Introducing Slovenia
It's a tiny country, about half the size of Switzerland, and counts just over two million people. But the only way to describe pint-sized Slovenia (Slovenija), an independent republic bordering Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea, is that it's 'a mouse that roars'.
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Slovenia has been dubbed a lot of things since independence in 1991 - 'Europe in Miniature', 'The Sunny Side of the Alps', 'The Green Piece of Europe' - and, though they may sound like tourist-brochure blurbs, they're all true. From beaches, snow-capped mountains, hills awash in grapevines and wide plains blanketed in sunflowers, to Gothic churches, baroque palaces, historic castles and art nouveau civic buildings, Slovenia offers more diversity than countries many times its size. Its incredible mixture of climates brings warm Mediterranean breezes up to the foothills of the Alps, where it can even snow in summer. With more than half of its total area covered in forest, Slovenia truly is one of the greenest countries in the world - and in recent years it has also become Europe's activities playground.
Among Slovenia's greatest assets, though, are the Slovenes themselves - welcoming, generous, multilingual, broad-minded. As far as they are concerned, they do not live emotionally, spiritually or even geographically in 'Eastern' Europe - their home is the very heart of the continent.
Last updated: Jul 16, 2010
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Slovenia
Our Top Picks For Slovenia
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1 Lake Bohinj
An idyllic unspoiled Alpine lake beneath Mt Triglav
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2 Logarska Dolina
The most beautiful Alpine valley, with flat meadows ringed by rocky peaks
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3 Šempeter
An almost complete Roman-era necropolis with 1st century tombs
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4 Bogojina
A flower-bedecked village with a wonderful church designed by Jože Plečnik
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5 Ptuj
A gem of a town, steeped in medieval history
Fast Facts about Slovenia
- Capital
- Famous for
hiking and skiing, Lake Bled, Lipizzaner horses, pršut (air-dried ham)
- Official language
Slovene
- Phrases
dober dan (hello); živijo (hi); prosim (please); hvala (thank you); oprostite (excuse me); nasvidenje (goodbye)
- Population
2.018 million
- Telephone code
386
- Slovenia’s national anthem
Zdravljica (A Toast to Freedom), written by poet France Prešeren in 1844
- Size
20, 273 sq km (0.2% of Europe’s total land mass)
Our favourite Slovenia Blogs (beta)
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A Little Travel Memory…Slovenian Summer Street Theatre
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 2 August 2010
Travel Memories: Street Theatre Festival in Slovenia Visiting Slovenia the first week of July in 2009 was one of those happy travel accidents – I had no idea that the Ana Desetnica summer theatre festival was going on that week but now can’t imagine the lovely little capital city of Ljubljana without the huge festival tents and impromptu street performances that took over the green lawns and parks throughout the city-center. In fact, I actually love the theatre festivals I’ve seen all over the world so much that when I was ...
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Day 169: Soča Valley
Blog: Diaries of a Vagabonding Couple - 30 July 2010
Sheep grazing along the Vršič Pass I'm liking Slovenia much more than the first time I was here. We spent a couple nights in the Soča valley at Bovec (wish we had stayed longer) and the beauty of the surrounding mountains and rivers has changed my perspective of this country. I didn't visit the Soča valley last time and so glad we made the trek out here this time round. The Julian Alps
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Travelling in Turkey – More Greek and Roman Ruins than Italy and Greece!
Blog: Vagobond.com - 29 July 2010
Again, not a lot of time to write, but we are having a wonderful time in Turkey. From cruising the Bosporus to marveling at the Iskander Kebap in Bursa, this trip has been filed with adventures stretching across the Black Sea, the Marmara Sea, and soon the Aegean Sea, and of course a bit of [...]
