and Aleksej Volodin (piano) playing Beethoven. Details.
Still open until 5 March, 2020, Magic Ice-rink Lumpi Park offers 600 m2 of the covered ice surface and 180 m of ice-skating paths which enable you to skate through the Sports park Savsko naselje, at Kranjčeva ulica 24. Details here.
New or new-ish movies in town this week include the following:
Kinoteka, the classic movie centre, is showing David Lynch’s Wild at Heart on Tuesday, and Return of the Jedi on Saturday (website). Kinodvor, the art move place just around the corder, is showing among other features, a version of the new Slovene movie Polsestra (Half-Sister) with English subtitles. The same place is also showing Little Women.
In town and looking for a gift or souvenir? Take a look at Cook Eat Slovenia - the book.
How much do tourists spend in Slovenia? Find out here
You may have heard about Free Tour Ljubljana, the tour company that’s #1 on TripAdvisor for the city and gives away its main product. What’s the deal with that? Find out here.
While the Old Town is quaint, and full of music, where does Ljubljana really shop? One popular answer is BTC City, a vast complex of malls, entertainment facilities and more, including more than 70 different food vendors, offering everything from Slovenian to Thai, Indian to Italian, Mexican to Chinese. Check out my recent visit here.
Looking for something different to eat? Trubajeva cesta, running right by Dragon Bridge, has the greatest concentration of "ethnic food" places in Ljubljana, and thus perhaps the country. Check out our walk through guide as of June 2019.
In warmer days than you'll see this week. Photo: JL Flanner
Ljubljana is forecast to be the fastest-warming city in the world over the next few decades.
You're in the town of Slavoj Žižek, but do you find yourself lost when conversation turns to the philosopher? If so, check out our collection of quotes and clips to learn more.
Screenshot from YouTube
- Cinemas and films
- Clubbing
- Live music
- Theatre and dance
- Harm reduction and drug testing
- Things to do with children
- LGBT+ Ljubljana
- Ljubljana Castle
- Museums and galleries
- Other things to do in Ljubljana
- Daytrips
- Getting around
- Emergencies
Cinemas and films
You can read about all the cinemas in town here, while a selection of what’s playing this week is below, and note that kids' movies tend to be shown in dubbed versions, while non-English language movies for older viewers will have Slovenian subtitles.Parents should also pay attention to Kinobalon, which is Kinodvor's regular weekend series of film screenings and events for children, from babies on up, with special parent/child events, "first time in a cinema" screenings, and babysitting. Learn more about it here, and see the current schedule here.
Note - most children's films will be dubbed (sinhronizirano) - for subtitles look for 'podnapisi'.
Kinodvor –This is an arts cinema, not far from the train station, that shows new features as well as hosting the occassional festival.
Kinoteka – And not far from Kinodvor you can find this revival cinema, which shows art house classics along with some deep dives in the archives.
Kino Bežigrad - A relatively small theatre, but one which usually has the biggest of the new releases.
Kolosej -The multiplex out at BTC City Mall shows all the big movies, with well over a dozen titles on the schedule, although note that there are far more movies than screens, so some of the older ones mayonly be playing once or twice a week.
Komuna – The cinema in a basement behind Nama department store shows two or three different features a week, usually including the biggest titles.
Looking for a souvenir you'll really enjoy? Take a look at Broken Bones Gin, the first gin made in Ljubljana (learn more here, and try it at the Central Market or selected downtown bars).
Photo: Genius loci d.o.o.
Know that big triangular building behind the train station? Learn what's inside here.
Clubbing
Compared to some European capitals it can seem that nightlife in Ljubljana ends rather early, especially along the river, but there are still bars that stay open late and clubs were you can dance until dawn, and perhaps the best place to stumble across something interesting is the legendary Metelkova. Be aware it's a grungy kind of place and not for all tastes, but also that there's considerable variety to found within the various clubs there, from death metal to electropop, gay cabaret to art noise. You can read "the rules" of the place here. And if you're curious about how the place started then read our story, and look at some pictures, about last year's 25th anniversary.
Božidar - DJ events aren't too common here, but when they happen they often have a big name.
Channel Zero – DJs shows here include regular dub nights as well as electronic music.
Gala Hala – Another Metelkova venue, you can sometimes hear bhangra and Bollywood here, but more often funk, hip hop, breakbeat and so on.
Klub Cirkus – The more commercial end of clubland, and a venue that aims to serve the student party scene. Expect house, anthems, and bangers.
Klub K4 – The home of techno, old and new, along with various other electronic genres,
Koncertna Dvorana Rog– There are irregular DJ sets at this underground (not literally) venue at the far end of Trubarjeva cesta, and they range from techno to goa to drum'n'bass.
