slovenia trip blog

How to Plan the Perfect Slovenia Itinerary (3-10 Days in Europe’s Hidden Gem)

By: Author Taylor Lorenz

Posted on Last updated: 10/25/2023

I’m really glad that you clicked on this article (not just because I wrote it) because Slovenia is one hell of a destination. I’m here to help you create the ideal Slovenia itinerary for your upcoming trip so you can explore the best of Europe’s hidden gem.

Tucked between countries that overshadow Slovenia such as Austria , Croatia (you can easily combine this itinerary with your Croatia itinerary ) and Italy, it really makes one question why more people don’t visit this picturesque country when they’re so close.

Slovenia tourism has only picked up over the last couple of years and in the next few I have no doubt that this country is going to boom.

If you love the outdoors, adventure, coastal cities, charming capitals, stunning blue-green lakes, hiking, wine and good food, or even just one or two of these things then Slovenia is for you.

Let’s jump into this Slovenia travel guide that covers where to go in Slovenia, what to see in Slovenia and what to do in Slovenia for your Slovenia holidays!

All prices are quoted in Euros and were accurate at the time of writing. Check up-to-date conversions here .

Table of Contents

Slovenia Fast Facts

Currency:  Euro Languages:  Slovenian (official), Hungarian and Italian (co-official), English is widely spoken Population:  2 million Religion:  Majority Christian

Slovenia Itinerary

How this Slovenia trip itinerary works: I recommend the number of days for each destination and you choose where you want to visit! Since Slovenia is so small it really isn’t an issue choosing any destination as it only takes 4 hours to drive across the entire country so you will always spend less than half a day travelling from A to B.

Slovenia Itineraries by Length

3 days in slovenia, 5 days in slovenia, 1 week in slovenia, 10 days in slovenia.

• Soca Valley
• Piran (or an eastern destination of your choice)

Daily Breakdown of My Slovenia Trip Itinerary

Ljubljana: 2-4 Days

Ljubljana is Slovenia’s absolutely charming capital city and one of the top places to visit in Slovenia that is sure to win you over.

If you plan on visiting other parts of the country then 2 days in Ljubljana will suffice or you can opt to use Ljubljana as your base and take day trips to pretty much anywhere in the country.

DAY ONE: Take in the capital as I always suggest for every destination, by doing a free walking tour . In the afternoon be sure to time it so that you end up at the Ljubljana Castle where you have enough time to explore the castle during daylight but then be able to watch sunset from the highest spot in town.

DAY TWO: Start your morning by roaming through town once again, this capital is truly charming to just wander through. If you haven’t yet, check out the dragons on Dragon Bridge and make your way through the central market.

For the most relaxing sightseeing experience in the city then be sure to hop on a river cruise and will take you around town. Afterward, make sure to find the street art around Hostel Celica .

Leave yourself hungry for the afternoon, where you can join a food that is either self-guided or with a guide that combines both food and wine . You’ve got options though, you can skip on the food and simply go wine tasting or even beer tasting (I recommend the wine though, Slovenia has got some good stuff!).

DAY THREE: Time to get out of the city. You have the choice of a few different day trips but the most popular Slovenia day trips are to Lake Bled or Postojna. Postojna is a cave made famous for its sheer size not far from Ljubljana that is typically combined with a visit to the beautiful Predjama Castle that’s built into the side of a cliff.

Lake Bled is a destination in itself to visit but if you’re short on time it’s possible to do a day trip from Ljubljana.

Lastly, it is possible to combine a trip to Lake Bled and Postojna, just expect there to be quite a bit of driving as they are in opposite directions of Ljubljana!

DAY FOUR: Take a second day trip to one of the above mentioned or opt to visit some of the museums in the city.

READ MORE: 18 Lively Things to do in Ljubljana &  Where to Stay in Ljubljana

Lake Bled: 1-3 Days

Lake Bled is actually just the lake, the name of the town is simply Bled, however, Lake Bled is more known. This small town is the postcard perfect destination that I’m positive you have seen a picture of before.

Bled is without a question, where you must visit when in Slovenia. It is extremely popular, especially in the summer months of July and August, but it’s still worth going to.

If you’re short on time you can get into Bled and see the lake, walk around the lake and up to a viewpoint or the castle in a day. If you have more time I highly recommend staying for 1-2 nights so that you can explore beyond the lake as there is even more beauty within walking or biking distance.

DAY ONE:  Spend your first day around the lake, that is why you’re visiting right?! Take a walk or cycle around the lake, hike up to a viewpoint, take a ride in a boat and visit the Bled Castle.

If it’s warm enough you can even go for a swim in the lake. You’ve done a few of top Slovenia attractions just in a day!

You can do all of these things with this awesome tour from Bled or Ljubljana . Oh, and don’t forget to try the famous Bled Cake! Take a pic with it and send it to me when you do!

DAY TWO: It’s time to see some of the absolutely stunning natural attractions around Bled. Rent a bike or walk to Vintgar Gorge, a magical place to walk along the boardwalk and take in the absolutely stunning views. If it a far walk but it’s possible.

If you’ve got the energy in the afternoon then head to Straža Bled where in the summer you can ride down the hill or in the winter it becomes a ski slope!

DAY THREE: Once again it’s time to get outdoors. Book a tour that will take you canoying , rafting , a combination of both , kayaking or even night canyoning !

If you opt for a half-day activity you can spend the rest of your time around the lake, perhaps having a second slice of Bled cake or trying some of the local wine with wine tasting .

READ MORE: 19 Breathtaking Things to do in Lake Bled &  Where to Stay in Lake Bled

Bohinj: 1-3 Days

Think Lake Bled is beautiful? That’s because you havent heard of or seen Lake Bohinj. I personally think Bohinj is one of the best places in Slovenia. It’s a region just twenty-some kilometres from Bled that offers a much more relaxed atmosphere compared to Bled thanks to fewer visitors.

Bohinj, like Bled, in amongst the Julian Alps and offers itself as a prime destination in the summer for swimming, hiking, kayaking and even horseback riding with blue-green waters shimmering in the lake.

It’s possible to visit Bohinj in a day (that’s what I did) and have yourself based in Bled or there are now two hostels in Bohinj (be sure to see if they’re open though if you’re travelling here outside of summer)!

DAY ONE: If you only have one day I would advise you to simply walk around the lake and take in the beauty. If it’s warm enough you can jump into the water for a swim or some kayaking.

I walked around half of the lake and fit in a hike through Mostnica Gorge which was breathtaking with the fall colours when I went. Lastly, it is possible to fit in a hike to Savica waterfall if you really want to see it. Otherwise, just enjoying relaxing by the lake!

DAY TWO: On your second day explore mount Vogel. In the wintertime it’s a ski resort area to hit the slopes but in other seasons it’s awesome for hiking. You can actually hike all the way up for the best view over Lake Bohinj or you can opt to take the cable car up.

DAY THREE: This day is just in case you prefer to explore Bohinj at a more leisurely pace. There is a lot of walking/hiking on both of the days above.

Postojna: 1/2 Day

Postojna is actually a massive cave and one of Slovenia’s most popular attractions. Don’t dismiss it just because it’s a cave. That’s what I did at first, thinking that I’ve seen a ton of caves and that this one wouldn’t be special. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Postojna cave is the largest in Europe and is 24km long. Yes, you read that right. But don’t worry you’re definitely not walking that, instead you get to ride this awesome train through the cave with parts that you get off to walk through (obviously only the best parts!).

You can find more information on Postojna cave on the official website .

To visit Postojna cave you can take a bus on your own or take a half day tour which is typically combined with a visit to the really cool castle that’s built into the side of a cliff, Predjama Castle. I recommend doing both.

Soca Valley: 1-2 Days

The Soca Valley is a beautiful region in the northwest of Slovenia that is home to one of the most beautiful rivers in all of Europe, the Soca River. Travellers venture to this region to participate in adventure activities in the river and to take in the beauty. But this tranquil spot was once home to some of the most burtal battles during WWI.

Bovec is the most popular area in the region and an ideal spot to base yourself. You can still see the beauty of the region on day trips from Ljubljana or Bled.

DAY ONE: No need for an itinerary here, just pick which activities you want to do: rafting , kayaking , cayoning or rock climbing !

DAY TWO: This is really only possible if you have a car. Visit a waterfall, Boka, drive the highest road in Slovenia, Mangart Saddle, visit the country’s largest alpine lake, Krn Lake and check out Tolmin Gorge.

Piran: 2-3 Days

Piran is a beautiful coastal town nudged betwen Croatia and Italy (sounds awesome already, right?). Visitors and locals alike flock here in the summer which is the peak travel season to hit the beaches and enjoy some coastal, Mediterranean vibes.

However, this coastal town is still pretty and just as charming (perhaps more so without the tourists) in other seasons.

DAY ONE: Start your time in Piran with a walking tour (as I always suggest!). In the afternoon spend some more time around town, taking in Tartini Square from the top of the bell tower, relaxing by the harbour and trying more of the local dishes.

DAY TWO: Hit the beaches for a day of relaxation. If you want some activity try the walk from Piran to Strunjan and don’t miss sunset!

DAY THREE: Join an e-bike tour where you’ll enjoy more food and wine tastings and visit the best view in Piran where you can see as far as the Dolomites in Italy, the Alps and Croatia.

Maribor: 1-2 Days

Maribor is Slovenia’s second largest city after the capital of Ljubljana but Maribor is only a third of a size. The biggest draw to Maribor is one thing: wine. But that’s not the only draw! This charming city is more like a large town and is the gateway to Pohorje where you can get out in nature with hiking, skiing and great views.

DAY ONE: Keep it simple: explore the town and drink all the wine. Tours offered for this depart from Ljubljana.

DAY TWO: Visit the Old Vine House (here you’ll see the oldest grapevine in the world), stroll through Lent (the oldest part of the town) and the Jewish quarter and see the views from the top of Pohorje.

Best Time to Visit Slovenia

There really is no best time to travel to Slovenia as different areas of the country have their prime weather during varying times of the year and some of the country’s top spots are ideal for your trip based on what you want to do.

Summer (June-August) is by far the most popular time to visit Slovenia. The capital, Ljubljana, Lake Bled, the coastal city of Piran and the Soca Valley become busy for their outdoor activities.

If you’re planning on visiting during the summer be sure to book accommodation in advance and expect higher prices but great weather (30°C+, 87°F+ but 5-10 degrees cooler in the northeast in places such as Bled).

Fall (September-November) is perhaps the most beautiful time to visit Slovenia as the fall foliage is possibly some of the best (I’m from Canada so I know what good fall foliage looks like!) in all of Europe.

Temperatures will drop, expect 10-mid 20’s Celsius (50-77°F) with cooler temperatures as November approaches and in the northeast. Rainfall also picks up but won’t ruin a trip. Prices will get cheaper, many outdoor activities such as hiking are even better in the cooler weather and there will be fewer people, plus it’s wine harvesting season!

If you’re not visiting Slovenia to hit the slopes then it’s recommended that you skip this tiny country in the winter months (December-February) as the temperatures drop with an average temperature of -2°C (28°F). Slovenia is absolutely a gem of a destination for skiing with many ski resorts but it’s definitely not ideal for sightseeing.

Spring in Slovenia (March-May) is the most unpredictable season. Temperatures vary significantly as the weather changes from winter to summer but May typically brings bright, warm, sunny days with lower prices just before peak season begins.

Slovenia Travel Costs (How Much You Should Budget)

Slovenia can be a cheap country or it can be an expensive country. You can expect prices to be closer to Western Europe than Eastern Europe prices but you can keep costs down if you plan on doing more outdoor activities, leaving you only to pay for food and accommodation (cuz hiking is free!).

A backpacking budget of €50-100 per day is realistic with hostels costing between €15-20, meals, if eating budget meals, will be around €5 and travel between destinations varies with buses costing as low as €2 but as much as €20. This budget doesn’t allow too much frivolous spending on nicer restaurants or tours.

A mid-range budget of €150-200 per day is ideal if you want to stay in hotels (€50-100 per night) eat nicer meals out (€10-30) and enjoy some day trips (€35-100).

A high-end budget of €300+ per day will have you staying in high-end hotels (€150-200 per night), eating nicer meals (€20-50), being able to do whatever tours or day trips you want and overall just live the life!

How to get to Slovenia

As a small country in the centre of Europe Slovenia is very easy to get too. There is only one international airport in the country, Jože Pučnik Airport (Ljubljana Airport) that is 30 minutes outside of the capital.

Flying into Slovenia is pricey though, but you may catch a deal as two budget airlines (Easy Jet and Wizz Air) do fly into the country.

A cheaper option is to fly to a neighbouring city such as Zagreb in Croatia or Trieste in Italy or even Venice and then take transport to Slovenia. This option may involve buses and trains and transfers but GoOpti provides direct transfers for affordable prices across Slovenia and the surrounding regions.

It is also possible to get to Slovenia from surrounding countries by bus or train, both of which are frequent.

Getting Around Slovenia

Slovenia is a beautiful country with great roads to drive through. It’s ideal especially if you’re taking a road trip through any of the surrounding countries too such as Croatia , Austria or Italy.

More budget friendly options include taking buses or trains. Train travel in Slovenia is easy and consists of short rides since the country is so small. Tickets can be bought at stations and certain travel agencies.

Bus travel in Slovenia is even cheaper and will get you to everywhere you need to go, including the smaller towns in the countryside. Tickets can be bought at bus stations or on the bus. You can find more information and routes on GetByBus.com .

Travel Insurance Slovenia

Where to go in Slovenia

Here are some of the best places to visit in Slovenia. I’ll be honest, I haven’t been to all of these Slovenia destinations but I’m including them because they just may be perfect for your Slovenia itinerary.

How Long to Spend in Slovenia?

Believe it or not, some people do Slovenia as a day trip and say they have seen the country in just a day! To each their own but you can thank me later for recommending that you stay a little longer in Slovenia.

Most visitors stay for 3-5 days, however, staying a week means you can see the country more leisurely or explore beyond the hottest tourist spots.

Personally, I stayed for 6 days and found it perfect. I was visiting in October so I skipped on the summer destinations such are Piran but adored the fall foliage in Bled.

That’s it from me, enjoy your Slovenia vacation!

Must Read Posts About Slovenia

• Slovenia Trip Planning Resources

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Slovenia was a Stunning Surprise

I left my hotel in Ljubljana in search of a wine bar. Google Maps brought up two close by, but the one that said “happy hour” got my attention. After crossing the Triple Bridge, I turned left toward the central market and stumbled across a beer-and-burger festival. Stalls for burger joints and breweries from all over Slovenia lined the plaza. Crowds meandered along the rows, ordering food and drinks. A DJ played music and the nearby steps were filled with people sitting and socializing.

It was a wonderful surprise that caused me to abandon my original plans.

And that sums up my time in Slovenia: it was a wonderful surprise.

Slovenia has been on my list of places to visit for many years, but I just never managed to get there. I was not going to make that mistake on this trip. I was already in next-door Croatia so it would be an easy train ride away.

Home to just over two million people, Slovenia is an oft-overlooked Central European country with a tumultuous past. While tourist hordes flock to Czechia , only a fraction of them visit Slovenia.

Humans have lived here for 250,000 years. The Romans built up the area, especially the capital of Ljubljana, which was a popular trading center. The region was eventually annexed by the Austrian Empire. After World War II, present-day Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia until 1991, when it became independent for the first time in its existence.

When I asked my friends about their visits there, they mentioned how small it was: I could spend a couple of days in Ljubljana, do day trips from there, and visit Piran on the coast; if I really wanted, I could spend a night in Bled. Based on what they said, I felt like a week would be more than enough time to see everything I wanted to.

As the train crossed the border from Croatia and glided toward the capital, I was awestruck by the impressive mountains, verdant farmland, and snaking rivers we were passing. The small villages reminded me of Austria (which lies just to the north). I was immediately impressed.

My plan was to spend two days in Ljubljana, two in Bled, go somewhere else, and then head back to the capital for a final day and a half before I flew home.

After arriving in Ljubljana in mid-afternoon, upon reflecting on all the moving around in my plan, I decided to follow my friends’ advice of using the capital as a base.

After spending my first day on a historical walking tour , visiting castles, and meandering through the Old Town district, I headed to Lake Bled, famous for the church on the island in its center . The area is beautiful: the lake is surrounded by trees, the town looks like something out of a fairytale, there’s a castle perched high on a hill overlooking the lake.

There are also lots of adventure sports and hiking trails to take advantage of in the region. During my first day there, I hiked a few trails around the lake, had the best salad ever (the avocado salad at), and then hiked up to the castle, which, while it provided some good views, was a little too rebuilt for me. It felt more like Disney than an old castle.

The following day, I hiked Vintgar Gorge before heading back to Ljubljana. The gorge is about 45 minutes from Bled, with canyon walls that tower 50-100 meters (160-330 feet). It stretches over 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) and is home to pools, rapids, and a picturesque waterfall. There are also numerous other hiking trails nearby. As I hiked back to Bled and looked out at the small farm towns and mountains in the distance, I thought back to that train ride into town. That beauty was not an aberration. Slovenia is just a stunning, stunning country.

Back in Ljubljana, I spent my final days exploring the capital. Sure, it’s small, but there is a lot to do. I took a street art tour and a food tour , stumbled across that burger festival, and hit all the history museums to learn about this fabulous country and city. Ljubljana is small but it’s quaint, easy-going, arty, and a good outdoors city with all the bike trails and parks. I liked its laid-back vibe.

I also did a half-day trip to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle . Postojna, discovered in the 17th century, is a massive karst cave that covers over 24,000 meters (79,130 feet), cut from the rock by the Pivka River. It’s the largest cave in the country. While it was physically impressive, the overall experience was mediocre: it’s very commercialized, with a train ride and giant tour groups being led around like cattle. It wasn’t my favorite cave experience.

The castle, though, was excellent, having been built into a cave on the side of a mountain. The original fortifications were constructed in the 13th century, eventually becoming the home of Erasmus of Lueg, a knight and robber baron. It fell to the Hapsburgs during a siege, after which a new Renaissance castle was constructed (which is the one that exists today).

At the end of my time in Slovenia, I felt like I had let myself down. I had missed so much: Lake Bohinj, the wine regions, Piran and its salt pans, Mt. Triglav, the Logar Valley, and just so many other things. I wondered, “Did I really use my time effectively?” Heck, I even missed sites in Ljubljana, and I was there for over four days!

I felt a pang of regret.

But then I thought about all the things I did do: the walking tours and hikes, the museums, the lunches with friends who happened to be in town, the meandering, eating, drinking, and more eating…and then I realized, “Well, I sort of actually did do a lot.”

And that’s when I really became impressed with Slovenia. When I thought about everything I’d done and how much still was left, it was like a light bulb switched on: There’s a lot to do in this tiny country!

I had always heard, “Oh, you only need a few days there to see it all,” but actually you don’t — you need a lot longer. Weeks even! Even if I had used the day I worked to sightsee instead, I would still have a laundry list of places that would have been impossible to see during my week in the country.

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Book Your Trip to Slovenia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too.

Want More Information on Slovenia? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Slovenia  for even more planning tips!

Hi, I’m Nomadic Matt, the New York Times best-selling author of How to Travel the World on $50 a Day and Ten Years a Nomad, as well as the founder of this website! And I’m here to help you save money on your next trip.

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The Perfect 7 Day Slovenia Road Trip Itinerary

Slovenia may be a tiny country, but it is, above all else, an intensely beautiful one. This Slovenia itinerary will show you the absolute best highlights of the country on a fun Slovenia road trip!

Slovenia is one of our favorite countries to road trip in Europe: its small size combined with its wildly diverse beauty, ranging from villages dotted with terracotta rooftops on the Adriatic Sea all the way to dramatic mountain peaks in Triglav National Park, make it incredibly rewarding to explore by car.

From stunning Lake Bled to adorable Piran, and from the dramatic beauty of the Julian Alps to the laid-back city of Ljubljana, here’s how to spend an unforgettable 7 days in Slovenia.

Table of Contents

How We Structured This Slovenia Itinerary

Renting a car for your slovenia road trip, can this slovenia itinerary work without a car, the perfect slovenia road trip itinerary, where to stay in slovenia, slovenia itinerary map, more than 7 days in slovenia, what to pack for a trip to slovenia.

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We’ve designed this 7 day Slovenia itinerary as a road trip, winding from the capital of Ljubljana, past Slovenia’s most beloved mountain lakes, through the stunning Julian Alps, and all the way down to the Adriatic Sea, before looping back to the capital city to catch your plane home.

That sounds like a much further journey than it is–if you drove this Slovenia road trip route straight through without detours or hikes, the driving would only take 6-8 hours–but that’s part of the joy of traveling in Slovenia: for such a small country, it is packed with a fantastic array of things to do and see.

While we intentionally started and ended this Slovenia itinerary in the capital city of Ljubljana, as that’s where you’ll likely fly into on a standalone trip, Slovenia can also be combined with either Italy, Croatia, Austria, or some combination of those for an amazing trip!

If you’re heading to Slovenia from outside of Europe, here’s a travel hint for planning your itinerary: check the flights to Venice if Ljubljana looks pricey. Venice is only a few hours from Piran and also makes an excellent starting point for this itinerary.

For most people, of course, taking a Slovenia road trip will require renting a car.

We recommend renting a small car through Discover Cars , which will allow you to compare the prices and inclusions of multiple companies at the same time and choose the best car for you from there.

For the purposes of this Slovenia itinerary, we recommend picking up a car the morning you leave Ljubljana–there’s no reason to pick one up for the night you spend in the city, as parking it will likely be a hassle and you won’t need it for exploring the capital.

Check rates & book your rental car with Discover Cars today!

For the most part, yes.

While we strongly believe that Slovenia is best experienced on a road trip, and you’ll absolutely see more of the country by driving yourself, if you can’t or would rather not drive, you can still cover the vast majority of the sights included on this Slovenia road trip itinerary through a combination public transportation and guided tours.

If you’re not planning to drive, we recommend basing yourself in Ljubljana and traveling from there.

This popular day trip to Lake Bled and Vintgar Gorge and this day trip to Piran, Predjama Castle, and the Postojna Caves will give you a good idea about what options are available for guided tours around Slovenia.

Day 1: Arrive in Ljubljana and start exploring.

If you’re flying into Slovenia, you’ll almost certainly arrive in the colorful, funky capital city of Ljubljana–and if you’re anything like us and basically any of our friends who have visited, you’ll immediately become smitten with it.

Ljubljana is an incredibly fun city, full of bustling cafes and interesting sights watched over by the ever-present Ljubljana Castle that looms over it.

While you’re there, be sure to check out the incredible (and incredibly intense) street art in Metelkova, snap photos at the Dragon Bridge, soak in the views from the grounds of the castle, and see the colorful Preseren Square.

Right by the square, you’ll be able to spot the city’s famous Triple Bridge, a unique piece of architecture that feels right at home in Ljubljana.

If you don’t have a chance to hit all the places you’d like in Ljubljana today, don’t worry–this Slovenia itinerary will loop back to the capital before you leave.

Where to Stay in Ljubljana

H2O Hostel — For the perfect combination of an ideal location and excellent reviews, while sticking to a budget, look no further than the popular H2O Hostel, located a mere 5-minute walk from the Triple Bridge. With both private room and dorm options, H2O Hostel is a flexible and fun place to stay in Ljubljana.

Check rates & book your stay at H2O Hostel today!

B&B Petra Varl — Located at the foot of Castle Hill and set in a 16th-century building in central Ljubljana, B&B Petra Varl is located within walking distance of the city’s major sights, gets excellent reviews, and beautiful city views.

Check rates & book your stay at B&B Petra Varl today!

Antiq Palace — Tucked into a quiet courtyard and housed in a former aristocratic home dating to the 16th century, this luxurious boutique hotel is within easy walking distance of Ljubljana’s most popular sights and features gorgeous rooms, excellent reviews, and two beautiful courtyards.

Check rates & book your stay at Antiq Palace today!

Day 2: Visit beautiful Lake Bled.

If you’re actively planning a trip to Slovenia, you’ve probably already seen Lake Bled about a thousand times in photos. Without a doubt, the view of tiny Bled Island nestled in the center of the large lake is the most famous image of Slovenia.

… And the reality is even lovelier than the photos can convey.

Lake Bled is an incredibly beautiful place that belongs on any Slovenia road trip itinerary.

While you’re there, visit Bled Castle for incredible views of the lake, rent a rowboat to head out to Bled Island (and the Church of the Assumption that sits on it), go swimming if the weather permits, sample a tasty piece of Bled Cream Cake, and hike along (or above) the lake.

Where to Stay in Bled

Villa Mint & Lavender — Featuring excellent reviews and housed in a local home, Villa Mint & Lavender is located within walking distance of Bled Castle and Lake Bled and is a quiet and beautiful place to rest during your time at the lake.

Check rates & book your stay at Villa Mint & Lavender!

Guest House Mlino — Located right on the shores of Lake Bled, Guest House Mlino has all the features you could hope for in a place to stay in Bled: excellent views, an onsite restaurants, great reviews, and easy access to all the best things to do in Bled–including a boat rental station right in front of the guest house.

Check rates & book your stay at Guest House Mlino!

Vila Bled — As the former summer home of President Tito, you know that Vila Bled is bound to be luxurious–and it is. Set in a gorgeous building right on Lake Bled, Vila Bled offers unparalleled views, spacious rooms, and an onsite restaurant, all tied together with excellent service.

Check rates & book your stay at Vila Bled!

Day 3: Check out Lake Bohinj and the Vintgar Gorge.

Bigger and slightly less manicured than–yet every bit as beautiful as–Lake Bled, Lake Bohinj is the perfect next stop on your Slovenia itinerary.

Whether you want to rent a boat, go swimming, or try out one of the many hikes near the lake, you’ll no doubt enjoy your time there.

Personally, we recommend making time for a visit to nearby Savica Falls as part of your day in and around Lake Bohinj. It’s easily accessible with a short walk and one of our favorite waterfalls in Slovenia (which is very high praise).

For the second half of your day, also consider heading to the stunning Vintgar Gorge to enjoy a different kind of natural beauty while hiking along its beautiful boardwalks.

Day 4: Go for a hike in Triglav National Park. 

In our opinion, Triglav National Park is among the most stunning national parks in Europe–and we don’t say that lightly.

Centered around Mount Triglav, the highest peak in the Julian Alps, the park is expansive and covers everything from the stunning Soca River Valley to the peaks of seemingly endless mountains.

Technically, the third day of this Slovenia itinerary already touches on Triglav National Park–Lake Bohinj is inside its borders–but it’s worth setting aside a full day to explore the park with a beautiful hike.

If you’d rather not climb high, look for something in the Soca River Valley, or consider chasing a couple of waterfalls (Pericnik Falls is fairly easy to access and stunning).

If you would like to see the mountains from above, there are dozens of trails to choose from! The photo below is a view of the Vrata Valley we found when hiking toward Sleme from near Mojstrana.

Day 5: Get underground (and visit a castle).

From soaring mountain peaks to incredible caves: the fifth day of your Slovenia road trip is likely to be a complete opposite from your fourth.

Slovenia is home to two popular caves, located about 30 minutes apart by car.

Choose one to explore this morning–personally, we chose to visit Skocjan Caves, which features an absolutely mesmerizing underground river and holds a UNESCO World Heritage distinction.

With a resume like that, you’d think they’d be the most popular caves in Slovenia, but no–Postojna Cave holds that designation. These caves are a bit busier and more developed, but still incredible to visit.

After finishing up your cave experience, head to Predjama Castle to check out another unique feature of Slovenia: a castle built right into the cliffside!

Day 6: Relax in picturesque Piran.

Charming Piran is the jewel of Slovenia’s small slice of Adriatic coastline, and the perfect place to kick back and relax as your Slovenia road trip nears its end.

Set on a tiny peninsula that juts into the sea, be sure to climb Piran’s town walls during your stay for the best view of its gorgeous setting.

Piran is also an excellent place for a swim in the sea, and for wandering semi-aimlessly up and down the charming maze of streets (you can’t get too lost on a peninsula this size!).

Be sure to also check out Piran’s beautiful marina, pass through Tartini Square, and visit St. George’s Cathedral during your time in Piran.

Where to Stay in Piran

Hostel Pirano — Located in the heart of historic Piran, Hostel Pirano is a reliably comfortable place to stay on a budget in Piran. With excellent reviews and both dorm and private accommodation available, you can’t ask for a better combination of convenience and price when visiting Piran.

Check rates & book your stay at Hostel Pirano!

Hotel Zala Piran — With comfortable rooms, a great included breakfast, and–as of a few years ago, at least–an adorable dog named Stella who lives downstairs, Hotel Zala Piran is an excellent option for mid-range travelers. Though it has undergone a name change since we were there, this is where we stayed in Piran, and we’d be happy to return.

Check rates & book your stay at Hotel Zala Piran!

Hotel Piran — Set right up against the sea and in the historic center of the city, Hotel Piran is one of the most popular places to stay in the city–and with good reason. With thousands of excellent reviews, swimming access right outside the door, and an included breakfast that guests rave about, you can’t go wrong with a stay at Hotel Piran.

Check rates & book your stay at Hotel Piran!

