Hey, I've been on a trip to Northern Italy and Slovenia in the summer of 2019.
If you do spend some time in Northern Italy, the Lago di Garda region is worth seeing. The lake itself has an impressive turquoise color, the surrounding landscapes are beautiful, and around it are some beautiful little towns. The Dolomites mountains are really beautiful too, unfortunately I didn't get the chance to stop in this region and just passed through while driving, but it was truly breathtaking.
In Slovenia I went to the obligatory lake Bled. I thought it was going to be a disappointment since it's one of the most touristic spots, but it turned out to be a really nice stop. I recommend lending a little rowbot and get to the island like this. I really appreciated this moment, just the simple pleasure of the beautoful landscape, fresh water, rowing to the island... Yeah, I loved it a lot.
If you like walking, we also went to this great place called Velika Planinja (I'm absolutely not sure how it's written). It's a spot in the mountains where sheperds use(d?) to go, with a really impressive view all around, truly breathtaking. We had the chance to get some imrpessive clouds licking the mountains this day and it's a beautiful memory (and beautiful photos too haha).
A perhaps unusual recommendation here: if you get the occasion to go to the tripoint at the frontier between Austria, Slovenia, and Italy, that was a really interesting place. We went there at the last minute on a sudden suggestion from my brother and we loved it. We went there from Slovenia and it was not easy to access., but apparently it is easier to access it from the Austrian side.
There are one or two things I don't recommand but I can't remeber the names. I'll check tomorrow and add it as an answer to this message :)
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Bagolino (Brescia) above Garda is on my bucket list.
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Thank you for such a detailed answer, muuuch appreciated! :)
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No problem :)
I opened the photobook for more precisions and stuff!
In the Lago di Garda region:
- the town of Sirmione is really picturesque and worth seeing, although there really are a lot of tourists there.
- Salò is pretty too, but I feel like there is a bit less to do. It is a lot less crowded than Sirmione though.
In Slovenia:
- The Tolmin gorges are lovely and impressive. It's a rather short walk but the landscape is beautiful.
- The town of Piran is very pretty too, rather different from other slovenian towns as it looks more like an italian town (which it was originally). There is a nice walk to do nearby in a natural reserve called Strunjan. Nice cliffs by the sea, especially beautiful at sunset.
- Of course Ljubljana but I don't suppose you were plannning on avoiding it. It's a lovely city, one of the prettiest capital cities I know. I have no specific activities there to suggest as my family are not the restaurant or activity type, we mostly just walk around. However do swing by the castle hill, especially the public park on top of it is really peaceful and offers an impressive view on the city.
- as I was saying yesterday, Velika Planina (that's how it's written) and lake Bled are worth stoping at. Lake Bohinj is nice, too, rather underrated. There's a pretty waterfall nearby called Savica, it's not somethign that will take a lot of time to get to and look at but rather an intersting detour to make if you have like one hour availible and are in the vicinity
- in general, Slovenia is great for taking a plunge in rivers. The water is fresh and all. Do it at least once I guess!
In Austria:
- we spent one morning in Innsbrück on our way back. It's a nice city that looks like it has a lot of interesting places to visit. Unfortunately we didn't stay long and it was pouring. But an interesting city for sure, I think worth visiting.
Now for the things I don't recommand:
- we swang by Pula, Croatia from Piran, and it was not as good as expected. It may be your thing but I didn't particularly love it. I don't think it's worth a detour, unless you were specifically visiting Croatia.
- Vintgar gorges, while pretty, are so crowded with tourists on really small paths that it's more frustrating than anything. It's literally an immense traffic jam of people walking on wooden decks, and that's an experience that annoys me even now thinking back. The gorges are pretty, sure, but extremely overrated. The amount of people visiting is way to much proportionally to the prettyness of the place (if that makes sense). Now this may not apply in current times, I don't know. Perhaps it is calmer these days.
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The city walls of an old city overlooking the Mediterranean, Dubrovnik if I recall correctly. er, that is in Croatia, but if possible, that type of thing (City walls of Praha?) The views are spectacular in some places (I don't recall first hand; my aunt went there some years ago and took lots of pics but I forget exactly where).
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Dubrovnik is tempting obviously but I'm afraid it's too fat for our current trip :)
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Okay, I just meant that type of thing (walled city overlooking the sea or the city.) I'm partial to castles and landscapes myself, however, and not everyone is.
Edit pics of what I meant of views from city walls
Dubrovnik (1 &2)
Durmitor, Montenegro (3)
Herceg Novi walls and view (4-6)
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Prague is awesome for two days, max. Spend one day in the castle, spend the other in the old city (make sure you visit the Jewish ghetto)
When I was there I also ended up in some old Inn where there was no menu, they just brought a plate of goose leg and beers (and whatever that shot was)
I remember going to a puppet opera, some divey jazz bar, and buying a hand-carved chess board that I still have
Outside of the old city and you end up in the old communist blocks of apartment buildings. Further out is the new Prague, but considering I was there 20 years ago, I’m the wrong person to comment on that
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Due to its relative proximity to the border, czech beer being great and being a University city it has become even more of a party town since possession of weed has been decriminalized.
If you're staying anywhere near the center don't forget to bring earplugs (if you intend to sleep). It's really loud. Not sure if we were staying over the weekend or if it's just as lively during the week.
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Hey!
We're planning to visit Czech, Austria and Slovenia in August (maybe we'll swing by north-east Italy too). What's worth visiting, seeing, experiencing in these countries? :)
To give you a little hint of what we're looking for: we loved to look at the bubbles of air where Crni Drim begins its flow. We loved to admire Capella Colleoni in Bergamo, we luckily stumbled upon. But we also loved to get into the worst dive bar in Japan, afraid of being stubbed there, and sing karaoke in Spanish with a tattooed Japanese elder. We loved sitting at the table in Rosalia, a local restaurant in Athens, and wonder what the hell is going on when waiters have been bringing food out of literary every neighboring building (we ate so much we honestly couldn't walk because the food was so delicious). We loved eating big bad bagels in Riga (well, we actually loved whole Riga). We loved getting drunk with Macedonians and dancing Gaida together until late night.
In short: we love architecture and nature wonders, meeting and getting to know new people around the world, discovering unknown gems only locals know about, being surprised with sometimes strange but wonderful experiences, eating where regular people eat :)
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