Top 7 Ljubljana Apps for Tourists

Much to our chagrin it seems that this “smartphone” fad may have some staying power after all. So while we personally still rely on the old-fashioned ink printed on paper as our primary conveyor of travel information, we’ve gone ahead and compiled a list of the most useful apps for visitors to Ljubljana. Just don’t forget to look up from your phone every now and then whilst strolling around the quaint capital of Slovenia, by all objective measures it’s quite a pretty town, so it’d be a shame to miss it.

#1 Visit Ljubljana

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The local tourist office’s in-house app contains a wealth of info about the city’s sights, restaurants, shops, events and more. The most convenient feature is being able to sort venues based on how close they are to your current position, which works with GPS even when you’re offline. Another useful tool for visitors is the ability to easily add venues to a My Visit list with a single tap, creating your own itineraries or reminders of places you’d like to see. [Android / iOS]

#2 LJBus

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Of the many public transport apps that keep track of arrival and departure times for Ljubljana’s two dozen or so local bus routes, we find this one the most useful, mainly thanks to the easy-to-use map view, which shows you exactly where the bus stops are and lets you bring up a full schedule for all routes with one click. Of course all the technical info still comes from the LPP system itself, which means the displayed times can be trusted most of the time, but seemingly never when you need them the most. [Android / iOS]

#3 Bicikelj

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In 2015, Ljubljana made its debut on the list of the 20 Most Bike-Friendly Cities on the Planet in an impressive 13th place. With some 134km of bike lanes and 73km of cycle tracks, the city’s cycling infrastructure continues to rapidly expand, as does its award-winning bike share programme, known as Bicike(LJ). This app of the same name will not only help you find the nearest station, but also tell you how many bikes are available and how many parking spaces are free, so you can avoid the frustration not having a bike to take or a station to park at. [Android / iOS]

#4 Prevoz

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While there are many popular ride share websites covering all of Europe, for rides within Slovenia or international rides departing from or originating in Slovenia, the locally run prevoz.org is by far the most frequently used option, saving you both time and money on trips as long as you don’t mind sitting in a car with a stranger. The site’s companion app is simple and easy to use, although it is only currently in Slovenian and also required registration to view drivers’ contact info. [Android / iOS]

#5 Radio Študent

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We’ll be honest, most of the radio stations in Slovenia are terrible, unless you like hackneyed commercial pop or Slovenian folk music, however, the student-run Radio Študent is one glowing exception. Founded back in 1969, it’s one of the oldest non-commercial stations in Europe, but being students they’re also tech savvy, with this simple app you can use to stream the station (from anywhere in the world). They play a diverse mix of Slovenian, regional and international music, leaning more towards the alternative and indie scene, but encompassing pretty much every genre imaginable. [Android / iOS]

#6 English – Slovenian Dictionary

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The vast majority of Slovenians speak at least passable English, especially in the capital Ljubljana, but picking up a few words of the local language always makes a good impression when interacting with locals. There are a handful of free English to Slovenian dictionaries on Google Play and the App Store, but this one seems to be the highest rated. [Android / iOS]

#7 In Your Pocket City Essentials

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Still in its version 1.0 beta release, we have a feeling that once some more bells and whistles are added, this app will move firmly into the #1 position on our chart, mostly because it’s the most elegant, easy-to-use and up-to-date Ljubljana travel app on the market, but perhaps also in part because we made it. A curated selection of only the best content from our most popular categories, the In Your Pocket City Essentials app is the perfect companion for weekend break, business trip or short excursion to our fair city. [Android / iOS]

Have an app recommendation for us? Let us know at ljubljana@inyourpocket.com!

Ljubljana’s Top 5 Pubs for St Patrick’s Day

As everyone who has read the relevant Wikipedia page knows, Saint Patrick (Latin: Patricius; Irish: Pádraig [ˈpˠaːd̪ˠɾˠəɟ], Old Irish: Cothraige) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the “Apostle of Ireland”, he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, along with saints Brigit of Kildare and Columba. He is also venerated in the Anglican Communion, the Old Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Church as equal-to-apostles and the Enlightener of Ireland.

And what better way to pay one’s solemn respect to Ireland and its revered patron saint then drinking to excess and making a bunch of bad decisions? We sure can’t think of any, so here are our Top 5 recommendations for St Patrick’s Day pubs in Ljubljana!

  1. Patrick’s Irish Pub

01 - Patricks

For obvious reason it’s simply not possible to have a list of the best pubs for St Paddy’s day without eponymous Patrick’s Irish Pub coming in at #1. But semantics aside, Patrick’s is not only Slovenia’s original Irish Pub dating back to 1995, but they also have a huge selection of premium beer, frequent events (including the pub quiz we’ve won more than a few times) and some indulgent pub food, which tastes amazing after a few pints. All in all, one of our favourite watering holes in town!