Orto Bar– 80s and 90s throwback nights can often be found here, along with rock-based DJ sets.
Live music
Balassi Institute – Free Hungarian music, when available, from the Hungarian cultural institute just a short walk downriver from Dragon Bridge.
Cankerjev dom – The main arts venue in the country hosts classical, opera jazz, folk and occassinally pop.
Cvetličarna – Regional pop and rock concerts can be found here.
Channel Zero – This Metelkova venue sees live shows from punk and rock bands, as well as others.
Gala Hala – Another Metelkova venue with indie bands of various styles.
Kino Šiška – One of the top live venues in the city, with a varied programme that include indie, rock, pop, experimental, hip hop, and so on.
Klub Gromka – Live music is often metal, from sludge to stoner, death to thrash, while punk bands also appear, as do others.
Križanke – The venue that hosts the Ljubljana Festival often has classical music, and some rock, in the open air.
Orto Bar– The home of live rock, metal, punk and other guitar-based genres.
Pinelina dnevna soba – LIve music is rare here, but it does happen.
Slovenska filharmonija– Classical music in the centre of town.
SNG Opera and Ballet - As the name suggests, here you'll find the best of opera and ballet in the country.
Španski borci - While dance is more common here, they also have some contemporary and experimental music shows.
Slovenska cesta, 1959. Wikimedia. See more pictures of Old Ljubljana here
Theatre and dance
Cankerjev dom- The main arts venue in the country always has something of interest going on.
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.
Kino Šiška – One of the top live venues in the city also hosts some dance performance, often of the more experimental variety.
Mini Teater Ljubljana –The English schedule of varied performances, for adults and children, for the month is here.
Ljubljana Puppet Theatre - Puppetry has a long and noble tradition in Slovenia, and you can see performances for children and adults (including non-puppet shows) drawing from the Theatre's rich repetoire as well as new productons.
SNG Opera and Ballet - As the name suggests, here you'll find the best of opera and ballet in the country.
Španski borci - The home ofcontemporary dance(and the EnKnapGroup) in Slovenia.
Pocket Teater Studio– There are regular flamenco evenings at perhaps the smallest venue town, but note that the number of seats is very limited, and thus you should make a reservation via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 070 325 522.
Harm reduction and drug testing
Drogart is an organization that aims to minimise harm on the party scene, and offers drug-testing services and reports on their webpage. It’s in Slovene, but you can Google translate it or work things out yourself, and our story on the group is here.You can find the latest warnings on fake drugs and high strength pills and powders (in Slovene) here. However, be aware that all the usual drugs are illegal in Slovenia.CBD is legal, though, and our retailer of choice can be found on Trubarjeva cesta - read more about Sena Flora here.
Photo: Igor Andjelič. See more of his work here
Things to do with children
You can find our Top 12 list of things to do with kids in Ljubljana here. If want to read more about the philosophy behind the wonderful House of Experiments look here, while our trip to the Museum of Illusions is documented here, and there’s always riverside walks, pizza and ice cream. With regard to the latter, take a look at our guide to six places that serve good ice cream in winter, and thus are serious about the dessert.
Mini Teater Ljubljana – The season sees a lot of puppet performances for children, in Slovene, at this theatre not far from Križanke. The English schedule for the month is here.
Ljubljana Puppet Theatre - The puppet theatre near the Central Market and next to the Castle funicular has a full programme or shows, for children and adults, with the schedule here.
LGBT+ Ljubljana
If you're looking for more general links on "gay Slovenia", including a history of the scene and various projects, then you can find that here, while our stories about the community can be found here.
Klub Monokel – This lesbian bar in Metelkova is open every Friday, although sometimes there are other events
Klub Tiffany –And the gay bar next door is also open on Fridays. Other things coulds also be planned, so click on the name to find out.
Pritličje – This seems to be the only "always open" LGBT-friendly cafe / bar / events space in town, and perhaps the country, so it's a good thing it's such a good one, open from morning to night, and with fliers and posters letting you know what's happening outside the narrow confines of, say, a general interest online what's on... guide.
Screenshot from Google Maps, showing the location of the Castle vineyard
Ljubljana Castle
The city’s main attraction is said to be the top tourist draw in the country overall, and to my mind it earns a spot near the top just for the history and views. But beyond that the current owners, the City of Ljubljana, have laid out a varied, interesting and enjoyable programme of events, one that rewards regular revisits.
On all 2020 is an Exhibition of Slovenian History, included in the price of a Castle ticket, that takes you through prehistory and the Romans, the Middle and early Modern Ages, the 19th century and WWI, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and WWII, Yugoslavia, independence and after.
