Ljubljana is a small city and very walkable. We opted not to stay in the pedestrian zone area and we were glad of our choice, although it depends on what you are looking for. Like any city, it can be noisier in the pedestrian zone area, and usually a bit more expensive, but Ljubljana isn’t plagued quite so much with the typical crowds and late night partying of other tourist areas. There’s just not as many tourists.

We stayed right off Rosta Cesta directly across the street from the castle grounds. Nothing like having a castle in your backyard! We were also right by the Botanical Gardens. While this sounds like it would be smack in the middle of tourist land, this is the nature of Ljubljana – it’s small and full of parks. Really, there’s no where within walking distance I’d be uncomfortable staying. The nicest area is probably around Emona, the old Roman area, which is south and west of the National Library. The edgiest is up by Metelkova, the artist’s squatter’s community near the train station, but it’s still a safe area, although I’m sure it gets loud at night, as there’s an outdoor music venue in Metelkova.

Best to choose based on what the apartment offers. Like many places in Europe, many apartments here don’t have air conditioning, and as Ljubljana was built in what was once a swamp, they do have mosquitos, so it’s hard to open windows in the summer. We only really missed air conditioning the first few weeks, but we did miss it.