Day 7: Head back to Ljubljana & say goodbye to Slovenia.

As you prepare to say goodbye to Slovenia, make your way back to Ljubljana to turn your rental car in and head home (or to your next destination, as the case may be).

The drive from Piran to Ljubljana is only around 1.5 hours, so if you have extra time on your hands, consider exploring any sights in Ljubljana that you didn’t have a chance for the day you arrived in Slovenia.

You’ll likely want to move hotels throughout this Slovenia road trip–we’d recommend staying in Ljubljana, followed by staying in (or near) Bled for the next couple of nights, then in Triglav National Park, followed by staying overnight in (or near) Piran.

We’ve provided recommendations above, but as the potential places to stay when you visit Triglav National Park are so incredibly widespread and varied, that we didn’t specify any recommendations.

Personally, we stayed in this apartment near Mojstrana during our time in Triglav National Park and can’t recommend the location (or the wonderful Airbnb hosts ) enough.

Take This Map With You! Click each highlight to pull up the name of the destination. To save this map to “Your Places” on Google Maps, click the star to the right of the title. You’ll then be able to find it under the Maps tab of your Google Maps account! To open the map in a new window, click the button on the top right of the map.

If you’re lucky enough to have more than a week in Slovenia, our first piece of advice would be to slow down and spend more time in each and every one of the places we included on this Slovenia itinerary, rather than adding on more stops.

Triglav National Park, in particular, can soak up tons of time, especially if you’re an avid hiker!

We once spent a week staying inside the park, and still constantly dream about returning to explore the area more thoroughly.

With more than 7 days in Slovenia, also consider heading to Bovec, often dubbed the adventure capital of Slovenia and an excellent place for exploring the Soca Valley, checking out the picturesque Tolmin Gorge, and stopping by the offbeat-but-beautiful city of Maribor. 

Travel Insurance — We don’t ever suggest traveling without travel insurance–anything can happen, and an exciting Slovenia road trip is definitely a case of better safe than sorry. We use and recommend World Nomads for trips to Slovenia.

Comfortable Day Bag  — We currently use  Pacsafe’s sleek anti-theft backpack  and love it, but if you don’t want to shell out the cash for this trip, that’s totally understandable. Just aim for something comfortable to wear, not flashy, and medium-sized–we used a  Northface Jester backpack  for years and loved it as well.

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About Kate Storm

In May 2016, I left my suburban life in the USA and became a full-time traveler. Since then, I have visited 50+ countries on 5 continents and lived in Portugal, developing a special love of traveling in Europe (especially Italy) along the way. Today, along with my husband Jeremy and dog Ranger, I’m working toward my eventual goal of splitting my life between Europe and the USA.

2 thoughts on “The Perfect 7 Day Slovenia Road Trip Itinerary”

Thank you so much for sharing this itinerary! My sister and I used this as a guide for our Slovenia trip last summer and we absolutely loved it.

That’s wonderful to hear, thank you Hannah! So glad you had a great time.

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Slovenia travel blog — the fullest slovenia travel guide for first-timers.

Slovenia is not a popular tourist destination, so there is not much online  Slovenia travel guide as well as tips. The guide that we share in this article will definitely be very useful in your upcoming trip. So, is Slovenia worth visiting, how to visit Slovenia, what to do in Slovenia and how to plan a budget trip to Slovenia for the first-time perfectly? Let’s check out our Slovenia travel blog (Slovenia blog) with the fullest Slovenia travel guide (guide to Slovenia, Slovenia tourist guide, Slovenia guide) from how to get to Slovenia, best places to visit, best time to come, what to eat as well as top things to do in Slovenia to help you maximize your trip as follows!

• Ljubljana travel blog — The fullest Ljubljana travel guide & what to do in Ljubljana for first-timers
• Lake Bled blog — The ultimate Lake Bled travel guide & what to do in Lake Bled

Tokyo itinerary 5 days. Where to go, what to do, how to spend 5 days in Tokyo for the first-timers?

Where to visit in czech republic 35+ most famous, best places to visit in the czech republic, where to visit in poland 30+ best places to visit in poland bring new perspectives on europe.

When traveling to Europe, which countries do you usually choose? Surely many people will choose famous countries such as Italy, France, Spain, Germany… However, did you know that besides famous and large countries like Italy, France has a small country that will bring you great experiences that is Slovenia.

Although Slovenia is not as luxurious, splendid or spectacular, magnificent as other countries in the Europe. But with a lot of impressive natural scenery, always cool fresh air, friendly and hospitable people, a trip to Slovenia will definitely bring you memorable experiences. And before you go, don’t forget to read the guide through Slovenia travel blog that we share below.

Overview of Slovenia (#slovenia travel blog)

Slovenia is known as a small country located in South Central Europe. This country has the full name of the Republic of Slovenia. Slovenia is bordered to the west by Italy, to the south by the Adriatic Sea, to the north by Austria, to the southeast by Croatia and to the northeast by Hungary with an area of about 20,273 square kilometers and a population of over 2 million people.

Slovenia is a beautiful country and there is so much history, culture and attractions to exist in such a small country. From the towering snow-capped peaks in the north, to the beautiful Mediterranean coastline, bright turquoise rivers to stunning azure lakes, Slovenia is a nature lover’s paradise.

Slovenia has an area of 20,273 square kilometers and a population of just over 2 million, making it one of the smallest countries in the European Union. For such a small country, this country has great geographical diversity, with high mountain peaks in the north and west, and coastal plains in the south. Slovenia is a unique country that will delight and love you. You can step back in time when visiting its many medieval castles, have a beautiful adventure on and around its lively lakes, or indulge in eco-friendly innovations and local traditions in small communities.

When to come? (#slovenia blog)

Slovenia is a country with a fairly stable climate and nothing unusual all year round. Therefore, you can visit Slovenia all year-round. Each season is different, each time is different, Slovenia has different attractions for us to explore. However, you should avoid coming here around July to August. Because this is the peak tourist season, the number of tourists coming to Slovenia is very crowded, so the atmosphere is quite stuffy, crowded and the services prices are also higher than usual.

Slovenia is one of the cooler and more peaceful countries in the Balkans. You can visit Slovenia at any time of the year as there are only two main seasons: summer and winter, with some slight changes in between.

If you want a chance to ski in the mountains, then you must visit Slovenia from November to March. From April to October, it is warm enough for hiking, exploring and cycling through the forests, valleys and hills.

In spring (May – June), the meadows are covered with wildflowers and the peaks are covered with white snow, while the weather is pleasant, and cool.

In autumn (September to early November) is when the autumn colors are spectacular, the tourists are few and the accommodation is a bit cheaper.

Summer (July – August) is clearly the busiest time to visit, the roads are crowded and summer temperatures are almost too hot for outdoor activities.

How to get to Slovenia? (#slovenia travel guide)

With its location near the central of Europe, Slovenia has extremely easy connections with neighboring countries. You can take both buses and trains to the country and are suitable for anyone traveling from mainland Europe.

Slovenia is connected to many European countries via a rail network, including Hungary, Croatia and Austria. Trains to neighboring Italy pass through Austria.

Currently, the most popular way chosen by most tourists when they want to getting to Slovenia is by plane. In the capital Ljubljana, there is an international airport Ljubljana Joze Pucnik Airport (LJU/LJLJ) located about 20km from the city center. Most flights to Slovenia will land at this airport.

Major European and UK airlines operating flights connecting to Ljubljana airport, including low-cost carriers such as Easyjet and Wizzair. Ljubljana Airport is about 30 minutes from the city center, and can be reached by public bus 28, which runs the route between Ljubljana bus terminal and the airport.

Getting around Slovenia (#slovenia guide)

Another benefit to Slovenia being so small is that it is very easy to get around by public transport, especially when the transport network is as efficient as Slovenia’s. All major tourist attractions and attractions are easily accessible by public transport.

When traveling between attractions in Slovenia, you will be free to choose the types of transport that suits your travel needs.

Bus (#slovenia travel blog)

Modern, comfortable bus system with roads to all cities, big and small towns. Fares from 4 euros or more/trip depending on the distance. Note that if you go on the weekend, you should book or buy tickets in advance because these days are quite crowded using public transport.

If you are not comfortable renting a car, or you do not have a driver’s license, buses in Slovenia can go everywhere and they are very comfortable. If you want to take a bus to one of the quieter rural villages, you can also take a bus.

Renting a self-driving car (#slovenia travel guide)

If you own an international driver’s license and are familiar with traffic laws, you can also rent a car from major brands such as Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz for only 40 Euro/day.

This is a country with a wild land that is inviting, beautiful and hard to get lost, so rent a car and see it all on your own. The two best car rental sites in Slovenia are Sixt and RentalCars.

It is the safest means of transport if you are traveling alone or do not know the way. However, you should also consider because the taxi price here is quite expensive.

The most environmentally friendly and cost-effective means of transport, which will be very suitable for traveling short distances in the city. Cycling through the streets looking at the surrounding scenery is also very romantic and interesting. You only have to pay from 3 Euro/hour or 17Euro/day to rent a bike in areas like Ljubljana, Bled, Bovec and Piran.

Surprisingly for such a small country, Slovenia has an efficient rail network. There is a wide range of services, including slow (LP) and Intercity (IC) trains, as well as faster Intercity trains serving the Ljulbjana – Maribor line. Eurail and InterRail passes are valid on Slovenian railways.

Where to go and what to do in Slovenia?

The capital ljubljana.

The most famous tourist destination that anyone traveling to Slovenia cannot ignore, of course, is the capital Ljubljana. This city possesses a beauty that is not inferior to cities like Paris or Venice. The capital Ljubljana lies along the banks of the same name peaceful river. Although the city of Ljubljana is small, it is quite vibrant and bustling. Especially when night falls is the best time to explore Ljubljana.

A lively green city that combines the charm of a small capital with the confidence of large European cities. Ljubljana is a green capital with a riverside area with picturesque bridges and a central market thanks to the distinctive look of the great architect Jože Plečnik. The city of thousands of events is surrounded by parks and protected natural areas.

The romantic capital Llubljana where the river of the same name flows through, associated with ancient historical vestiges such as dragon statues scattered on the streets, beautiful architecture from the Baroque period, and sculptures from centuries past.

The center of the city is the Old Town Square where many cultural activities and entertainment take place, and when you try to climb the castle of Llubljana or the clock tower, you will admire the breathtaking views of the city in sight.

December is the festival month in Ljubljana, where its squares, streets, bridges and waterfront transform into the city’s most central and vibrant social hub. The space-themed outdoor Christmas decorations were designed by renowned artist Urban Modic known for their splendor. The Christmas market with food and drink at beautiful wooden stalls is the central social event accompanied by children’s activities and free concerts. You can also take a Christmas boat ride on the Ljubljanica river, which is a great experience.

Julian Alps

If you’re looking for something high enough to see the Slovenia view, there’s probably no better place than the summit of Julian Alps. This is a majestic mountain peak located in Triglav National Park. Visiting the top of Mount Julian, you will have the opportunity to experience a lot of interesting entertainment activities such as trekking, skiing, exploring majestic waterfalls…

Ancient town of Piran

Piran is undoubtedly the most beautiful town on the Slovenian coast. However, it is a quiet and peaceful place, not crowded even during the summer months. The town is not a typical “tourist” destination, it is for those who are looking for a relaxing break along the coast, perhaps enjoying a delicious meal at one of the local restaurants in the area while watching the sunset and listening to romantic music – the sound of the ocean waves or getting lost in the charming streets, chatting with locals and learning about historical sites.

The beautiful old town bordering the Adriatic Sea with winding alleys, red-tiled houses with Venetian architectural style. Besides, do not forget to visit Tartini Square, St George’s Church, and enjoy fresh seafood dishes.

Bled is a lakeside town of the same name, Lake Bled is the most stunning and iconic site in Slovenia. The town itself is a paradise for those who live there, overlooking the lake and enjoying the fresh air of the forest and known for its spas and resorts. Lake Bled and its cliff-top castle are among the most beautiful alpine resorts in Europe.

Traveling to Slovenia without visiting Lake Bled is a pity. This is a lake with beautiful natural scenery and extremely charming. Summer is the best time to visit Lake Bled. In addition, you can also come here in winter. When the lake is frozen, it creates a beautiful beauty like a fairyland.

Lake Bled is a popular tourist attraction in Slovenia and a must-see once you’re here. The romantic landscape is created from the clear blue water under the lake, the silhouette of the trees along the shore and the undulating mountains hidden in the green trees.

In winter, this place turns into a frozen land when the lake surface freezes and the tree branches are covered with snow. For a full view of the scenery, you can climb to the top of the mountains by the lake, cruise on a traditional Pletna boat or climb a castle perched on a cliff.

Bled Castle sits atop a cliff, 100m above the lake and is sure to offer stunning views of the surrounding area. There is a museum inside that documents the history of the lake from its earliest times to Bled’s development as a resort in the 19th century.

Vintgar Gorge

Located in Triglav National Park, Vintgar is a 1.6 km long gorge carved by the Radovna river, the water is as clear as jade. It was discovered in 1891 and opened to visitors for the first time two years later. It is said that the name “Vintgar” is derived from the German word “Weingarten”.

Long boardwalks, clinging to the cliffs with rocks formed just a few meters above the river with rapids, waterfalls and pools, create stunning views. Moreover, it gives you a sense of adventure. Thanks to the special climate, the vegetation and the number of plant species here are very rich and have been studied by botanists for more than a hundred years.

Vintgar Gorge is one of the most popular half-day trip, about 4 kilometers northwest of Bled town. The highlight is the 1600m wooden walking path through the gorge, built in 1893 and continuously rebuilt since. It crosses the Radon River swirling four times past rapids, waterfalls and pools before reaching the 16m high Šum Falls.

Bohinj is a metropolis with lots to see and do! Its capital town Bohinjska Bistrica is nestled in a verdant jungle valley. The Bohinj railway that takes you as far as Italy  passes through this area and offers some of the most stunning views of the high mountains. Lake Bohinj is also one of the most peaceful and picturesque places in Slovenia, and is ideal for hiking and relaxing in the spring. When you get there, be sure to visit the Savice waterfall and the Sava river, which in Slovene means the end of the world. Lake Bohinj is just a 30-minute drive from Lake Bled.

Slovenia’s second largest city looks like a renaissance painting. The world’s oldest vine, known as the Old Vine, grows outside a house in the city center. Wine makes the heart of this region and the city itself is a place worth exploring.

Bovec sits on the edge of the beautiful Triglav National park, which is reason enough for you to visit and stay for a few days. The view of the jagged and high mountains from every street is breathtaking. The people of this town are famously fond of sports, and all kinds of sporting events take place all year round. Bovec is a famous  Slovenia tourist destination , where the filming of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”.

Visit the ancient castles

Like many other European countries, Slovenia also owns many beautiful and ancient castles. Your trip to Slovenia will definitely be more interesting and memorable when you take the time to visit these castles. The most famous one is Predjama Castle. The 700-year-old castle is perched on a 123-meter cliff, right at the entrance of a mountain cave. Tours of the castle are open year-round, except for the underground tour which will be restricted from May to September as this is the hibernation season for bats. If you come in July, you will have the opportunity to watch the medieval dueling tournament held here.

Skocjan Caves

The cave is located in the Karst region, in the limestone plateau stretching from southwestern Slovenia to Italy. It is a UNESCO heritage site and the tallest cave in Europe. Inside this huge cave are stalagmites, stalactites with many impressive shapes, rapids and waterfalls, and is also home to 15 species of bats.

What to eat?

Slovenian cuisine is influenced by neighboring countries such as Austrian sausages and strudel pastries or Hungarian goulash and beef stew. The influence of German cuisine in Slovenia, Southern Slovenia bordering Italy introduced many Italian dishes such as pasta, rice risotto and especially pizza.

The traditional Slovenian breakfast consists of fresh bread, a cup of milk, butter, honey and apple. This type of breakfast is not popular anymore.

Bread plays a special role in Slovenian cuisine. There are many varieties of bread, made of whole grain flour, rye, corn, buckwheat, flour, oats, which can also be a mixture of two or more flours. Moreover, it is also added to various nuts, even onions, olives or walnuts.

Traditionally, most Slovenian meals start with soup and are eaten all year round. You can find a multitude of soups – mushroom soup, chicken soup, barley soup, “jota” (soup with sauerkraut/turnip, beans, potatoes and smoked pork or sausage), bean soup, mixed vegetable soup but most popular is beef broth with noodles. Furthermore, beef soup is also a popular Sunday appetizer in many Slovenian homes. Beef soup is a clear, full-flavored broth served with noodles or dumplings and sprinkled with parsley.

“ Mineštra ” (minestrone) or stew dish is also very typical and is a Slovenian favorite, cooked many times with pork bones, ribs, sausages or another type of meat.

The main course usually consists of meat and a favorite side dish is the baked potato “ pražen krompir ”, but it can also be rice or “štruklji”. The interesting thing about “štruklji” is that they can also be served as a dessert. Salads are also an important part of lunch with pumpkin seeds or olive oil as a dressing.

In early spring is appreciated a dandelion salad. In addition, other vegetables are also used in different ways. Very popular is cabbage, used as sauerkraut served with sausages or baked potatoes, sweet and sour cabbage and raw cabbage salad.

Slovenes are very fond of fish and seafood. Salmon “postrv” is a fish from the Soča River and is traditionally prepared in a variety of ways by rolling it in buckwheat or cornmeal and frying it. Fish is usually served with boiled potatoes and mustard greens.

Potica is an ethnic dessert, a yeast-based dough roll with a choice of fillings (wormwood, walnuts, crackers and poppy seeds). Potica is a typical Slovenian Easter dish. It is also commonly placed on Slovenian tables at Christmas and other holidays.

A traditional sponge cake in Slovenia. It is made from different types of flour (usually yeast dough), inside is filled with nuts such as walnuts, poppy seeds, tarragon.

There are also cakes such as Blejska kremna rezina or Kremšnita (Bled cream cake is a dessert from the town of Bled – a layer of vanilla custard topped with whipped cream and sandwiched between layers of pastry). Prekmurska gibanica is a pastry filled with poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, and cheese and topped with cream.

Goulash soup: You can find Goulash soup anywhere in Slovenia. The main ingredients of this dish include beef, vegetables, onions, red bell pepper powder, other spices… All the ingredients are thinly sliced and then seasoned with just the right amount of spiciness, just the right seasoning… When enjoying, you can serve the soup with bread, boiled potatoes, pasta.

Burek: A popularly pastry sold on the streets and shops in Slovenia, Burek pastry originally had a traditional filling of cheese or meat, then began to have many different fillings such as sausages, cabbage… Burek’s appearance is quite similar to a multi-layered sandwich, the base and surface of the cake are crispy and golden, but the inner layer of the cake is richer and softer.

Carniolan sausage:  is another traditional dish on the table of local people. The ingredients are quite simple including pork, bacon fat, garlic, pepper, salt but when you enjoy it, you will be startled by its delicious taste. And it would be even better to eat with a loaf of bread and enjoy some wine.

Prekmurje layer cake (gibanica): is a cake that can be found on every street corner here. The cake has many thin layers overlapping each other. The top and bottom of the cake are quite crispy, each inner layer includes poppy seeds, cheese, walnuts, apples, meat, and more, soft and luscious.

Žganci: is a popular porridge dish, considered a “farm food” of Slovenians. Ingredients usually include buckwheat flour, cabbage, chicken, mushrooms, sometimes adding a little milk for flavor. They use Žganci as the main course in their daily meals.

Prežganka soup : originated in the Trieste countryside but today is gradually becoming popular throughout the country. People will roast the flour until it turns brown, then add water and salt, when the mixture boils, add eggs and beat to create an eye-catching yellow color for the soup.

Pizza: Pizza is a fairly popular dish in the world, but this dish in Slovenia is impressively large, maybe the size of a tray. The base and edges of the cake are toasted crispy but the inside is extremely soft. Prominent on the surface of the cake is a thick layer of cheese mixed with a very attractive tomato sauce. You can choose delicious seafood fillings such as squid, shrimp, fish, oysters, crab, mussels…

Štefani pečenkan : looks like a loaf of bread on the outside, but it’s actually a long loaf of meat, inside has a boiled egg that has been peeled and left whole. When eaten, it will be cut into slices to taste the harmony of the meat mixed with eggs. This dish is often served during the holidays, especially Easter.

Žlikrofi : small and pretty, all of them like squishy cakes. This dish originates from the Idrija region, the outer shell is made from a thin and soft rolled noodle, the inside will have onions, potatoes, spices, topped with a little sauce. They are usually eaten on their own or with meat dishes.

Many Slovenian towns and cities host culinary and social events, of which a unique street food event called “Odprta Kuhna” (Open Kitchen) is well known. The feature of this event is that you can experience freshly cooked dishes prepared by Slovenian chefs right in front of you. In addition to good food, it’s also home to great live music and entertainment.

Where to shop?

Souvenirs, clothes, shoes, and electronics can all be found easily at traditional markets or shopping malls here. You can refer to some reputable shopping addresses below:

• Central Market: Vodnikov trg, Ljubljana
• Qlandia Nova Gorica: esta 25. junija 1A, Nova Gorica
• Galerija Emporium: Prešernov p. 5 a, Ljubljana
• BTC City: artinska cesta 152, Ljubljana

Where to stay?

For convienience for traveling around Slovenia, we highly recommend you book a hotel in the capital city of Ljubljana. And below we recommend more best budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews you can refer to.

• Grand Hotel Union ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Hotel Cubo ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• City Hotel Ljubljana ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• uHotel ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Ljubljana ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• Ahotel Hotel Ljubljana ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )
• InterContinental Ljubljana ( Agoda.com or Booking.com )

Check out more top hotels in Ljubljana on Agoda.com or Booking.com .

• Currency: Slovenia is an EU country that uses the Euro. So the Euro is a strong and universal currency that is easy to exchange anytime, anywhere.
• Passport: Due to Slovenia is in the EU it follows EU law when it comes to visas. Meaning, if you’re in the EU, you can travel to and around Slovenia visa-free and stay for as long as you like! Slovenia is part of the Schengen Agreement, so travel to Slovenia requires a passport Schengen.
• Is Slovenia safe? Slovenia is quite safe, crime is minimal however if going out in the capital, be careful about your money and safety, Slovenian people are kind and friendly.

Ljubljana blog: Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Ljubljana you can refer to

• Best of Slovenia Day Tour from Ljubljana
• Ljubljana and Lake Bled Whole Day Tour from Zagreb
• Ljubljana Food Tour
• Ljubljana and Bled Small Group Day Tour to Slovenia from Vienna
• Bled Fairytale Tour from Ljubljana
• Slovenian Coast Day Tour from Ljubljana
• Ljubljana Card
• Ljubljana’s Historical City Center & Castle Tour
• Ljubljana Food Walking Tour
• Ljubljana Wine Tour

Read more Slovenia guide here . And Ljubljana travel blog — The fullest Ljubljana travel guide & what to do in Ljubljana for first-timers .

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3 Days in Ljubljana: The Perfect Weekend Itinerary

Mighty dragons guard historic bridges, a medieval castle towers above red-roofed townhouses, and old Roman ruins lie underfoot. Welcome to Ljubljana, one of Europe’s most fascinating capital cities.

Located along the unusually green waters of the Ljubljanica River, Slovenia ’s capital and largest city is always surprising. Founded by Roman soldiers over 2,000 years ago, Ljubljana has always been on the frontier of great empires, and the beautiful Old Town is a patchwork of Austro-Hungarian and Italian influences, framed by the brutalist buildings of the later Yugoslavian communist era. 

The capital of an independent Slovenian nation since 1990, you’ll love the newfound confidence that sweeps along the banks of the Ljubljanica River. Abandoned army barracks in Metelkova have been transformed into art galleries and nightclubs, while new Michelin-starred chefs craft Slovene-inspired tasting menus in Ljubljana’s feisty restaurants. 

In summer, the city hosts a month-long summer music and cultural festival, and in winter, the rooftops are covered in a light layer of snow as the smell of baked potica drifts through festive markets. Whatever time of year you choose to visit Ljubljana, you’re sure to have an unforgettable time. 

And while a weekend in Ljubljana is enough time to fall in love with the city’s quirky architecture and lively cultural scene, you’ll find there’s so much more you’ll want to see. Slovenia is a small country, and with Ljubljana as your base, you can hike to nearby mountains, explore the Julian Alps, and, of course, day trip to glorious Lake Bled. Keep reading to discover our perfect 3-day Ljubljana itinerary!

If you’re still deciding where to stay then make sure to check out our article on the  best boutique hotels in Ljubljana !

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase or booking through one of our links we may earn a small commission (don’t worry, it’s at no extra cost to you).

How to Spend a Weekend in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Getting around ljubljana.

As your 3 days in Ljubljana begin, you’ll soon realize that the Slovenian capital is a compact city that’s a real pleasure to walk around. The city spirals outwards from its Old Town, which is itself set around a prominent hilltop on which Ljubljana Castle was built many centuries ago. Use the castle’s towers as your guiding reference points, and you’ll never lose sight of the Old Town, even if you do get lost among its cobbled medieval streets!

The Old Town sits on the eastern side of a bend in the Ljubljanica River, and you’ll find that the best sights and attractions are all just a short walk away from the river banks. You can even take a boat cruise along the river to see more. 

Further out, suburbs like Metelkova or places like Tivoli Park are only a 30-minute walk from the Old Town. The city also has an excellent and inexpensive bus service, and you can rent bicycles and easily get around town on two wheels. You may wish to purchase the Ljubljana Card , which gives you unlimited use of public transport, a walking tour, and entrance to most major attractions in the capital. 

As Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana is a transport hub for the rest of the country and neighboring European cities. You can take trains to many destinations, including Lake Bled, Zagreb, Rijeka, Pula, and even Munich and Zurich. The bus connections are even better, with domestic and international connections to anywhere in Slovenia and Europe. 

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is the city’s (and country’s) primary international airport, with flights to many major European cities, including London, Paris, and Budapest. The airport is a 45-minute bus ride from the city center, or you can jump in a taxi.

Explore the City of Ljubljana

Ljubljana Weekend Itinerary – Day 1

You’ve got a lot to pack into your 3-day trip to Ljubljana, and we recommend starting your visit with a walking tour of the main sights in the capital. As we already mentioned, Ljubljana is an excellent place to explore on foot, and you can either join a dedicated walking tour led by a local guide or put your own itinerary together using the major sights we’ll list below.

The Franciscan Church of the Annunciation

There are “free” city tours throughout the year, departing from the famously pink church (the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation) in Prešeren Square. There’s a departure at 11 am daily, with additional departures at 3 pm and 6 pm during the summer season. You only pay what you feel the tour was worth at the end, although you can also book private walking tours or specialist walking tours (including “communist tours,” for example). 

Prešeren Square & Triple Bridge

Your tour of Ljubljana starts with an introduction to Prešeren Square, the city’s pedestrianized central square. You’ll see the Prešeren Monument, which is dedicated to the country’s national poet, Frances Prešeren, who wrote epic stories of Slovenian nationhood when the country was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the first half of the 19th century. 

Prešeren Square is where the Old Town really begins, and from here, you’ll see where the old city gates stood before crossing over the Triple Bridge, which connects the two halves of Ljubljana. The Triple Bridge is your first introduction to the work of famous Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, who designed much of early 20th-century Ljubljana and gave the city the contemporary character it still has today. 

On the opposite side of the river, you’re now in the medieval part of the city. The castle will be above you as you stroll along to Ljubljana Cathedral, a beautiful baroque masterpiece that was built in the 1700s on the site of an even earlier cathedral that was thought to have been built in the 13th century. Walk past the Central Market and keep to the riverbank, and you’ll now see two more of Ljubljana’s most famous bridges.

Butcher’s Bridge & Dragon Bridge

First is Butcher’s Bridge. It sounds ominous, but actually, Butcher’s Bridge is covered in padlocks left behind by couples looking to eternalize their love for one another. The bridge was built in 2010 but was based on an original plan envisioned many decades earlier by Jože Plečnik. 

You can purchase a padlock nearby and lock it to the railings, or you can just take in the view of the Ljubljanica River as you walk on over. The second bridge, which you can see from Butcher’s Bridge, is the iconic Dragon Bridge. The green dragon is the symbol of Ljubljana, and wonderful dragon sculptures guard the entrance to this elegant river crossing, which was first opened in 1901. 

Stay on the “modern” side of the river, then follow the path back toward Prešeren Square and keep going until you reach the beautiful buildings of the University of Ljubljana. You’ll have an excellent view looking up from Congress Square, before you cross over yet another bridge (the equally famous Cobbler’s Bridge, which is lined with Greco-Roman plinths and pillars) before ending up at Ljubljana’s historic Town Hall and Town Square.

You’re back in the Old Town now, after a busy walk weaving backward and forwards over the new and old parts of Ljubljana. It’s time for lunch, and you can choose between a riverside setting at Slovenska Hisa , where you can try Slovenian charcuterie and sharing boards made with local produce, or Capriccio in the square, where you can enjoy the Italian influence found in Slovenian cuisine. 

