Top 10 Places to Visit in Europe
Wanna know which are top 10 Places to visit in Europe according to our team’s opinion? Read the article. You might find a perfect idea for your next vacation.
If you like to travel and explore the hidden corners of European cities and natural attractions, you will sooner or later take a trip to Slovenia, a small alpine country that offers many unique experiences. Here you will have the opportunity to discover some of the best places to visit in Europe.
Since Slovenia has an excellent geographical position, you will be able to hit other top destinations, when making whole-day excursions to beautiful spots in the neighboring countries, a few hours’ drives from the Slovenian capital.
Ljubljana – a European green capital
Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, is known for its romantic old city center with a lively atmosphere. Many restaurants, bars, and boutiques are elongated along the Ljubljanica River that runs under city bridges, including Dragon`s bridge, which is a symbol of the city. Ljubljana is one of the best places to go in Europe, as here you can experience the following unforgettable city adventures:
- Tivoli Park: a city park with many walking trails and exhibition grounds is a popular spot for socializing and relaxing amidst the bustle of the city.
- Boat rides along the Ljubljanica River.
- Ljubljana Castle stands on a hill above the city. You can reach it with a funicular ride or on foot along the forest paths. The castle lookout tower and the city walls reveal the most beautiful views of the city.
- The National Museum and National Gallery of Art are excellent spots for exploring the cultural heritage and rich art history.
- Ljubljana is one of the top places to visit in Europe for those who would like to experience the city’s wild nightlife. Spend the night in many nightclubs, take part in a pub crawl event or go to Metelkova City, which is known for being one of the most successful autonomous cultural centers and urban squats in Europe. Metelkova is home to art galleries, bars, seven different nightclubs, and concert venues.
Postojna Cave with Postojna Cave Park
The famous Postojna Cave in Slovenia is a natural wonder, being the largest underground system in the world. So far it has been visited by 40 million people. Therefore, Postojna Cave is one of the most indispensable places to visit in Europe.
In Postojna Cave you can see several halls with beautiful stalagmites, stalactites, and other cave formations. The most famous is the five meters tall dripstone pillar, named Brilliant, which boasts in shiny white and silver colors. During the cave tour, you will also see a big concert cave hall with acoustic features that can host ten thousand visitors.
You have to put Postojna Cave on the best Europe trips list since here you will have the opportunity for an exciting ride with a miniature tour train that will take you on a four-kilometer long journey into the underground world.
In front of the entrance to Postojna Cave is a large tourist area Postojna Cave Park. Among other sights you can also see:
- Vivarium: the Proteus cave with Vivarium exhibition reveals special Karst underworld features and its most characteristic animal species that live deep under the surface. Here you can also see the Olm, the famous humane fish that is the only vertebrate in the world that lives in the cave. The human fish that lives in Postojna Cave is also the world’s largest cave animal, with its thirty centimeters in length.
From Maribor to…
Best Europe trips are the ones where you can combine a whole-day or two-day excursions with the most memorable places to visit in Europe. You can spend your first day in Maribor, the second-largest city, located in the Styria region in northeastern Slovenia.
Explore the old town and idyllic area of Lent, along the Drava River. Here you can also walk to the famous old vine house. Namely, the oldest noble vine in the world, which is still bearing grapes, grows in front of the house. Since Maribor is an important wine-growing region in Slovenia, you can taste authentic Slovenian wines.
… Plitvice Lakes National Park
On the second day, you can take only three hours’ drive from Maribor to Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia. The national park is listed on a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is visited by over one million people each year.
The main attractions of the national park are the 16 smaller lakes that are connected with waterfalls, the biggest of which is 78 meters high. The lakes are surrounded by a wild forest through which you can stroll along the trails that wind beside lakes, streams, and across smaller bridges. In the park, you can also see various caves, river springs, flowering meadows, and many animal species.
The emerald Soča River
The Soča River with its stunning emerald green color and crystal-clear waters is the most beautiful river in this part of Europe. The Soča River has carved its way from its springs in the heart of the Julian Alps through the deep gorges, passing small alpine towns of Bovec, Kobarid, and Tolmin. The picturesque Soča Valley in Slovenia will enchant you with its pristine nature, gorges, waterfalls and canyons.
