GETTING TO KNOW LJUBLJANA

A person beside me on the airport bus asked me where I was headed. "Ljubljana," I told him. "Never heard of it," he said.

I predict he soon will. The prestigious travel guide, Lonely Planet, picked Slovenia as one of the “top destinations” of 2013, and it won't be long before its capital, Ljubljana, is recognised as the perfect city break.

The city, which hosts the 18th ESCRS Winter Meeting from 14 to 16 February, 2014, sits in the lap of the Alps, overlooked by a mediaeval castle on a hill. It’s small enough to explore on foot and big enough to keep you going for a long weekend. Ljubljana's 17th century architecture, enlivened with Art Deco and Art Nouveau masterpieces, may remind you of Prague but its friendly, young atmosphere is unique.

The average age of its 280,000 residents is just over 30 years, which may explain some of the city's quirky features. In winter, you will see shelters for the city's fountains that look like birdhouses or ski caps. In summer, you’ll see hammocks strung throughout the city's park with a library set up under the trees.

There are cheerful, offbeat cafes and restaurants, a handful of shops, picturesque open markets, and tying it all together, the Ljubljanica River. The city was born on its shores 2,000 years ago, a Roman settlement called Emona. Now the riverbanks attract restaurants and coffee shops, their terraces open even in the winter.

In the Old Town, a dozen bridges span the narrow river. Two of the most iconic – the Cobbler's Bridge and the Triple Bridge – are the work of Joze Plecnik, a Ljubljana architect who worked in Vienna and in Prague where he was chief architect for the restoration of Prague Castle. He returned to his native city in 1921 and, until the outbreak of World War II, designed, among much else, university buildings, a public market, a cemetery, banks, plazas, parks and the very verges of the river itself. His foresighted plan for the integration of the riverbanks into the life of the town was finally accomplished in 2011. (Visit Plecnik's house and studio, a 15-minute walk from the Old Town. The house is open every day, but on Mondays, there are guided tours from 10:00 to 17:00 every hour on the hour. For details, visit: www.mgmi.si.)

To get a feel for the city, I joined the walking tour the tourist board runs every day at 11:00. A knowledgeable young man led us down streets lined with Baroque facades, through the bronze door commemorating the visit of Pope John Paul II, and into the flamboyant cathedral, through the markets, squares and over the bridges. Along the way, he filled in some of the city's history which ranged from its supposed discovery by Jason of the Golden Fleece through to joining the EU, the first of the former Eastern bloc countries to do so. We stopped in the Sokol, a rustic style restaurant, to sample the local wine and sausages. The tour ended at the entrance of the funicular that leads up to the castle where we were each given a ticket to use at leisure. (Tour tickets are sold in the city's main tourist office at the foot of the Triple Bridge .The tour leaves from the Town Hall.)

I used my funicular ticket at twilight. The view from the castle “on a clear day” is said to be spectacular, taking in about a third of Slovenia and the distant Alps, but on this February evening, the mist was closing in. Nonetheless, like most visitors I headed straight for the watchtower and climbed the 100 stairs to peer down on the city. All I saw were pinpoints of hazy streetlights in the darkness.

A 12-minute video on the history of the castle was shown in a room in the tower. My romantic assumption that the castle served as a sumptuous Hapsburg residence had been mistaken. The castle was primarily a fortress and later a prison. (Book a tour of Ljubljana Castle by email at: ljubljana.info@ gmail.com.) No view, no tapestry-hung rooms. Was it worth going up? Absolutely. There are two excellent restaurants within the castle ramparts. The newest, the Strelec, is perched high in the Archer's Tower and features elegantly-served Slovenian dishes with a nod to medieval cuisine. For details, visit: www.kaval-group.si/ STRELEC.restavracija.

The highly regarded Gostilna na Gradu restaurant is more informal but offers a sophisticated menu of local dishes made with seasonal products. For details, visit: www.nagradu.si. Reservations strongly advised at either. The funicular stops running at nine, but the restaurant will ring a taxi for you.

Path of remembrance and comradeship

On April 11, 1941, Yugoslavia fell to Axis forces, and Italy- occupied Slovenia. In a mere 16 days, resistance in Ljubljana was organised. The following year, in an attempt to keep Ljubljana's underground activists from communicating with partisans in the countryside, the city was ringed with 35km of barbed wire. Along the fence were 206 bunkers and guard towers manned by 1,300 soldiers and 400 policemen. Ljubljana became a prison, its townspeople hostages. Scores were executed in reprisal for each success of its underground fighters.

Today, where the perimeter fence used to be, a memorial path encircles the city. Octagonal pillars mark the former position of the bunkers. The four-metre-wide track, completed in 1985, is popular year round with joggers and hikers. A commemorative walk takes place annually the weekend closest to May 9, the date of Ljubljana's liberation in 1945. More than 27,000 people took part last year.

