Where to stay in Ljubljana

The Old Town is the heart of historic Ljubljana, grown from a medieval crossroads and shaped by the architect Jože Plečnik, whose side bridges turned an old stone crossing into the Triple Bridge between 1929 and 1932. Around it lie the Town Square, Congress Square and the part of the city that was walled in the 14th century. The whole centre, 20 hectares of pedestrian streets, has been closed to motor traffic since 2007.

Metelkova Mesto, a centre of alternative culture in former Austro-Hungarian barracks, fills up every evening, about 2 km from Prešeren Square by road. Tabor, in the immediate vicinity of the centre, is a cultural quarter around Tabor Park, and Poljane a quiet residential neighbourhood of small shops and bakeries.

South of the centre, Plečnik's Trnovo Bridge joins Krakovo and Trnovo, where the architect's house is now a museum with a large garden. Šiška, about 3 km from Prešeren Square, is a cultural quarter around the Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture. Bežigrad and Stožice, about 5 km out, have the Stožice arena and a park and ride.

A car cannot reach a door in the Old Town, so it goes to a garage or a car park. The LPT garages at Kongresni trg, Kozolec, Rog and Ilirija charge EUR 2 an hour for the first three hours, EUR 3 an hour after that and EUR 4 for the night on the price list valid from 12 January 2026, and a lost ticket costs a full day, at least EUR 20. Guests who find the walk hard can ride a Kavalir electric cart, free for the elderly and people with reduced mobility.

On the streets, zone 1 around the centre costs EUR 1.70 an hour from 06:00 to 22:00 and EUR 2 for the night, every day of the week, with zone 2 at EUR 1 and zone 3 at EUR 0.70. Pay at a meter, a ticket machine, an Urbanomat or by Urbana SMS; the machines give no change, and the short-term bays allow 30 to 120 minutes. A towed car costs EUR 100 plus EUR 5 a day at the pound (via GetCar).

The park and ride sites at Dolgi most, Ježica, Barje, Stožice, Studenec, Stanežiče and Letališka cost EUR 1.50 for 24 hours, and the ticket comes with two city bus tickets for that day. Some car parks also lease spaces by the month, EUR 50 at Metelkova ulica and EUR 30 at Trg prekomorskih brigad in Šiška, with leases capped at half the spaces. GetCar's guide Driving in Ljubljana covers the e-vignette, the Karavanke toll and the mountain roads.

The City of Ljubljana charges a tourist tax of EUR 2.50 per person per night, and since 1 January 2019 national law adds a promotion tax of 25 per cent, collected for the Slovenian Tourist Board: EUR 3.13 in all. Ages 7 to 18 pay half, EUR 1.57, and children under 7 pay nothing. Guests pay it to the host together with the overnight stay, even when the stay itself is free.

Every host reports each guest through the AJPES eTurizem system, at the latest within 12 hours of arrival, with the details set by the Residence Registration Act. Since December 2017 the data go only through that portal, no longer separately to the police. AJPES also keeps the register of accommodation establishments, which the Catering Act requires hosts to join.

Street parking in zone 1 is charged every day, weekends included, so a Sunday arrival pays as much as a Monday one. Non-EU travellers flying in from outside the Schengen area pass through the EU Entry/Exit System, fully operational since 10 April 2026, at their first Schengen border.

Slovenia reintroduced temporary checks on its internal Schengen border with Croatia and Hungary on 21 October 2023, and the government still lists them, so a drive in from Zagreb or Budapest can include a border check. Compare prices on this page before booking.

A first visit on foot: the Old Town and the river.

Evenings out and a resident's street: Metelkova, Tabor and Poljane.

Plečnik's bridges and a short walk to the centre: Trnovo and Krakovo.

A longer stay with a EUR 30 monthly parking lease: Šiška.

A car left at the park and ride: Bežigrad and Stožice.