DAY 4
Drive to Piran with stops at Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle
After three days in Ljubljana, it was finally time to leave the capital city. But not without one more stop at La Petit Cafe! This time I ordered the cherry pancakes, which were my extra delicious.
We hit the road and made our way south-west toward the coast. After 45 minutes, we reached the Karst region, a limestone plateau known for its impressive cave systems.
There are two popular caves in the region — we visited Postojna Cave on our way to Piran and planned to hit up the other one, Škocjan, en route to our next destination.
Of the two caves, Postojna is definitely the more Disneyfied. The cave has been a popular tourist destination since 1819, when Archduke Ferdinand visited the caves and put it on the map.
Today, the Postojna Cave is a well-oiled money-making machine. Over 39 million people have visited the caves, making it the most-visited cave in Europe. A number of hotels and restaurants line the path from the massive car park to the cave entrance, ensuring each and every visitor has every opportunity to spend their money.
The caves are, nonetheless, very impressive and definitely worth the hype. Spoiler: the Škocjan caves we’d visit a few days later edged out Postojna for my pick for “most impressive cave I’ve ever seen,” but Postojna was a very close second.
One of the highlights of the tour was actually the train ride at the beginning and end of the tour, which shuttles visitors from the cave entrance over two miles to the interior of the cave where the official tour begins. Definitely a unique experience that added to the “Disney” feel (in a good way) and a lot of fun for adults and kids alike!
After the caves, we made a quick pitstop at the nearby Predjama Castle, just a 15-minute drive from Postojna.
The castle is built in the mouth of a cave, making it not only unique but really striking. We’d read that the interior wasn’t particularly impressive, so we enjoyed the castle from the outside.
We found an empty bench and enjoyed a leisurely picnic lunch with a view.
From Predjama we had another 45-minute drive before arriving in Piran.
Piran’s old town is pedestrian-only, so we parked in the garage just outside of town and took the free shuttle to Tartini Plaza. From there we didn’t have far to go, as our home for the next couple of days was conveniently located just a block off the square.
Where we stayed: Memento B&B
After settling in at the hotel, we ventured out for dinner. Seafood reigns supreme in the small but lovely coastal region of Slovenia, so we were keen to try some fresh, locally-caught fish.
We followed the recommendation of the concierge and headed to Fritolin Pri Cantini, a takeout-only restaurant located on a small but lively square in the middle of the old town.
We placed our order and grabbed a table on the square. The tables are actually owned by a separate establishment, but the two have a very symbiotic relationship. So long as you’re ordering dirnks, you’re more than welcome to enjoy your food at their picnic tables.
I ordered the grilled fish with potatos and Dan and I split a salad. Everything was so fresh and delicious. It reminded me of the sort of food we had in Croatia — high praise!
After dinner we went for a short stroll. We walked along the edge of the old town until we reached the end of the peninsula, an excellent place to catch the sunset.
Before the sun disappeared over the ocean, we headed back to our home base off Tartini Square. Lots of kids were playing and riding their scooters around the square. We let Luna roam free to get out some extra energy before bed time.
DAY 5
Climb up St. George’s Parish Church’s clocktower and a walk around Piran’s harbour
We started our day with breakfast at a nearby cafe (complementary with our booking).
Piran is relatively small with very few sights, so the day’s schedule was wide open. As someone who always crams way too much sightseeing in to our itineraries, it was a welcomed change of pace.
We spent the morning walking around the town, eventually finding our way to Cafe Neptune a great little coffeeshop on the edge of town serving an impressive range of specialty coffees.
For lunch, we headed back to the same square where we had dinner the night before to check out another one of the places recommended by our hotel, an Italian restaurant called Rostelin.
I ordered the linguine with langoustines and Dan ordered the ravioli with pesto. Same as with dinner, all of the ingredients were super fresh (including the pasta, which is made onsite) and the quality of the food was exceptional.
Feeling reenergized after lunch, we decided to make the uphill climb to check out one of Piran’s only real sights, St. George’s Church.
We had a quick peak inside before buying our tickets to climb the clocktower.
It was definitely a workout (especially with the added weight of a toddler), but the view from the top was worth it. The clocktower is the highest point in town, so from here you could see all of Piran and the ocean beyond.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the town’s harbor. We ventured out to the end of the jetty for a nice view back toward the town and its pastel-colored waterfront.
On our way back to the plaza, we happened upon a small art gallery. One of our favorite favorite things to buy as a souvenir is artwork by a local artist. Most trips we’re not able to find something that we both like enough to buy, but this gallery had several pieces that we loved. We ended up buying two prints by an artist from Piran.
As dinner time approached, we stopped by another recommended restaurant just as they opened, only to be turned away due to not having a reservation. That was totally fine with us — it just gave us an excuse to go back to the same delicious restaurant as the night before without the guilt of vacation FOMO weighing us down.
The menu at Fritolin Pri Cantini was completely different from the night before. This time we ordered an octopus salad, polenta, and the most delicious baked mussels covered in tomato sauce and cheese. Another fantastic meal.
We headed back to the hotel and put our daughter to bed. After she was asleep, we snuck out to grab some ice cream at a gelateria called Pirano Pasticceria on the square. I ordered their famous black coconut ice cream. Yum!
Don’t miss it…
This post is a part of a larger two-week trip around Slovenia. Check out the full itinerary and an overview of the trip here!
