One of the world’s most prestigious newspaper, the New York Times, has recently offered its readers an in-depth journey through the gastronomic, cultural and other delights of Slovenia’s capital city, which it describes as “one of Europe’s most innovative food locales.” Ljubljana features in the popular column 36 Hours, which focuses on interesting places around the world and lists everything a traveller can do there in a 36-hour stay.
Ljubljana has already appeared in this column on two previous occasions: in 2012 and again in 2017, shortly after it was named European Green Capital. This time the prestigious US daily writes that Ljubljana is still an international model for sustainability. It also emphasises the remarkable development of the capital’s cultural and culinary offerings: “In recent years, Ljubljana opened Michelin-starred restaurants, UNESCO recognized the city for its urban design and last fall, in classic Slovenian recycle-and-reuse fashion, the city reopened a former bicycle factory as a creative hub with open studios, galleries and shops.” There is no shortage of praise for our capital city, and the article also contained an extensive list of locations worth visiting in Ljubljana.
Among the must-see attractions in the city is the Križanke complex. Times journalist Alex Crevar advises readers to “get into festival mode” when evening falls, noting that the Križanke Summer Theatre “becomes the city’s center of attention during the Ljubljana Festival, running from June to September each year. The building began as a church and monastery for religious military orders like the Knights Templar and the Teutonic Knights, but in the 1950s it became an open-air theater complex with an atrium, courtyard and arcade of arched windows. The festival annually stages musicals, ballet performances and dramas, as well as jazz, pop and symphonic concerts.”
This year’s 72nd Ljubljana Festival, which runs from 20 June to 3 September, will once again provide a diverse programme ranging from ballet, opera and theatre, to musicals and chamber and symphonic concerts. Križanke and other major Ljubljana venues will host a total of more than 100 events featuring more than 5,000 performers from all over the world. The formal opening of the Ljubljana Festival took place this week with the traditional Summer Night concert. This gala event in Congress Square awakened memories of the golden age of Slovene popular music, with a particular focus on three icons of the genre: Ditka Haberl, Alenka Pinterič and Neca Falk. Without a doubt, a fantastic musical start to the summer.