Ljubljana Food & Wine Tour

Castle Hill (Ljubljana Castle)

After lunch, jump on the funicular and take in the sights as you rise to the top of Castle Hill. The rest of the afternoon is yours to spend exploring the castle as you walk along parapets and enjoy magnificent vistas across the red-roofed skyline of the Old Town below. The castle dates back to at least the 12th century AD, although much of the architecture you see today was added in the Baroque style by the Habsburgs in later centuries.

Learn more about Slovenian history (dating back to Neolithic times) in the castle’s museum, then pop into the lighthearted Puppet Museum to learn about the surprising history of Slovenian puppetry. There’s a lot to do in Ljubljana Castle , including live roleplaying and escape games, temporary art galleries, and even a nightclub. 

We recommend hanging around until the sun sets. You can even stay for dinner and drinks. The castle is home to several cafes and restaurants, including the excellent Gostilna na Gradu , where you can order traditional Slovenian fare with a view of the city. After dinner, take the funicular back down to the Old Town, where you can enjoy a few aperitifs in the bars around Town Square. 

Visit the Ljubljana Castle

Ljubljana Weekend Itinerary – Day 2

Your Ljubljana itinerary continues on Day 2 with another action-packed day of sightseeing in the Slovenian capital. You’ve already explored the traditional sights of the Old Town in addition to the nearby sights on the modern side of the river. Today, you’re going to be having a more in-depth look at local culture and history, so we hope the overview yesterday has prepared you well!

Start with a light breakfast because we recommend joining a foodie tour on your second day in Ljubljana. Slovenian cuisine has influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of its neighbors, and local food is a unique blend of Italian, Austrian, Hungarian, and Balkan culinary traditions. Slovenia is fast becoming a foodie destination , and the country has 58 restaurants in the Michelin Guide and 10 Michelin-starred restaurants (most of them in Ljubljana).

It’s an exciting time to be eating your way around Ljubljana, as chefs prepare local delicacies using fresh ingredients brought in from the nearby countryside. There are several different tours available, many of which cater to vegetarian and vegan travelers too. 

You’ll typically get the chance to try Slovenian favorites, including the famous Kranjska Klobasa (a type of local sausage), local cold cuts of ham and delightful cheeses, and specialties like Idrijski žlikrofi, a delectable dumpling dish. 

Your food tour will take you around Ljubljana’s Central Market (you walked past it yesterday), where you’ll learn more about the stallholders, the produce, and the culinary traditions making a comeback in Slovenia today. If you decide not to join a food tour, then we recommend visiting the Central Market for lunch on Day 2 anyway, so you can try local cheese, wine, and meats in a lively local setting. 

If a food tour isn’t your thing, then we suggest spending the morning on either a communist walking tour, a street art tour, or perhaps an architectural tour (exploring the legacy of Jože Plečnik) instead, so you can delve a little deeper into a topic you enjoy while you’re in Ljubljana. 

Get a Taste of Slovenian Cuisine

Museum Hopping around Tivoli Park

Your afternoon is now dedicated to museums, of which there are many to choose from. We suggest strolling over to Tivoli Park, where you’ll find a beautiful green space that’s also home to some excellent cultural and historic institutions. If you’re traveling with kids (or if you’re just a big kid at heart!), then on the way, you can stop off at the House of Illusions for a little optical trickery before heading into the Slovenian School Museum .

House of Illusions Entrance Ticket

Next up is the nearby National Museum of Slovenia , which is one of the best places to visit in the city if you’re a big history fan. This excellent museum is the oldest museum in Slovenia, and it contains artifacts and archaeology that present you with a detailed overview of the nation’s development from prehistory to the present. The same grand public building by Tivoli Park also hosts the Slovenian Museum of Natural History , where you can see the reconstructed skeletons of mammoths and dinosaurs.  

Right on the edge of Tivoli Park, you’ll find the National Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art . The National Gallery is home to an extensive collection of artwork, the oldest of which date back to the 12th century. 

The Museum of Modern Art focuses on contemporary artists, with a collection that mostly spans the 20th century. Take a walk through Tivoli Park next, and if you have time, visit the National Museum of Contemporary History (exploring modern Slovenian history and culture), which is also nearby. 

Head back to your hotel to freshen up, then prepare yourself for an evening of eating and drinking in Slovenia’s best restaurants. If you enjoy your food with a side of history, then we recommend booking a table at Gostilna Sokol in the Old Town. 

This excellent restaurant dates back to 1870, and few other eateries serve such traditional dishes as this. For fine dining, Strelec Restaurant offers 9-course tasting menus in a romantic setting, while TaBar serves Slovenian-inspired tapas dishes from Michelin-quality chefs. 

Ljubljana Weekend Itinerary – Day 3

Your 3-day Ljubljana itinerary continues with a relaxed morning in the city. Take a walk around Tivoli Park, enjoy a short boat ride along the Ljubljanica River (if you purchased a Ljubljana City Card, a boat ride is included!), or visit one of the museums you didn’t have time to fit in on Day 2. 

Ljubljana Skyscraper

In the late morning, make your way to the Ljubljana Skyscraper , where you’ll have superb views over the city. The Ljubljana Skyscraper is one of the city’s most unusual buildings. Way ahead of its time, the skyscraper was built in 1933 and opened to great fanfare, being the tallest building in the Balkans at the time. 

It’s some 70 meters tall, and although it’s no longer the tallest building in the capital, it still holds a curious place in the hearts of locals (there’s even a famous pop song about the skyscraper!) and on the city’s skyline. 

Nebotičnik Cafe

Take in the views from the top deck, and hang around for lunch at the Nebotičnik Café, where you’ll enjoy supreme panoramas while you eat. As with everywhere in Ljubljana, there’s also a nightclub in the Ljubljana Skyscraper, although you’ve got much more to pack in on Day 3 before that opens much later. 

Metelkova District

Your final afternoon takes you to one of Ljubljana’s most interesting districts. Your next stop is the rather unusual Metelkova District, which you’ll find a half-hour walk north of the Old Town. Metelkova is now known as Ljubljana’s quirky artistic district, but until the fall of communism in 1993, it was infamously better known for its army barracks and political prisons.

Metelkova Art Center 

The area was abandoned following the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army, and it was taken over by squatters in the 1990s. They eventually turned it into an “autonomous” social and cultural center, and today, the once derelict buildings are now an artistic hub focused around the Metelkova Art Center . There’s graffiti, street art, and unusual art installations all around the center, while you can also visit the nearby Museum of Contemporary Art Metelkova for a more official look at the modern art scene in Ljubljana. 

Hostel Celica 

You’ll also want to visit Hostel Celica . Located in Metelkova, Hostel Celica was the site of Ljubljana’s former political prison. The old prison cells have been transformed into artistic spaces by former prisoners, where you can even spend the night if there’s availability. You can take a guided tour of the hostel to see how it once functioned as a prison and to hear the stories of the prisoners that were kept behind bars here. 

That should bring you into the late afternoon, but don’t leave Metelkova just yet because the district is also Ljubljana’s alternative nightlife center. There’s a packed events schedule throughout the year, and early evening sees the old barracks turned over to live music and creative arts events. By late evening, the live music is replaced by DJs, and the district hosts underground raves and late-night parties.

Spend the Night at Hostel Celica

If that’s not your scene, then we recommend popping into the bar at Hostel Celica for a craft beer, enjoying a bit of live music, then heading back to the city for dinner. You’ve got a few options for your last dinner in Ljubljana. 

Sushimama serves up Asian-fusion food made with local Slovenian ingredients, B-Restaurant offers affordable fine dining, and Gostlina AS prepares delicious local food in a traditional setting (all are recommended by the Michelin guide). 

If you’ve still got the energy, then you can close your weekend trip to Ljubljana with a last aperitif in the Old Town bars. If you’re still going strong, then maybe you’ll even be tempted by a late night back in Metelkova or a session at the castle or skyscraper nightclubs!

What to do if you have more than 3 days in Ljubljana

If you’re lucky enough to have more than 3 days in Ljubljana, then you’re in for a treat. Not only are there lots more things to do in the city, but the capital is well connected to many more nearby destinations, including the world-famous Lake Bled.

Located less than a one-hour drive away from Ljubljana, Lake Bled is one of the most beautiful places in Europe. This alpine lake is startlingly colorful, with glacial waters surrounded by the tall peaks of the Julian Alps. You can spend the day hiking around the lakeside (it’s around six kilometers in circumference), delving into history at Bled Castle, or rowing across to the distinctive church on the island. End the day trip with a slice of creamy Bled Cake!

Take a Trip to Lake Bled

Šmarna Gora

Just outside the city, you’ll find Šmarna Gora, a 664-meter-high hilltop that towers over the countryside. At the summit, you’ll find a dramatic church and a lovely cafe where you can refuel after your walk. A network of hiking trails leads from Ljubljana through the hills to the top of Šmarna Gora and other adjacent peaks, making for an active outing from the city. 

Go Hiking in Šmarna Gora

The city of Maribor is an hour and a half from Ljubljana by car. Located on the Drava River in the northeast, this is Slovenia’s second-largest city. Maribor is beautiful, and you can spend the day strolling through old streets and enjoying the local wines (this is a famous wine-growing region). Visit the local museum and castle to learn more about the history before heading back to Ljubljana.

Discover the Inviting City of Maribor

Lake Bohinj

It’s not nearly as famous as Lake Bled, but make an effort to visit Lake Bohinj (it’s a one hour and 20-minute drive from Ljubljana), and you’ll be awed by alpine scenery. There’s just a fraction of the crowds here, and you’ll quickly fall in love with its beautiful scenery and epic hiking trails. 

See Lake Bohinj

Postojna Cave

A 50-minute drive into the countryside brings you to Postojna Cave Park , one of Slovenia’s greatest natural attractions. Reaching a length of 24 kilometers, Slovenia’s second-longest cave system is the perfect place for a subterranean day trip. Learn about the natural karst caves common here, then visit Predjama Castle to see the world’s largest “cave castle.”  

Secure a Postojna Cave Ticket

We hope you enjoy your weekend trip to Ljubljana! Should we add something else to our 3-day Ljubljana itinerary? Let us know in the comments.

Planning a trip to Slovenia? Check out our favorite travel guides and resources!

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Richard is an award-winning travel writer based in Southwest England who’s addicted to traveling off the beaten track. He’s traveled to 75 countries and counting in search of intriguing stories, unusual destinations, and cultural curiosities. Richard loves traveling the long way round over land and sea, and you’ll find him visiting quirky micronations and breakaway territories as often as he’s found lounging on a beach (which is a lot). When he’s not writing for BBC Travel, National Geographic, or Lonely Planet, you can find Richard writing for the Wandering Wheatleys or updating his off-beat travel blog, Travel Tramp.

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1 thought on “3 days in ljubljana: the perfect weekend itinerary”.

My sister and I also had an exciting trip to Ljubljana. However, we rented a car because it was very hot. It is one of the best countries in Europe for driving including; a place where you can freely drive and explore all the mountain roads and amazing architectural styles.

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A Road Trip Through Slovenia

Adventurous Kate contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks!

After spending a few days in Ljubljana for the fantastic Ana Desetnica festival , it was time to hit the road! I knew I wanted to see more of the country, so I planned to spend four days road-tripping through Slovenia with my friend Peter, the blogger behind Travel Unmasked .

Now, if you’ve been on a road trip before, you know they can can test friendships. Peter and I had never traveled together beyond a few days in Scotland  a year and a half ago, but traveling as two people has a different dynamic than a large group.

Thankfully, we got along fabulously! We turned up the Kanye West and rapped “Through the Wire” together as we drove down the Slovenian highways.

Slovenia for a Road Trip

Slovenia is a fantastic country for a road trip. The country is tiny, the roads are good, and most of the popular attractions are clustered in the western half of the country, making many destinations within a 90-minute drive.

Aside from the intense tailgating, which I found to be some of the worst I have ever seen (I even got tailgated while driving 90 mph!), I’m a huge fan of exploring Slovenia by car.

I did this road trip for four days, but it wasn’t nearly enough. To get the most out of your trip, I recommend doing this itinerary in addition to a few days in Ljubljana and a day or two visiting the coast or other destinations.

Day One: Idrija

After picking up our rental car at Ljubljana’s central bus station, we took a winding road through the mountains to the tiny city of Idrija.

Idrija isn’t a one of the more popular spots in Slovenia, but I wanted to visit the mercury mine, which was given World Heritage designation in 2012. Interestingly, this World Heritage Site is shared with Spain! The other half of the site is a mercury mine in the city of Almadén.

The mine, which was built in the 15th century, was fully functional as late as 1986.

You can still see oxidized mercury in the walls.

The miners had their own underground chapel.

The cool thing about mercury is that it’s heavier than lead! It’s cool watching a lead ball bounce around in a jar of liquid mercury like it’s a ping pong ball in a beer-filled solo cup.

After the dark and cold mine, it was time for lunch in the sun.

“What’s your local specialty?” I asked the waiter.

“ Žlikrofi, ” he replied instantly. That was settled — I had to try it. I was given a plate of tortellini-like pasta stuffed with mashed potatoes and “animal fat” (pork in this case) and topped with a truffle and cream sauce. SO good, but definitely not the healthiest thing!

While having an after-lunch coffee, Peter and I ran into Urban, the curator of the nearby Mestni Museum. He kindly offered to cart us around to every attraction in town; I asked him if instead he could take us to the highest point in town so we could take pictures. He obliged and took us to a church on top of a mountain.

On the quirky end, Idrija also happens to be home to the largest wooden wheel in Europe. It used to power the whole town.

There’s Peter for scale!

Idrija is also famous throughout the world for its lace, which is on display throughout the town.

It’s interesting seeing how Idrija’s lacemaking style evolved over time with political and geographical changes. Pre-World War I, Idrija’s lace clients were mostly Austrians, who preferred large, country-style lacework.

Post-World War I, their primary clients became Italians, who demanded fine, intricate, detailed lacework.

Urban took us back to the Mestni Museum , which has some fantastic lace displays, lots of mercury and minerals, and a moving memorial to those who lost their lives in the Idrija mercury mines.

Next up was dinner at the Hotel Kendov Dvorec , a pretty oasis up in the mountains just outside Idrija.

I loved this place. It was fancy enough to host a small wedding, yet small and friendly with a wonderful staff. And the food? Superb. The best food that I had in all of Slovenia.

Best of all: a main dish of venison and chanterelles that absolutely rocked my world. And yep, those are more žlikrofi underneath!

What I don’t have pictures of is us nearly having to break into our hotel at midnight. Turns out they shut down at 11:00 PM and forgot to tell us. After trying to get in and realizing that the only way to contact them was to call (we had no SIM cards and the wifi didn’t work outside), we probably would have had to go to a gas station and beg them to use their phone if we hadn’t discovered a back door.

It’s too bad, because the hotel was nice otherwise. Just know that they close early.

Day One Essential Info: Visiting the mercury mine ( Anthony’s Shaft ) costs 9 EUR ($12 USD) for adults. It includes a tour of the mine and a short movie. Admission to the Mestni Museum is 3.50 EUR ($5 USD) for adults. The tasting menu at Hotel Kendov Dvorec costs 70 EUR ($94 USD) for six courses with wine pairings. Rates at Hotel Jožef start at 98 EUR ($131 USD). You can find other hotels in Idrija here.

Day Two: Skocjan Caves and Bled

A second shimmy through the mountains brought us to the Skocjan Caves, Slovenia’s second World Heritage Site. These caves are gargantuan, spooky, and an absolute must-visit if you’re traveling through Slovenia. I’ve never seen a few caves before (and even swam through one in the dark ), but none of them have been as impressive as the Skocjan Caves.

There’s also an excellent viewpoint on a trail behind the caves’ visitor center. Don’t miss it.

From the Skocjan Caves, the two of us drove up to Bled, home to Lake Bled, one of the most famous sights in all of Slovenia.

The accommodation for the night was at  Garden Village , a green resort just a short walk from Lake Bled. I was absolutely blown away by this resort.

It was beautiful, natural, and the accommodation was a mixture of treehouses and luxury tents. It had a “swimming pond” that was built into the landscape and its own stream in the back. They grew so much of their food, including several varieties of mint for mojitos.

And look at their dining tables! That is GRASS!

They switch out the grass panels periodically to keep the grass as fresh and green as possible.

And what kind of mint would you like for your mojito? I recommend the chocolate mint.

An entire salmon filet for an appetizer? Edible lavender? Why not?

Venison and chanterelles for the second night in a row? I will NEVER complain about that.

I loved this resort. Also, for some reason, the entire staff was really good-looking. It was like the staff of Abercrombie and Fitch had grown up and gone into the hospitality industry.

(And it was a huge contrast to the last place I stayed at that was called Garden Village: a hostel in Cambodia where you could rent a mattress out in the open for just $1.)

Day Two Essential Info:  Guided tours of the Skocjan Caves start at 16 EUR ($21 USD) for adults. A longer tour following the river costs 21 EUR ($28 USD) for adults. Photography is ordinarily not permitted in the caves; I was allowed because I visited privately as press. Rates at Garden Village start at 80 EUR ($107 USD) for tents, 90 EUR ($121 USD) for apartments, and 160 EUR ($214) for treehouses and glamping tents. You can find other hotels in Bled here .

Day Three: Bled and Radovljica

A full day in sumptuous Bled, the most beautiful place in Slovenia — and thankfully the weather cooperated! A cloud-streaked blue sky made for a bright teal lake and magical photos.

Coming down to the shore, this was my first view of Bled Castle across the water.

Next came the ultimate view of Lake Bled: the church-topped island with the castle in the background.

There is no motorized transportation on Lake Bled. If you want to get to the island, you’ll need to row!

Peter rowed there. I rowed back. It took about ten minutes each way.

Of course, the distance is short enough that you can swim if you want to. These teenagers did!

In fact, Peter loved the idea so much that he swam back!

I love this angle of the castle.

Afternoon refreshment: kremna rezina , or cream cake. Funnily enough, I had dined on its Croatian counterpart, the cremšnita , just a few weeks before.

A 10-minute drive from Bled is the town of Radovljica, so we drove up to check it out. While most of the museums and attractions had closed by the time we arrived, it was certainly a pretty town with some nice cafes and cute shops.

After leaving Radovljica, we drove back to Bled and visited Bled Castle for the view over the lake.

It certainly did not disappoint.

It was like a painting.

Day Three Essential Info:  Rowboats can be rented on Lake Bled for 11.50 EUR ($15 USD) per hour. Entry to Bled Castle is 9 EUR ($12 USD) for adults. Rates at  Garden Village  start at 80 EUR ($107 USD) for tents, 90 EUR ($121 USD) for apartments, and 160 EUR ($214) for treehouses and glamping tents. You can find other hotels in Bled here .

Day Four: Lake Bohinj and Bled

On day four, our weather luck ran out — we awoke to a downpour. Oh well. At least we got the beautiful photos of Bled the day before.

A short drive from Bled is Lake Bohinj, known for being a quiet alternative to Lake Bled. It lived up to the hype — it had all the beauty of Lake Bled (sans the lakeside castle and perfect church-dotted island) without the crowds. There were several campgrounds on the lake’s edge, and most of the people here seemed to be looking for a low-key getaway with few frills.

After getting a few photos of the lake, it began to downpour once again. And by that point, we were exhausted after a busy, nonstop week in Slovenia. There was no point in taking a cable car or going kayaking in rain that hard.

So we went looking for a pizza place, found one, went inside, and discovered that they had PAPER PLACEMATS AND COLORED PENCILS.

I drew Lake Bled.

Not to be outdone, Peter carved his pizza into the shape of Stewie Griffin.

Yeah. After a long week of busy travel, you know when you’re done. I think we both felt that way.

Day Four Essential Info : Since we were flying out early the next day, we stayed at Dvor Jezeršek , a hotel home to a culinary school in Brnik, right by Ljubljana’s airport. The hotel was nice and the food was terrific. Rates available upon request. You can find other hotels in that area here .

The Takeaway

I had a great time — but Slovenia was not what I expected it to be. That’s not entirely a bad thing; I just went in with the wrong expectations.

As a Balkans-phile, I expected Slovenia to be more like its former Yugoslavian neighbors like Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Truthfully, Slovenia did not feel remotely Balkan to me. It felt like Austria. I mean, look at it!

And to be fair, I love Austria. But I hadn’t expected Slovenia to be like that (even though I’d previously seen parts of Croatia that looked like Austria).

Though many people use the term “Balkans” to describe the former Yugoslavia and Albania (myself included), the Balkan peninsula technically includes Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece as well. But Balkans purists use the term to describe the region beneath the Balkan mountain range. And only a tiny portion of Slovenia is within this range. When you add that geography to the fact that Slovenia has also been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it makes sense that it looks so different.

Additionally, I was disappointed that I didn’t fall madly in love with Slovenia. Many of my friends did, and for that reason, I expected myself to as well. While I did fall madly in love with Ljubljana, the rest of Slovenia just didn’t grab me.

Perhaps I would have felt differently if I had visited the coastal town of Piran, which looks much more Balkan and more my style.

But even though it wasn’t what I thought it would be, I had a wonderful road trip in Slovenia, I absolutely recommend it, and I’d love to return next summer.

Must Love Festivals  is brought to you by the  Budget Traveller  with lead partner  Expedia  and in association with the  Slovenian Tourist Board . All opinions, as always, are my own.

Does Slovenia look like your kind of destination?

SLOVENIA TRAVEL GUIDE: Ljubljana Itinerary & Budget

A lot of things that could go wrong during our Slovenia trip did go wrong. Rain poured for most of our stay. Our flight out of the country was canceled a day before, ruining our route and itinerary.

Yet, when we look back and think about our time in Slovenia, we can’t help but smile. Of all the countries we visited on our most recent Euro trip, we could say definitively that this surprised us the most. There were things that didn’t go as planned, but none of them mattered. None of them overpowered Slovenia’s sheer beauty.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS GUIDE?

UNDERSTANDING SLOVENIA

Slovenia is a mountainous and forested country where Slavic, Romance, and Germanic cultures meet: surrounded by Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea.

In the 1st century BC, the area where modern-day Slovenia lies was conquered by the Romans. At its heart was the city of Emona. It then became a territory of several empires: the Byzantine, Carolingian, and the Austro-Hungarian, to name a few. In 1918, it became a part of Yugoslavia, which eventually collapsed. Slovenia was the first to break away in 1991. The city of Ljubljana , which stands at the site of ancient Emona , became the capital.

Ljubljana is probably not the first to come to mind when we think about European cities. Home to fewer than 300,000 residents, it is one of the smallest capitals on the continent. But that’s what makes this picturesque city such a charming destination. It may not have a globally recognizable landmark like the Eiffel Tower or Colosseum, but you’ll hardly find massive crowds and tourist traps either. Ljubljana offers a more laid-back, easygoing experience.

Here are more bits you might want to know about Ljubljana:

• Location: Ljubljana is in Slovenia. Coordinates: 46°03′20″N 14°30′30″E.
• Time Zone: UTC+1 (Central European Time). Ljubljana is 7 hours behind the Philippines, Singapore or Malaysia; and 8 hours behind Japan. However, daylight saving time is in effect from the last Sunday of March until the last Sunday of October, which puts it at UTC+2, only 6 hours behind PH, SG, and MY.
• Language: Slovene (Slovenian) is the official language. But most can understand or speak English.
• Currency: Euro (EUR, €). €1 is roughly USD 1.18, SGD 1.6, PHP 57.25 (as of September 2020)
• Modes of Payment: Many establishments accept credit cards, but most still prefer cash.

WHERE TO STAY IN SLOVENIA

If it’s your first time in Slovenia and you only have a few days, it’s best to stay in Ljubljana, the capital. Slovenia is small — one of the smallest European states — so it’s easy to get from one end to another in a day.

Ljubljana is strategically and conveniently located at the center so most travelers use it as their base. It’s also where you’ll find the most transportation and tour options to explore other parts of the country.

BEST AREA TO STAY IN LJUBLJANA

Ljubljana is divided into 17 districts. For tourists, however, the most important is the Center District , where you’ll find most of the key points of interest including the main train and bus stations.

The Ljubljanica River cuts across the Center District. If you look at the map, you’ll find that the river makes a bend in the middle. This is the tourism and historical core of the city. As a tourist, you’ll probably spend most of your time here.

Many publications refer to the area surrounding the bend in general as the Old Town. But some sources further split this area into two: Old Town and City Center.

• Old Town – the area south and east of the river, in the shadow of the Ljubljana Castle, which stands proudly on a hill.
• City Center – north and west of the river, where most hotels, hostels, restaurants, and bars are located.

Although there are a lot of budget accommodations in other districts (like Trnovo), these two areas, in my opinion, are the most ideal base when exploring Ljubljana.

Which is better? Both the Old Town and the City Center have plenty of dining and lodging options. Both are accessible from each other via the many bridges that straddle the river. To be honest, you wouldn’t really feel the distinction between these two areas.

But if I have to choose, I’d go for the City Center. It has slightly more accommodations. And tour companies usually pick up or meet up with guests on this side of the river.

TOP LJUBLJANA HOSTELS

• NEW! Hostel Metro Ljubljana. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Hostel Zeppelin. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Hostel Tresor. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Hostel 24. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Hostel Celica Art. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Fluxus Hostel. Check Rates & Availability! ✅

TOP APARTMENTS & HOTELS IN LJUBLJANA

• Adora Apartments and Rooms. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Urban Hotel Ljubljana. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Hotel Mrak. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Apartment Megapolis. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Apartment Nuk. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• AB Ljubljana – The Princess Castle Triplex. Check Rates & Availability! ✅
• Apartments Maria. Check Rates & Availability! ✅

Search for more Ljubljana Hotels!

How to get to ljubljana.

The Ljubljana Joze Pucnik Airport (LJU) is the city’s international airport. It’s often referred to simply as Ljubljana Airport and sometimes Brnik Airport , which is its previous name.

Even though it’s Slovenia’s largest airport, the flight options here are limited. It used to be the hub of Adria Airways , which was the country’s flag carrier until 2019, when it filed for bankruptcy. Today, airlines that operate here include EasyJet, Air France, Air Serbia, Lufthansa, Transavia, and Wizz Air, connecting Slovenia to mostly European cities.

However, according to some of the locals we met, when they need to fly to destinations not linked to Ljubljana Airport, they head for the Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) in Italy, which is easily accessible from Ljubljana. So yes, you can also fly to Venice Airport to reach Slovenia.

Ljubljana Airport to City Center

Ljubljana Airport is located around 30 km north of the city center, 30 minutes by car or 45 minutes by bus. Here are your options:

• BY PUBLIC BUS The cheapest option. Take Public Bus #28 at the airport to Ljubljana’s main bus station. Schedule: Monday-Friday, one bus at the top of every hour from 5am to 8pm; Saturday, Sunday and holidays, at 7am and every two hours from 10am to 8pm. Fare: 4.10 €. You can buy tickets from the driver. Travel time: 45 minutes
• BY SHUTTLE Two shuttle companies can take you to the city center from the airport: GoOpti and Nomago. The former gives your the option to book board a shared vehicle or a private service. Schedule: GoOpti , Nomago GoOpti Fare: shared, 17€ per person; private, 29€. Nomago Fare: 10€ per person Travel time: 30-45 minutes

There are also taxis available for those in a hurry or have extra to spend.

Visitors can also take buses and shuttles to other cities in Slovenia.

Venice Airport to Ljubljana

Ljubljana can also easily be reached from Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) , which is 230 km away! It’s much more connected than Ljubljana Airport, serving more flights to and from more cities around the world.

FlixBus has direct buses from Venice Airport to Ljubljana Bus Station at the city center. Travel time is around 3.5 hours. Fare is from 13€ to 36€, depending on how early you book.

✅ CHECK UPDATED SCHEDULE & RATES HERE!

FlixBus also connects Ljubljana to other European cities. Whether you’re coming from Austria, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland or Croatia, you can book a direct trip to Ljubljana. We have experienced traveling from Bologna straight to Ljubljana and it was a pleasant experience!

Here are the usual Flixbus fare and travel time estimates per route.

• Venice to Ljubljana. Direct. Travel time: 4 hours. Fare: 13.99€ to 29.99€.
• Bologna to Ljubljana. Direct trips available but most involve transfer in Venice. Travel time: 6 hours, direct; up to 10 hours, with transfer. Fare: 19.99€ to 50€.
• Vienna to Ljubljana. Direct. Travel time: 5 to 5.5 hours. Fare: 29.99€ to 39.99€.
• Salzburg to Ljubljana. Direct. Travel time: 3.5 to 4 hours. Fare: 17.99€ to 49.99€.
• Munich to Ljubljana. Direct. Travel time: 5 to 6.5 hours. Fare: 18.99€ to 35.99€.
• Zurich to Ljubljana. Direct available. But most buses entail a Munich transfer. Travel time: 10 hours, direct; up to 12 hours, with transfer. Fare: 29.99€ to 79.99€.
• Budapest to Ljubljana. Direct. Travel time: 6 to 6.5 hours. Fare: 25.99€ to 39.99€.
• Zagreb to Ljubljana. Direct. Travel time: 2.5 hours. Fare: 8.99€ to 25.99€.
• Split to Ljubljana. Direct. Travel time: 8 to 11 hours. Fare: 19.99€ to 59.99€.

✅ CHECK FLIXBUS SCHEDULE & RATES HERE!