The Soča Valley is famous for Small and Big Soča gorges. Here, the river has formed hundreds of meters long and ten meters deep narrowed down gorges. You can observe narrow rocky gorges with steep walls from standing on stone bridges, from where you will have wonderful views of the Soča River below.
You can also take a hike on the Soča Trail, the oldest and longest trail in Triglav National Park, and follow the Soča River from its spring to the town of Bovec. On the 25-kilometer long Soča Trail, you will have the opportunity to see 17 different cultural sights and many natural beauties of the valley.
The Soča Valley is one of the most attractive places to visit in Europe, as it is a paradise for water sports enthusiasts.
- Soča River kayaking tour in Bovec: while rowing down the river, from Čezsoča gravel-bed rivers to Srpenica or Boka, you will pass white pebble beaches, canyons, gorges, beautiful waterfalls, and emerald river pools.
- Soča River rafting tour in Bovec: rafting on the Emerald Beauty is an exciting adventure, as you will go down the river with fast rapids, passing rocks, and small gorges. The unforgettable experience of the Soča River rafting in Slovenia is the reason why the Soča Valley is among the best places to go in Europe. Here you will be enchanted by the unspoiled nature and the breathtaking features of the river.
Predjama Castle
The mighty and unconquerable Predjama Castle in Slovenia that is perched in the middle of a 123-meter high cliff is among most captivating places to visit in Europe. Due to its uniqueness, the Predjama Castle is listed in the Guinness World Records as the largest cave castle in the world and the only cave castle in the world that is fully preserved.
In the Predjama Castle entrance tower and inside the castle you can see various original objects from the Middle Ages, the era of fearless knights, nobles and Austro-Hungarian royalty. The cave castle tour will take you to the famous knight’s room and castle halls, where weapons such as halberds, swords, battle hammers, arcs, and crossbows are on display.
The guide will also tell you the legend of the most famous inhabitant of the castle, a noble knight Erazem of Predjama, who in the 15th century fought against Turkish invasions.
The Predjama Castle in Slovenia also offers guided tours into the Cave under the Predjama Castle. On the cave tour, you will walk along four floors, which are interconnected with several pools. In the Eastern passage, you will also see archaeological finds from the Stone Age and cave wall paintings from the Roman times.
The Škocjan Caves Regional Park
The Škocjan Caves that are placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List are a true gem of nature and the most impressive underground phenomenon in the karstic landscape. The Škocjan Caves in Slovenia have the largest underground canyon in the world. This feature makes them unique amidst other caves around the world.
The Škocjan Caves are among the most fascinating places to go in Europe, as here you will have the opportunity to see the gorgeous gorges, mysterious cave entrances, natural bridges, dolines, and other captivating karstic underground phenomena.
The guided cave tour will lead you through the mighty underground canyon with collapse dolines and the tunnel to the Tiha Cave, the fossil passage and the cavern where you will be impressed by pillars, stalagmites, stalactites, and cave curtains.
Later, you will cross a large natural bridge under which the Reka River flows, creating the underground world of the cave for millions of years. The guided tour also takes you to Velika and Mala Valley and some other karst caves that are located in the Škocjan Caves Regional Park.
In the regional park, you will also have the opportunity to get to know the world’s unique karst landscape and its natural heritage in the form of karst phenomena and other attractions. You can also see the ethnological, karstological, geological and archeological collections in museums and preserved old karst barns and stone houses on the educational path through the park.
Lake Bled
Bled in Slovenia is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Europe since visitors are impressed by an attractive appearance of Lake Bled and the small island in the middle of the lake. On the Lake Bled island stands a church with its bell of desire, which, according to an old legend fulfills the wish to anyone who rings the bell.
You can take a ride in a wooden pletna boat and visit the Lake Bled island. Pletna boats in Bled have a long tradition of transporting passengers around the lake. Lake Bled island is the perfect place for weddings, as the newlyweds are inspired by the romantic church and the famous stairs, on which the groom carries the bride to the church.