2. Guinness Pub

02 - Guinness

We’re honestly not the biggest fans of Guinness, although we did down a fair number of Irish Car Bombs during our student days on a study abroad in Belfast, where we lived in the nurses dormitory at the Royal Victoria Hospital on Falls Road and went out drinking literally every single night. Those nights rarely ended well, but there’s something to be said for nostalgia, ergo, the venerable Guinness Pub comes in at #2 on our list.

3. Pivnica Union

03 - Pivnica Union

There’s obviously no Irish connection here, but beer in Ljubljana can’t get any fresher than from Union Brewery’s very own in-house pub. The atmosphere here is always lively, the Slovenian pub fare menu is excellent, and they’ve got some special offers and discounts just for St Patrick’s Day. And if there’s one thing we like more than a good beer, it’s a good beer at a discounted price.

4. Sir William’s Pub

04 - Sir Williams

Sir William’s is hands down the classiest and most sophisticated pub in Ljubljana, but don’t let that dissuade you from drinking too much and making a complete fool of yourself come St Patrick’s Day! They’ve got arguably the largest selection of beer in town to choose from, including an excellent rotating offer of domestic and international beers on draught. Of course we’re not sure which Sir William this place is named for, but we’re going to go ahead and assume that it’s Sir William Wallace of Braveheart and blue body paint fame.

5. Cutty Sark 

05 - Cutty Sark

If you’ve got yourself kicked out of all the other pubs in town, or they’ve just sadly closed down before you’ve sufficiently honoured dear St Patrick, then there’s only one thing left to do: have some kind soul point you in the direction of Cutty Sark and stumble your way to the late night dance party that is sure to be taking place here come the wee hours. And if anyone asked who sent you, please don’t mention our name – we don’t want any responsibility for the bad decisions you’re inevitably going to make here.

Minister za zdravje opozarja: Prekomerno pitje alkohola škoduje zdravju!

Best Restaurants in Ljubljana 2016

In recent years Ljubljana has truly turned into something of a paradise for food-lovers, with countless features published in the international press (Afar, Epircure&Culture), locally-run food tours and food-walks becoming increasingly favoured, and food-related events such as Restaurant Week and Odprta Kuhna turning into some of the most popular activities for both tourists and locals alike.

Of course here at In Your Pocket we’ve been championing Ljubljana’s and Slovenia’s burgeoning culinary scene almost since our inception, and have been running our Best Restaurant poll in some form or another since all the way back in 2010. For the 2016 edition we’ve kept our main competition categories of Gourmet, Slovenian and Balkan cuisine, brought back some old favourites like Pizza and Business Lunch, and added a few completely new ones such as Take Away and Burgers – the latter being a necessity given the extraordinary burger craze that has swept over the city during the past 18 months or so.

Voting in the 11 categories below took place from 15 March till 15 April, and the results will be published in the May/June 2016 issue of our Ljubljana In Your Pocket guide. Votes can be cast once per week per person (or computer/device)*. Thanks to everyone who voted, and congratulations to all of the winners and top finishers in their respective categories. If you have any questions or comments about the poll, feel free to email us at ljubljana@inyourpocket.com.










[The most popular answer for ‘Other’ in Pizza was Garaža with 5.9%]











*Please don’t cheat in our poll. By cheating we mean using technological means to vote multiple times in the same poll. Individual computers, phones and other devices are allowed to vote once per week for the duration of the competition. Unfortunately, as Angela Merkel can tell you, nothing on the internet is 100% secure. Nevertheless, we take every reasonable precaution to prevent cheating in our polls, and we also reserve the right to not count votes that were obviously cast through illegitimate means, and/or take other necessary action in such circumstances. If you decide to cheat anyway, please don’t get angry and threaten us with legal action when/if we catch you. We are only trying to keep the polls as fair as possible, and we can assure you that we NEVER favour one venue over another. We honestly don’t care who wins any given poll, as long as the votes of our readers are counted fairly and equally. If you’d like further explanation of our rules or have any questions regarding our poll, please feel free to email us at ljubljana@inyourpocket.com.

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Restaurant Week

Our most popular Facebook posts from February 2016

#1: Australia building fence at Slovenia border

BREAKING NEWS: According to CNN Australia plans to build the largest and longest fence in the history of the world, all to keep out us Slovenians! Surely this will even make future US president and noted wall-enthusiast Donald J. Trump jealous!

Australia building fence at Slovenia border

#2: Is Slovenia the world’s next great food destination

The world’s next great food destination? That would be ‪#‎Slovenia‬ according to AFAR magazine!

Afar Magazine

#3: 20 facts you didn’t already know about Slovenia

How many of these 20 facts about Slovenia did you already know?

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#4: What you need to know before dating a Slovenian guy

Here are some first-hand tips about dating a Slovene guy from The Sunny Side Of This blog. And if any Slovene ladies would like to add some more useful info on the topic, please feel free to comment!

dating-slovenian

#5: Winter in Slovenia

There might not be much snow in Slovenia these days, or any other signs of winter for that matter, but that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate these lovely winter photos by Fotokom, Matej Vranič Photography!

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