Ljubljana is also linked to other cities in Slovenia and neighboring countries by railway. The main train station is located on the northern edge of the Center District, just beside the Bus Station.

Some of the major cities that are directly connected by train to Ljubljana are: Zagreb, Croatia; Salzburg and Vienna, Austria; Munich and Frankfurt, Germany; Belgrade, Serbia; and Zurich, Switzerland.

There are no direct connections from Italy. If you’re coming from Italy, the most common way of reaching Slovenia is by taking the train to Venice or Trieste, and then making a bus transfer to Ljubljana.

Search for Train Tickets Here!

How to get around ljubljana.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to any European capital that is more walkable than Ljubljana. Not only is the city generally small and safe, much of it is also a pedestrian-only zone, covering the Old Town and surrounding areas. This is in line with the local government’s bid to becoming the greenest city in the world. It makes the city perfect for pleasant, relaxing strolls!

If your itinerary focuses on the city center, it is definitely possible to cover everything on foot and not take any form of transportation at all. But here are some other options:

• By Bicycle. Bikes are allowed within the Pedestrian Zone. You can rent one from the Slovenian Tourist Information Center or from one of the hostels or hotels offering a rental service. Rate is usually 5€ per day.
• By Electric Car (Kavalir). Within the Pedestrian Zone run electric-powered cars called “kavalir”. This is a FREE service primarily for the elderly and those with reduced mobility, regardless of whether they’re locals or tourists. Each vehicle can accommodate up to 5 passengers. If you have health or mobility issues, you can hail one on the streets. Available daily from 6am to 10pm.
• By Electric Train (Urban). Aside from kavalir, another electric-powered vehicle roaming the historical core is the “Urban”, a train that can take you to the key tourist spots in the city from the City Hall and Ljubljana Castle to Krakovo and back to Old Town. A roundtrip takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. Day ticket costs 8€ for adults.
• By City Bus. Ljubljana has 26 bus lines, most of which run between 5am and 10:30pm. But there are also a few night buses. To use the bus system, you need to purchase an Urbana card from key bus stops or newspaper agents. The card costs 2€ but you should top up if you’re gonna use it multiple times. Upon boarding, scan the card on the reader. Fare is 1.30€, valid for unlimited rides within 90 minutes from the first scan.

Ljubljana Card (Pass)

If you have a jam-packed itinerary, you might want to consider getting a Ljubljana Card, which will allow you unlimited access to the city buses, FREE airport bus transfer, and FREE admission to over 20 attractions in the city, among others.

Here are some of the perks of having this card:

• FREE entrance to 20+ attractions including Plečnik House, Snovik Thermal Spa, Ljubljana Zoo, National Museum of Slovenia, National Gallery, and several other museums.
• FREE funicular ride to Ljubljana Castle
• FREE guided city tour
• FREE airport bus transfer
• FREE travel on public transport
• FREE tourist boat cruise on Ljubljanica river
• FREE 4-hour bicycle hire
• FREE wifi for 24 hours

The card comes in three variants. Here are the regular prices:

• 24-hour card: 31€
• 48-hour card: 39€
• 72-hour card: 45€

You can get a slight discount if you purchase this card from Klook!

✅ GET DISCOUNTED CARD HERE!

THINGS TO DO IN LJUBLJANA

Old town walking tour.

Ljubljana’s historical center is dotted with several interesting structures! Here you’ll find beautiful buildings from a bygone era. Of course, you can also pull a DIY (do-it-yourself). But the great thing about joining a guided tour is you get to learn more about the storied past of not just Ljubljana but also Slovenia as you walk down the alleys and across the squares.

Some of the common stops include:

• Ljubljana Cathedral
• Town Hall (Mestna hiša )
• Triple Bridge
• Preseren Square
• Congress and Republic Squares
• Dragon Bridge
• Central Market

You can join a FREE walking tour or a paid one. In case you’re not familiar, free walking tours are free only in theory. In practice, you are expected to give a tip at the end, which is the only way the guides can make some money. The tip doesn’t need to be big; most usually give 5€ each. But if the guide did an exceptional job, we always add more.

We joined the classic tour organized by Ljubljana Free Tour . Schedule: Daily 11am. In some months, additional tours are added in the afternoon. Meetup point: Prešeren Square

We enjoyed the tour. The only comment we had is that the group was big so it was hard to hear sometimes.

If you want a tour with a smaller group, you can join a paid tour instead. The tour offered by Klook has an additional stop at Ljubljana Castle, including roundtrip funicular rides.

Ljubljana Castle

The Ljubljana Castle is probably the city’s most famous landmark. Its roots can be traced back to the 11th century. Perched on top of a 375-meter hill, this historic site offers a great view of the downtown Ljubljana. There are three main ways to climb to the castle:

• By hiking. You can do this independently or join a group tour.
• By Urban tourist train. We explained this in the How to Get Around section above. Fare: 8€.
• By funicular. Get to the funicular station at the base of the hill, near the Central Market. The ride will take you up and into the castle. Fare: one-way, 2.20€; roundtrip, 4€.

Opening hours: 10am-10pm.

You can explore the castle grounds FREE of charge. But to enter the watchtower, Chapel of St. George, Museum of Puppets, or the Slovenian History Exhibition, you need to purchase a ticket.

The regular ticket costs 13€, which already includes roundtrip funicular ride and access to the castle’s viewing tower, Virtual Castle, Museum of Puppetry, and Slovenian History Exhibition.

You also need to pay more to enjoy some of the other special attractions inside like the Escape Castle (escape game), Behind Bars Guided Tour or the Time Machine Guided Tour. See the rates for other tickets here!

Ljubljanica River Cruise

Another way of sightseeing is by joining the river cruise. The journey takes 45 minutes, ensuring a slow and relaxed pace. It’s a no-sweat way to explore and enjoy the beautiful sights of the old town.

You have two options for the vessel: a tourist boat and a wooden boat.

• Tourist boat , which accommodate up to 32 passengers. In winter, the boat is heated for comfort. Schedule: Daily. April-November, 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, 8pm; November-March, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm. Boarding spot: Ribji trg pier, close to the Triple Bridge
• Wooden boat , which is named after the river, Ljubljanica. Made of larch wood, it can ferry up to 48 pax. Schedule: Daily, every hour from 11am to 5pm. Boarding spot: Breg embankment pier

Price: 10€, adult; 5€, children 4-12 yo

Stand-up Paddleboarding

If you’re up for some excitement and adventure, you can also go stand-up paddleboarding down the Ljubljanica River!

Don’t worry if you don’t have the skills (yet)! The calm waters of the Ljubljanica makes it an ideal playground for first-timers! Each session starts with an introductory course that will teach you the basics. You’ll then join your instructor as you paddle your way across the city center. Each booking also comes with photos.

Schedule: Twice a day. One in the morning (usually 9 or 10am, depending on season) and one in the afternoon (5 or 6pm). Price: 39€, inclusive of instructor fee, equipment rental, and photos. Departure point: Špica Cafe

Ljubljana is at the crossroads of Slavic, Germanic, and Romance cultures, which makes its cuisine pretty eclectic! You’ll find Pannonian, Mediterranean, Balkan, Alpine and other international dishes at the dozens of restaurants scattered around the city. This mixture provides foodies a gastronomic adventure during their visit.

Of course, you can totally do this on your own. But if you want to learn more about Slovenia’s food culture, it’s best to join a guided tour. A guided food tour will take you to a number of restaurants where you’ll sample various dishes and wines. The guide will share information, insights and stories to enrich your experience.

Museum Hopping

Whether you’re an art enthusiast or a history buff, you’ll probably find a museum worthy of your time in Ljubljana! Here are some of the museums you might want to check out.

• National Museum of Slovenia It has two sites: Muzejska and Metelkova Hours open: Daily 10am-6pm (Thursdays 10am-8pm) Closed: Some holidays Entrance fee: 6€ for 1 site, 8.5€ for 2 sites
• Ljubljana National Gallery Hours open: Tuesdays–Sundays 10am-6pm Closed: Mondays and some holidays Entrance fee: 8€
• The Museum of Architecture and Design Ljubljana Hours open: Tuesdays–Sundays 10am-6pm; Thursdays 10am-8pm. Closed: Mondays and some holidays Entrance fee: 5€
• Museum of Modern Art Hours open: Tuesdays–Sundays 10am-6pm Closed: Mondays and some holidays Entrance fee: 5€
• National Museum of Contemporary History Hours open: Tuesdays-Sundays 10am-6pm (Thursdays 10am-8pm) Closed: Mondays and some holidays Entrance fee: 5€
• Slovenian Museum of Natural History Hours open: Daily 10am-6pm (Thursdays 10am-8pm) Closed: Some holidays Entrance fee: 4€

Other Ljubljana Attractions

There are several other places in the city that may be worthy of your time including the following:

• The Central Market lies on the southern bank of the Ljubljanica, at the foot of the Dragon Bridge. It’s the place to go for local produce and street eats. For the longest time, it’s also where people meet and socialize. Today, the market comprises an open-air section and covered section. On one side, you’ll see a colonnaded lane of food stalls. That building was designed by Jože Plečnik. Hours open: Covered section, Monday-Friday 7am-4pm, Saturday 7am-2pm; Open-air section, Monday-Saturday 6am-4pm (until 6pm in summer). Closed: Sundays and holidays
• House of Illusions , which has 40 exhibits that will trick your brain and put your senses to a test. You’ll encounter holograms, puzzles, and several mind-bending spaces like the Mirror Room, the Upside Down Room, and the Vortex Tunnel. Hours open: Daily 9am-9pm Entrance fee: 9.95€ Reserve a ticket here!
• Krakovo is a trendy neighborhood south of the Old Town and part of Trnovo district. They say that Krakovo is to Ljubljana as Montmarte is to Paris. It used to be a small suburban village but became part of the city as it expanded. Quieter than the city center, you can spend half a day at its cafes and parks or admire the postcard-worthy two-story cottages.
• Tivoli Park is the largest park in Ljubljana, painting the vast area west of the city center green. It was designed by Jean Blanchard in 1813, when the city was still a part of the French Illyrian Provinces. Within the park you’ll find the Tivoli Castle, a pond, two indoor sport arenas, gardens and several notable sculptures. Also inside the park is Cekin Mansion, which houses the Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia.
• The Preseren Square and the Triple Bridge lie adjacent to each other. The square’s current appearance dates back to the 17th century. It is a hub that connects various parts of the old town and leads to many of the historic center’s attractions. The Triple Bridge has become the main icon and is the heart of all touristic activities in the city.

We created a separate post for more attractions here: PLACES TO VISIT IN LJUBLJANA!

Day Trips from Ljubljana

In this section, we’ll share a few of most popular day trip destinations from Ljubljana. You can visit the first two items in a day by booking a tour that has all these in the itinerary. We booked with Klook — the Best of Slovenia Tour, which covers all Lake Bled, Predjama Castle and Postojna Cave — and had a fantastic time. It was one of the best day tours we had in Europe ever.

If you don’t have the time or you want a slower pace, you can also visit them individually. We provided the links to separate tours per spot.

This lake at the foot of the Julian Alps is a premier tourist destination. In the middle of the lake is a picturesque island where the Assumption of Mary Church stands. The history of the church goes all the way back to the 9th century, but the current structure you see was only built in the 17th century. To get there, board a traditional canoe!

Walk around the lake and check out different viewpoints to see the attractions from various perspectives. Overlooking the lake is Bled Castle, the oldest in the country, dating back to the 11th century. It offers the best view of the island. You can also dig into a slice of a local confection called kremšnita , a vanilla and custard cream cake topped with crispy pastry and a dusting of powdered sugar.

You can travel by bus from Ljubljana to Bled. Fare: 7.80€, one way.

However, to make the trip more enlightening, you may join a group tour. Many tourists also visit other destinations in the country within the same day. Book a tour with Klook to save time and effort in reaching these destinations and to have a stress-free day out.

Predjama Castle

Because of their proximity to each other, the Predjama Castle and the Postojna Cave are often bundled together by tour operators.

The Predjama Castle is a massive structure that was built in the mouth of a cave, making it almost impregnable. It’s not sure when it was constructed, but it was already documented as early as 1274. Legend has it that it became the seat of power of Erasmus of Lueg, a robber knight who killed an army commander. According to our guide, he’s like a Robinhood figure, but there aren’t that many similarities, IMO. But the castle is amazing! It’s also rumored to be haunted, so if you’re into spooky tales, pay a visit.

If you can’t do the full-day Slovenia tour, you can visit Predjama Castle and Postojna Cave on a half-day tour from Ljubljana!

Postojna Cave

Measuring over 24,000 meters, the Postojna Cave is the second longest cave system in Slovenia. It’s definitely, the biggest cave we’ve had the honor of stepping into. It’s so huge that there is a railway system inside, ferrying visitors to the out-of-this-world spots like the Concert Hall and the Big Mountain Hall.

Carved by the Pivka River over millions and millions of years, this karst cave is filled with rock formations like Brilliant , a marvelous five-meter stalagmite which has become the symbol for the cave; and the thousands of spaghetti , thin white noodle-like stalactites that adorn the ceiling of one of the halls.

You can visit Postojna Cave on your own by public transportation. Bus fare: 6€.

You can also join a Predjama Castle + Postojna Cave combo tour!

Škocjan Caves and Piran Coast

One of the most important cave systems in the world, the Škocjan Caves has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its sheer natural beauty, historical and cultural significance, and ecological value. This karst world has one of the world’s biggest underground canyons, nurturing a unique ecosystem.

This Klook tour also covers a stop at Piran, a charming coastal town with beautiful medieval era buildings. You’ll also visit other attractions such as the Predjama Castle and the Lipica Stud Farm.

Other Day Tours from Ljubljana

For more day trip options, we compiled some of the best destinations in Slovenia in another post. You can find it here: BEST SLOVENIA DESTINATIONS!

SAMPLE LJUBLJANA ITINERARY

Here’s a sample 4-day 3-night Slovenia itinerary. This assumes you’ll be spending your nights in Ljubljana and will just do a day trip to other destinations in the country. Go ahead and tweak this to match your schedule and other preferences.

This also assumes you’ll be coming from another European city by bus or by train, so airfare and airport transfers are not included in the budget breakdown.

DAY 1: ARRIVAL & TIVOLI PARK 01:30 pm – Arrival at Ljubljana Station 01:40 pm – Walk to hotel 02:00 pm – Hotel check-in – Settle tourist tax, 9.39€ 02:30 pm – Late lunch, 10€ 03:20 pm – Walk to Tivoli Park 04:00 pm – Tivoli Park 07:30 pm – Grocery shopping, 20€ 08:30 pm – Dinner at hotel 09:30 pm – Lights out *Best if you could catch the sunset

DAY 2: LJUBLJANA TOUR 09:00 am – Wake up, breakfast 10:00 am – River cruise, 10€ 11:00 am – Free walking tour, tip: 5€ 02:30 pm – Lunch, 10€ 04:30 pm – Ljubljana Castle* (via funicular), 13€ 06:00 pm – Walk around Old Town 07:30 pm – Dinner, 10€ 09:00 pm – Back to hotel

DAY 4 – DEPARTURE 08:30 am – Pack up 10:30 am – Early check out, leave bags 11:00 am – Early lunch, 10€ 12:00 pm – Leave for station for next city

Let’s say that you’re able to book a bed or room for 30€ per person per night. In this case, the itinerary above will set you back at least 380€ (USD 448, SGD 614, PHP 21,800) per person, excluding airfare, airport taxes and visa fees but including accommodations and a little allowance for future price movements and small miscellaneous purchases.

Note that the bulk of it is spent on the Slovenia Day Tour, which took up 40% of the budget. I included this tour because it will allow you to visit the most sites in the country in a day. But if you’re on a shoestring, you can choose just one or two destinations and take the bus. This will significantly reduce the total cost.

As mentioned, we didn’t include the train or plane fare going to and out of Ljubljana because I don’t know where you’re coming from or going to next. It varies from person to person, so it’s best to not cover it. It’s up to you to add that to your total budget.

MORE TIPS FOR THE POOR TRAVELER

• Walk when you can. Ljubjana is one of the most walkable cities on the planet. It isn’t the green capital for nothing! The greater part of the city center is pedestrian-only zone. Taking a stroll in between its picturesque buildings isn’t a chore! If you have health or mobility issues, take advantage of the kavalir vehicles, which can transport you for free.
• Most good restaurants are not open the whole day. They only operate during lunch hours (11:30 am – 1:00 pm) and dinner hours (7:00 pm – 9:00 pm).
• Pay a visit to the supermarket on your first day. It’s easy to find budget-friendly restaurants in Ljubljana, but if money is a major issue, you can buy food at the grocery or supermarket and just eat it in your hotel or hostel.

That said, if your pockets are pretty loaded, feel free to spend. Contribute to the local economy by hiring guides, eating at restaurants, joining tours, and purchasing souvenirs!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do i need a visa to visit slovenia.

Yes. Slovenia is a party to the Schengen agreement. If you’re a Philippine passport holder, you need a Schengen Visa to visit Ljubljana or any part of Slovenia.

If Slovenia is the only country you are going to visit or if you’re traveling to multiple countries but spending the most nights in Slovenia, you must apply for a Slovene Schengen visa. However, Slovenia doesn’t have a consulate here in the Philippines. The nearest mission is in Beijing. But you can file your application at the Belgian Embassy (Embassy of Belgium).

In our case, Slovenia is just one stop on our multi-country European tour. Because we would be staying the longest in Italy, we applied via the Italian Embassy.

For more information about how to get a visa, READ: SCHENGEN VISA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS!

Is Ljubljana / Slovenia safe?

Yes, Ljubljana is one of the safest cities in Europe.

Like most European capitals, there are pickpocketing and scams here and there, so you should remain vigilant all the time. But it is generally safe.

Just remember the following:

• Always keep an eye on your valuables.
• Don’t accept anything from strangers.
• When in doubt, ask your guide or hotel staff for advice.

Scams are NOT as rampant in Slovenia as in other touristy destinations in Europe, but we still recommend reading these posts:

✅ HOW TO AVOID SCAMS IN EUROPE

✅ HOW TO AVOID PICKPOCKETS IN EUROPE

When is the best time to visit Slovenia?

Spring (March-May).

Ljubljana is a year-round destination. Summer hosts lively festivals and events, autumn paints more colorful memories, and winter can be magical, too. But according to our guides, it’s best explored in spring, when the weather is a great mix of cool, dry and sunny.

We visited Ljubljana in September, when summer was giving way to autumn, and it rained half the time. Don’t get me wrong, the city is still great even when drenched, but the downpour can obviously limits one’s movements. Thankfully, there were days that the skies cleared.

What is the tipping policy in Ljubljana?

Ljubljana and Slovenia in general don’t have rigid rules when it comes to tipping. Tips are not obligatory but appreciated. The locals we talked to say they usually just round up the bill and tip if they enjoyed the service.

At restaurants, the service charge is already included in the bill. But you can still a tip if the service is exceptional.

On paid small group tours, you can tip 5-10% of the cost. At FREE walking tours, most participants leave 5€ if it’s a big group.

Is tap water safe to drink in Ljubljana?

Yes, tap water in Ljubljana is clean and potable. Even the water from the many drinking fountains around the city is safe to drink, too.

If you have trust issues and you must drink bottled water, purchase big bottles from the grocery or supermarket instead of buying small ones at restaurants. It’s cheaper that way.

What type of power plug / socket is used in Slovenia?

Electricity Info : 230 volts, 50 Hz. Common sockets are Type F, which also accept plugs that have two round pins (C and E).

2020 • 9 • 20

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Oh, what a delightful read! Slovenia truly has a special place in my heart. Despite the challenges you faced on your trip, it’s heartwarming to hear that the beauty of Slovenia shone through. Ljubljana, in particular, is a gem, isn’t it? Its quaint charm and walkable streets make it an ideal destination. And thank you for sharing those tips on getting around Ljubljana. Walking through its pedestrian zones is indeed a fantastic way to explore this lovely city. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures in Slovenia! ✨

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Slovenia Travel Blogs

If you haven’t already added Slovenia to your bucket list, it’s probably only because you haven’t seen any photos of it.

As soon as you do, you’ll see just how much beauty and charm this southern European country packs into its compact size.

Slovenia is simply stunning. From its famous lakes to its hidden castles, there are so many things to see in Slovenia.

WHY VISIT SLOVENIA:

The first time you visit Slovenia, you’ll wonder why you didn’t visit sooner.

Surrounded by popular tourist destinations such as  Croatia  and Austria, Slovenia often slips by unnoticed. It’s all too easy to overlook, falling just off the popular tourist trails in Europe. And if you didn’t know what awaits you in Slovenia, you probably wouldn’t think twice.

But, once you know about all the things to do in Slovenia, it’s impossible to ignore. Slovenia is a unique country that will excite and endear you. You can go back in time at its many medieval castles, have a beautiful adventure on and around its vivid lakes, or immerse yourself in eco-friendly initiatives and local traditions in tiny communities.

SLOVENIA TRAVEL GUIDES:

4 Days in Slovenia : The Perfect Slovenia Itinerary For A Long Weekend

A New Type Of Glamping: Slovenia’s Big Berry Lifestyle Resort

11 Of The Most Beautiful Places In Slovenia

STO Slovenska turistična organizacija STO

Dear readers.

Our mission is to inspire your visit to Slovenia by sharing the excellent and unique experiences Slovenian tourism has to offer at www.slovenia.info . Discover inspiring stories and plan for a time when we are able to travel safely again. Let’s be responsible today for a better tomorrow.

A SONIC JOURNEY. MY WAY.

Boutique. green. diverse..

Welcome to a country that embraces you with lush greenery reflecting our commitment to sustainability. In this unique land, the Pannonian, Alpine and Mediterranean worlds converge, weaving together a tapestry of natural, cultural and culinary diversity. Discover the world of unique boutique experiences and exceptional people. Stroll through vibrant city streets and squares seamlessly blending with countless picturesque countryside paths. Slovenia is a place where rich cultural tradition harmonizes with the contemporary artistic expression. Here, outdoor activities and exquisite cuisine based on seasonal and local ingredients intertwine with health and well-being.

Slovenia. A land of inspiration, where unforgettable memories are made.

Stories from Slovenia

Find inspiration for your trip in the stories from Slovenia.

Meet cyclist Tadej Pogačar

Get to know the Slovenian grandmaster of great cycling races, Tadej Pogačar.

Alma M. Karlin, all-round world traveller

Who is the woman whose freedom-loving spirit made her one of the greatest travellers of all time?

Tour of Slovenia 2024

Watch the Tour of Slovenia and feel the cycling heart of Slovenia.

Pampering and treatment

Be pampered in the wellness centres of Slovenian spas, where you can relax and rejuvenate.

Which corner of Slovenia would you like to discover today?

Enter your chosen destination for more information on activities.

Inspiring places

Slovenia's greatest treasures are waiting for you. How will you feel Slovenia?

Lake Bled and a castle perched on a cliff is one of the most beautiful Alpine resorts in Europe.

UNESCO World Heritage

Slovenian treasure troves of world heritage

Piran and salt pans

Piran, the most beautiful town of Mediterranean Slovenia.

Lipica is a renowned cradle of the Lipizzaner horse breed in Europe.

Ljubljana. Vibrant. Lively. A city that combines the charm of a small capital and the confidence of big European cities.

Logar Valley

Listen to the waterfalls humming away in the green valley.

World’s Oldest Vine

For more than 450 years, the world’s oldest vine has remained firmly rooted in the heart of Maribor.

Postojna cave

Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle are world-class attractions!

Velika planina

The largest shepherds’ settlement in Europe.

Soča Valley

Soča, the emerald river of a thousand special features

Slovenia at a glance

The Slovenian currency is the Euro.

Communication

In addition to Slovenian, most people in Slovenia speak English.

Arriving in Slovenia

It takes 2 hours to fly from London to Ljubljana.

In Slovenia, you can swim in the sea in the morning and climb mountains in the afternoon.

Boutique, authentic, unique

Discover the most unique stories and experiences that you won't find anywhere else. Let yourself be inspired by the 5-star boutique experiences under the Slovenia Unique Experiences label. Here you can experience the uniqueness of Slovenia with all your senses and in an unforgettable way. In your own way.

Sports and culinary route to the four microbreweries of Kamnik, the place with the most breweries per inhabitant in the world.

Beer Way to Freedom Tour

Feel the adrenaline rush of a mountain bike ride through the abandoned tunnels of the Mežica Mine under Mount Peca.

Adrenaline-pumping mountain bike descent on the Black Hole Trail

An experience that reveals how mining has shaped the landscape of Šaleška Valley and its inhabitants.

Mysteries of submerged villages

A unique three-day experience for lovers of fly fishing, pristine nature and clean rivers that includes local cuisine and an unforgettable adventure –...

Fish & Fly Trio

Enter the world of the mysterious forests of Kočevje and explore the nature in all its primal glory. This area is home to the largest brown bear population...

Discover the natural habitat of bears

Experience the charm of the Slovenian countryside at one of the most traditional homesteads in Prlekija.

Dreamy nights in a hayloft at the Firbas Homestead

A hike on centuries-old Jezersko shepherding trails with an experienced mountaineer.

A hike with "sheep salting" above Češka koča

A forest adventure in which you discover the melodiousness of the trees and learn about the secrets of the forest.

Forest Melody

A documentary experience that opens the door to secret rooms where unusual hotel activities took place during the Iron Curtain period.

Secret rooms of the Hotel Jama

A first-class exploration of Pomurje through a guided tour of the family oil mill, where you learn about the traditional processing of pumpkin seed oil...

From pumpkin to oil – the story of a family oil mill with a lasting tradition

Turn back time and experience the festive season and Slovenian traditions as they used to be in the days of Prešeren on an authentic Gorenjska homestead.

Sound of holiday

A 1930s-style noble experience that puts you in the shoes of a legendary entrepreneur on a private visit to what was once Europe's most prestigious leather...

Flight to the tannery of Europe

An experience that reveals the rich pastoral heritage of the Velika Planina plateau and offers a comfortable break and a modern culinary experience in...

Experience Velika Planina

Learn about the story of the best farmed fish in the world and enjoy its incredible taste. 

An unforgettable day at the Fonda Fish Garden

A culinary experience, in which you will learn about dry ageing of meat products at an acclaimed ham producer in the Prekmurje region and try your hand...

Meet Meat & Eat – a story about meat worthy of your time

An adrenaline-fuelled adventure in the most famous karst cave in Europe, which will transform you from tourists into explorers.

In the footsteps of the first cave explorers - In the footsteps of Luka Čeč

Experience a world-class gastronomic adventure in Slovenia's deepest dining room. Enter a time machine and become a part of an underground adventure on...

Velenje Underground – a gastronomic adventure 160 metres below the surface

Become a part of an underground adventure in which you will row through the flooded tunnels of the largest lead and zinc mine in this part of Europe.

Kayaking adventure through the underground of Mount Peca

An epic tour with the architect of UNESCO's Ljubljana. An intimate experience of the visionary master and his great mind.

Master Plečnik

A woodland adventure where you will learn all you need to know about mushrooms while relaxing and having fun.

Mushrooming with Dr. Fungi

A nostalgic journey in legendary classic cars through Istria’s olive groves.

Vintage Gourmet Tour

In the magical ambiance of the Fonda Fish Garden, right by the sea and a stone's throw from the Sečovlje Salt Pans, you will learn in a small group everything...

Mediterranean fish cooking workshop with Irena Fonda

A journey to the seven castles of Posavje to experience their rich cultural heritage, unforgettable views and culinary treats.

Magnificent seven – inspiring stories of Posavje castles

A good breakfast sets you up for a day of exploration and fun in the city. Begin your day with a real Ljubljana breakfast and enjoy the always-lively...

Yummy Market Walk

Maribor’s mix of good food, wine and music.

Rock'n'Roll of flavours

Taste the world's first sparkling wine produced in complete darkness.

Untouched by Light Experience – tasting a sparkling wine untouched by light

Slovenian art and culture: legends, pioneers and modern mystics.

Embark on an enriching journey into the vibrant tapestry of Slovenian art and culture. Meet the creators, legends and pioneers who have left an indelible mark. Travel through a fascinating history, from the fiery origins of the Slovenian language, shaped by Trubar, to the enduring legacy of architect Plečnik, renowned for his human-centric urban designs. Explore exciting experiences, from the charming streets of the vibrant capital of Ljubljana, to the stunning Kostanjevica na Krki, where contemporary art intertwines with sacred heritage.

Watch the video

My way of connecting with cultural flair

Unveil the charm of a contemporary, creatively vibrant Slovenia, distinguished by its world-class artists, an array of year-round inspiring events and a rich cultural heritage. 

Cultural atmosphere of historic towns

Celebrating culture and art in historic Slovenian towns.

Festival holidays in Slovenia

Camp and enjoy Slovenia's popular music and arts festivals.

Why choose Slovenia for your honeymoon?

Romantic spots and unforgettable experiences for the most beautiful honeymoon in Slovenia.

My way of finding active adventures

Slovenia's rugged landscape serves as the ultimate playground for year-round outdoor activities. Breathe in the freshness of nature as you explore new paths, encounter exciting experiences and embark on thrilling adventures.

