Summer in the city: How to stay cool in Ljubljana?

What to do in Ljubljana when the weather is very hot? Even though most of the city’s main sights are outdoors, there are quite a few options available to enjoy our city while staying cool.

Summer days in Ljubljana are just ideal for enjoying the day in one of the city’s outdoor cafes, exploring numerous nature paths in and around Ljubljana, taking a swim or even learning how to sup on Ljubljanica river. But if you don’t like the heat at all, here are some tips.

You can cool off nicely among the thick walls of the Ljubljana Castle and learn about Slovenian history at a permanent exhibition of the same name. Churches, especially the famous St. Nicholas’ Cathedral or the pink Franciscan Church at the Prešernov trg square are another among the cool sightseeing options in the literal sense of the word.

However, if you’d prefer to stay indoors to be safe from the heat, you should try some of Ljubljana’s museums (the City Museum of Ljubljana has an especially refreshing exhibition on view) or increasingly popular Escape Rooms.

When you walk around Ljubljana, don’t forget to drink a lot of water. Fortunately, Ljubljana is a city which can be proud of its clean drinking water. You can get a fill of it at one of the numerous public drinking fountains all over the city. If you’re not a fan of water, you can always have a nice cold beer in Ljubljana. The choice is varied and ranges from renowned international brands to Slovenian brews based on local knowledge of brewing.

Nature in Slovenia offers some really cool options too. You needn’t go far from Ljubljana to discover a few very good ones. In the shade of the mountain peaks you can explore Iški vintgar Gorge or Kamniška Bistrica Valley. From the latter you can also effortlesly get to the higher ground of Velika planina plateau by an aerial cable car. The site of one of Europe’s few surviving high mountain herdsmen’s villages is also famous for its stunning natural beauty. The weather is a bit cooler at 1,500 metres above the sea level, but some hiking out in the open is required.

So why not head uderground, where the temperature is constantly at around 8 to 10 °C? From Ljubljana you can take a day trip to Postojna Cave and include the picturesque Predjama Castle too. It’s a great way to spend half a day in some really cool places.