The mighty Bled Castle stands on a high cliff above the town. From here you will have magnificent views of the city, the lake and its island and the surrounding alpine landscape with the peaks of the Julian Alps in the background. In the Bled Castle you can take a tour and see:
- The museum collection gives you an insight into medieval life of the castle’s former inhabitants and its history. The museum also includes exhibition spaces that illustrate the historical development of Bled, the culture, and other features of this part of the alpine world.
- Printing works
- Castle wine cellar
- Bled Castle forge
If you would like to experience all the hidden corners of Bled, you can set off on a guided Bled roundabout biking trip to discover the town and beautiful lakeshore.
The best Europe trips in the Slovenian Alpine region certainly include a visit to the famous Vintgar Gorge, located just four kilometers from the town of Bled. When walking along a two-kilometer long gorge winding through vertical rocky walls, you will be impressed by the emerald green color of Radovna River and the numerous waterfalls, rapids, and river pools.
From the lookout tower in Lendavske gorice to Lake Balaton in Hungary
Experience mesmerizing views from the Vinarium lookout tower that is located in the middle of the wine-growing hills in Lendavske gorice in the northeast part of Slovenia. The 54-meter high lookout tower has the highest viewing platform, which you can climb up the stairs or use an elevator.
The Vinarium platform is one of the most charming places to visit in Europe as it offers 360-degree panoramas and magnificent views of four different countries; Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, and Hungary.
From the Vinarium lookout tower, you can also see the Lake Balaton in Hungary, which is only a 40-minute drive from Lendavske gorice in Slovenia. Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe and the second most visited tourist destination in Hungary, surrounded by many cycling and walking trails, spas, ceramic workshops, cafes, night clubs and restaurants with traditional Hungarian cuisine.
As the water in the lake heats up in the summer, the south coast, with its many tourist spots, turns into a popular holiday resort. This makes the Lake Balaton a top destination for swimmers and water sports enthusiasts. You can take a ride with a ferry to Siofok, the biggest town by the lake. During the summer months, the world-famous Balaton sound electronic music festival takes place in a village near Siofok.
Piran
The city of Piran is an authentic pearl of the Mediterranean and one of the most romantic seaside places to visit in Europe. The conservation of historic buildings is making Piran as an open-air museum since it has a rich and diverse architecture of past centuries. The medieval town on the cape of the Slovenian coast attracts guests in all seasons, as it offers a pleasant Mediterranean climate and the relaxed atmosphere of the former saltern and fishing town.
Take a stroll along the narrow, winding and cobblestone streets and discover the main sights of Piran:
- The Cathedral of St. George sits atop a hill overlooking Piran. Climb the bell tower and enjoy views of the entire Piran Bay.
- Medieval city walls and city gates
- Tartini’s birth house and Tartini main square with its monument
- Minorite monastery
- Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum and Piran Aquarium
- Baroque and Venetian House
- Apollonio Palace
You can also visit the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park, that is only a few kilometers away from Piran. The Sečovlje Nature Park is a pure natural treasure and one of the last salt pans in the Mediterranean, where salt is still manually obtained by traditional methods. The entire salt pans area is a regional park, and the saltern museum area has been declared as a national monument.
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Thank you all for the great reviews!
Aleksandra (our guide) provided an excellent day out with lots of beautiful sightseeing and lovely hikes! It was a full jam packed day (10 hours) which had enough breaks with a lovely spot for lunch. We loved it so much that we are going to go on another tour with Alpine Activities!
Learn more about activities in Slovenia
Plitvice Lakes in Croatia is such a beautiful place, with crystal clear waters and stunning waterfalls. I remember hiking through the park and just being in awe of the natural beauty around me. It’s definitely a must-see if you’re ever in the area!! Plus, the fact that it’s a national park means it’s well-preserved and protected, which is important to me when traveling. Overall, I agree that all of these European places are worth visiting. Thanks for sharing this! :)