Safely into the mountains

Follow the instructions for safe hiking in the mountains.

Five cycling experiences in Slovenia picked by Tadej Pogačar

Cycling experiences in Slovenia that the two-time Tour de France winner swears by.

Outdoor festivals and events in Slovenia

Events and festivals where you can flex your muscles and enjoy nature.

My way of recharging the batteries

Find your own oasis of tranquillity and relaxation at Slovenia's natural spas and health resorts. Revitalise your body and mind. Tap into the energy of nature. Indulge in pampering and fun in the water.

Top experiences for couples in Slovenian spas and health resorts

Conjure up romantic moments with special thermal wellness programmes for couples.

Top honey wellness experiences in Slovenia

Indulge your senses with api wellness experiences.

The healthy waters of Slovenia

Experience treatments using incredible thermal and mineral waters in Slovenia.

My way of tasting Slovenia

Treat your taste buds to the exquisite flavours of Slovenia. Indulge in the culinary expertise of our finest chefs as they showcase the authentic tastes of fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Top Slovenian restaurants as selected by Gault & Millau

If you’re unsure of where to eat, open the latest Slovenian edition of the Gault&Millau guide.

Top outdoor gastronomic experiences

Indulge in the best Slovenian outdoor gastronomic experiences.

Top restaurants and accommodation under one roof

Top five restaurants where you can spend the night after dinner.

My way to a green future

Adopt a sustainable mindset. Opt for green travel choices. Seek green destinations and stay with environmentally conscious providers. Be inspired by Slovenia's green stories.

10 directions for responsible trips in the wild

Enjoy nature responsibly.

Top wildlife experiences

Experience Slovenia's biodiversity.

The beekeeping traditions and honey experiences of Slovenia

Learn about the rich tradition of beekeeping in Slovenia and enjoy beekeeping experiences for all your senses.

Mark your calendar with must-see events

Stay informed on Slovenia’s latest happenings and discover exciting upcoming events.

The new major exhibition at the UGM | Maribor Art Gallery opens up a spectrum of views, positions, and forms, both within the artworks from the UGM Collection...

Spekter. 70 Years of the UGM Collection

Drawings and paintings.

Maria Lassnig

The Open Kitchen, Ljubljana’s picturesque culinary market and a delightful meeting point for curious foodies and other bon vivants has been uniting the...

Open Kitchen

Spring brings the first crops to our gardens and orchards - in April we are already harvesting medicinal wild and cultivated asparagus, and in May we...

Brdalicious - Flavors of Love

With the exhibition Eyes in the Stone, we give power to the primary emotion of fear to jolt us from our numbness to seemingly failing warnings of science....

EKO 9 Triennial of Art and Environment: Eyes in the Stone

A paradise for flower lovers and botanical experts.

18th International Wild Flower Festival

The annual Lighting Guerrilla festival presents a programme of light installations set up in Ljubljana's streets and parks and a number of galleries.

Lighting Guerrilla, Light Art Festival

Discover the secrets of the Karst underground, take a walk in the Karst glade, get to know the exceptional natural and cultural heritage, people and life...

Kras-Carso Cross-Border Geopark Week invites you to explore the Karst region without limits

KAOS, festival of contemporary collage which takes place at the Layer House in Kranj, pays tribute to the creativity of contemporary collage.

KAOS, festival of contemporary collage

The wildest Slovenian trail running event in the heart of Kočevsko forests.

Kočevsko Outdoor Festival hosted by I feel Slovenia

The first Slovenian food truck festival returns to the idyllic place in Slovenj Gradec! We start on Friday 31. May and we will be in Slovenj Gradec till...

Food truck festival in Slovenj Gradec

The Poli Marathon is the largest recreational cycling event in Slovenia and beyond, where time and speed are not important. At the same time, it is also...

22nd Poli marathon

This year’s season of the hugely popular Altroke Istria Gourmet Festivals, traditionally held on the last Thursday of every month in various locations...

Altroke Istra Gourmet Festival – Boršt

On Friday, June 7th, from 10 AM to 8 PM, we invite you to Cankar Street, where the air will be filled with the aroma of culinary delights from various...

The Flavors Promenade

Offering a diverse choice of routes, the Franja Marathon is a sporting event suitable for both elite sportsmen and recreational cyclists, including families.

BTC City Franja Marathon

Taste the plate with heart

Tastes of Bela krajina

Souvenirs of wonderful stories.

Let collectibles, cheering props, products for children and leisure time embellished with the I feel Slovenia brand remind you of the stories you experienced in Slovenia or inspire you to make new discoveries in the country of boutique tourism. Choose them in the only official online shop. Worldwide delivery guaranteed. Choose something for yourself!

Top IG Stories

Find your inspiration for travelling through the most visible, unique Instagram Stories on social networks @FeelSlovenia.  Let the Instagram Stories take you through places and first-person adventures, colourful graphics, handwritten notes and an innovative combination of various visual media.

Share your way with the world

Check out @FeelSlovenia on Instagram and let the whole world know what’s your way of feeling Slovenia with #ifeelsLOVEnia & #myway.

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BEST TIME TO HIKE IN SLOVENIA

Slovenia is a year-round travel destination. There are always a ton of exciting things to do and every season has its pluses and minuses. However, when you go hiking, you have to consider several different factors to choose your best time to hike in Slovenia. And

BEST TRAVEL PHOTO LOCATIONS IN SLOVENIA

Photos from travels document important moments in our lives. Oftentimes our most precious memories are never even captured on frames but are engraved deep in our brain because of the way we felt engaging with a certain place, person, or experience in time. In this blog

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What's it like to cycle the Slovenia Green Gourmet Route?

A 15-day, 535-mile cycle-and-train itinerary, Slovenia Green Gourmet Route gives visitors on two wheels a fresh perspective on the country's food, history and culture.

Halfway across Napoleon Bridge — spanning the River Soča as it rushes through a narrow limestone gorge — I stop dead in my tracks. At the southeastern edge of Triglav National Park, home to Slovenia’s highest mountain, 2,864-metre Mount Triglav, the landscape has erupted in green, its various shades highlighted by the sun. It shines down on the water, turquoise and clear; it plays on the beech and spruce trees, lining the banks with splashes of emerald, teal and lime. Looking north, the Soča snakes out of sight where the Julian Alps rise, poking through the clouds.

A gentle breeze rustles the leaves as I hop back on the saddle. I’m on the fifth stage of the Slovenia Green Gourmet Route (SGGR), a 435-mile, cycle-and-train itinerary that spotlights the country’s culinary scene. The trail was launched in 2020, coinciding with Slovenia receiving its first Michelin stars, as well as being named the 2021 European Region of Gastronomy.

I pedal on to Kobarid, a five-minute ride further down the route that hugs the waterway. This town has long been popular among Slovenes for its riverside, Alpine location. More recently, it’s also made headlines for being home to the restaurant Hiša Franko, which in 2023 was awarded its third Michelin star.

“Being green is the way you understand and live with nature,” says Ana Roš, Hiša Franko’s head chef, who’s helped inspire a level of artful innovation in the country’s alpine cuisine. I meet her outside the restaurant, a salmon-coloured manor house set against a dense forest and towering mountains. Inside, tasting menus elevate ingredients that have been foraged, fished and fermented in the surrounding peaks, from tagliolini with rabbit, cacao and black truffle to honey brioche with beeswax, pear and chamomile.

It’s a microcosm of the cycling trail itself: innovation based on what the land provides. The SGGR is part of the Slovenia Green Routes, a cycle network launched in 2019 that now includes six themed trails. Each provides free-to-download information, from GPX tracks and accommodation options to service providers and restaurants, making for easy navigation. And, crucially, they all link destinations and businesses with Slovenia Green certification, which guarantees sustainable practices. It’s all based on a simple philosophy: if you make it easy for visitors to choose responsible travel options, they will.

Like most Slovenia Green Routes, the SGGR connects nearly every key area of the country, from the western Julian Alps to the northeastern Pannonian Region. Last year, five new stages were added, bringing the total number to 16. The route now stops in Škofja Loka, Kranj and Radovljica — gateway towns to the Alps, lying to the north of Ljubljana, that were previously not routed for cycles — as well as Postojna, famous for its network of karst caves, and Krško, which sits on the Sava River near the eastern border with Croatia.

It’s the new Alpine stages I aim to explore as I set off from Ljubljana. From the capital, the route snakes north toward two mountain ranges, the Karawanks and Kamnik-Savinja Alps, before turning west toward the Italian border and the Julian Alps. Each Slovenia Green Routes stage is best tackled in a day and averages around 30 miles — four hours on the saddle — on quiet asphalt streets, dedicated bike paths and gravel forest roads, with boutique inns to rest at en route.

I ride through villages perched on slopes, whose houses are surrounded with bee boxes, orchards and meticulously stacked firewood. But it’s a train, the historic Bohinj Railway, from Bohinjska Bistrica to the town of Most na Soči, that finally takes me to the Soča River. Here, peaks begin to give way to vineyards, corduroy fields of grape vines carpeting the Goriška Brda wine region, best known for its native variety of white, Rebula, and its rich red Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Heading east, I roll into the Vipava Valley, where I stop at Majerija, a 17th-century stone farmhouse-turned-bistro that offers zero-kilometre dishes. Sitting at a wooden table on its cobblestone terrace, surrounded by herb gardens, I refuel with veal tartare and homemade vanilla ice cream, topped with figs soaked in rum. “On a bicycle, you return to nature,” says Matej Tomažič, who cut his teeth at Hiša Franko before becoming Majerija’s owner and chef, as he stops by my table to discuss my two-wheel journey. “Time slows down, you escape your daily obligations, do something good for your health and at the same time experience the culture and traditions of the area you’re passing through.”

I continue east across the Karst region, visiting the UNESCO-listed Škocjan Caves, before pedalling back towards Ljubljana. From there, I plan to make the rest of the journey, across the eastern half of the country, by train. But before leaving, I head to the castle that sits above the capital’s cobbled streets. Here, in the Archer’s Tower next to the castle’s entrance, sits Michelin-starred Strelec restaurant. In a dining room with ancient stone walls, wooden floors and panoramic views of the city, I feast on Chef Igor Jagodic’s nine-course tasting menu, which focuses on seasonal ingredients — something that by now I’ve learned to expect. I try a delicate turbot fish fillet, wallowing in brown butter and lemon with Adriatic shrimp. Mid-bite, I spot the moonlight illuminate the Alps through the window. Like the view from Napoleon Bridge, it’s an arresting scene. I should have learned to expect these, too, but I can’t seem to look away.

Three more Alpine green routes to try

1.   Slovenia Green Wellness Route Best for: spa culture Spanning just over 400 miles, with 16 stages averaging around 25 miles each, this route spotlights the country’s diverse wellness offering. Starting in Ljubljana, it heads north to the medieval town of Kamnik and the Kamnik-Savinja Alps before exploring the eastern half of the country, known for its therapeutic waters. It continues through the city of Maribor and into Slovenia’s northeastern corner before a stint in Croatia.

For the best experience, split each day into two. From morning to midday, cycle along ridge lines, below peaks, between vineyards and through valleys. In the afternoon, relax at one of the many thermal spas you’ll find along the way.

2. Slov enia Green Solčava Panoramic Route Best for: multi-activity breaks Slovenia is perfectly primed for those on two wheels; the country’s cyclists have dominated professional competitions in recent years, taking top podium spots at the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. But at times, it pays to hop off the saddle. It’s in these moments that this route, covering over 80 miles on both bike and foot, comes into its own.

Tucked into the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, on the border with Austria, the Solčava region is Slovenia at its prettiest. Trails crisscross valleys and farms, rolling from tidy, church-anchored villages to dramatic waterfalls framed by peaks. Between rides, cyclists refuel with local cheese, freshly baked bread and homemade schnapps.

The first stages of this six-day itinerary will see you cycle on asphalt and farm roads from the village of Solčava through mountain landscapes to the Grohot hut. From here, the most active adventurers can set off to hike Raduha, a 2,062-metre peak. As the stages roll on, you’ll venture past waterfalls and caves and through forests as you travel to the Logar Valley. Stop along the way to sip mountain tea with Slovenes who’ve mastered the art of slow, in-the-moment living.

3. Slovenia Green Capitals Escape Route Best for: soft adventure This three-stage, 110-mile option takes in Slovenia’s urban, nature and heritage capitals rolling through foothills, with the Alps to the north and the Dinaric Alps spilling south east into the Balkans.

It begins in Ljubljana, packed with museums and shops, and bistros and cafes lining the Ljubljanica river. If here on a Friday, don’t miss the weekly Odprta Kuhna (‘Open Kitchen’), where restaurateurs set up kiosks next to the city’s main outdoor market.

Next, the route pushes out south to the town of Kočevje, the country’s green heart, set next to the densely forested Kočevsko region. Ride out to discover primeval woodland or hire a guide to try and spot brown bears, wolves and lynx. Once back in town, browse the works of local sculptor Stane Jarm, which are scattered throughout its streets.

The final stage sees you pedal into the Bela Krajina region, the country’s cultural centre, to explore ancient customs and heritage. The city sits on the banks of the Kolpa River, where groups from southeastern Europe have settled over the centuries. Visit the Škof-Šrajf Homestead to try local baked goods or pop into one of the region’s breweries or vineyards.

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Exploring The Beauty Of Slovenia: A Journey Through A Hidden Gem

• Last updated May 27, 2024
• Difficulty Intemediate

• Category Travel

Nestled in the heart of Europe, the enchanting country of Slovenia awaits, ready to reveal its breathtaking landscapes, charming cities, and rich cultural heritage. Despite being relatively unknown to many travelers, Slovenia is a hidden gem just waiting to be discovered. From the soaring peaks of the Julian Alps to the emerald green waters of Lake Bled, this country offers a wealth of natural beauty that will leave you speechless. Join us on an unforgettable journey through this captivating land as we uncover the hidden treasures and showcase the beauty of Slovenia. Prepare to be amazed by the stunning scenery, warm hospitality, and unique experiences that await in this truly remarkable destination.

What You'll Learn

Introduction to slovenia: a hidden gem in europe, exploring the natural beauty of slovenia: from lakes to mountains, immersing in the rich cultural heritage of slovenia, enjoying the culinary delights and wines of slovenia.

Slovenia, a small country nestled in Central Europe, is often referred to as a hidden gem. With its picturesque landscapes, charming cities, and rich cultural heritage, it is no wonder that travelers are drawn to this enchanting destination.

Located between Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, Slovenia offers an abundance of diversity within its borders. From the stunning Julian Alps and Triglav National Park to the emerald-green waters of Lake Bled and the charming coastal town of Piran, there is something for everyone in this small but versatile country.

One of the best ways to experience Slovenia is by exploring its vibrant capital, Ljubljana. With its colorful baroque buildings, cozy cafes, and lively atmosphere, this pedestrian-friendly city is a delight to wander around. Don't miss the iconic Triple Bridge, the impressive Ljubljana Castle, or the charming old town with its famous Dragon Bridge.

Nature lovers will be in awe of Slovenia's breathtaking landscapes. Lake Bled, with its fairy-tale island and medieval castle perched on a hilltop, is a must-visit spot. For a more off-the-beaten-path experience, head to Lake Bohinj, a tranquil sanctuary surrounded by snow-capped mountains. And if you're up for a challenging adventure, don't miss the opportunity to hike to the top of Mount Triglav, the highest peak in the country.

Slovenia's coastline may be short, but it is packed with charm. The coastal town of Piran, with its narrow streets and Venetian architecture, is a true gem. Take a stroll along the promenade, enjoy fresh seafood at one of the local restaurants, and soak up the Mediterranean atmosphere. For a bit of relaxation, head to the nearby Portoroz, a popular seaside resort known for its luxurious spas and natural salt pans.

History buffs will find plenty to explore in Slovenia. Visit the medieval town of Ptuj, the oldest city in the country, and admire its well-preserved castle and charming city center. Discover the rich architectural heritage of the coastal town of Koper, renowned for its Venetian-style palaces and narrow alleys. And don't forget to explore the UNESCO World Heritage site of Škocjan Caves, a breathtaking underground network of passages, chambers, and waterfalls.

Slovenia is also a paradise for food and wine lovers. Indulge in traditional Slovenian dishes such as potica (rolled pastry with various fillings), štruklji (rolled dumplings), and Kranjska klobasa (Carniolan sausage). Pair your meal with a glass of local wine, as Slovenia boasts numerous vineyards and wineries producing high-quality wines.

No matter what time of year you visit Slovenia, there is always something to do. In the summer, you can hike, cycle, or swim in the crystal-clear lakes and rivers. In the winter, you can hit the slopes and enjoy skiing in world-class resorts such as Kranjska Gora or Krvavec. And throughout the year, you can immerse yourself in the cultural events and festivals that take place all over the country.

In conclusion, Slovenia is a hidden gem in Europe that offers a world of wonders to discover. From its stunning natural landscapes to its charming cities and rich cultural heritage, there is something for everyone in this enchanting destination. So why not add Slovenia to your travel bucket list and experience the beauty of this hidden gem for yourself?

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Slovenia, a small country located in Central Europe, is an absolute gem waiting to be discovered. With its stunning natural beauty, from crystal-clear lakes to majestic mountains, it is the perfect destination for nature lovers and adventurers alike. In this blog post, we will take you on a journey through some of the most breathtaking natural attractions that Slovenia has to offer.

One of Slovenia's most famous natural wonders is Lake Bled, a picture-perfect alpine lake surrounded by lush greenery and snow-capped mountains. The highlight of any visit to Lake Bled is a boat ride to the island in the middle of the lake. You can rent a traditional wooden Pletna boat or even row yourself in a rented rowboat. Once on the island, don't forget to climb the 99 steps to reach the charming Church of the Assumption and ring the wishing bell for good luck.

Just a short drive from Lake Bled is another natural marvel, the Vintgar Gorge. This 1.6-kilometer-long gorge features wooden walkways that take you along the emerald green waters of the Radovna River. As you walk through the gorge, you will be surrounded by towering cliffs and stunning waterfalls, making for a truly awe-inspiring experience.

If you're a fan of caves, then a visit to the Postojna Cave is a must. This massive cave system stretches over 24 kilometers underground and is home to a diverse array of stalactites, stalagmites, and other unique rock formations. The highlight of the cave tour is a train ride that takes you deep into the heart of the cave, allowing you to explore its magnificent chambers and awe-inspiring beauty.

For those seeking a true mountain adventure, look no further than Triglav National Park. Located in the Julian Alps, this national park is named after Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak. The park offers a wide range of outdoor activities, including hiking, mountaineering, and rock climbing. One of the most popular hikes in the park is the ascent to Mount Triglav itself, which offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

No visit to Slovenia would be complete without exploring its stunning coastal region. The picturesque town of Piran, situated on the Adriatic Sea, is a must-visit destination. With its narrow cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, and charming piazzas, Piran is often referred to as a "miniature Venice." Take a stroll along the town's fortified walls for panoramic views of the sea or relax on the beautiful Tartini Square, named after the famous composer Giuseppe Tartini.

Slovenia is also home to several stunning national parks, each offering its own unique natural attractions. From the mesmerizing waterfalls of the Triglav National Park to the underground wonders of the Škocjan Caves Regional Park, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

When it comes to exploring the natural beauty of Slovenia, the options are endless. Whether you choose to visit its stunning lakes, majestic mountains, or charming coastal towns, you are guaranteed to be amazed by the country's natural wonders. So grab your hiking boots, pack your camera, and get ready for an unforgettable adventure in Slovenia.

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Slovenia, a small country in Central Europe, is often overlooked by travelers. However, those who venture to this hidden gem are rewarded with a unique and diverse cultural experience. With its rich history and stunning landscapes, Slovenia is a perfect destination for those seeking to explore and immerse themselves in a different way of life.

One of the most captivating aspects of traveling to Slovenia is its rich cultural heritage. The country is home to a fascinating mix of different influences, including Celtic, Roman, and Slavic civilizations. This unique blend is evident in Slovenia's architecture, traditions, and way of life.

A trip to Slovenia is not complete without a visit to its capital, Ljubljana. This picturesque city is known for its charming old town, lined with colorful baroque buildings and cobblestone streets. Strolling through the city, you'll encounter numerous architectural gems, such as the Ljubljana Castle, the Triple Bridge, and the Dragon Bridge. Take your time to explore the city's museums, galleries, and cafes, where you can indulge in traditional Slovenian cuisine and get a taste of the local lifestyle.

To truly immerse yourself in Slovenia's cultural heritage, you should also venture outside of the cities and into the countryside. The country is home to many charming towns and villages, each with its own unique character. Places like Bled, with its iconic lake and castle, and Piran, a coastal gem with a Venetian twist, offer a glimpse into Slovenia's history and traditions.

In addition to its architectural wonders, Slovenia also boasts a vibrant folk culture. Traditional music, dance, and festivals are an integral part of the country's identity. If you have the opportunity, attend a folklore performance or join a local celebration, such as the Kurentovanje Carnival or the Ptuj Carnival. These events showcase Slovenia's rich folk traditions and provide an immersive cultural experience.

Nature lovers will also find plenty to satisfy their wanderlust in Slovenia. The country is blessed with breathtaking landscapes, from the Julian Alps to the stunning lakes and rivers. Triglav National Park is a must-visit for hikers and outdoors enthusiasts, offering a range of stunning trails and panoramic views. Lake Bled, with its emerald waters and picturesque island, is another natural wonder that should not be missed.

To fully appreciate Slovenia's cultural heritage, it's important to engage with the local people. Slovenians are known for their warm hospitality and welcoming nature. Take the time to chat with locals, try to learn a few basic phrases in Slovenian, and immerse yourself in their way of life. Whether it's joining a traditional craft workshop, attending a local market, or simply striking up a conversation at a café, interacting with Slovenians will enrich your understanding of their culture.

In conclusion, traveling to Slovenia offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in a rich cultural heritage. From the architectural wonders of Ljubljana to the charming towns and villages, and from the vibrant folk culture to the breathtaking natural landscapes, this small country has so much to offer. So, pack your bags and get ready for an unforgettable journey into the heart of Slovenia's cultural legacy.

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Slovenia, a picturesque country tucked away in the heart of Europe, is known for its stunning landscapes, charming towns, and rich cultural heritage. However, what truly sets Slovenia apart is its remarkable culinary scene and world-class wines. So, if you're a foodie or a wine lover, a trip to Slovenia is simply a must. Get ready to indulge in the culinary delights and wines that this enchanting country has to offer.

One cannot talk about Slovenian cuisine without mentioning the infamous potica, a traditional Slovenian pastry that can only be described as pure heaven. With a variety of mouthwatering flavors, such as walnut, tarragon, and poppy seed, this rolled pastry is the epitome of comfort food. Be sure to visit local bakeries or even participate in a potica-making workshop to truly immerse yourself in the Slovenian culinary experience.

If you're a fan of meat dishes, Slovenia won't disappoint you either. Carniolan sausage, also known as kranjska klobasa, is a beloved Slovenian delicacy that you must try. This sausage, made from a unique blend of pork and bacon, is bursting with flavor and is often enjoyed alongside sauerkraut or fresh bread. You can find this popular sausage in almost every traditional Slovenian restaurant or at local markets.

Slovenia is also renowned for its high-quality cheeses. Pay a visit to the idyllic countryside and discover the delicious flavors of Slovenian cheese. From mild and creamy Tolminc cheese to the tangy and aromatic Bovec cheese, there is a cheese for every palate. Enjoy them on their own or pair them with the exquisite wines that Slovenia is famous for.

Speaking of wines, Slovenia is a hidden gem in the wine world. With its diverse microclimates and rich soil, the country boasts an impressive selection of wines that rival those of its more famous neighbors. The wine regions of Primorska, Posavje, and Podravje offer a wide range of grape varieties, from crisp and refreshing whites to full-bodied reds. Embark on a wine tour and visit local vineyards to sample some of the finest Slovenian wines, such as Rebula, Malvazija, and Teran.

To truly enhance your culinary journey, don't miss out on the local markets and festivals that celebrate Slovenian cuisine. Visit the Ljubljana Central Market, where you can find fresh produce, typical Slovenian dishes, and a lively atmosphere. Or, if you're lucky enough to visit during the autumn months, be sure to attend the traditional grape harvest festivals, known as martinovanje. These celebrations offer a wonderful opportunity to taste the new wines of the season and immerse yourself in Slovenian culture.

In conclusion, Slovenia is a paradise for food enthusiasts and wine lovers. Explore the country's culinary delights, from the heavenly potica to savory sausages and exquisite cheeses. Discover the hidden gems of Slovenian wine and embark on a journey through picturesque vineyards. Immerse yourself in the rich flavors and traditions of Slovenia and create unforgettable memories that will leave you longing to come back for more.

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Discover Triglav National Park: The Ultimate Green Guide

Get ready to immerse yourself in breathtaking landscapes , savor delicious organic food , and enjoy unforgettable experiences . Triglav National Park is the perfect destination for those who love and seek nature, adventure , and sustainability . This paradise in Slovenia will make you feel in tune with the earth, giving you the opportunity to explore vast natural beauty , from lakes and mountains to underground caves.

What to See in Triglav National Park

Triglav National Park is a treasure trove of natural wonders . Start your adventure with a visit to Mount Triglav , the highest peak in Slovenia, which gives the park its name. This mountain, standing at 2,864 meters , is a national symbol and a must-see for every hiker. If climbing to the top seems too challenging, don’t worry: there are many easier trails that wind through pristine forests and lead to spectacular waterfalls, like the Savica Waterfall.

Don’t miss Lake Bohinj , the largest natural lake in Slovenia. Here, you can take a boat ride, swim in the crystal-clear waters, or simply relax on the shore while admiring the scenery. Another must-visit is the Vintgar Gorge , a canyon carved by the Radovna River, offering a breathtaking walk among wooden bridges and waterfalls.

Slow Itineraries to Experience the Magic of Nature

If you love to explore at a leisurely pace, savoring every moment, Triglav Park offers numerous opportunities and slow itineraries. A perfect option is the path along the Soča River , famous for its crystal-clear waters and outdoor activities like rafting and kayaking. You can follow the Soška pot trail , which will take you through suspension bridges from the river’s source to Bovec.

Another marvel to explore on foot is the Trenta Valley , a place of peace and tranquility where you can immerse yourself in untouched nature. Here you will also find the Juliana Botanical Garden , the oldest alpine garden in Slovenia, which hosts a vast collection of native plants.

Organic and Zero-Kilometer Food in the Slovenian Park

A visit to Triglav Park wouldn’t be complete without tasting the local cuisine . The region is rich in options for those seeking organic and local food. Local markets and small restaurants offer fresh and genuine products, often grown right in the vicinity.

Don’t miss the chance to visit the area’s organic farms, where you can sample artisanal cheeses , local honey , and fine wines .

Unmissable Experiences in Triglav National Park

Triglav National Park is full of unforgettable experiences. One of the most fascinating activities is visiting the Škocjan Caves , a UNESCO World Heritage site. Extending over 5 kilometers and reaching depths of 230 meters, these caves are among the most renowned sites in the world for studying karst phenomena . They offer visitors the chance to explore an extraordinary underground world , shaped over centuries by the continuous action of water.

For a cultural experience, visit the village of Kobarid , home to the famous World War I museum and offering a glimpse into local history. Don’t forget to take a walk to the Kozjak Waterfall , one of the most beautiful in Slovenia.

Lastly, for a touch of adventure, try paragliding over Lake Bohinj or cycling along the park’s scenic trails.

Eco-Friendly Stay in Triglav National Park

For a truly green stay in Triglav National Park, we recommend choosing one of the following eco-friendly accommodations, which offer sustainable comfort and an authentic experience in contact with nature.

Organic Vacation Farm Pri Plajerju

Located in the heart of the park, this organic farm welcomes you in a rustic and cozy environment. The rooms are furnished with natural materials and the energy used comes from renewable sources. Here you can enjoy organic food produced on-site and participate in farm activities, experiencing an authentic and sustainable lifestyle.

Eco Villa Triglav on Pokljuka

This elegant villa located on the Pokljuka plateau offers a peaceful retreat immersed in nature. With rooms equipped with all comforts and a strong focus on sustainability, Eco Villa Triglav is perfect for those seeking relaxation and comfort in an eco-friendly environment. You can enjoy spectacular views and direct access to numerous hiking trails.

Eco Chalet Astra Montana

This eco-friendly chalet near Tolmin offers a charming stay with mountain views. Built with ecological materials and equipped with sustainable energy systems, Eco Chalet Astra Montana is ideal for those who wish to immerse themselves in nature without sacrificing comfort. Perfect for families and groups of friends wanting to explore the surroundings.

Tourist Farm Pri Andreju

This traditional tourist farm offers an authentic and sustainable lodging experience. Located near Lake Bohinj, Tourist Farm Pri Andreju allows you to savor the farm’s local and organic products, participate in agricultural activities, and enjoy the tranquility of rural life. A perfect option for those seeking an escape from daily hustle.

Pet-Friendly Chalet Goldilocks

For those traveling with pets, Pet-Friendly Chalet Goldilocks is the ideal choice. This cozy and sustainable chalet, located in Radovljica, offers all the comforts needed for a pleasant and environmentally respectful stay. With ample green spaces and access to hiking trails, it is perfect for exploring the park with your four-legged friends.

