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Popular festival · Ljubljana
Between Advent and January, Ljubljana’s center lights up for the year-end festivities, with stalls selling gifts, food and hot drinks along the Ljubljanica River, concerts in the squares and a New Year’s party on Kongresni trg.
In the photo: Ljubljana
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Festive December in Ljubljana — Ljubljana
From the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent, in late November or early December, until January; the end date varies according to the program.
November/December/January
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
Festive December begins on the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent, in late November or early December, when the Christmas lights in Ljubljana’s center are switched on in a countdown at Prešernov trg, the square next to the Triple Bridge. From that night, the streets, bridges and squares of the center are decorated with light installations and decorated trees, the largest of which stands in Prešernov trg itself.
The year-end market occupies both banks of the Ljubljanica: wooden huts line the Breg quay and Cankarjevo nabrežje and continue through Prešernov trg, Kongresni trg and the surrounding streets, offering gifts, crafts, decorations, food and hot drinks. On Saint Nicholas Day, Miklavž, December 6, there is a traditional fair dedicated to him, when children receive gifts, and Ljubljana Castle has its own program.
Throughout the month, the central squares host concerts and performances, with folk music, choirs and shows for children. Between Christmas and New Year’s, a larger stage on Kongresni trg concentrates the week’s concerts, and New Year’s Eve is celebrated with parties in the squares and fireworks.
December nights are cold, and people spend time between the stalls with mulled wine and roasted chestnuts, and the riverside cafés.
It’s worth the trip to see Ljubljana’s historic center, with its bridges and façades along the Ljubljanica, illuminated and full of life in the weeks before Christmas, and to combine the capital with the nativity scenes and markets of other towns in the country.
The lighting ceremony at Prešernov trg on opening night. The market huts on the Breg quay and Cankarjevo nabrežje along the Ljubljanica. The Saint Nicholas fair in early December. The concerts in the central squares and the New Year’s Eve party on Kongresni trg. The view of the illuminated bridges from the Triple Bridge and the Shoemaker’s Bridge.
Go at dusk, when the lights come on and the stalls are livelier; during the day the market is quieter. The center is compact and closed to cars, so everything is done on foot. On weekends and close to Christmas and New Year’s, the riverbanks get very crowded. Dress very warmly and bring a hat and gloves: December nights are often below or around 0 °C.
Mulled wine and spiced tea, roasted chestnuts, grilled sausages such as kranjska klobasa, and potica, a sweet rolled cake filled with walnuts, the best-known festive sweet in Slovenia.
Ljubljana tourism publishes the dates and concerts for each season. For the week between Christmas and New Year’s, book accommodation in the center well in advance.
In the city
November/December/January
Your questions
It starts on the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent, in late November or early December, and continues until January. Check the season dates with Ljubljana tourism.
Along the Ljubljanica River, on the Breg quay and Cankarjevo nabrežje, and in Prešernov trg and Kongresni trg in the center.
Yes. Between Christmas and New Year’s, a stage on Kongresni trg hosts concerts, and New Year’s Eve is celebrated in the central squares with fireworks.
Festivals and events in Slovenia
February/MarchOn the days before Lent, in February or March depending on the date of Easter, ending on Shrove Tuesday. The duration varies according to the program.
Slovenia’s largest carnival takes over Ptuj’s old town: the kurenti, figures dressed in sheepskins with horned or feathered masks and large bells at the waist, parade alongside other traditional regional characters to drive away winter.
February/MarchOn the Sunday and Tuesday of Carnival, which fall between early February and early March according to the Easter calendar; the laufarji begin to appear in the streets on the preceding Sundays.
In Cerkno, in the hills of western Slovenia, the laufarji—figures wearing carved wooden masks—parade through town at Carnival and stage the trial and execution of the Pust, the moss-covered figure who carries the year’s misfortunes.
MarchIn March, from Thursday to Sunday, at the event that closes the Ski Jumping World Cup season.
Every March, the Planica valley, near Kranjska Gora, hosts the final stage of the Ski Jumping World Cup, held on the Gorišek Brothers’ flying hill, one of the largest in the world.
AprilOn a weekend in April, usually after Easter and before the May 1 public holiday.
For a weekend in April, the old town of Radovljica, near Bled, turns into a large chocolate showcase, with producers from across the country, tastings, workshops and demonstrations at Linhartov trg square and the town manor.
May/JuneFor about two weeks, from late May to early June, during the flowering season of Bohinj’s meadows.
In late spring, Bohinj, in the heart of Triglav National Park, devotes two weeks to the flowers of the Julian Alps, with guided botanical walks, exhibitions, workshops, and restaurant menus featuring wild plants from the valley.
JuneOn the third weekend of June, from Friday to Sunday.
On the third weekend of June, Idrija, the former mining town in western Slovenia, celebrates bobbin lace with exhibitions, fashion shows, workshops and the national contest for young lacemakers in the main square.
