Slovenia

Small enough to do in a week, good enough to want longer

Slovenia is the country people mean when they say they want somewhere in Europe that is not ruined yet. It is roughly the size of Wales and manages to contain proper Alps, a short but real Adriatic coastline, vineyards, and one of the most extensive cave systems in the world, all within a two-hour drive of each other.

Lake Bled does the heavy lifting on Instagram, with its island church and clifftop castle, and it is as pretty as advertised and correspondingly busy. Lake Bohinj, twenty minutes away inside the national park, is bigger, wilder and far quieter. Ljubljana is a capital city with a population smaller than Coventry, a car-free centre and a river lined with cafes.

It is also extremely easy to travel. Distances are short, roads are good, most people under fifty speak excellent English, and the whole country is oriented around the outdoors. Hiking, rafting, caving and skiing are all normal weekend activities rather than organised excursions, which keeps the prices sane.

Annual events and festivals

• Kurentovanje, Ptuj (Feb) — UNESCO listed. Sheepskin-clad figures with cowbells and long tongues chase off winter.
• Ljubljana Festival (Jul-Aug) — two months of classical music, opera and theatre.
• Metaldays (Jul) — a long-running metal festival on the river in Tolmin.
• Cows Ball, Bohinj (Sep) — marks the return of cattle from high pastures, with music, food and a great deal of drinking.
• Bled Days and Bled Night (Jul) — thousands of candles floated across the lake after dark.
• Lent Festival, Maribor (Jun-Jul) — one of the largest outdoor festivals in Central Europe.
• Statehood Day (25 Jun) — marks independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
• Old Vine Festival, Maribor (Oct) — celebrating the world oldest producing grapevine, at over 400 years.
• St Martin Day (11 Nov) — the day new wine is blessed. Taken seriously in wine regions.
• Christmas in Ljubljana (Dec) — the old town lit up along the river, and a genuinely lovely market.