These eco-friendly accommodations offer various options for an unforgettable stay in Triglav National Park, all committed to sustainability and respect for nature . Choose the one that best suits your needs and get ready to experience a green travel adventure ! Triglav National Park awaits you with its natural wonders , delicious cuisine, and sustainable adventures. Pack your backpack and enjoy an unforgettable experience in Slovenia’s green heart !

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Game on! Whether you’re a casual fan or a stats geek, Copilot has all the sports action you need. Scores, schedules, and more—dive into the excitement! 🏋️‍♂️🏀 

Melody on Demand

Feeling the need for a musical uplift? Ask Copilot to tune into your vibe with personalized playlists, concert updates, and music trivia. Let’s hit a high note together! 🎶🎵 

Time Well Spent

Got a moment to spare? Let Copilot entertain you with fun facts, brain teasers, and quirky challenges. Just say ‘I am bored’ and let Copilot turn your spare moments into treasure! 🎮⏳ 

Travel Made Simple

Planning a trip abroad or a short weekend getaway with friends. Just ask Copilot to get personalized travel itineraries, recommended local attractions and so much more. Let the journey begin! 🌍✈️

Fitness Frenzy

Get fit, feel great! Let Copilot be your personal trainer. From home workouts to gym routines, we’re here to pump you up. let’s get moving! 💪🏋️‍♀️ 

Frequently asked questions

Copilot is a personal generative AI assistant powered by GPT model and Bing Search, available within Telegram. Copilot for Telegram uses natural language to provide responses on a range of topics, from seeking knowledge to travel tips to sports updates to movie recommendations. Let Copilot enhance your Telegram experience with its quick-witted assistance and endless curiosity. 

* Please note that Telegram is not a Microsoft product.  

You can use Copilot on Telegram desktop & mobile app or on Telegram web. 

If you already have Telegram app on your device or are already signed into Telegram web on your browser, click on this link to start interacting with Copilot. You can download & sign into Telegram app or sign into your Telegram web account and then click on this link to start interacting with Copilot. 

Alternatively, you can search for Copilot by typing @CopilotOfficialBot in the search bar within Telegram. 

Yes, Copilot for Telegram is currently in beta and free for all users.  

Copilot for Telegram is designed to work within the Telegram app available on various platforms including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. If you have the Telegram app installed on your device, you should be able to use Copilot on any of these operating systems. You can use the web browser on your device to interact with Copilot on Telegram web.  

Copilot enhances your Telegram experience by unlocking the power of internet and AI. Here are some examples: 

• Information Search: Ask Copilot, to get comprehensive answers on quick facts or detailed research powered by Bing Search. 
• Travel Planning: Dreaming of your next vacation? Copilot can suggest destinations and even help plan your itinerary. 
• Fitness Guidance: Want to start a new workout routine? Copilot can provide fitness tips and exercise plans. 
• Entertainment Updates: Curious about the latest movies or music? Copilot keeps you in the loop with entertainment news and recommendations. 
• Leisure & Laughs: Need a quick chuckle or a way to relax? Copilot can tell you a joke, share a funny gif, or suggest a casual game to unwind. 
• Copilot beta for Telegram currently supports only text chat requests. 

Simply type in your question, instruction or thought like you would do in any 1-1 chat, and let Copilot provide you with answers, suggestions, and more. 

Copilot generates content based on language patterns it has found throughout the internet. Sometimes its results will be very similar to existing internet content or Copilot might generate the same or very similar content for multiple people who are prompting Copilot in the same way. 

For example, everyone who instructs Copilot to create a "recipe for apple pie" is likely to wind up with identical or nearly identical content. 

Copilot on Telegram relies on the same safety infrastructure as the Microsoft Copilot experience, which was developed in accordance with Microsoft’s AI Principles, Microsoft’s Responsible AI Standard, and in partnership with responsible AI experts across the company. 

Responsible Artificial Intelligence (Responsible AI) is an approach to developing, assessing, and deploying AI systems in a safe, trustworthy, and ethical way. AI systems are the product of many decisions made by those who develop and deploy them. From system purpose to how people interact with AI systems, Responsible AI can help proactively guide these decisions toward more beneficial and equitable outcomes. That means keeping people and their goals at the center of system design decisions and respecting enduring values like fairness, reliability, and transparency. 

Microsoft developed a Responsible AI Standard . It's a framework for building AI systems according to six principles: fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability. For Microsoft, these principles are the cornerstone of a responsible and trustworthy approach to AI, especially as intelligent technology becomes more prevalent in products and services that people use every day. 

For more information visit our Responsible AI site . 

Copilot is built on Microsoft's comprehensive approach to security, compliance, and privacy. For more information about privacy, please visit: Privacy Statement . 

Copilot is like having a research assistant, personal planner, and creative partner at your side whenever you search the web. With this set of AI-powered features, you can: 

• Ask your actual question. When you ask complex questions, Bing gives you detailed replies.  
• Get an actual answer. Copilot looks at search results across the web to offer you a summarized answer and links to its sources.  
• Be creative. When you need inspiration, Copilot can help you write poems or stories.  

With the Copilot experience, you can also ask follow-up questions such as, “can you explain that in simpler terms,” or, “give me more options” to get different and even more detailed answers in your search. However, in Copilot, each conversation will have a limited number of interactions, to keep the interactions grounded in search. 

Copilot builds on the existing Bing experience to provide you with a new type of search.   

• Beyond generating a list of relevant links, Copilot consolidates reliable sources across the web to give you a single, summarized answer.   
• Search in a way that feels natural to how you talk, text, and think. Copilot takes your complex searches and shares back a detailed response.   
• In the Copilot experience, you can chat naturally and ask follow-up questions to your initial search to get detailed replies.  

Copilot can be used as a creative tool. It can help you write poems, stories, or even share ideas for a project. 

While Copilot works to avoid sharing unexpected offensive content in search results and has taken steps to prevent its Copilot features from engaging on potentially harmful topics, you may still see unexpected results. We’re constantly working to improve our technology in preventing harmful content.   

If you encounter harmful or inappropriate content, please provide feedback, or report a concern by sending /feedback in the chat window of Copilot on Telegram. You can also report your concern here: https://www.microsoft.com/concern/bing   

We will continue working with user feedback to provide a safe experience for all. 

Copilot aims to base all its responses on reliable sources - but AI can make mistakes, and third-party content on the internet may not always be accurate or reliable. Copilot will sometimes misrepresent the information it finds, and you may see responses that sound convincing but are incomplete, inaccurate, or inappropriate. Use your own judgment and double check the facts before making decisions or taking action based on Copilot’s responses. 

To share your feedback or report a concern, refer to the previous FAQ. 

• * Feature availability and functionality may vary by device type, market, and browser version.

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Microsoft fabric updates blog.

Microsoft Fabric May 2024 Update

• Monthly Update

Welcome to the May 2024 update.  

Here are a few, select highlights of the many we have for Fabric. You can now ask Copilot questions about data in your model, Model Explorer and authoring calculation groups in Power BI desktop is now generally available, and Real-Time Intelligence provides a complete end-to-end solution for ingesting, processing, analyzing, visualizing, monitoring, and acting on events.

There is much more to explore, please continue to read on. 

Microsoft Build Announcements

At Microsoft Build 2024, we are thrilled to announce a huge array of innovations coming to the Microsoft Fabric platform that will make Microsoft Fabric’s capabilities even more robust and even customizable to meet the unique needs of each organization. To learn more about these changes, read the “ Unlock real-time insights with AI-powered analytics in Microsoft Fabric ” announcement blog by Arun Ulag.

Fabric Roadmap Update

Last October at the Microsoft Power Platform Community Conference we  announced the release of the Microsoft Fabric Roadmap . Today we have updated that roadmap to include the next semester of Fabric innovations. As promised, we have merged Power BI into this roadmap to give you a single, unified road map for all of Microsoft Fabric. You can find the Fabric Roadmap at  https://aka.ms/FabricRoadmap .

We will be innovating our Roadmap over the coming year and would love to hear your recommendation ways that we can make this experience better for you. Please submit suggestions at  https://aka.ms/FabricIdeas .

Earn a discount on your Microsoft Fabric certification exam!  

We’d like to thank the thousands of you who completed the Fabric AI Skills Challenge and earned a free voucher for Exam DP-600 which leads to the Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate certification.   

If you earned a free voucher, you can find redemption instructions in your email. We recommend that you schedule your exam now, before your discount voucher expires on June 24 th . All exams must be scheduled and completed by this date.    

If you need a little more help with exam prep, visit the Fabric Career Hub which has expert-led training, exam crams, practice tests and more.  

Missed the Fabric AI Skills Challenge? We have you covered. For a limited time , you could earn a 50% exam discount by taking the Fabric 30 Days to Learn It Challenge .  

Modern Tooltip now on by Default

Matrix layouts, line updates, on-object interaction updates, publish to folders in public preview, you can now ask copilot questions about data in your model (preview), announcing general availability of dax query view, copilot to write and explain dax queries in dax query view public preview updates, new manage relationships dialog, refreshing calculated columns and calculated tables referencing directquery sources with single sign-on, announcing general availability of model explorer and authoring calculation groups in power bi desktop, microsoft entra id sso support for oracle database, certified connector updates, view reports in onedrive and sharepoint with live connected semantic models, storytelling in powerpoint – image mode in the power bi add-in for powerpoint, storytelling in powerpoint – data updated notification, git integration support for direct lake semantic models.

• Editor’s pick of the quarter
• New visuals in AppSource
• Financial Reporting Matrix by Profitbase
• Horizon Chart by Powerviz

Milestone Trend Analysis Chart by Nova Silva

• Sunburst Chart by Powerviz
• Stacked Bar Chart with Line by JTA

Fabric Automation

Streamlining fabric admin apis, microsoft fabric workload development kit, external data sharing, apis for onelake data access roles, shortcuts to on-premises and network-restricted data, copilot for data warehouse.

• Unlocking Insights through Time: Time travel in Data warehouse

Copy Into enhancements

Faster workspace resource assignment powered by just in time database attachment, runtime 1.3 (apache spark 3.5, delta lake 3.1, r 4.3.3, python 3.11) – public preview, native execution engine for fabric runtime 1.2 (apache spark 3.4) – public preview , spark run series analysis, comment @tagging in notebook, notebook ribbon upgrade, notebook metadata update notification, environment is ga now, rest api support for workspace data engineering/science settings, fabric user data functions (private preview), introducing api for graphql in microsoft fabric (preview), copilot will be enabled by default, the ai and copilot setting will be automatically delegated to capacity admins, abuse monitoring no longer stores your data, real-time hub, source from real-time hub in enhanced eventstream, use real-time hub to get data in kql database in eventhouse, get data from real-time hub within reflexes, eventstream edit and live modes, default and derived streams, route streams based on content in enhanced eventstream, eventhouse is now generally available, eventhouse onelake availability is now generally available, create a database shortcut to another kql database, support for ai anomaly detector, copilot for real-time intelligence, eventhouse tenant level private endpoint support, visualize data with real-time dashboards, new experience for data exploration, create triggers from real-time hub, set alert on real-time dashboards, taking action through fabric items, general availability of the power query sdk for vs code, refresh the refresh history dialog, introducing data workflows in data factory, introducing trusted workspace access in fabric data pipelines.

• Introducing Blob Storage Event Triggers for Data Pipelines
• Parent/child pipeline pattern monitoring improvements

Fabric Spark job definition activity now available

Hd insight activity now available, modern get data experience in data pipeline.

Power BI tooltips are embarking on an evolution to enhance their functionality. To lay the groundwork, we are introducing the modern tooltip as the new default , a feature that many users may already recognize from its previous preview status. This change is more than just an upgrade; it’s the first step in a series of remarkable improvements. These future developments promise to revolutionize tooltip management and customization, offering possibilities that were previously only imaginable. As we prepare for the general availability of the modern tooltip, this is an excellent opportunity for users to become familiar with its features and capabilities. 

Discover the full potential of the new tooltip feature by visiting our dedicated blog . Dive into the details and explore the comprehensive vision we’ve crafted for tooltips, designed to enhance your Power BI experience. 

We’ve listened to our community’s feedback on improving our tabular visuals (Table and Matrix), and we’re excited to initiate their transformation. Drawing inspiration from the familiar PivotTable in Excel , we aim to build new features and capabilities upon a stronger foundation. In our May update, we’re introducing ‘ Layouts for Matrix .’ Now, you can select from compact , outline , or tabular layouts to alter the arrangement of components in a manner akin to Excel. 

As an extension of the new layout options, report creators can now craft custom layout patterns by repeating row headers. This powerful control, inspired by Excel’s PivotTable layout, enables the creation of a matrix that closely resembles the look and feel of a table. This enhancement not only provides greater flexibility but also brings a touch of Excel’s intuitive design to Power BI’s matrix visuals. Only available for Outline and Tabular layouts.

To further align with Excel’s functionality, report creators now have the option to insert blank rows within the matrix. This feature allows for the separation of higher-level row header categories, significantly enhancing the readability of the report. It’s a thoughtful addition that brings a new level of clarity and organization to Power BI’s matrix visuals and opens a path for future enhancements for totals/subtotals and rows/column headers. 

We understand your eagerness to delve deeper into the matrix layouts and grasp how these enhancements fulfill the highly requested features by our community. Find out more and join the conversation in our dedicated blog , where we unravel the details and share the community-driven vision behind these improvements. 

Following last month’s introduction of the initial line enhancements, May brings a groundbreaking set of line capabilities that are set to transform your Power BI experience: 

• Hide/Show lines : Gain control over the visibility of your lines for a cleaner, more focused report. 
• Customized line pattern : Tailor the pattern of your lines to match the style and context of your data. 
• Auto-scaled line pattern : Ensure your line patterns scale perfectly with your data, maintaining consistency and clarity. 
• Line dash cap : Customize the end caps of your customized dashed lines for a polished, professional look. 
• Line upgrades across other line types : Experience improvements in reference lines, forecast lines, leader lines, small multiple gridlines, and the new card’s divider line. 

These enhancements are not to be missed. We recommend visiting our dedicated blog for an in-depth exploration of all the new capabilities added to lines, keeping you informed and up to date. 

This May release, we’re excited to introduce on-object formatting support for Small multiples , Waterfall , and Matrix visuals. This new feature allows users to interact directly with these visuals for a more intuitive and efficient formatting experience. By double-clicking on any of these visuals, users can now right-click on the specific visual component they wish to format, bringing up a convenient mini-toolbar. This streamlined approach not only saves time but also enhances the user’s ability to customize and refine their reports with ease. 

We’re also thrilled to announce a significant enhancement to the mobile reporting experience with the introduction of the pane manager for the mobile layout view. This innovative feature empowers users to effortlessly open and close panels via a dedicated menu, streamlining the design process of mobile reports. 

We recently announced a public preview for folders in workspaces, allowing you to create a hierarchical structure for organizing and managing your items. In the latest Desktop release, you can now publish your reports to specific folders in your workspace.  

When you publish a report, you can choose the specific workspace and folder for your report. The interface is simplistic and easy to understand, making organizing your Power BI content from Desktop better than ever. 

To publish reports to specific folders in the service, make sure the “Publish dialogs support folder selection” setting is enabled in the Preview features tab in the Options menu. 

Learn more about folders in workspaces.   

We’re excited to preview a new capability for Power BI Copilot allowing you to ask questions about the data in your model! You could already ask questions about the data present in the visuals on your report pages – and now you can go deeper by getting answers directly from the underlying model. Just ask questions about your data, and if the answer isn’t already on your report, Copilot will then query your model for the data instead and return the answer to your question in the form of a visual! 

We’re starting this capability off in both Edit and View modes in Power BI Service. Because this is a preview feature, you’ll need to enable it via the preview toggle in the Copilot pane. You can learn more about all the details of the feature in our announcement post here! (will link to announcement post)  

We are excited to announce the general availability of DAX query view. DAX query view is the fourth view in Power BI Desktop to run DAX queries on your semantic model.  

DAX query view comes with several ways to help you be as productive as possible with DAX queries. 

• Quick queries. Have the DAX query written for you from the context menu of tables, columns, or measures in the Data pane of DAX query view. Get the top 100 rows of a table, statistics of a column, or DAX formula of a measure to edit and validate in just a couple clicks! 
• DirectQuery model authors can also use DAX query view. View the data in your tables whenever you want! 
• Create and edit measures. Edit one or multiple measures at once. Make changes and see the change in action in a DA query. Then update the model when you are ready. All in DAX query view! 
• See the DAX query of visuals. Investigate the visuals DAX query in DAX query view. Go to the Performance Analyzer pane and choose “Run in DAX query view”. 
• Write DAX queries. You can create DAX queries with Intellisense, formatting, commenting/uncommenting, and syntax highlighting. And additional professional code editing experiences such as “Change all occurrences” and block folding to expand and collapse sections. Even expanded find and replace options with regex. 

Learn more about DAX query view with these resources: 

• Deep dive blog: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/blog/deep-dive-into-dax-query-view-and-writing-dax-queries/  
• Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/power-bi/transform-model/dax-query-view  
• Video: https://youtu.be/oPGGYLKhTOA?si=YKUp1j8GoHHsqdZo  

DAX query view includes an inline Fabric Copilot to write and explain DAX queries, which remains in public preview. This month we have made the following updates. 

• Run the DAX query before you keep it . Previously the Run button was disabled until the generated DAX query was accepted or Copilot was closed. Now you can Run the DAX query then decide to Keep or Discard the DAX query. 

2. Conversationally build the DAX query. Previously the DAX query generated was not considered if you typed additional prompts and you had to keep the DAX query, select it again, then use Copilot again to adjust. Now you can simply adjust by typing in additional user prompts.   

3. Syntax checks on the generated DAX query. Previously there was no syntax check before the generated DAX query was returned. Now the syntax is checked, and the prompt automatically retried once. If the retry is also invalid, the generated DAX query is returned with a note that there is an issue, giving you the option to rephrase your request or fix the generated DAX query. 

4. Inspire buttons to get you started with Copilot. Previously nothing happened until a prompt was entered. Now click any of these buttons to quickly see what you can do with Copilot! 

Learn more about DAX queries with Copilot with these resources: 

• Deep dive blog: https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/deep-dive-into-dax-query-view-with-copilot/  
• Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dax/dax-copilot  
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kE3TE34oLM  

We are excited to introduce you to the redesigned ‘Manage relationships’ dialog in Power BI Desktop! To open this dialog simply select the ‘Manage relationships’ button in the modeling ribbon.

Once opened, you’ll find a comprehensive view of all your relationships, along with their key properties, all in one convenient location. From here you can create new relationships or edit an existing one.

Additionally, you have the option to filter and focus on specific relationships in your model based on cardinality and cross filter direction. 

Learn more about creating and managing relationships in Power BI Desktop in our documentation . 

Ever since we released composite models on Power BI semantic models and Analysis Services , you have been asking us to support the refresh of calculated columns and tables in the Service. This month, we have enabled the refresh of calculated columns and tables in Service for any DirectQuery source that uses single sign-on authentication. This includes the sources you use when working with composite models on Power BI semantic models and Analysis Services.  

Previously, the refresh of a semantic model that uses a DirectQuery source with single-sign-on authentication failed with one of the following error messages: “Refresh is not supported for datasets with a calculated table or calculated column that depends on a table which references Analysis Services using DirectQuery.” or “Refresh over a dataset with a calculated table or a calculated column which references a Direct Query data source is not supported.” 

Starting today, you can successfully refresh the calculated table and calculated columns in a semantic model in the Service using specific credentials as long as: 

• You used a shareable cloud connection and assigned it and/or.
• Enabled granular access control for all data connection types.

Here’s how to do this: 

• Create and publish your semantic model that uses a single sign-on DirectQuery source. This can be a composite model but doesn’t have to be. 
• In the semantic model settings, under Gateway and cloud connections , map each single sign-on DirectQuery connection to a specific connection. If you don’t have a specific connection yet, select ‘Create a connection’ to create it: 

• If you are creating a new connection, fill out the connection details and click Create , making sure to select ‘Use SSO via Azure AD for DirectQuery queries: 

• Finally, select the connection for each single sign-on DirectQuery source and select Apply : 

2. Either refresh the semantic model manually or plan a scheduled refresh to confirm the refresh now works successfully. Congratulations, you have successfully set up refresh for semantic models with a single sign-on DirectQuery connection that uses calculated columns or calculated tables!

We are excited to announce the general availability of Model Explorer in the Model view of Power BI, including the authoring of calculation groups. Semantic modeling is even easier with an at-a-glance tree view with item counts, search, and in context paths to edit the semantic model items with Model Explorer. Top level semantic model properties are also available as well as the option to quickly create relationships in the properties pane. Additionally, the styling for the Data pane is updated to Fluent UI also used in Office and Teams.  

A popular community request from the Ideas forum, authoring calculation groups is also included in Model Explorer. Calculation groups significantly reduce the number of redundant measures by allowing you to define DAX formulas as calculation items that can be applied to existing measures. For example, define a year over year, prior month, conversion, or whatever your report needs in DAX formula once as a calculation item and reuse it with existing measures. This can reduce the number of measures you need to create and make the maintenance of the business logic simpler.  

Available in both Power BI Desktop and when editing a semantic model in the workspace, take your semantic model authoring to the next level today!  

Learn more about Model Explorer and authoring calculation groups with these resources: 

• Use Model explorer in Power BI (preview) – Power BI | Microsoft Learn  
• Create calculation groups in Power BI (preview) – Power BI | Microsoft Learn  

Data connectivity  

We’re happy to announce that the Oracle database connector has been enhanced this month with the addition of Single Sign-On support in the Power BI service with Microsoft Entra ID authentication.  

Microsoft Entra ID SSO enables single sign-on to access data sources that rely on Microsoft Entra ID based authentication. When you configure Microsoft Entra SSO for an applicable data source, queries run under the Microsoft Entra identity of the user that interacts with the Power BI report. 

We’re pleased to announce the new and updated connectors in this release:   

• [New] OneStream : The OneStream Power BI Connector enables you to seamlessly connect Power BI to your OneStream applications by simply logging in with your OneStream credentials. The connector uses your OneStream security, allowing you to access only the data you have based on your permissions within the OneStream application. Use the connector to pull cube and relational data along with metadata members, including all their properties. Visit OneStream Power BI Connector to learn more. Find this connector in the other category. 
• [New] Zendesk Data : A new connector developed by the Zendesk team that aims to go beyond the functionality of the existing Zendesk legacy connector created by Microsoft. Learn more about what this new connector brings. 
• [New] CCH Tagetik 
• [Update] Azure Databricks  

Are you interested in creating your own connector and publishing it for your customers? Learn more about the Power Query SDK and the Connector Certification program .   

Last May, we announced the integration between Power BI and OneDrive and SharePoint. Previously, this capability was limited to only reports with data in import mode. We’re excited to announce that you can now seamlessly view Power BI reports with live connected data directly in OneDrive and SharePoint! 

When working on Power BI Desktop with a report live connected to a semantic model in the service, you can easily share a link to collaborate with others on your team and allow them to quickly view the report in their browser. We’ve made it easier than ever to access the latest data updates without ever leaving your familiar OneDrive and SharePoint environments. This integration streamlines your workflows and allows you to access reports within the platforms you already use. With collaboration at the heart of this improvement, teams can work together more effectively to make informed decisions by leveraging live connected semantic models without being limited to data only in import mode.  

Utilizing OneDrive and SharePoint allows you to take advantage of built-in version control, always have your files available in the cloud, and utilize familiar and simplistic sharing.  

While you told us that you appreciate the ability to limit the image view to only those who have permission to view the report, you asked for changes for the “Public snapshot” mode.   

To address some of the feedback we got from you, we have made a few more changes in this area.  

• Add-ins that were saved as “Public snapshot” can be printed and will not require that you go over all the slides and load the add-ins for permission check before the public image is made visible. 
• You can use the “Show as saved image” on add-ins that were saved as “Public snapshot”. This will replace the entire add-in with an image representation of it, so the load time might be faster when you are presenting your presentation. 

Many of us keep presentations open for a long time, which might cause the data in the presentation to become outdated.  

To make sure you have in your slides the data you need, we added a new notification that tells you if more up to date data exists in Power BI and offers you the option to refresh and get the latest data from Power BI. 

Developers 

Direct Lake semantic models are now supported in Fabric Git Integration , enabling streamlined version control, enhanced collaboration among developers, and the establishment of CI/CD pipelines for your semantic models using Direct Lake. 

Learn more about version control, testing, and deployment of Power BI content in our Power BI implementation planning documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/power-bi/guidance/powerbi-implementation-planning-content-lifecycle-management-overview  

Visualizations 

Editor’s pick of the quarter .

– Animator for Power BI     Innofalls Charts     SuperTables     Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo     Dynamic KPI Card by Sereviso     Shielded HTML Viewer     Text search slicer  

New visuals in AppSource 

Mapa Polski – Województwa, Powiaty, Gminy   Workstream   Income Statement Table  

Gas Detection Chart  

Seasonality Chart   PlanIn BI – Data Refresh Service  

Chart Flare  

PictoBar   ProgBar  

Counter Calendar   Donut Chart image  

Financial Reporting Matrix by Profitbase 

Making financial statements with a proper layout has just become easier with the latest version of the Financial Reporting Matrix. 

Users are now able to specify which rows should be classified as cost-rows, which will make it easier to get the conditional formatting of variances correctly: 

Selecting a row, and ticking “is cost” will tag the row as cost. This can be used in conditional formatting to make sure that positive variances on expenses are a bad for the result, while a positive variance on an income row is good for the result. 

The new version also includes more flexibility in measuring placement and column subtotals. 

Measures can be placed either: 

• Default (below column headers) 
• Above column headers 

• Conditionally hide columns 
• + much more 

Highlighted new features:  

• Measure placement – In rows  
• Select Column Subtotals  
• New Format Pane design 
• Row Options  

Get the visual from AppSource and find more videos here ! 

Horizon Chart by Powerviz  

A Horizon Chart is an advanced visual, for time-series data, revealing trends and anomalies. It displays stacked data layers, allowing users to compare multiple categories while maintaining data clarity. Horizon Charts are particularly useful to monitor and analyze complex data over time, making this a valuable visual for data analysis and decision-making. 

Key Features:  

• Horizon Styles: Choose Natural, Linear, or Step with adjustable scaling. 
• Layer: Layer data by range or custom criteria. Display positive and negative values together or separately on top. 
• Reference Line : Highlight patterns with X-axis lines and labels. 
• Colors: Apply 30+ color palettes and use FX rules for dynamic coloring. 
• Ranking: Filter Top/Bottom N values, with “Others”. 
• Gridline: Add gridlines to the X and Y axis.  
• Custom Tooltip: Add highest, lowest, mean, and median points without additional DAX. 
• Themes: Save designs and share seamlessly with JSON files. 

Other features included are ranking, annotation, grid view, show condition, and accessibility support.  

Business Use Cases: Time-Series Data Comparison, Environmental Monitoring, Anomaly Detection 

🔗 Try Horizon Chart for FREE from AppSource  

📊 Check out all features of the visual: Demo file  

📃 Step-by-step instructions: Documentation  

💡 YouTube Video: Video Link  

📍 Learn more about visuals: https://powerviz.ai/  

✅ Follow Powerviz : https://lnkd.in/gN_9Sa6U  

Exciting news! Thanks to your valuable feedback, we’ve enhanced our Milestone Trend Analysis Chart even further. We’re thrilled to announce that you can now switch between horizontal and vertical orientations, catering to your preferred visualization style.

The Milestone Trend Analysis (MTA) Chart remains your go-to tool for swiftly identifying deadline trends, empowering you to take timely corrective actions. With this update, we aim to enhance deadline awareness among project participants and stakeholders alike. 

In our latest version, we seamlessly navigate between horizontal and vertical views within the familiar Power BI interface. No need to adapt to a new user interface – enjoy the same ease of use with added flexibility. Plus, it benefits from supported features like themes, interactive selection, and tooltips. 

What’s more, ours is the only Microsoft Certified Milestone Trend Analysis Chart for Power BI, ensuring reliability and compatibility with the platform. 

Ready to experience the enhanced Milestone Trend Analysis Chart? Download it from AppSource today and explore its capabilities with your own data – try for free!  

We welcome any questions or feedback at our website: https://visuals.novasilva.com/ . Try it out and elevate your project management insights now! 

Sunburst Chart by Powerviz  

Powerviz’s Sunburst Chart is an interactive tool for hierarchical data visualization. With this chart, you can easily visualize multiple columns in a hierarchy and uncover valuable insights. The concentric circle design helps in displaying part-to-whole relationships. 

• Arc Customization: Customize shapes and patterns. 
• Color Scheme: Accessible palettes with 30+ options. 
• Centre Circle: Design an inner circle with layers. Add text, measure, icons, and images. 
• Conditional Formatting: Easily identify outliers based on measure or category rules. 
• Labels: Smart data labels for readability. 
• Image Labels: Add an image as an outer label. 
• Interactivity: Zoom, drill down, cross-filtering, and tooltip features. 

Other features included are annotation, grid view, show condition, and accessibility support.  

