I hadn't planned to be home for the holidays this year but a change of heart really made me wish to be in Europe for Christmas, because there is just no place like it at this time of year. We planned a beautiful wintery roadtrip across Austria, stopping to visit some gorgeous spots along the way including Stift Admont Library, Kaiserau, Grüner See and Graz.
We had booked into a spa and wellness hotel south of Graz in the mountains of Austria for the weekend, which was the perfect escape to wind down after a crazy year. While we were there, we realized that, with the Slovenian border being just a few minutes away, it would be silly to skip out on the chance to visit another country this year and so planned a quiet Sunday afternoon across the border in Maribor.
Maribor is Slovenia's second largest city after its capital Ljubljana. I have visited Slovenia just once before to hike in Triglav National Park and check out Lake Bled and I definitely want to come back and spend more time exploring this gorgeous little country.
We didn't have very long in Maribor before our long drive back across Austria to Salzburg, but we did manage to squeeze in some beautiful Christmassy things and a visit to an art gallery. Check out everything I recommend doing while visiting pretty Maribor:
By car: We arrived in Maribor by car from across the border in Austria. Maribor is one hour from Graz. There is a border crossing but since both countries are in the EU you won't necessarily be stopped; the guards simply waved us through. You will need a vignette to drive on highways in Slovenia; these can be purchased from the border or gas stations. They are sold by the week, month or year (sadly not by the day) and we paid €16 at the time of writing for a one-week vignette to stick on our windsheild. In Maribor, we parked in a nice underground parking garage in close walking distance to the old town.
→ If you don't have your own car, you can rent one in Graz or Ljubljana.
By flight: The closest airport to Maribor is across the border in Graz, Austria. GoOpti runs a shuttle directly from Graz Airport to the main bus station in Maribor.
By train: You can also take a direct train from Graz to Maribor which takes just one hour. A direct train also runs from Ljubljana to Maribor in two hours.
By bus: A direct bus runs from Ljubljana to Maribor in 1.75 hours. Bus tickets can be booked with IJPP. The Flixbus also runs to Maribor from various cities in Slovenia and further across Europe.
Once we had parked our car, we spent a few hours exploring Maribor on foot. While it is the second largest city in Slovenia, it is still compact and walkable, home to less than 100,000 people.
You might also want to join a walking tour of Maribor to get a really good insight from a local of the history and learn a bit more about the town.
We were only in Maribor for a few hours so didn't eat anything here, but we did stop in for a coffee and hot cocoa at Roosters, a cute little hipster spot in the old town and arguably the best in town. I scoured the web as we were driving down from Austria and my research all led me here. And let me tell you, we were definitely impressed. It's the place to be!
For our afternoon in Maribor, we bundled up against the cold and spent a few hours wandering around the old town spotting some of the most beautiful spots in this Slovenian city. We were really impressed by the architecture in Maribor, the lovely new waterfront and how clean the city was. Check out everything we saw during our afternoon in Maribor:
Take in the view from Glavni Most
This beautiful bridge gives one of the best views of the orange-roofed buildings of Maribor lining the Drava River. We walked away from the old town over Glavni Most and then back to town across the beautiful new wooden pedestrian-only bridge, Spalvarska brv.
Wander along the waterfront, Lent
Lent is the pretty, clean and upmarket area of Maribor, stretching along the riverfront of the River Drava, lined with restaurants, cafes and beautiful buildings. The walkway is spacious and the perfect spot for a stroll, a run or a bike ride.
Spot the oldest vine in the world
Who would have thought that the very first vine ever planted - way back in the Medieval Ages in 1570 - would be right here in Maribor!? Highly protected and well-taken care of, this beautiful vine, or Stara trta, grows along the walls of the waterfront Vine House, or Hiša Stare trte. The Guiness Book of World Records has verified this vine as the world's oldest, thanks to scientific dating. So, if you're a wine connoisseur, you should definitely sample some Maribor wine!
Wander down Koroška cesta
This pretty street is one of the main ones in Maribor, lined with gorgeous architecture, delightful shops and, if you're there at Christmastime as we were, beautiful window decorations.
See local artists at the Umetnostna galerija
We stumbled across this little art gallery, the Umetnostna galerija, unintenionally and enjoyed a wonderful hour discovering some beautiful and interesting art from local Slovenian artists. Our favourites were the reflection works by Metka Krašovec. Tickets were €4 per person, payable on arrival. We particularly enjoyed the creative museum guide which featured small sketch renditions of every single work of art in the gallery!
Enjoy the main square of Glavni trg
The heart of Maribor, lined with gorgeous buildings, restaurants and shops. While we were in town, a beautiful Christmas Market was going on in the centre of Glavni trg and we rode the ferris wheel above the square for picture-perfect views of all of Maribor.
The Prague Column
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Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
