Capital for culture at the heart of Slovenia

Bianca Bosker says Slovenia’s once-sleepy capital Ljubljana has been reinvigorated in recent years with an influx of chefs, artists and musicians bringing magic back to the intimate city which is like a ‘fairy tale’

VISITING Ljubljana, Slovenia’s 1,000-year-old capital, feels like stepping into an ancient fable. Despite decades under communist rule, there’s magic to the intimate city: It’s the sort of place where you can stroll past jelly-bean-coloured Baroque churches, over a bridge flanked by dragons — Ljubljana’s mascot — onto winding cobblestone lanes filled with local farmers selling peonies the size of lap dogs and creaky inns serving bear meat.

But in the past few years, an influx of chefs, artists and musicians has reinvigorated the once-sleepy city.