Business Use Cases:   

• Sales and Marketing: Market share analysis and customer segmentation. 
• Finance : Department budgets and expenditures distribution. 
• Operations : Supply chain management. 
• Education : Course structure, curriculum creation. 
• Human Resources : Organization structure, employee demographics.

🔗 Try Sunburst Chart for FREE from AppSource  

Stacked Bar Chart with Line by JTA  

Clustered bar chart with the possibility to stack one of the bars  

Stacked Bar Chart with Line by JTA seamlessly merges the simplicity of a traditional bar chart with the versatility of a stacked bar, revolutionizing the way you showcase multiple datasets in a single, cohesive display. 

Unlocking a new dimension of insight, our visual features a dynamic line that provides a snapshot of data trends at a glance. Navigate through your data effortlessly with multiple configurations, gaining a swift and comprehensive understanding of your information. 

Tailor your visual experience with an array of functionalities and customization options, enabling you to effortlessly compare a primary metric with the performance of an entire set. The flexibility to customize the visual according to your unique preferences empowers you to harness the full potential of your data. 

Features of Stacked Bar Chart with Line:  

• Stack the second bar 
• Format the Axis and Gridlines 
• Add a legend 
• Format the colors and text 
• Add a line chart 
• Format the line 
• Add marks to the line 
• Format the labels for bars and line 

If you liked what you saw, you can try it for yourself and find more information here . Also, if you want to download it, you can find the visual package on the AppSource . 

We have added an exciting new feature to our Combo PRO, Combo Bar PRO, and Timeline PRO visuals – Legend field support . The Legend field makes it easy to visually split series values into smaller segments, without the need to use measures or create separate series. Simply add a column with category names that are adjacent to the series values, and the visual will do the following:  

• Display separate segments as a stack or cluster, showing how each segment contributed to the total Series value. 
• Create legend items for each segment to quickly show/hide them without filtering.  
• Apply custom fill colors to each segment.  
• Show each segment value in the tooltip 

Read more about the Legend field on our blog article  

Drill Down Combo PRO is made for creators who want to build visually stunning and user-friendly reports. Cross-chart filtering and intuitive drill down interactions make data exploration easy and fun for any user. Furthermore, you can choose between three chart types – columns, lines, or areas; and feature up to 25 different series in the same visual and configure each series independently.  

📊 Get Drill Down Combo PRO on AppSource  

🌐 Visit Drill Down Combo PRO product page  

Documentation | ZoomCharts Website | Follow ZoomCharts on LinkedIn  

We are thrilled to announce that Fabric Core REST APIs are now generally available! This marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Microsoft Fabric, a platform that has been meticulously designed to empower developers and businesses alike with a comprehensive suite of tools and services. 

The Core REST APIs are the backbone of Microsoft Fabric, providing the essential building blocks for a myriad of functionalities within the platform. They are designed to improve efficiency, reduce manual effort, increase accuracy, and lead to faster processing times. These APIs help with scale operations more easily and efficiently as the volume of work grows, automate repeatable processes with consistency, and enable integration with other systems and applications, providing a streamlined and efficient data pipeline. 

The Microsoft Fabric Core APIs encompasses a range of functionalities, including: 

• Workspace management: APIs to manage workspaces, including permissions.  
• Item management: APIs for creating, reading, updating, and deleting items, with partial support for data source discovery and granular permissions management planned for the near future. 
• Job and tenant management: APIs to manage jobs, tenants, and users within the platform. 

These APIs adhere to industry standards and best practices, ensuring a unified developer experience that is both coherent and easy to use. 

For developers looking to dive into the details of the Microsoft Fabric Core APIs, comprehensive documentation is available. This includes guidelines on API usage, examples, and articles managed in a centralized repository for ease of access and discoverability. The documentation is continuously updated to reflect the latest features and improvements, ensuring that developers have the most current information at their fingertips. See Microsoft Fabric REST API documentation  

We’re excited to share an important update we made to the Fabric Admin APIs. This enhancement is designed to simplify your automation experience. Now, you can manage both Power BI and the new Fabric items (previously referred to as artifacts) using the same set of APIs. Before this enhancement, you had to navigate using two different APIs—one for Power BI items and another for new Fabric items. That’s no longer the case. 

The APIs we’ve updated include GetItem , ListItems , GetItemAccessDetails , and GetAccessEntities . These enhancements mean you can now query and manage all your items through a single API call, regardless of whether they’re Fabric types or Power BI types. We hope this update makes your work more straightforward and helps you accomplish your tasks more efficiently. 

We’re thrilled to announce the public preview of the Microsoft Fabric workload development kit. This feature now extends to additional workloads and offers a robust developer toolkit for designing, developing, and interoperating with Microsoft Fabric using frontend SDKs and backend REST APIs. Introducing the Microsoft Fabric Workload Development Kit . 

The Microsoft Fabric platform now provides a mechanism for ISVs and developers to integrate their new and existing applications natively into Fabric’s workload hub. This integration provides the ability to add net new capabilities to Fabric in a consistent experience without leaving their Fabric workspace, thereby accelerating data driven outcomes from Microsoft Fabric. 

By downloading and leveraging the development kit , ISVs and software developers can build and scale existing and new applications on Microsoft Fabric and offer them via the Azure Marketplace without the need to ever leave the Fabric environment. 

The development kit provides a comprehensive guide and sample code for creating custom item types that can be added to the Fabric workspace. These item types can leverage the Fabric frontend SDKs and backend REST APIs to interact with other Fabric capabilities, such as data ingestion, transformation, orchestration, visualization, and collaboration. You can also embed your own data application into the Fabric item editor using the Fabric native experience components, such as the header, toolbar, navigation pane, and status bar. This way, you can offer consistent and seamless user experience across different Fabric workloads. 

This is a call to action for ISVs, software developers, and system integrators. Let’s leverage this opportunity to create more integrated and seamless experiences for our users. 

We’re excited about this journey and look forward to seeing the innovative workloads from our developer community. 

We are proud to announce the public preview of external data sharing. Sharing data across organizations has become a standard part of day-to-day business for many of our customers. External data sharing, built on top of OneLake shortcuts, enables seamless, in-place sharing of data, allowing you to maintain a single copy of data even when sharing data across tenant boundaries. Whether you’re sharing data with customers, manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, or partners; the applications are endless. 

How external data sharing works  

Sharing data across tenants is as simple as any other share operation in Fabric. To share data, navigate to the item to be shared, click on the context menu, and then click on External data share . Select the folder or table you want to share and click Save and continue . Enter the email address and an optional message and then click Send . 

The data consumer will receive an email containing a share link. They can click on the link to accept the share and access the data within their own tenant. 

Click here for more details about external data sharing . 

Following the release of OneLake data access roles in public preview, the OneLake team is excited to announce the availability of APIs for managing data access roles. These APIs can be used to programmatically manage granular data access for your lakehouses. Manage all aspects of role management such as creating new roles, editing existing ones, or changing memberships in a programmatic way.  

Do you have data stored on-premises or behind a firewall that you want to access and analyze with Microsoft Fabric? With OneLake shortcuts, you can bring on-premises or network-restricted data into OneLake, without any data movement or duplication. Simply install the Fabric on-premises data gateway and create a shortcut to your S3 compatible, Amazon S3, or Google Cloud Storage data source. Then use any of Fabric’s powerful analytics engines and OneLake open APIs to explore, transform, and visualize your data in the cloud. 

Try it out today and unlock the full potential of your data with OneLake shortcuts! 

Data Warehouse 

We are excited to announce Copilot for Data Warehouse in public preview! Copilot for Data Warehouse is an AI assistant that helps developers generate insights through T-SQL exploratory analysis. Copilot is contextualized your warehouse’s schema. With this feature, data engineers and data analysts can use Copilot to: 

• Generate T-SQL queries for data analysis.  
• Explain and add in-line code comments for existing T-SQL queries. 
• Fix broken T-SQL code. 
• Receive answers regarding general data warehousing tasks and operations. 

There are 3 areas where Copilot is surfaced in the Data Warehouse SQL Query Editor: 

• Code completions when writing a T-SQL query. 
• Chat panel to interact with the Copilot in natural language. 
• Quick action buttons to fix and explain T-SQL queries. 

Learn more about Copilot for Data Warehouse: aka.ms/data-warehouse-copilot-docs. Copilot for Data Warehouse is currently only available in the Warehouse. Copilot in the SQL analytics endpoint is coming soon. 

Unlocking Insights through Time: Time travel in Data warehouse (public preview)

As data volumes continue to grow in today’s rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence, it is crucial to reflect on historical data. It empowers businesses to derive valuable insights that aid in making well-informed decisions for the future. Preserving multiple historical data versions not only incurred significant costs but also presented challenges in upholding data integrity, resulting in a notable impact on query performance. So, we are thrilled to announce the ability to query the historical data through time travel at the T-SQL statement level which helps unlock the evolution of data over time. 

The Fabric warehouse retains historical versions of tables for seven calendar days. This retention allows for querying the tables as if they existed at any point within the retention timeframe. Time travel clause can be included in any top level SELECT statement. For complex queries that involve multiple tables, joins, stored procedures, or views, the timestamp is applied just once for the entire query instead of specifying the same timestamp for each table within the same query. This ensures the entire query is executed with reference to the specified timestamp, maintaining the data’s uniformity and integrity throughout the query execution. 

From historical trend analysis and forecasting to compliance management, stable reporting and real-time decision support, the benefits of time travel extend across multiple business operations. Embrace the capability of time travel to navigate the data-driven landscape and gain a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced world of Artificial Intelligence. 

We are excited to announce not one but two new enhancements to the Copy Into feature for Fabric Warehouse: Copy Into with Entra ID Authentication and Copy Into for Firewall-Enabled Storage!

Entra ID Authentication  

When authenticating storage accounts in your environment, the executing user’s Entra ID will now be used by default. This ensures that you can leverage A ccess C ontrol L ists and R ole – B ased a ccess c ontrol to authenticate to your storage accounts when using Copy Into. Currently, only organizational accounts are supported.  

How to Use Entra ID Authentication  

• Ensure your Entra ID organizational account has access to the underlying storage and can execute the Copy Into statement on your Fabric Warehouse.  
• Run your Copy Into statement without specifying any credentials; the Entra ID organizational account will be used as the default authentication mechanism.  

Copy into firewall-enabled storage

The Copy Into for firewall-enabled storage leverages the trusted workspace access functionality ( Trusted workspace access in Microsoft Fabric (preview) – Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn ) to establish a secure and seamless connection between Fabric and your storage accounts. Secure access can be enabled for both blob and ADLS Gen2 storage accounts. Secure access with Copy Into is available for warehouses in workspaces with Fabric Capacities (F64 or higher).  

To learn more about Copy into , please refer to COPY INTO (Transact-SQL) – Azure Synapse Analytics and Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn  

We are excited to announce the launch of our new feature, Just in Time Database Attachment, which will significantly enhance your first experience, such as when connecting to the Datawarehouse or SQL endpoint or simply opening an item. These actions trigger the workspace resource assignment process, where, among other actions, we attach all necessary metadata of your items, Data warehouses and SQL endpoints, which can be a long process, particularly for workspaces that have a high number of items.  

This feature is designed to attach your desired database during the activation process of your workspace, allowing you to execute queries immediately and avoid unnecessary delays. However, all other databases will be attached asynchronously in the background while you are able to execute queries, ensuring a smooth and efficient experience. 

Data Engineering 

We are advancing Fabric Runtime 1.3 from an Experimental Public Preview to a full Public Preview. Our Apache Spark-based big data execution engine, optimized for both data engineering and science workflows, has been updated and fully integrated into the Fabric platform. 

The enhancements in Fabric Runtime 1.3 include the incorporation of Delta Lake 3.1, compatibility with Python 3.11, support for Starter Pools, integration with Environment and library management capabilities. Additionally, Fabric Runtime now enriches the data science experience by supporting the R language and integrating Copilot. 

We are pleased to share that the Native Execution Engine for Fabric Runtime 1.2 is currently available in public preview. The Native Execution Engine can greatly enhance the performance for your Spark jobs and queries. The engine has been rewritten in C++ and operates in columnar mode and uses vectorized processing. The Native Execution Engine offers superior query performance – encompassing data processing, ETL, data science, and interactive queries – all directly on your data lake. Overall, Fabric Spark delivers a 4x speed-up on the sum of execution time of all 99 queries in the TPC-DS 1TB benchmark when compared against Apache Spark.  This engine is fully compatible with Apache Spark™ APIs (including Spark SQL API). 

It is seamless to use with no code changes – activate it and go. Enable it in your environment for your notebooks and your SJDs. 

This feature is in the public preview, at this stage of the preview, there is no additional cost associated with using it. 

We are excited to announce the Spark Monitoring Run Series Analysis features, which allow you to analyze the run duration trend and performance comparison for Pipeline Spark activity recurring run instances and repetitive Spark run activities from the same Notebook or Spark Job Definition.   

• Run Series Comparison: Users can compare the duration of a Notebook run with that of previous runs and evaluate the input and output data to understand the reasons behind prolonged run durations.  
• Outlier Detection and Analysis: The system can detect outliers in the run series and analyze them to pinpoint potential contributing factors. 
• Detailed Run Instance Analysis: Clicking on a specific run instance provides detailed information on time distribution, which can be used to identify performance enhancement opportunities. 
• Configuration Insights : Users can view the Spark configuration used for each run, including auto-tuned configurations for Spark SQL queries in auto-tune enabled Notebook runs. 

You can access the new feature from the item’s recent runs panel and Spark application monitoring page. 

We are excited to announce that Notebook now supports the ability to tag others in comments, just like the familiar functionality of using Office products!   

When you select a section of code in a cell, you can add a comment with your insights and tag one or more teammates to collaborate or brainstorm on the specifics. This intuitive enhancement is designed to amplify collaboration in your daily development work. 

Moreover, you can easily configure the permissions when tagging someone who doesn’t have the permission, to make sure your code asset is well managed. 

We are thrilled to unveil a significant enhancement to the Fabric notebook ribbon, designed to elevate your data science and engineering workflows. 

In the new version, you will find the new Session connect control on the Home tab, and now you can start a standard session without needing to run a code cell. 

You can also easily spin up a High concurrency session and share the session across multiple notebooks to improve the compute resource utilization. And you can easily attach/leave a high concurrency session with a single click. 

The “ View session information ” can navigate you to the session information dialog, where you can find a lot of useful detailed information, as well as configure the session timeout. The diagnostics info is essentially helpful when you need support for notebook issues. 

Now you can easily access the powerful “ Data Wrangler ” on Home tab with the new ribbon! You can explore your data with the fancy low-code experience of data wrangler, and the pandas DataFrames and Spark DataFrames are all supported.   

We recently made some changes to the Fabric notebook metadata to ensure compliance and consistency: 

Notebook file content: 

• The keyword “trident” has been replaced with “dependencies” in the notebook content. This adjustment ensures consistency and compliance. 
• Notebook Git format: 
• The preface of the notebook has been modified from “# Synapse Analytics notebook source” to “# Fabric notebook source”. 
• Additionally, the keyword “synapse” has been updated to “dependencies” in the Git repo. 

The above changes will be marked as ‘uncommitted’ for one time if your workspace is connected to Git. No action is needed in terms of these changes , and there won’t be any breaking scenario within the Fabric platform . If you have any further updates or questions, feel free to share with us. 

We are thrilled to announce that the environment is now a generally available item in Microsoft Fabric. During this GA timeframe, we have shipped a few new features of Environment. 

• Git support  

The environment is now Git supported. You can check-in the environment into your Git repo and manipulate the environment locally with its YAML representations and custom library files. After updating the changes from local to Fabric portal, you can publish them by manual action or through REST API. 

• Deployment pipeline  

Deploying environments from one workspace to another is supported.  Now, you can deploy the code items and their dependent environments together from development to test and even production. 

With the REST APIs, you can have the code-first experience with the same abilities through Fabric portal. We provide a set of powerful APIs to ensure you the efficiency in managing your environment. You can create new environments, update libraries and Spark compute, publish the changes, delete an environment, attach the environment to a notebook, etc., all actions can be done locally in the tools of your choice. The article – Best practice of managing environments with REST API could help you get started with several real-world scenarios.  

• Resources folder   

Resources folder enables managing small resources in the development cycle. The files uploaded in the environment can be accessed from notebooks once they’re attached to the same environment. The manipulation of the files and folders of resources happens in real-time. It could be super powerful, especially when you are collaborating with others. 

Sharing your environment with others is also available. We provide several sharing options. By default, the view permission is shared. If you want the recipient to have access to view and use the contents of the environment, sharing without permission customization is the best option. Furthermore, you can grant editing permission to allow recipients to update this environment or grant share permission to allow recipients to reshare this environment with their existing permissions. 

We are excited to announce the REST api support for Fabric Data Engineering/Science workspace settings.  Data Engineering/Science settings allows users to create/manage their Spark compute, select the default runtime/default environment, enable or disable high concurrency mode or ML autologging.  

Now with the REST api support for the Data Engineering/Science settings, you would be able to  

• Choose the default pool for a Fabric Workspace 
• Configure the max nodes for Starter pools 
• Create/Update/Delete the existing Custom Pools, Autoscale and Dynamic allocation properties  
• Choose Workspace Default Runtime and Environment  
• Select a default runtime 
• Select the default environment for the Fabric workspace  
• Enable or Disable High Concurrency Mode 
• Enable or Disable ML Auto logging.  

Learn more about the Workspace Spark Settings API in our API documentation Workspace Settings – REST API (Spark) | Microsoft Learn  

We are excited to give you a sneak peek at the preview of User Data Functions in Microsoft Fabric. User Data Functions gives developers and data engineers the ability to easily write and run applications that integrate with resources in the Fabric Platform. Data engineering often presents challenges with data quality or complex data analytics processing in data pipelines, and using ETL tools may present limited flexibility and ability to customize to your needs. This is where User data functions can be used to run data transformation tasks and perform complex business logic by connecting to your data sources and other workloads in Fabric.  

During preview, you will be able to use the following features:  

• Use the Fabric portal to create new User Data Functions, view and test them.  
• Write your functions using C#.   
• Use the Visual Studio Code extension to create and edit your functions.  
• Connect to the following Fabric-native data sources: Data Warehouse, Lakehouse and Mirrored Databases.   

You can now create a fully managed GraphQL API in Fabric to interact with your data in a simple, flexible, and powerful way. We’re excited to announce the public preview of API for GraphQL, a data access layer that allows us to query multiple data sources quickly and efficiently in Fabric by leveraging a widely adopted and familiar API technology that returns more data with less client requests.  With the new API for GraphQL in Fabric, data engineers and scientists can create data APIs to connect to different data sources, use the APIs in their workflows, or share the API endpoints with app development teams to speed up and streamline data analytics application development in your business. 

You can get started with the API for GraphQL in Fabric by creating an API, attaching a supported data source, then selecting specific data sets you want to expose through the API. Fabric builds the GraphQL schema automatically based on your data, you can test and prototype queries directly in our graphical in-browser GraphQL development environment (API editor), and applications are ready to connect in minutes. 

Currently, the following supported data sources can be exposed through the Fabric API for GraphQL: 

• Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse 
• Microsoft Fabric Lakehouse via SQL Analytics Endpoint 
• Microsoft Fabric Mirrored Databases via SQL Analytics Endpoint 

Click here to learn more about how to get started. 

Data Science 

As you may know, Copilot in Microsoft Fabric requires your tenant administrator to enable the feature from the admin portal. Starting May 20th, 2024, Copilot in Microsoft Fabric will be enabled by default for all tenants. This update is part of our continuous efforts to enhance user experience and productivity within Microsoft Fabric. This new default activation means that AI features like Copilot will be automatically enabled for tenants who have not yet enabled the setting.  

We are introducing a new capability to enable Copilot on Capacity level in Fabric. A new option is being introduced in the tenant admin portal, to delegate the enablement of AI and Copilot features to Capacity administrators.  This AI and Copilot setting will be automatically delegated to capacity administrators and tenant administrators won’t be able to turn off the delegation.   

We also have a cross-geo setting for customers who want to use Copilot and AI features while their capacity is in a different geographic region than the EU data boundary or the US. By default, the cross-geo setting will stay off and will not be delegated to capacity administrators automatically.  Tenant administrators can choose whether to delegate this to capacity administrators or not. 

Figure 1.  Copilot in Microsoft Fabric will be auto enabled and auto delegated to capacity administrators. 

Capacity administrators will see the “Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service (preview)” settings under Capacity settings/ Fabric Capacity / <Capacity name> / Delegated tenant settings. By default, the capacity setting will inherit tenant level settings. Capacity administrators can decide whether to override the tenant administrator’s selection. This means that even if Copilot is not enabled on a tenant level, a capacity administrator can choose to enable Copilot for their capacity. With this level of control, we make it easier to control which Fabric workspaces can utilize AI features like Copilot in Microsoft Fabric. 

To enhance privacy and trust, we’ve updated our approach to abuse monitoring: previously, we retained data from Copilot in Fabric, including prompt inputs and outputs, for up to 30 days to check for misuse. Following customer feedback, we’ve eliminated this 30-day retention. Now, we no longer store prompt related data, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to your privacy and security. We value your input and take your concerns seriously. 

Real-Time Intelligence 

This month includes the announcement of Real-Time Intelligence, the next evolution of Real-Time Analytics and Data Activator. With Real-Time Intelligence, Fabric extends to the world of streaming and high granularity data, enabling all users in your organization to collect, analyze and act on this data in a timeline manner making faster and more informed business decisions. Read the full announcement from Build 2024. 

Real-Time Intelligence includes a wide range of capabilities across ingestion, processing, analysis, transformation, visualization and taking action. All of this is supported by the Real-Time hub, the central place to discover and manage streaming data and start all related tasks.  

Read on for more information on each capability and stay tuned for a series of blogs describing the features in more detail. All features are in Public Preview unless otherwise specified. Feedback on any of the features can be submitted at https://aka.ms/rtiidea    

Ingest & Process  

• Introducing the Real-Time hub 
• Get Events with new sources of streaming and event data 
• Source from Real-Time Hub in Enhanced Eventstream  
• Use Real-Time hub to Get Data in KQL Database in Eventhouse 
• Get data from Real-Time Hub within Reflexes 
• Eventstream Edit and Live modes 
• Default and derived streams 
• Route data streams based on content 

Analyze & Transform  

• Eventhouse GA 
• Eventhouse OneLake availability GA 
• Create a database shortcut to another KQL Database 
• Support for AI Anomaly Detector  
• Copilot for Real-Time Intelligence 
• Tenant-level private endpoints for Eventhouse 

Visualize & Act  

• Visualize data with Real-Time Dashboards  
• New experience for data exploration 
• Create triggers from Real-Time Hub 
• Set alert on Real-time Dashboards 
• Taking action through Fabric Items 

Ingest & Process 

Real-Time hub is the single place for all data-in-motion across your entire organization. Several key features are offered in Real-Time hub: 

1. Single place for data-in-motion for the entire organization  

Real-Time hub enables users to easily discover, ingest, manage, and consume data-in-motion from a wide variety of sources. It lists all the streams and KQL tables that customers can directly act on. 

2. Real-Time hub is never empty  

All data streams in Fabric automatically show up in the hub. Also, users can subscribe to events in Fabric gaining insights into the health and performance of their data ecosystem. 

3. Numerous connectors to simplify data ingestion from anywhere to Real-Time hub  

Real-Time hub makes it easy for you to ingest data into Fabric from a wide variety of sources like AWS Kinesis, Kafka clusters, Microsoft streaming sources, sample data and Fabric events using the Get Events experience.  

There are 3 tabs in the hub:  

• Data streams : This tab contains all streams that are actively running in Fabric that user has access to. This includes all streams from Eventstreams and all tables from KQL Databases. 
• Microsoft sources : This tab contains Microsoft sources (that user has access to) and can be connected to Fabric. 
• Fabric events : Fabric now has event-driven capabilities to support real-time notifications and data processing. Users can monitor and react to events including Fabric Workspace Item events and Azure Blob Storage events. These events can be used to trigger other actions or workflows, such as invoking a data pipeline or sending a notification via email. Users can also send these events to other destinations via Event Streams. 

Learn More  

You can now connect to data from both inside and outside of Fabric in a mere few steps.  Whether data is coming from new or existing sources, streams, or available events, the Get Events experience allows users to connect to a wide range of sources directly from Real-Time hub, Eventstreams, Eventhouse and Data Activator.  

This enhanced capability allows you to easily connect external data streams into Fabric with out-of-box experience, giving you more options and helping you to get real-time insights from various sources. This includes Camel Kafka connectors powered by Kafka connect to access popular data platforms, as well as the Debezium connectors for fetching the Change Data Capture (CDC) streams. 

Using Get Events, bring streaming data from Microsoft sources directly into Fabric with a first-class experience.  Connectivity to notification sources and discrete events is also included, this enables access to notification events from Azure and other clouds solutions including AWS and GCP.  The full set of sources which are currently supported are: 

• Microsoft sources : Azure Event Hubs, Azure IoT hub 
• External sources : Google Cloud Pub/Sub, Amazon Kinesis Data Streams, Confluent Cloud Kafka 
• Change data capture databases : Azure SQL DB (CDC), PostgreSQL DB (CDC), Azure Cosmos DB (CDC), MySQL DB (CDC)  
• Fabric events : Fabric Workspace Item events, Azure Blob Storage events  

Learn More   

With enhanced Eventstream, you can now stream data not only from Microsoft sources but also from other platforms like Google Cloud, Amazon Kinesis, Database change data capture streams, etc. using our new messaging connectors. The new Eventstream also lets you acquire and route real-time data not only from stream sources but also from discrete event sources, such as: Azure Blob Storage events, Fabric Workspace Item events. 

To use these new sources in Eventstream, simply create an eventstream with choosing “Enhanced Capabilities (preview)”. 

You will see the new Eventstream homepage that gives you some choices to begin with. By clicking on the “Add external source”, you will find these sources in the Get events wizard that helps you to set up the source in a few steps. After you add the source to your eventstream, you can publish it to stream the data into your eventstream.  

Using Eventstream with discrete sources to turn events into streams for more analysis. You can send the streams to different Fabric data destinations, like Lakehouse and KQL Database. After the events are converted, a default stream will appear in Real-Time Hub. To turn them, click Edit on ribbon, select “Stream events” on the source node, and publish your eventstream. 

To transform the stream data or route it to different Fabric destinations based on its content, you can click Edit in ribbon and enter the Edit mode. There you can add event processing operators and destinations. 

With Real-Time hub embedded in KQL Database experience, each user in the tenant can view and add streams which they have access to and directly ingest it to a KQL Database table in Eventhouse.  

This integration provides each user in the tenant with the ability to access and view data streams they are permitted to. They can now directly ingest these streams into a KQL Database table in Eventhouse. This simplifies the data discovery and ingestion process by allowing users to directly interact with the streams. Users can filter data based on the Owner, Parent and Location and provides additional information such as Endorsement and Sensitivity. 

You can access this by clicking on the Get Data button from the Database ribbon in Eventhouse. 

This will open the Get Data wizard with Real-Time hub embedded. 

You can use events from Real-Time hub directly in reflex items as well. From within the main reflex UI, click ‘Get data’ in the toolbar: 

This will open a wizard that allows you to connect to new event sources or browse Real-Time Hub to use existing streams or system events. 

Search new stream sources to connect to or select existing streams and tables to be ingested directly by Reflex. 

You then have access to the full reflex modeling experience to build properties and triggers over any events from Real-Time hub.  

Eventstream offers two distinct modes, Edit and Live, to provide flexibility and control over the development process of your eventstream. If you create a new Eventstream with Enhanced Capabilities enabled, you can modify it in an Edit mode. Here, you can design stream processing operations for your data streams using a no-code editor. Once you complete the editing, you can publish your Eventstream and visualize how it starts streaming and processing data in Live mode .   

In Edit mode, you can:   

• Make changes to an Eventstream without implementing them until you publish the Eventstream. This gives you full control over the development process.  
• Avoid test data being streamed to your Eventstream. This mode is designed to provide a secure environment for testing without affecting your actual data streams. 

For Live mode, you can :  

• Visualize how your Eventstream streams, transforms, and routes your data streams to various destinations after publishing the changes.  
• Pause the flow of data on selected sources and destinations, providing you with more control over your data streams being streamed into your Eventstream.  

When you create a new Eventstream with Enhanced Capabilities enabled, you can now create and manage multiple data streams within Eventstream, which can then be displayed in the Real-Time hub for others to consume and perform further analysis.  

There are two types of streams:   

• Default stream : Automatically generated when a streaming source is added to Eventstream. Default stream captures raw event data directly from the source, ready for transformation or analysis.  
• Derived stream : A specialized stream that users can create as a destination within Eventstream. Derived stream can be created after a series of operations such as filtering and aggregating, and then it’s ready for further consumption or analysis by other users in the organization through the Real-Time Hub.  

The following example shows that when creating a new Eventstream a default stream alex-es1-stream is automatically generated. Subsequently, a derived stream dstream1 is added after an Aggregate operation within the Eventstream. Both default and derived streams can be found in the Real-Time hub.  

