Trip to Ljubljana in 2nd wk of Nov

I didn't visit Maribor, but Ljubljana (which I found delightful) is very small and easily explored on foot.

kja,

Recommendations? Must see? Do people speak/understand English?

Any idea about the weather around the 2nd wk of Nov.?

What to see and do depends on your interests. There are many good guide books that you can use to get some basic information, then come back to this forum with specific questions.

The people I encountered generally spoke English well, but it wouldn't hurt to learn a few words of Slovenian.

I was there in May. For information about the weather in November, you could do a google search.

Hope that helps!

I was in Ljubljana last week. Beautiful town!!! Just adorable. The thing to realize about the town is, there's really not a bunch to see there. The best part is just strolling around (especially at night) and enjoying the ambiance. Do have a good battery and lots of space on your digital camera's memory card - you'll need it. It's a photogenic town!

When I was there, the weather was mixed. It was mild the night I arrived and drizzling by the time I left - slightly chilly at night. I'm told the climate is rather cold in the winter, so I'd guess it will be chilly by the 2nd week of November.

Do the locals speak English? At least a little, often very very well. I had absolutely no problem with language - don't even worry about it.

What to do? There are a few museums. I saw only the City Museum, which gives you a basic history of the town (not too coherently) with a modern design (lots of A/V) and some interesting exhibits. Currently there's a temporary exhibit on Napoleon's and France's influence there (never knew he basically had the French occupy Slovenia and made Ljubljana the capital of the area). Almost everything in the museum has an English translation - but the museum itself felt a bit disjointed to me.

Much more impressive was a visit to the house of Jože Plečnik, an influential architect who was born in Ljubljana, made his mark in Prague and Vienna, and returned to his home town to basically re-make it. He designed new bridges, buildings, and river accesses. His influence in the area is immense. If you visit his very simple house (just at the outskirts of the small inner downtown), you get a 30 minute tour of it. Although there's not much to see, really, I found the man himself fascinating and seeing his house and all the little inventions he made and just how he lived was quite interesting (I usually dislike museums in general by the way).

I took a 2 hr walking tour as well - and that included a visit up to the castle, but it probably won't by November. The tour was OK. It helps to learn just a bit about the area first so you can ask questions, I think.

Of course, do see the dragon bridge (the dragon being the symbol of Ljubljana) - just to take a snapshot of yourself in front of one of the four dragons on it!

In case you wish to see some pictures from Ljubljana, here are a few of mine:

http://www.portlandbridges.com/00,5D0IMG54980,297,1,0,0-ljubljana-slovenia.html

Andrew,

Thanks a lot! Pictures are superb.
Looks to be a very interesting place.
Shall go by your recommendations.

I too just came back from Slovenia. I concur that Ljubljana is a nice city. I had the benefit of being escorted around by some Americans who spend part of the year in Slovenia. In addition to visiting Ljubljana, we went to Jeruzalem in the wine country -- wonderful place. Also -- went to Lake Bled, drove to Croatia and also to Austria. it was a very enjoyable trip. A big bonus -- things were very inexpensive -- and the wine was great!

If you fancy some wine tasting, I much prefer the region of Brda to the west of the country along the border with Italy. There's something like a 100 mostly private family-run vineyards virtually within walking distance of each other, and the area itself is beautiful with all kinds of little villages on top of hills. You can get a little more info here: http://tr.im/goriskabrda