Hidden Gems of Slovenia

This Riviera Travel small group tour opens in Ljubljana, where visitors discover the city’s pedestrianised Old Town with its white-walled buildings, 15th-century castle atop Castle Hill, and the Triple Bridge designed by Jože Plečnik. A guided walk reveals the intricate details of the Baroque Church of St. Nicholas and the salmon-coloured Franciscan Church of the Annunciation beside the river.

The itinerary crosses to the Adriatic coast with a visit to Piran, whose Venetian-gothic architecture is unusual for Slovenia. The town square, once the inner harbour, is paved with marble, and visitors can climb the town walls for views over the gulf. Nearby, at Lipica Stud Farm, the small white Lipizzan horses, with a history dating back over 440 years, perform intricate routines on the farm that has bred them for generations.

Inland journeys bring you to Ptuj, Slovenia’s oldest town with its medieval castle, and Maribor, home to the world’s oldest fruitful grapevine growing since the 17th century. The final day at Lake Bled presents a boat trip to its island with the Church of the Assumption and an opportunity to sample the famous Bled cream cake. The tour avoids gloss and leaves time for local discoveries and moments to simply watch the lake’s clear surface ripple with alpine breezes.