Celje

Get in

Celje is halfway between Ljubljana and Maribor on the A1 highway, a one-hour drive from either. It is also served by Ljubljana - Maribor railway line with trains running twice an hour on workdays.

Get around

The town has a population of about 50,000, but it's very compact. The best way to get around is on foot. Almost everything's within walking distance.

See

thumb|A cobblestone street in the old town The downtown part of Celje is very old, and very beautiful. There are two churches, as well as an "Old Celje" section.

Beside medieval remains, Celje is also famous for its multitude of remains from the ancient Roman Empire (from 1st century C.E.), when it was a rich Roman settlement called Celeia. The Celje Regional Museum holds remains from gravesites, roads etc. Remains of various buildings and the ancient city walls are also scattered around the town itself.

You can see an office guide from the town's tourism agency here.

Do

The obvious thing to do in Celje is simply walk, and take in the amazing views of all the historic buildings. Spend a whole day just walking around and taking pictures. In some places, they have the original cobblestone roads, which are beautiful. The old part of town is rather sleepy, so there's usually not much to do besides sightseeing.

Football: NK Celje play soccer in PrvaLiga, the top tier. Their home ground Stadion Z'dežele (capacity 13,000) is 3 km north of town centre.

Buy

Shopping malls with movie theatre and the fairground are located some 2 km north of the centre, along Mariborska rd.

Drink

Metropol, café and cinema (kavarna and kino): at every hour of the day, the Metropol is a good choice. It is located in the pedestrian precinct, Stanetova 15.

Sleep

Hotel Astor. The hotel itself is nothing spectacular, but the location is totally ideal. It is on the outer part of town, which makes driving to it a piece of cake. However, it's close to three supermarkets, the pharmacy, as well as two banks. There is a restaurant in the hotel with complimentary breakfast consisting of croissants, yogurt-type foods, cereal, and deli meats. The dinner menu includes venison, stallion (real horse meat), fish and lamb. Hotel Štorman. Štorman is situated across the street from the town's main bus station, 500 m from the main train station, and is an easy walk to the shopping mall. If you're after a cheaper stay than the more expensive hotels in town, this is where to go. A little noise from the train line and dual carriageway outside is expected but even with a room overlooking these, little noise gets in.