At one of Castle hill there's a many walking and jogging paths, with good views of the city. At the other end, where the Castle sits, there’s a lot more than fresh air on offer. There are guided tours, restaurants, a café, Castle museum, puppet museum, a Watchtower you can climb to the highest point in the city, art shows, dances, live music, movies under the stars, festival days and more – enough to reward multiple trips up the hill through the year. All of these activities and events can be found on the Castle website, while on TSN you can see “25 things to know about Ljubljana Castle” here, and “Ten Ways to Enjoy Ljubljana Castle” here.
Museums and galleries
Most public galleries and museums are closed on Mondays, although not the National Museum.
Bežigrajska galerija 2 – Take a trip to Vodovodna cesta 3 and until 8 February 2020 you can see Lojze Spacal (1907–2000): From the Littoral and the Karst Region.
Cankerjev dom – On until 3 March 2020 there's an exhibition on Ancient Greek Science and Technology. Details here.
Plečnik's desk. Photo: JL Flanner
Plečnik’s House is worth a visit if you want to learn more about the architect who gave Ljubljana much of its character, and it's also in a really nice part of town, Trnovo, just a short walk or cycle upriver. Read about our guided tour here.
Balassi Institute – The Hungarian culture centre is next to a Spar and Hofer, and not far from Dragon Bridge, and always has something interesting going on. Learn more here.
City Museum – The Museum in French Revolution Square an interesting permanent exhibition on the history of Ljubljana, from prehistoric times to the present day, with many artefacts, models and so on that bring the story alive.You can read about my visit here. On until August 2020 there’s Book. Reason. Knowledge. From Protestantism to Enlightenment (1500–1800), which presents the processes and events that encouraged and fostered the cultural and spiritual development in Ljubljana from the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 19th century – from humanism and Protestantism to the Enlightenment. More on that here.
The Faces of Ljubljana in the City Museum. Photo: JL Flanner
Drink like a pro - find gallery openings. Photo: JL Flanner
Galerija Vžigalica – Until 15 March you can enjoy Counter:Movement / Gegen:Bewegung, an exhibition of contemporary artistic positions in Carinthia, selected by the Klagenfurt University Cultural Centre – the Universitätskulturzentrum UNIKUM.
MAO – The Museum of Architecture and Design has much of what you'd expect, along with some temporary shows and a good cafe. BIO 26: Common Knowledge is on until 9 February, looking at information, fake news and citizenship, with details here.
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.
Alan Ford was recently at the National Gallery - read more about this comic book here.
National Gallery – The country’s main gallery has “the best” of what’s on offer from the Middle Ages to non-contemporary 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. You can read about our visit to the room containing sacred art from the Middle Ages
The real Robba Fountain can be found in the entrance to the National Gallery - the one you see in the Old Town is a genuine fake, as seen below and reported here.
Photo: JL Flanner
National Museum of Slovenia – There’s plenty to see in the permanent collection here, from Roman times, Egypt and more. Meanwhile, the museum's Metelkova branch, located between one branch of the Moderna galerija and the Ethnographic Museum has some rooms on Church art, furniture and weapons, with the latter including more guns than you'll see anywhere else in town, and quite a thrill if coming from a nation where such objects are not household items.
A fragment of a Coptic textile; 5th–6th cent.: Upper Egypt; linen, wool; National Museum of Slovenia. Photo: Tomaž Lauko
Until 24 May 2020 you can see Coptic Textiles from the Collection of the National Museum of Slovenia at the branch in the Metelkova museum quarter, by the Ethnographic Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Details.
Natural History Museum – On until the end of December 2019 is Our Little Big Sea, which takes a look at the oceans.
National Museum of Contemporary History - Tucked away in park Tivoli, you can see a permanent exhibition on Slovenians in the 20th century.
Slovene Ethnographic Museum – The museum has two permanent exhibitions. One of these is called Between Nature and Culture, and has a great collection of objects from Slovenia and around the world, well worth the trip up to the third floor to see it (as recounted here).
Union Experience – The Ljubljana-based brewer has a museum showing the history of the company, with the ticket also including access to part of the factory and a few samples of the product. You can read about our visit here.
It's not a formal museum, but if you're interested in "Yugo-stalgia" then you'll enjoy a trip to Verba, a small, privately run space that's crammed with objects and pop culture items from the era, and is conveniently located at the start of one of the short walks to the castle. It's also a great place to take pictures, if you leave a donation, and you can read more about it here.
Verba. Photo: JL Flanner
Alternative Ljubljana isn't a museum or gallery, as such, but instead turns the city streets into a museum and gallery. Learn more about their tours of street art, history and LGBT Ljubljana here.
