The city that proves green can be great
EACH year a different city in Europe announces it is the Continent’s new ‘Green Capital’ for the next 12 months. The hope is that tourists will flock there in droves, but in most cases the award seems to have nothing to do with making better holidays for visitors – and a lot to do with enlarging the egos of local politicians.
So I sighed deeply when I was invited to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, which holds the title this year. I feared I would be spending my weekend touring a new sustainable sewage works.
Slovenia forms the northern part of the former Yugoslavia. It includes a short section of the Adriatic coast and the southern foothills of the Alps.
Given Ljubljana’s history as a provincial city behind the Iron Curtain for 50 years, I was expecting Soviet-style tower blocks, lingering damage from the Yugoslavian civil war, and grumpy folk driving rusty cars. Instead, I got a huge surprise.
This pretty capital turns out to be one of Europe’s lucky cities. It has escaped any major war damage over the past 100 years. Even the token ‘ten-day war’ – when Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 – left no scars.
Visitors will find a charmingly intact historic city centre, with old streets lined by baroque and art nouveau buildings either side of a graceful river, and a landmark hill topped by an old castle. It’s beautiful, clean city that’s a pleasure to walk around.
I took the funicular railway up the rocky cliff to see the preserved castle at the top. From the battlements and towers, everyone takes selfies with the whole city laid out behind them.
I was soon distracted by a stylish restaurant in the vaults of the castle, with a menu featuring a lovely mix of Italian and Austrian cuisine.
Ljubljana was turning out to be quite a find, and I was determined to see more of it during an evening boat ride along the Ljubljanica river.
As we sailed under an ornate trio of bridges next to the main city square, the floodlit castle loomed high above us.
Ljubljana is well placed for day trips, with both beach and ski resorts within easy reach. I took cable cars and mountain trails to Velika Planina. It looks like a Hobbit village, but it is actually an ancient Alpine herders settlement that can be reached only on foot.
A short drive away is Planina Hill, a summit topped by a 75ft wooden wartime lookout tower. Later that day, I sat among a group of bearded old men, who delighted in watching me eat some local struklji dumplings with a glass of searing local brandy.
So what has Ljubljana done to deserve its new Green Capital title? Well, I have to say the authorities have done a good job. Traffic is banned from the city centre and parking is largely confined to underground car parks. Rubbish bins? They’re tubes that lead to underground recycling collection points.
City officials are so proud of the quality of the local water that they’ve installed 17 water fountains. Many shops and restaurants serve organic produce. And there are free electric taxis and free public bicycles, too, which all makes Ljubljana the perfect weekend destination for ‘greens’ – and everyone else, too.
Hotel Slon (hotelslon.com/en/) offers rooms on a B&B basis from €232 (£193) a night. Wizz Air (wizzair.com) flies three times a week from Luton to Ljubljana – fares cost from £24.49 one way. For further information, visit ljubljana.si/en/.