Must-see attractions in Southwestern Slovenia

One of Piran’s most eye-catching structures is the mid-15th-century Gothic Venetian House, with its tracery windows and balcony, in the northeast of…

Located in the 19th-century Gabrielli Palace on the waterfront, this museum's focus is the sea, with plenty of salty-dog stories relating to Slovenian…

One of the most colourful streets in Koper, Kidričeva ulica, starts at Carpacciov trg, where the Column of St Justina commemorates Koper’s contribution –…

On a 143m hill south of the train station (signed 'Grobnica Bourboni'), this monastery was founded by the Capuchin Franciscans in the early 17th century…

Rakov Škocjan is a beautiful, 2.5km-long gorge lying some 6km west of Cerknica. The Rak River, en route to join the Pivka River at Planina Cave, has…

Planina Cave, 12km to the northeast of Postojna Cave, is the largest water cave in Slovenia and a treasure-trove of fauna (including Proteus anguinus)…

Just near the entrance to the Postojna Cave is the Vivarium, the cradle of a special branch of biology: speleobiology. Postojna provides shelter to dozens…

Punta, the historical ‘point’ of Piran, still has a lighthouse, but today’s is small and relatively modern. Attached to it, however, is the round,…

The 17th-century Italian family who erected the fountain in Prešernov trg was named Da Ponte; thus it is shaped like a bridge (ponte in Italian). At the…

This project, which opened in 2015, aims to preserve the cultural and natural heritage of the Notranjska Regional Park, and to that end it stages public…

Three kilometres east of the town, the Goriško Museum resides in the impressive, 17th-century Kromberk Castle. The collection spans rich period…

In the village of Dolenje Jezero you will find the Lake House Museum, with a 5m-by-3m, 1:2500-scale working model of Lake Cerknica. It shows how the…

This well-designed, kid-friendly space displays details of karst phenomena in an engaging manner, and tracks cave exploration. Most interesting is all the…

Izola’s most beautiful building – albeit looking a little worse for wear – is this late-baroque palazzo below the Parish Church of St Maurus. Built…

Atmospheric Čevljarska ulica, a narrow commercial street for pedestrians, runs south from Titov trg. As you walk under the arch of the Praetorian Palace,…

Perched atop the Seča Peninsula south of town (beyond the marina), Forma Viva is an outdoor sculpture garden with some 130 works carved in stone. The real…

The Minorite Monastery has a lovely cloister, and the attached Church of St Francis Assisi was built originally in the early 14th century but enlarged and…

At the end of Čevljarska ulica and down the stone steps is the Almerigogna Palace, a painted Venetian Gothic palace (now with a very basic pub on ground…

Just behind Punta lighthouse, the round, serrated tower of the Church of St Clement (originally built in the 13th century but altered 500 years later)…

The Parish Museum of St George includes the Cathedral of St George's treasury and catacombs; it also allows you to access the church's interior. Items of…