Wild Ljubljana: the Marshes, the Forest and the Alps

The natural side of Ljubljana, from the Ljubljana Marshes, a landscape park of wet meadows and birdlife, to the forests of Tivoli, Rožnik and Šmarna gora and the Alps beyond, with a directory of the parks in our guide and our regional long read on Balkan wildlife.

Ljubljana has made a point of being green. Its centre has been largely closed to cars since 2007, and the forest begins a short walk from Prešeren Square: Tivoli Park runs up into the woods of Rožnik hill. South of the city, the Ljubljana Marshes are a landscape park of wet meadows, canals and birdlife.

This is a short, honest guide to Ljubljana's natural side: the marshes, the forest hills and the mountains on the horizon. For Bled, Bohinj and the Julian Alps, and the wildlife of the whole region, see our guides and our Balkans long read.

The Ljubljana Marshes

South of the city, the Ljubljana Marshes are a landscape park of wet meadows, canals and birdlife, crossed by quiet roads and learning trails. Prehistoric people built pile dwellings here, part of the UNESCO site of the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, and the famous wooden wheel found in the marshes is now in the City Museum.

Forest hills

From Tivoli, paths lead up through the forest to the top of Rožnik, with its church and inn, a favourite Sunday walk; Ljubljana Zoo lies on the hill's southern slopes. North of the city, climbing Šmarna gora is a Ljubljana ritual: about an hour up on forest paths to a church, an inn and wide views of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps and the Julian Alps.

In Ljubljana, the forest begins a short walk from the main square.

Feature: the marshes

The Ljubljana Marshes are a lived-in landscape as much as a wild one: hay meadows, ditches, hedgerows and canals, where the birds of wet grassland feed among the farms. Walk or cycle one of the learning trails on a spring morning, when the meadows are full of birdsong, and remember that this flat, quiet country was once the home of some of Europe's earliest lake villages.

Did you know? A wooden wheel found in the Ljubljana Marshes, now in the City Museum, is one of the famous finds from the prehistoric pile dwellings that UNESCO lists around the Alps.

Our advice

Our advice: hire a bike and ride out into the Ljubljana Marshes on a spring morning; walk from Tivoli up Rožnik, or take a city bus to the foot of Šmarna gora. Keep to the paths and tracks in the marshes, keep dogs on a lead in the nesting season, and take your rubbish home.