Eastern Slovenia

• Start Slovenski trg
• End Mestni trg
• Length 1.8km, 1½ hours

Begin in front of the Orpheus Monument, one of the few remnants of Ptuj's Roman heritage. Note the holes on the lower half of the tombstone. During the medieval era, Ptuj's criminals were shackled to iron rings attached to them. Admire the mix-and-match of different facades fronting the plaza before taking arched and cobblestoned Grajska ulica up the hillside as it rims the castle fortifications.

Enter the grounds of Ptuj Castle and peer back over the walls for Ptuj's best panorama, dominated by the clock tower's onion dome. From this vantage point you can see that the castle-facing side of the tower is missing its clock face. This is because the castle lords didn't chip in for the tower's building costs, so Ptuj's citizens decided to deny them easy viewing of the time.

Once you've visited the museum exhibits inside the castle, make your way down the cobbled path to the powder-pink stuccoed and statue-adorned facade of the Dominican Monastery, one of Ptuj's most interesting buildings. During summer its Gothic-baroque interior can be visited. From the monastery walk down Prešernova ulica, which had its heyday between the 11th to 14th centuries, when it thrummed with market activity thanks to Ptuj's strategic location upon the trade routes.

Take Cankarjeva ulica, rimmed with squat, square houses, down to the riverfront and cross the bridge over the Drava River to take in the views back towards the red-roofed Old Town. The entire town was once encased within defensive walls, which during the 16th century helped to repel the advancing Ottoman army. Backtrack over the bridge, to note the riverfront Drava Tower, the only restored remnant of these fortifications.

From here head up to Minoritski trg dominated by the stucco-facade of its Minorite Monastery, still home to Minorite order monks today. Walk from here up to Mestni trg, loomed over by the Town Hall built by Viennese architect Max Ferstl. Finish up by taking a seat in one of the square's pavement cafes to admire this mustard-yellow pile of a building at leisure.

This glacial valley, hidden between the grandiose peaks of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, is a paradise for nature fans and those seeking out hiking and biking. It's one of the most beautiful spots in Slovenia. A road goes past a chapel and through the woods to the 90m-high Rinka Waterfall (Slap Rinka) at 1100m, the park's most popular highlight, but there are plenty of trails to explore and up to 20 other waterfalls in the area.

These two-hour SUP tours on the Drava River are a great way to experience Maribor from a different angle. Tours are suitable for complete beginners; pre-booking is mandatory.

The journey to the top of Velika Planina unfolds in two stages: first a dramatic cable-car ride, and then a choice of either a 15-minute chairlift or hiking the rest of the way. Once on the pastures, there’s little to do except walk the pristine fields and drink in the views, surrounded by snowcapped mountains.

With its time-warp historical centre, fabulous architecture, excellent museums and enormous castle looming over the picturesque Savinja River, Celje might appear to have won the tourism sweepstakes. But as the town often gets overlooked in favour of Maribor and Ptuj, visiting can feel like something of a discovery.

Celje’s compact Old Town sits north of the Savinja River, bordered by the Lower Castle area to the west and the train tracks to the east. The town has two main squares: Glavni trg, at the southern end of pedestrian Stanetova ulica, and Krekov trg, opposite the train station.

The Jeruzalem-Ljutomer wine road begins at Ormož and continues for 18km north to Ljutomer, the main seat in the area, via the delightful hilltop village of Jeruzalem. The rural vistas of rolling, vineyard striped hills, speckled with wineries predominantly producing white wines, makes for a scenic cycle tour or easygoing countryside drive.

Gregor Vračko's restaurant is all wood and floor-to-ceiling window minimalism. Its chic simplicity is a worthy contrast to the food. This is boldly creative fine dining with an added dash of eccentricity, elevating local Styrian produce to the highest level. There's no menu; just allow the chef to decide, settle back and expect a three-to-five hour dining extravaganza.

The Rogla ski grounds have 13km of ski slopes (mostly easy and intermediate) and 21km of cross-country trails served by two chairlifts and 11 tows. The season is a relatively long one – from the beginning of December to as late as April.