Customers can now perform stream operations directly within Eventstream’s Edit mode, instead of embedding in a destination. This enhancement allows you to design stream processing logics and route data streams in the top-level canvas. Custom processing and routing can be applied to individual destinations using built-in operations, allowing for routing to distinct destinations within the Eventstream based on different stream content. 

These operations include:  

• Aggregate : Perform calculations such as SUM, AVG, MIN, and MAX on a column of values and return a single result. 
• Expand : Expand array values and create new rows for each element within the array.  
• Filter : Select or filter specific rows from the data stream based on a condition. 
• Group by : Aggregate event data within a certain time window, with the option to group one or more columns.  
• Manage Fields : Customize your data streams by adding, removing, or changing data type of a column.  
• Union : Merge two or more data streams with shared fields (same name and data type) into a unified data stream.  

Analyze & Transform 

Eventhouse, a cutting-edge database workspace meticulously crafted to manage and store event-based data, is now officially available for general use. Optimized for high granularity, velocity, and low latency streaming data, it incorporates indexing and partitioning for structured, semi-structured, and free text data. With Eventhouse, users can perform high-performance analysis of big data and real-time data querying, processing billions of events within seconds. The platform allows users to organize data into compartments (databases) within one logical item, facilitating efficient data management.  

Additionally, Eventhouse enables the sharing of compute and cache resources across databases, maximizing resource utilization. It also supports high-performance queries across databases and allows users to apply common policies seamlessly. Eventhouse offers content-based routing to multiple databases, full view lineage, and high granularity permission control, ensuring data security and compliance. Moreover, it provides a simple migration path from Azure Synapse Data Explorer and Azure Data Explorer, making adoption seamless for existing users. 

Engineered to handle data in motion, Eventhouse seamlessly integrates indexing and partitioning into its storing process, accommodating various data formats. This sophisticated design empowers high-performance analysis with minimal latency, facilitating lightning-fast ingestion and querying within seconds. Eventhouse is purpose-built to deliver exceptional performance and efficiency for managing event-based data across diverse applications and industries. Its intuitive features and seamless integration with existing Azure services make it an ideal choice for organizations looking to leverage real-time analytics for actionable insights. Whether it’s analyzing telemetry and log data, time series and IoT data, or financial records, Eventhouse provides the tools and capabilities needed to unlock the full potential of event-based data. 

We’re excited to announce that OneLake availability of Eventhouse in Delta Lake format is Generally Available. 

Delta Lake  is the unified data lake table format chosen to achieve seamless data access across all compute engines in Microsoft Fabric. 

The data streamed into Eventhouse is stored in an optimized columnar storage format with full text indexing and supports complex analytical queries at low latency on structured, semi-structured, and free text data. 

Enabling data availability of Eventhouse in OneLake means that customers can enjoy the best of both worlds: they can query the data with high performance and low latency in their  Eventhouse and query the same data in Delta Lake format via any other Fabric engines such as Power BI Direct Lake mode, Warehouse, Lakehouse, Notebooks, and more. 

To learn more, please visit https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/fabric/real-time-analytics/one-logical-copy 

A database shortcut in Eventhouse is an embedded reference to a source database. The source database can be one of the following: 

• (Now Available) A KQL Database in Real-Time Intelligence  
• An Azure Data Explorer database  

The behavior exhibited by the database shortcut is similar to that of a follower database  

The owner of the source database, the data provider, shares the database with the creator of the shortcut in Real-Time Intelligence, the data consumer. The owner and the creator can be the same person. The database shortcut is attached in read-only mode, making it possible to view and run queries on the data that was ingested into the source KQL Database without ingesting it.  

This helps with data sharing scenarios where you can share data in-place either within teams, or even with external customers.  

AI Anomaly Detector is an Azure service for high quality detection of multivariate and univariate anomalies in time series. While the standalone version is being retired October 2026, Microsoft open sourced the anomaly detection core algorithms and they are now supported in Microsoft Fabric. Users can leverage these capabilities in Data Science and Real-Time Intelligence workload. AI Anomaly Detector models can be trained in Spark Python notebooks in Data Science workload, while real time scoring can be done by KQL with inline Python in Real-Time Intelligence. 

We are excited to announce the Public Preview of Copilot for Real-Time Intelligence. This initial version includes a new capability that translates your natural language questions about your data to KQL queries that you can run and get insights.  

Your starting point is a KQL Queryset, that is connected to a KQL Database, or to a standalone Kusto database:  

Simply type the natural language question about what you want to accomplish, and Copilot will automatically translate it to a KQL query you can execute. This is extremely powerful for users who may be less familiar with writing KQL queries but still want to get the most from their time-series data stored in Eventhouse. 

Stay tuned for more capabilities from Copilot for Real-Time Intelligence!   

Customers can increase their network security by limiting access to Eventhouse at a tenant-level, from one or more virtual networks (VNets) via private links. This will prevent unauthorized access from public networks and only permit data plane operations from specific VNets.  

Visualize & Act 

Real-Time Dashboards have a user-friendly interface, allowing users to quickly explore and analyze their data without the need for extensive technical knowledge. They offer a high refresh frequency, support a range of customization options, and are designed to handle big data.  

The following visual types are supported, and can be customized with the dashboard’s user-friendly interface: 

You can also define conditional formatting rules to format the visual data points by their values using colors, tags, and icons. Conditional formatting can be applied to a specific set of cells in a predetermined column or to entire rows, and lets you easily identify interesting data points. 

Beyond the support visual, Real-Time Dashboards provide several capabilities to allow you to interact with your data by performing slice and dice operations for deeper analysis and gaining different viewpoints. 

• Parameters are used as building blocks for dashboard filters and can be added to queries to filter the data presented by visuals. Parameters can be used to slice and dice dashboard visuals either directly by selecting parameter values in the filter bar or by using cross-filters. 
• Cross filters allow you to select a value in one visual and filter all other visuals on that dashboard based on the selected data point. 
• Drillthrough capability allows you to select a value in a visual and use it to filter the visuals in a target page in the same dashboard. When the target page opens, the value is pushed to the relevant filters.    

Real-Time Dashboards can be shared broadly and allow multiple stakeholders to view dynamic, real time, fresh data while easily interacting with it to gain desired insights. 

Directly from a real-time dashboard, users can refine their exploration using a user-friendly, form-like interface. This intuitive and dynamic experience is tailored for insights explorers craving insights based on real-time data. Add filters, create aggregations, and switch visualization types without writing queries to easily uncover insights.  

With this new feature, insights explorers are no longer bound by the limitations of pre-defined dashboards. As independent explorers, they have the freedom for ad-hoc exploration, leveraging existing tiles to kickstart their journey. Moreover, they can selectively remove query segments, and expand their view of the data landscape.  

Dive deep, extract meaningful insights, and chart actionable paths forward, all with ease and efficiency, and without having to write complex KQL queries.  

Data Activator allows you to monitor streams of data for various conditions and set up actions to be taken in response. These triggers are available directly within the Real-Time hub and in other workloads in Fabric. When the condition is detected, an action will automatically be kicked off such as sending alerts via email or Teams or starting jobs in Fabric items.  

When you browse the Real-Time Hub, you’ll see options to set triggers in the detail pages for streams. 

Selecting this will open a side panel where you can configure the events you want to monitor, the conditions you want to look for in the events, and the action you want to take while in the Real-Time hub experience. 

Completing this pane creates a new reflex item with a trigger that monitors the selected events and condition for you. Reflexes need to be created in a workspace supported by a Fabric or Power BI Premium capacity – this can be a trial capacity so you can get started with it today! 

Data Activator has been able to monitor Power BI report data since it was launched, and we now support monitoring of Real-Time Dashboard visuals in the same way.

From real-time dashboard tiles you can click the ellipsis (…) button and select “Set alert”

This opens the embedded trigger pane, where you can specify what conditions, you are looking for. You can choose whether to send email or Teams messages as the alert when these conditions are met.

When creating a new reflex trigger, from Real-time Hub or within the reflex item itself, you’ll notice a new ‘Run a Fabric item’ option in the Action section. This will create a trigger that starts a new Fabric job whenever its condition is met, kicking off a pipeline or notebook computation in response to Fabric events. A common scenario would be monitoring Azure Blob storage events via Real-Time Hub, and running data pipeline jobs when Blog Created events are detected. 

This capability is extremely powerful and moves Fabric from a scheduled driven platform to an event driven platform.  

Pipelines, spark jobs, and notebooks are just the first Fabric items we’ll support here, and we’re keen to hear your feedback to help prioritize what else we support. Please leave ideas and votes on https://aka.ms/rtiidea and let us know! 

Real-Time Intelligence, along with the Real-Time hub, revolutionizes what’s possible with real-time streaming and event data within Microsoft Fabric.  

Learn more and try it today https://aka.ms/realtimeintelligence   

Data Factory 

Dataflow gen2 .

We are thrilled to announce that the Power Query SDK is now generally available in Visual Studio Code! This marks a significant milestone in our commitment to providing developers with powerful tools to enhance data connectivity and transformation. 

The Power Query SDK is a set of tools that allow you as the developer to create new connectors for Power Query experiences available in products such as Power BI Desktop, Semantic Models, Power BI Datamarts, Power BI Dataflows, Fabric Dataflow Gen2 and more. 

This new SDK has been in public preview since November of 2022, and we’ve been hard at work improving this experience which goes beyond what the previous Power Query SDK in Visual Studio had to offer.  

The latest of these biggest improvements was the introduction of the Test Framework in March of 2024 that solidifies the developer experience that you can have within Visual Studio Code and the Power Query SDK for creating a Power Query connector. 

The Power Query SDK extension for Visual Studio will be deprecated by June 30, 2024, so we encourage you to give this new Power Query SDK in Visual Studio Code today if you haven’t.  

To get started with the Power Query SDK in Visual Studio Code, simply install it from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace . Our comprehensive documentation and tutorials are available to help you harness the full potential of your data. 

Join our vibrant community of developers to share insights, ask questions, and collaborate on exciting projects. Our dedicated support team is always ready to assist you with any queries. 

We look forward to seeing the innovative solutions you’ll create with the Power Query SDK in Visual Studio Code. Happy coding! 

Introducing a convenient enhancement to the Dataflows Gen2 Refresh History experience! Now, alongside the familiar “X” button in the Refresh History screen, you’ll find a shiny new Refresh Button . This small but mighty addition empowers users to refresh the status of their dataflow refresh history status without the hassle of exiting the refresh history and reopening it. Simply click the Refresh Button , and voilà! Your dataflow’s refresh history status screen is updated, keeping you in the loop with minimal effort. Say goodbye to unnecessary clicks and hello to streamlined monitoring! 

• [New] OneStream : The OneStream Power Query Connector enables you to seamlessly connect Data Factory to your OneStream applications by simply logging in with your OneStream credentials. The connector uses your OneStream security, allowing you to access only the data you have based on your permissions within the OneStream application. Use the connector to pull cube and relational data along with metadata members, including all their properties. Visit OneStream Power BI Connector to learn more. Find this connector in the other category. 

Data workflows  

We are excited to announce the preview of ‘Data workflows’, a new feature within the Data Factory that revolutionizes the way you build and manage your code-based data pipelines. Powered by Apache Airflow, Data workflows offer seamless authoring, scheduling, and monitoring experience for Python-based data processes defined as Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs). This feature brings a SaaS-like experience to running DAGs in a fully managed Apache Airflow environment, with support for autoscaling , auto-pause , and rapid cluster resumption to enhance cost-efficiency and performance.  

It also includes native cloud-based authoring capabilities and comprehensive support for Apache Airflow plugins and libraries. 

To begin using this feature: 

• Access the Microsoft Fabric Admin Portal. 
• Navigate to Tenant Settings. 

Under Microsoft Fabric options, locate and expand the ‘Users can create and use Data workflows (preview)’ section. Note: This action is necessary only during the preview phase of Data workflows. 

2. Create a new Data workflow within an existing or new workspace. 

3. Add a new Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) file via the user interface. 

4.  Save your DAG(s). 

5. Use Apache Airflow monitoring tools to observe your DAG executions. In the ribbon, click on Monitor in Apache Airflow. 

For additional information, please consult the product documentation .   If you’re not already using Fabric capacity, consider signing up for the Microsoft Fabric free trial to evaluate this feature. 

Data Pipelines 

We are excited to announce a new feature in Fabric that enables you to create data pipelines to access your firewall-enabled Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 (ADLS Gen2) accounts. This feature leverages the workspace identity to establish a secure and seamless connection between Fabric and your storage accounts. 

With trusted workspace access, you can create data pipelines to your storage accounts with just a few clicks. Then you can copy data into Fabric Lakehouse and start analyzing your data with Spark, SQL, and Power BI. Trusted workspace access is available for workspaces in Fabric capacities (F64 or higher). It supports organizational accounts or service principal authentication for storage accounts. 

How to use trusted workspace access in data pipelines  

Create a workspace identity for your Fabric workspace. You can follow the guidelines provided in Workspace identity in Fabric . 

Configure resource instance rules for the Storage account that you want to access from your Fabric workspace. Resource instance rules for Fabric workspaces can only be created through ARM templates. Follow the guidelines for configuring resource instance rules for Fabric workspaces here . 

Create a data pipeline to copy data from the firewall enabled ADLS gen2 account to a Fabric Lakehouse. 

To learn more about how to use trusted workspace access in data pipelines, please refer to Trusted workspace access in Fabric . 

We hope you enjoy this new feature for your data integration and analytics scenarios. Please share your feedback and suggestions with us by leaving a comment here. 

Introducing Blob Storage Event Triggers for Data Pipelines 

A very common use case among data pipeline users in a cloud analytics solution is to trigger your pipeline when a file arrives or is deleted. We have introduced Azure Blob storage event triggers as a public preview feature in Fabric Data Factory Data Pipelines. This utilizes the Fabric Reflex alerts capability that also leverages Event Streams in Fabric to create event subscriptions to your Azure storage accounts. 

Parent/Child pipeline pattern monitoring improvements

Today, in Fabric Data Factory Data Pipelines, when you call another pipeline using the Invoke Pipeline activity, the child pipeline is not visible in the monitoring view. We have made updates to the Invoke Pipeline activity so that you can view your child pipeline runs. This requires an upgrade to any pipelines that you have in Fabric that already use the current Invoke Pipeline activity. You will be prompted to upgrade when you edit your pipeline and then provide a connection to your workspace to authenticate. Another additional new feature that will light up with this invoke pipeline activity update is the ability to invoke pipeline across workspaces in Fabric. 

We are excited to announce the availability of the Fabric Spark job definition activity for data pipelines. With this new activity, you will be able to run a Fabric Spark Job definition directly in your pipeline. Detailed monitoring capabilities of your Spark Job definition will be coming soon!  

To learn more about this activity, read https://aka.ms/SparkJobDefinitionActivity  

We are excited to announce the availability of the Azure HDInsight activity for data pipelines. The Azure HDInsight activity allows you to execute Hive queries, invoke a MapReduce program, execute Pig queries, execute a Spark program, or a Hadoop Stream program. Invoking either of the 5 activities can be done in a singular Azure HDInsight activity, and you can invoke this activity using your own or on-demand HDInsight cluster. 

To learn more about this activity, read https://aka.ms/HDInsightsActivity  

We are thrilled to share the new Modern Get Data experience in Data Pipeline to empower users intuitively and efficiently discover the right data, right connection info and credentials.   

In the data destination, users can easily set destination by creating a new Fabric item or creating another destination or selecting existing Fabric item from OneLake data hub. 

In the source tab of Copy activity, users can conveniently choose recent used connections from drop down or create a new connection using “More” option to interact with Modern Get Data experience. 

Related blog posts

Microsoft fabric april 2024 update.

Welcome to the April 2024 update! This month, you’ll find many great new updates, previews, and improvements. From Shortcuts to Google Cloud Storage and S3 compatible data sources in preview, Optimistic Job Admission for Fabric Spark, and New KQL Queryset Command Bar, that’s just a glimpse into this month’s update. There’s much more to explore! … Continue reading “Microsoft Fabric April 2024 Update”

Microsoft Fabric March 2024 Update

Welcome to the March 2024 update. We have a lot of great features this month including OneLake File Explorer, Autotune Query Tuning, Test Framework for Power Query SDK in VS Code, and many more! Earn a free Microsoft Fabric certification exam!  We are thrilled to announce the general availability of Exam DP-600, which leads to … Continue reading “Microsoft Fabric March 2024 Update”

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Dallas Severe Weather - Travel Notice Exception Policy

Affected Airports - City , State Association:

• Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW)

For complete details View

American Airlines has implemented a special exception policy to our travel partners that is now available for our mutual customers due to possible operational disruptions, including delays and cancellations due to Dallas Severe Weather.

Our Travel Notice exception policies on American are also available when ticketed to/from/through on our Joint Business partners: This applies to both prime and codeshare flights as shown below:

Inventory Requirements

Lowest Inventory, Same Cabin

If original inventory is not available rebook lowest inventory available in the same ticketed cabin. As a reminder, customers that do not hold a Basic Economy fare should never be booked into B inventory.

Basic Economy -

• Must be booked in B inventory only. If B inventory is not available, then an alternate flight must be selected. Advance Purchase and Ticket Change restrictions are waived.

Instant Upsell -

Refer to Travel Notice Policy - Travel Agency Guidelines for rebooking guidelines and Endorsement Box requirement when the customer purchased Instant Upsell (IU) directly with American on aa.com . IU PNRs contain the following SSRs:

• OTHS AGENCY RETAINS CONTROL OF TKT FOR REISSUES
• OTHS INSTANT UPSELL ANCILLARY EMD ISSUED 001xxxxxxxxxx

Refer to Exceptions to Fare Rules .

Note: If customers are unable to rebook or reissue their ticket within the given timeline, they can cancel their reservation and use the value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket; all rules and restrictions apply. Travel must commence no later than one year from the date of original issuance.

Endorsement Box Requirements

• Refer to individual Travel Notice for Event Name
• Ticket Reissue required. This is the only required verbiage and supersedes all other information.

Instant Upsell (IU) tickets must use waiver code: TNADV/IU when rebooking in the Instant Upsell Inventory IU PNRs contain the following SSRs:

Refer to Travel Notice Policy - Travel Agency Guidelines for Endorsement Box requirement when the customer purchased Instant Upsell (IU) directly with American on aa.com .

Changes to Origin/Destination - Not Allowed

• Waive Change Fee
• Ticket reissue for original ticketed fare
• 300 Mile Radius is always allowed, unless otherwise stated in the notice
• Changes to origin/destination are not permitted for the travel notice
• Any changes made to origin/destination all fare rules apply

300-Mile Radius Only - Allowed

• Within same country
• For booking inventory, view Inventory Requirements

Basic Economy Short-haul fares

book in B inventory only.If B inventory is not available, then an alternate flight must be selected.

Changes to Connection City

Changes to Co-Terminal

Changes to Co-terminal and MAC airports on AA Prime and AA*/Codeshare flights are allowed

• Co-terminal & MAC Airports are considered the same routing.  

Reissue Policy Information

American Airlines will waive change fees and travel agents may rebook and reissue tickets provided the below guidelines are met and applied:

• Ticket issued on the following ticket stock: AA 001, AY 105, BA 125, El053, IB 075, JL 131, QF 081
• Applies to AA*/ one world flights
• Travel has not commenced on the affected flight segment and the ticket has not been reissued by American Airlines
• The first departure flight is more than 2 hours away
• Affected coupons are in OK status
• Travel reissuance only in accordance to dates identified in the applicable Travel Notice Exception Advisory
• More than one change allowed without an additional collection, including penalty or change fee within the Travel Notice dates
• Original issuing agency responsible for ticket reissue
• Ticket Revalidation not permitted
• The return travel must be booked in the original class of service (inventory)
• Refer to Extend Travel Rebooking after the Travel Event
• Basic Economy must be rebooked in the appropriate Basic Economy inventory
• Please ensure the above procedures are accurately followed to prevent debit memo issuance

Rebooking - Exception to Fare Rules

Exception to Fare Rules: All fare rules apply with the exception of the following:

• Advance Purchase requirement waived
• Minimum/Maximum Stay requirement waived
• Change Fee waived
• When changes to the outbound travel occur, the unaffected return date may be changed to protect the original length of the trip. The return travel must be booked in the original class of service (inventory).

SalesLink Request

• Rebook flights in compliance with Travel Notice Exception Policy
• Log-in to SalesLink at www.saleslink.aa.com
• Request Type: select 'Service'
• Input AA PNR
• Waiver Type: select 'Travel Notice'
• Travel Notice: select applicable Travel Notice event name
• Select 'Next' - and complete request
• Verify: SalesLink approval remarks in PNR
• New Ticket Endorsement Box: Enter event name only
• Ticket Reissue required

Endorsement Box requirement: 27MAY24 or the exchange will be subject to a debit memo

Extend Travel Rebooking Guidelines

If customers are unable to rebook within the New Travel Dates, may reschedule their reservation to/from the same city or alternate cities and reissue their ticket with the below guidelines:

• Cancel their itinerary and apply the value of the original ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket for travel commencing within 1 year from the date of original issuance
• Change fee only is waived as long as the original ticket is reissued within ticket validity and the impact dates are in accordance with those identified in the Travel Notice
• Basic Economy fares may only be used towards the purchase of other Basic Economy fares.
• Residual MCO's are not allowed when using the TNADVE waiver code for reissue.
• Extend Travel Rebooking does not apply to tickets in conjunction with Instant Upsell (IU)

Refund Policy Information

When the flight is cancelled or the length of delay is 91+ minutes , travel agents may refund ticket(s) through normal GDS/ARC/BSP processing. Refer to our Schedule Irregularity policy for delays 90 minutes or less.

• Refund To Original Form Of Payment - All penalties/fees waived
• Non-Refundable Fare
• Refundable Fare with cancellation Fee
• Basic Economy Fare
• Bulk/Opaque Fare

Note: If the ticket has been exchanged by American as an INVOL submit the refund request directly with American. Refer to American Airlines Refunds .

When the flight is not cancelled or the length of delay is 90 minutes or less , a refund does not apply:

• If customer elects to cancel their reservation and use the value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket outside the Travel Notice dates; may use Extend Travel Rebooking or may hold ticket for future travel; all rules and restrictions apply.
• Travel must commence no later than one year from the date of original issuance.

En route/Diversion

• Connecting customers' en route to one of the above-listed destinations or whose flights are diverted will have the option to return to their original departure city and rebook travel to alternate future dates.
• Customers should work directly with the airport to obtain a boarding pass for return travel to their original departure city. If the customer wishes to rebook travel to alternate future dates, please contact American Airlines Reservations for assistance. Alternatively, they may receive a refund if re-accommodation options are unacceptable.
• If a ticket has already been reissued by American Airlines or the ticket is partially used, travel agents must submit the refund request online at https://prefunds.aa.com/refunds/

American Airlines will continue to monitor this Travel Notice Exception Advisory and adjust this policy if needed. Changes will be posted on AA.com and www.saleslink.aa.com reference. Please check these sources frequently for the most up to date information.

• www.saleslink.aa.com Reference: Select Travel Notice Policy - Travel Agency Guidelines
• Visit www.saleslink.aa.com and navigate to AA News and Offers to view current travel notices.
• Contact your Sales Support Center 800-621-8489 or American Airlines Reservations 800-433-7300 (U.S. and Canada) or for Reservations outside the U.S. and Canada, please see our Worldwide Reservations Numbers American Airlines encourages all customers to check flight and gate status prior to leaving for the airport. For complete travel information, visit AA.com .
• Group reservations must be changed by AA Group & Meeting Travel
• Information contained on this web site is subject to change at any time without notice. American Airlines shall not be liable for any consequences resulting from your reliance on the information.

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‘Dropping Very Dramatically’: What Deadly Turbulence Did to a Flight

Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 was a rare instance of turbulence resulting in a death.

By Sui-Lee Wee and Muktita Suhartono

Reporting from Bangkok

The seatbelt sign came on moments after the plane started shaking, but, for some, it was too late.

“Whoever wasn’t buckled down, they were just launched into the air within the cabin,” said Dzafran Azmir, who was among the 211 passengers on board the London-to-Singapore flight that encountered deadly turbulence on Tuesday. “Within an instant, they hit the ceiling of the cabin and dropped right back onto the floor.”

The plane, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300 ER, had taken off from London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday night, about 10 hours earlier. It was about three-quarters full. Many of the travelers were Singaporeans returning home. Some were students studying in England. Others were families and some who had planned a “holiday of a lifetime” to far-flung destinations like Australia.

The bulk of the 13-hour journey of flight SQ321 was over, and many passengers had finished their last meal onboard, a breakfast that these days has been a choice between an omelet with cream cheese or stir-fried Asian noodles, both served with a side of fresh fruit.

By this time, the plane had reached the Bay of Bengal, which sits between the Indian subcontinent and the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Some pilots consider the region “notorious” this time of the year because its monsoon rains can cause turbulence.

But commercial pilots know how to prepare for such scenarios. They rely on weather radar and carry extra fuel so they can fly around and wait for the weather to ease, if needed. Or they follow the course charted by other planes that recently have passed through the area and have warned air traffic controllers about weather upheavals.

One scenario that is impossible to prepare for is when the skies are clear and the plane’s radar does not detect anything amiss. This phenomenon is known as clear air turbulence.

“It could be the plane just starts shaking, we turn on the seatbelt sign, but, unknowingly, we fall into the clear air turbulence zone,” said Captain Teerawat Angkasakulkiat, president of the Thai Pilots Association. “It’s totally unpredictable.”

It’s unclear what happened next with SQ321, but there had been thunderstorms near its flight path. As it was flying over Myanmar, cruising at 37,000 feet above the southern section of the country’s biggest river, the Irrawaddy, it hit what the airline later described as “sudden extreme turbulence.”

For the next three to five minutes, the plane shook violently, said Mr. Dzafran, 28, a university student heading home to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who was buckled into a window seat in row 52.

“Then it built up, like a feeling of going up a roller coaster, up the crest, and suddenly dropping very dramatically,” he recalled.

His bag, stored under the seat in front of him, flew across the plane, and his phone was flung across the aisle. The woman sitting in the row in front of Mr. Dzafran hit her head so hard on the plastic seatbelt indicator sign above her that it broke. Oxygen masks dropped down from the overhead panel. The person behind him hit a seat. Mr. Dzafran was unharmed, but the other two passengers had bloody gashes on their heads.

At least one passenger, it appeared, was able to react quickly enough and buckle her seatbelt. It was a woman sitting behind Mr. Dzafran.

“That was miraculous luck on her side to respond so quickly,” he said.

Another passenger, Teandra Tukhunen, who was sleeping, was not able to react as fast. She was awakened by the turbulence and saw the seatbelt sign come on, but she had no time to fasten it and was thrown to the ceiling, then to the floor, Ms. Tukhunen, 30, a native of Australia, told Sky News from a hospital in Bangkok, her arm in a sling.

Elsewhere on the plane, people started crying and screaming out in pain. The whiplash was so furious that one passenger said that it appeared as if those who had been walking around on the plane were doing somersaults. Dozens of people, including some crew members, were injured.

As things settled down, it was clear that one of the worst affected passengers was a male traveler, Geoff Kitchen. A grandfather of two who ran a local theater group in the town of Thornbury in southwest England, Mr. Kitchen, 73, had planned a six-week “holiday of a lifetime” to Australia and Southeast Asia with his wife of 50 years, Linda.

Andrew Davies, who was sitting in front of Mr. Kitchen, helped carry him out of his seat and laid him on the floor, where he was given C.P.R. for at least 20 minutes.

With the plane now in Thailand’s airspace, the pilot placed a distress call to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, asking to make an emergency landing. Then he made an in-flight announcement about the new destination, and asked for anyone who was medically trained to help passengers with injuries.

Forty-five minutes after the ordeal began, Mr. Dzafran said, the plane landed. It was 3.45 p.m. local time.

Several ambulances with flashing lights were standing by. The passengers waited patiently while nurses, emergency medical workers and doctors rushed in to treat the critically injured first. A total of 83 people were injured. Twenty of them were sent to the intensive care unit of a local hospital.

Drew Kessler, the New York-based treasurer of Rotary International who was en route to Singapore for the annual Rotary International Convention, said he had broken his neck while his wife, Vicki, had broken her back.

As Mr. Dzafran prepared to disembark, the crew told passengers to avoid one of the aisles. Mr. Dzafran said he thinks he saw someone lying on the floor. Flight attendants near the business and first class zones were bleeding. Food was strewn across the galleys.

The passengers, dazed and confused, boarded a bus from the tarmac and arrived to a holding area inside the Bangkok airport. Conversations were struck up. A fellow passenger told Mr. Dzafran that someone had died on the plane and showed Mr. Dzafran an online news article. It was Mr. Kitchen. He was the only fatality — one of the few ever blamed on turbulence — and the cause of death hasn’t been released yet.

Singapore Airlines has apologized for the episode, and its investigators have arrived in Bangkok to try to understand what happened.

Mr. Dzafran was among the 143 passengers who emerged unscathed. So was his seatmate, who he said also had her seatbelt on.

Sui-Lee Wee is the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Times, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region. More about Sui-Lee Wee

Muktita Suhartono reports on Thailand and Indonesia. She is based in Bangkok. More about Muktita Suhartono