Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to Slovenia

This Rough Guide is one of a new generation of informative and easy-to-use travel-guide ebooks that guarantees you make the most of your trip. An essential tool for pre-trip planning, it also makes a great travel companion when youre on the road.

From the section.

Detailed area maps feature in the guide chapters and are also listed in the , accessible from the table of contents. Depending on your hardware, you can double-tap on the maps to see larger-scale versions, or select different scales. There are also thumbnails below more detailed maps in these cases, you can opt to zoom left/top or zoom right/bottom or view the full map. The screen-lock function on your device is recommended when viewing enlarged maps. Make sure you have the latest software updates, too.

Throughout the guide, weve flagged up our favourite places a perfectly sited hotel, an atmospheric caf, a special restaurant with the author pick icon . You can select your own favourites and create a personalized itinerary by bookmarking the sights, venues and activities that are of interest, giving you the quickest possible access to everything youll need for your time away.

Slovenia is a tiny country of endless variety, a magical landscape embracing imperious limestone mountains, sparkling lakes and a craggy coastline punctuated with historic coastal resorts. Add to the mix spectacular underground streams and canyons, sweeping vineyards and handsome Baroque towns, throw in a few theatrically sited castles and enchanting wayside villages, and its clear to see why this nation of just two million people packs a mighty punch. But it is Slovenias status as one of Europes greenest and most environmentally sound countries that really sets it apart, something that becomes startlingly obvious the further you explore.

Dominated by Germanic and, to a lesser extent, Hungarian and Italian influences from the Middle Ages until the end of World War I, Slovenia spent the best part of the next seventy years locked into a less than harmonious Yugoslav federation . When the federation began to fracture in the late 1980s, Slovenia was the first to secede; save for the so-called Ten-Day War of independence in the summer of 1991, the country emerged more or less unscathed from the bloodbath that engulfed Croatia and Bosnia. While entry into the European Union in 2004 appears to have made little tangible difference to the lives of most Slovenes always the most liberal and progressive of Yugoslavias erstwhile republics, the country settled down to life in the new European order with ease it did help raise Slovenias profile in a big way.

Visitors will immediately be struck by the quality of the tourist facilities on offer, across the board whether youre after a chic city break in a boutique hotel in Ljubljana or a restful stay on a rural tourist farm, an adrenaline-fuelled activity holiday or a slap-up feast of regional delicacies. Indeed, the standard of these facilities, allied to the countrys excellent infrastructure driving and cycling are an absolute joy reflects an atmosphere of friendly order that wouldnt seem out of place in Scandinavia. And, much like Scandinavia, Slovenias green credentials are impeccable, its pristine environment perfectly in keeping with a strong commitment to sustainable tourism. This little country boasts a growing number of brilliantly conceived eco-resorts, while Ljubljana named European Green Capital in 2016 displays impressive forward thinking when it comes to eco issues.

As appealing as many of Slovenias towns and cities are, especially the lovely capital, Ljubljana , the countrys greatest asset is its magnificent natural heritage. As one of Europes greenest nations more than half the country is forested Slovenia offers limitless opportunities for outdoor pursuits : skiing, climbing and trekking in the mountains, whitewater rafting, kayaking and canyoning on the many rivers, cycling through rolling hills and forests, or riding cross-country on a fine Lipizzaner horse, to name but a few. And with distances so small, in a single day you could be hiking in the Alps in the morning, downing a glass of wine in a local cellar over lunch and relaxing by the beach at the end of the day.