Slovenia · Self-guided walk
Ljubljana in one walk 8 sights, 60 minutes
A self-guided walking tour of the Ljubljana Old Town: 8 sights on one 4.0 km loop, about 60 minutes on foot, back where you started.
No two days to spare? Here is the short version: the big sights in one loop. I would take longer. I always take longer.
At a glance
The walk in numbers.
- Distance
- 4.0 km, a loop
- Time
- about 60 minutes of walking at 4 km/h, plus however long you stop
- Sights
- 8
- Start and finish
- Ljubljanski grad
- Steps
- on Grajska planota, Reber, Kongresni trg, Vodnikov trg, Lutkarska pot
- Cost
- free: no guide, no booking, no tip
The route
Map of the Ljubljana walk: 8 stops, one loop.
The gold line is the walk. The numbers are the stops, in the order you reach them. The pale lines are every other street in the Old Town.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The stops
8 sights in Ljubljana, in walking order.
Each stop says how far the next one is and which streets take you there.
1. Ljubljanski grad
the start
The one uphill stretch in this level, and there is no way round it. A lane up there is named Ulica na grad, and the name is the whole promise. Whatever is waiting on the terrace, you will have earned it a step at a time. This is the one I take in small bites.
Next: Cerkev sv. Jakoba, 680 m, about 10 min, along Grajska planota, Mačja steza, Reber, Stari trg, Levstikov trg.
2. Cerkev sv. Jakoba
about 10 minutes of walking from the start
The far south end of the walk, and the reason to go is the lane that takes you there. From Stari trg the roofline steps down and the way gets tighter, and Gornji trg is the oldest slice of the Old Town left. Then the belfry is opposite you, across the road.
Next: Robbov vodnjak, 490 m, about 7 min, along Levstikov trg, Stari trg, Mestni trg.
3. Robbov vodnjak
about 18 minutes of walking from the start
It sits in front of the town hall and everybody points a camera at the upper end of it. Look down instead. The outline of the basin repeats the old seal of the town, so the plan at your feet is older than anything above it.
Next: Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, 420 m, about 6 min, along Mestni trg, Novi trg.
4. Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica
about 24 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Mon–Fri 08:00–20:00, Sat 09:00–14:00, Sun closed
From outside this is the plainest thing on the walk: a brick box with rough blocks shoved out of the wall at random, except none of it is random. It sits in the far south-west corner of the level, which is the quietest end of it. Go in the front way and lift your head before you do anything else.
Next: Prešernov trg, 430 m, about 6 min, along Gosposka ulica, Kongresni trg, Wolfova ulica.
5. Prešernov trg
about 30 minutes of walking from the start
Everything in this level hinges here. Three bridges leave the square shoulder to shoulder as one crossing, the Tromostovje, and every route through the Old Town wants to use them. Stop in the middle and count the ways out.
Next: Konjički, 270 m, about 4 min, along Miklošičeva cesta.
Lunch break
Gostilna Šestica, Slovenska cesta 40, about 180 m off the route, open Mon–Fri 10:00–23:00, Sat 12:00–23:00, Sun 12:00–17:00.
The oldest house in town still feeding people, in business since 1776, and named after nothing grander than a street number. More on what to eat in Ljubljana.
6. Konjički
about 34 minutes of walking from the start
The northernmost pin, and the easiest one to walk straight past. Whatever you are looking for is at knee height, not at eye height, and that is the whole trick of it. Knee height I know about. It is where I live.
Next: Žitni most, 690 m, about 10 min, along Prečna ulica, Trubarjeva cesta, Petkovškovo nabrežje.
7. Žitni most
about 45 minutes of walking from the start
The east end, the last pin before this level runs out. Cars never got a say here. Go out onto it and turn back toward the ridge: the covered market arcade runs along the bank in one unbroken line, which you cannot see from the bank itself.
Next: Vodnikov trg, 400 m, about 6 min, along Poljanski nasip, Adamič-Lundrovo nabrežje, Vodnikov trg.
8. Vodnikov trg
about 51 minutes of walking from the start
A market fills this square most mornings, so you smell it before you see anything. Come early. The stalls reach right in under the arcade by the river, and from here the whole level runs downhill in every direction I care about.
Back to the start: Ljubljanski grad, 580 m, about 9 min, along Ovinki, Grajska planota.
Every stop counts from the street; the hours are for going inside. Opening hours from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check before you go.
After the walk
The rest of Ljubljana.
This loop is 8 sights. The Old Town is 106 streets, and I have opinions about all of them. Every street of the Ljubljana Old Town, with what to eat and where.
Cobble Gobble is a walking game for iPhone: every street is a line of dots you collect by walking it, and the phone stays in your pocket. Your first city is free.