Unspoilt nature, the big asset of Slovenian tourism

This small corner of Europe shelters a little bit of everything, from the Alpine and Mediterranean landscapes to Karst and Pannonian realms. Slovenia made its name by unspoilt nature and a good quality of life, offering tourists the opportunity to experience a different kind of holiday, to have a genuine, permanent contact with nature at every step.

Slovenia’s towns and villages owe their appearance to earlier times – with churches, monasteries and castles dating back to the Romanesque period, the first medieval towns, Renaissance manors and town houses, Baroque architecture, neoclassical parks and palaces, Art Nouveau hotels and banks. The large number of revamped façades in Slovenia’s towns are living proves of the respect with which the architectural achievements of the past are treated. Slovenia’s well-conserved castles often shelter museums, art galleries and prestigious events venues. Towns, market towns, villages and isolated farmhouses boast unique architectural features that are luring visitors to stop by.

Slovenia is actually a country of 200 museums and museum collections. The most important heritage is kept by the National Museum, the Ethnographic Museum and the Natural History Museum. Museums of European importance include the First World War Museum in Kobarid, a former winner of the Council of Europe Museum Prize. Museums in Ljubljana and elsewhere feature unique items such as the Divje Babe Flute and the oldest wheel in the world.

Slovenia also enjoys a widespread built heritage, including 2,500 churches, 1,000 castles, ruins, and manor houses, farmhouses, and special structures to dry hay, called hayracks (kozolci).

Three historic sites in Slovenia are included on UNESCO World Heritage list. The Škocjan Caves, which boast the largest underground canyon in the world, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. The list of wetlands protected by the Ramsar Convention includes the Se?ovlje saltpans, proclaimed in 1993, Lake Cerknica, part of the karst basin of the river Ljubljanica, proclaimed in 2006, and the system of underground wetlands in the Škocjan Caves, proclaimed in 1999.

One of the most remarkable karst sites in Slovenia is the intermittent Lake Cerknica. In spring and autumn, when the lake fills up, its surface covers up to 38 km2, thus becoming the largest Slovenian lake.

The Idrija Mercury mining site is also of world importance, as well as the prehistoric pile dwellings in the Ljubljana Marshes.

The most picturesque church is the medieval and Baroque building on Bled Island. The castle above the lake is a museum and restaurant with a view.

Its capital city, Ljubljana, is a unique showcase of the achievements of the eminent European architect Ljubljana. In the first half of the 20th century the great architect Jože Ple?nik left a powerful personal architectural stamp on modern Ljubljana, making it now a lively city where the old blends harmoniously with the new and it is as though the entire history of the five millennia that have passed since the first settlement appeared here has prepared it to be a national capital.

Six routes leading off main roads offer travellers through Slovenia the chance to see what sets Slovenia apart and discover its traditions, sights and pleasures. Each year the Next Exit project issues brochures presenting the Amber Route, the Wind Route, the Emerald Route, the Golden Horn Route, the Peddler Route and the Sun Route. For instance, Slovenia’s Wine Routes are not only attractive to wine lovers but to all who want to truly experience the pulse of rural life.