| With July just around the corner, and many of us | | | | hill over the river Ljubljanica. The city is also famed for |
| realising we're up for a well-deserved, last-minute | | | | its stunning Cathedral, St. Peter's Church, the |
| holiday, where are the best places to go on a budget? | | | | Franciscan Church of the Annuncation, the Triple |
| The recession has shaken the tourism world up in the | | | | Bridge and the Dragon Bridge and Robba's Fountain. |
| past year and although it may not be quite as easy as | | | | Culturally, the city is blooming and has to date over 15 |
| previously to find cheap flights and budget breaks, | | | | museums, 40 art galleries and 10 theatres. In July, you |
| there is still a wealth of choice out there and some | | | | can also enjoy the Ljubljana Summer Festival, which |
| surprising deals. | | | | attracts notable opera stars, as well as ballet and |
| Some of the best places to head off to in July are not | | | | theatre performers and international jazz and rock |
| destinations you would immediately think of, but this is | | | | musicians. |
| part of their charm. While the rest of the world jets off | | | | If you fancy getting out of the city, there is almost no |
| to the typical tourist areas, you will be able to enjoy | | | | end to what you can do. You could head into the Julian |
| your little piece of heaven in relative peace! | | | | Alps, or West towards the Adriatic Coast. In the |
| In part two of this five-part series, I will show you | | | | Winter, the Alps are fantastic for winter sports, but are |
| some of the hottest holiday destinations for July. | | | | no less stunning in the summer months. One of the top |
| Slovenia | | | | destinations in the area is the Triglav National Park, |
| One of the Croatia's neighbours, Slovenia shares its | | | | named after Mount Triglav. The landscape combines |
| beauty. Popular with tourists from Germany, Austria | | | | tumbling rivers and waterfalls with impressive rocky |
| and Italy, but still relatively quiet, Slovenia is a sprawling | | | | plateaus and mountains and deep virgin forests. |
| land of mountains, lakes, forest and stunning | | | | Typical park animals are the chamois, ibex, red deer, |
| countryside. The capital city is Ljubljana (not as hard to | | | | brown bear, lynx, eagle, numerous bird and reptile |
| say as it looks!), setting of Paulo Coehlo's best-selling | | | | species, and the endemic Marble trout. |
| book Veronika Decides to Die. In July, tourists can | | | | One of the country's most popular regions is Savinjska, |
| enjoy warm weather in the mid 20s (about 76 celcius). | | | | famous for its thermal waters, the glacial valley of |
| Like many historical capital cities, Ljubljana consists of | | | | Logarska dolina and the breathtaking Snežna jama |
| an old town and a new town. In the old town, the | | | | cave. Activities available range from walking, hiking, |
| beautifully-preserved buildings display a mix of | | | | mountain biking, swimming, cycling and climbing and the |
| architectural styles - most prominently Baroque and | | | | area also boasts numerous health spas, as well as |
| Art Nouveau. | | | | hundreds of charming villages. |
| Ljubljana Castle, built in the 12th century, dominates the | | | | |