Aperson beside me on the airport bus asked me where I was headed. "Ljubljana," I told him. "Never heard of it," he said.

I predict he soon will. The prestigious travel guide, Lonely Planet, picked Slovenia as one of the “top destinations” of 2013, and it won't be long before its capital, Ljubljana, is recognised as the perfect city break.

The city, which hosts the 18th ESCRS Winter Meeting from 14 to 16 February, 2014, sits in the lap of the Alps, overlooked by a mediaeval castle on a hill. It’s small enough to explore on foot and big enough to keep you going for a long weekend. Ljubljana's 17th century architecture, enlivened with Art Deco and Art Nouveau masterpieces, may remind you of Prague but its friendly, young atmosphere is unique.

The average age of its 280,000 residents is just over 30 years, which may explain some of the city's quirky features. In winter, you will see shelters for the city's fountains that look like birdhouses or ski caps. In summer, you’ll see hammocks strung throughout the city's park with a library set up under the trees.

There are cheerful, offbeat cafes and restaurants, a handful of shops, picturesque open markets, and tying it all together, the Ljubljanica River. The city was born on its shores 2,000 years ago, a Roman settlement called Emona. Now the riverbanks attract restaurants and coffee shops, their terraces open even in the winter.

In the Old Town, a dozen bridges span the narrow river. Two of the most iconic – the Cobbler's Bridge and the Triple Bridge – are the work of Joze Plecnik, a Ljubljana architect who worked in Vienna and in Prague where he was chief architect for the restoration of Prague Castle. He returned to his native city in 1921 and, until the outbreak of World War II, designed, among much else, university buildings, a public market, a cemetery, banks, plazas, parks and the very verges of the river itself. His foresighted plan for the integration of the riverbanks into the life of the town was finally accomplished in 2011. (Visit Plecnik's house and studio, a 15-minute walk from the Old Town. The house is open every day, but on Mondays, there are guided tours from 10:00 to 17:00 every hour on the hour. For details, visit: www.mgmi.si.)

To get a feel for the city, I joined the walking tour the tourist board runs every day at 11:00. A knowledgeable young man led us down streets lined with Baroque facades, through the bronze door commemorating the visit of Pope John Paul II, and into the flamboyant cathedral, through the markets, squares and over the bridges. Along the way, he filled in some of the city's history which ranged from its supposed discovery by Jason of the Golden Fleece through to joining the EU, the first of the former Eastern bloc countries to do so. We stopped in the Sokol, a rustic style restaurant, to sample the local wine and sausages. The tour ended at the entrance of the funicular that leads up to the castle where we were each given a ticket to use at leisure. (Tour tickets are sold in the city's main tourist office at the foot of the Triple Bridge .The tour leaves from the Town Hall.)

I used my funicular ticket at twilight. The view from the castle “on a clear day” is said to be spectacular, taking in about a third of Slovenia and the distant Alps, but on this February evening, the mist was closing in. Nonetheless, like most visitors I headed straight for the watchtower and climbed the 100 stairs to peer down on the city. All I saw were pinpoints of hazy streetlights in the darkness.

A 12-minute video on the history of the castle was shown in a room in the tower. My romantic assumption that the castle served as a sumptuous Hapsburg residence had been mistaken. The castle was primarily a fortress and later a prison. (Book a tour of Ljubljana Castle by email at: ljubljana.info@ gmail.com.) No view, no tapestry-hung rooms. Was it worth going up? Absolutely. There are two excellent restaurants within the castle ramparts. The newest, the Strelec, is perched high in the Archer's Tower and features elegantly-served Slovenian dishes with a nod to medieval cuisine. For details, visit: www.kaval-group.si/ STRELEC.restavracija.

The highly regarded Gostilna na Gradu restaurant is more informal but offers a sophisticated menu of local dishes made with seasonal products. For details, visit: www.nagradu.si. Reservations strongly advised at either. The funicular stops running at nine, but the restaurant will ring a taxi for you.

Path of remembrance and comradeship

On April 11, 1941, Yugoslavia fell to Axis forces, and Italy- occupied Slovenia. In a mere 16 days, resistance in Ljubljana was organised. The following year, in an attempt to keep Ljubljana's underground activists from communicating with partisans in the countryside, the city was ringed with 35km of barbed wire. Along the fence were 206 bunkers and guard towers manned by 1,300 soldiers and 400 policemen. Ljubljana became a prison, its townspeople hostages. Scores were executed in reprisal for each success of its underground fighters.

Today, where the perimeter fence used to be, a memorial path encircles the city. Octagonal pillars mark the former position of the bunkers. The four-metre-wide track, completed in 1985, is popular year round with joggers and hikers. A commemorative walk takes place annually the weekend closest to May 9, the date of Ljubljana's liberation in 1945. More than 27,000 people took part last year.