Photo: JL Flanner
Other things to do in Ljubljana
Learn more about Ljubljana with "25 things to know about Slovenia's green city of dragons", or take a look at our guide to spending from four to 48 hours here.
If you like the city's architecture then check out this great book, Let’s See the City - Ljubljana: Architectural Walks & Tours, with our review here and a page from the book shown above. We took a walk with one of the authors who showed us how much there is to learn and enjoy if you slow down and pay attention - read about that here.
Ljubljana has some beautiful buildings from the early 20th century, in the Secessionist style, like the one below. Learn where to find them here.
Photo: Neža Loštrek
For something a little more brual, check out Republika trg / Republic Square, in the heart of the political quarter.
Photo: JL Flanner
Photo: JL Flanner
Some view of the city you can only get from the river. If you'd like to take a boat ride then read about my experience here. If you'd like to spend an evening painting with others, then take a look at Design with Wine, which organises painting parties on Trubarjeva cesta,
If you want to see some antiques, then check out the wonderful Antika Carniola, as discussed here. The man behind it, Jaka Prijatelj, has a fine eye for life on this street, as you can see on his Facebook account.
Photo: JL Flanner
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.
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
Want to stretch and breath? Then check out our list of drop-in yoga classes for tourists, visitors and the uncommitted. We go to Nataraja Studio, by Dragon Bridge, and here's a story about it.
Prefer to have someone else stretch you? The check out the totally legit massages you can get from Sense Wellness - either in one of their spas or in you home, office or hotel. (And - to repeat - these are legit and non-sexual in nature)
There are some golf courses near Ljubljana, but even ones further away are not far, as seen in our list of all the golf courses in Slovenia, which usually run until the first snow.
Photo: maxpixel.net, public domain
Daytrips
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, while if you'd like to take a photo of from that bench in Bled, then you can learn how to get there here. If you’re looking for something more ambitious, then check out our recent guide to the 17 members of the Association of Historical Towns of Slovenia. We've also written guides on spending from four to 48 hours in Bled and Piran.
Photo: Google Image Search
Getting around
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. Visitors with reduced mobility will be pleased to find that downtown Ljubljana is generally rated as good with regard to accessibility, and that there’s a free, city-sponsored app called Ljubljana by Wheelchair highlighting cafés, attractions and so on with ramps, disabled bathrooms and Eurokey facilities, which you can read about and download here. Manual wheelchair users can also borrow, for free, an attachment that will motorise their equipment, as reported here.
Screenshot from a Twitter video
If you’re driving into town and don’t know where to park, our guide to how to park in Ljubljana is here.
Emergencies
Ljubljana is a small and relatively safe city, but if need to contact the police then there’s a special number for foreigners, and that’s 113.
Photo: JL Flanner
There aren't many places to eat after midnight, and most of them are by the train station, as reported here.
Want / need cigarettes but the stores have closed? Here's an incomplete list of bars downtown that will satisfy your craving for the demon weed. While if you’re having trouble with the ATMs then here’s a guide to the Slovene you’ll see on screen. If you get a hangover then find out where to get paracetamol (and prescription drugs) in Ljubljana here, while details on emergency birth control can be found here.
Andrei Kashcha has created a wonderful webpage where you can enter a place name and receive a map showing only the roads – the transport arterial system of the area. Here are some examples drawn from Slovenia.
It’s a lot of fun to play around with, and the resulting maps are available for download (in relatively low res versions, as shown here) or printing on mugs.
If you find this interesting, and would like to make more maps of anywhere – it works all over the world, with Timbuktu having an especially striking map – then do check out the original site. It’s the best place to view these images, make more of your own, and then zoom in and see the pleasing, fractal nature of the system.
According to Delo.si the Administrative Unit (Uprana enota, UE) of Ljubljana is planning a reorganization of work this summer at its Tobačna 5 branch in Ljubljana, which has seen increasing complaints due to long queues for foreigners sorting out their paperwork to live and work in the country.
Delo.si quotes Bojan Babič, who from October 2019 has been in charge of UE Ljubljana, saying that the departments for foreigners and Slovenian citizens at Tobačna will be separated. At the department where Slovene citizens file different applications and edit personal and other documents, they will change the current system of work by removing the walls that are separating different offices and their waiting rooms, and introduce a unified system of work at the windows, with a single waiting room for all clients.
For foreigners, they will increase the number of receptionists and set up separate offices – for first time applications, for completing and picking up the documents, etc. According to Babič, the aim is to establish a system which would allow foreigners to visit the premises twice at most instead of the current multiple visits, while first-time applications could also be filed at other branches of the UE in Ljubljana.
