Decision to Visit Ljubljana Castle

We just got back from a trip to Slovenia with our one and three year old and stayed in the historic part of Ljubljana along the river. If you visit Ljubljana, you can’t miss Ljubljana Castle, perched on the hill above the city and we had a wonderful view of it directly out the window of our hotel. We visited three different countries on this trip so hadn’t made any particular plans for what we were going to do in Ljubljana, but as soon as we looked out the window and saw the castle we knew we had to visit before we left.

Getting to the Castle

The castle sits just a 15 minute walk (0.5 miles) above the historic downtown area along the river, so we decided to walk from our hotel instead of taking the funicular - a popular option you can ride from in the town. Justin pushed Freya in the stroller and Jasper (age 3) walked. We started by walking through a pedestrian only area on cobble stone roads between red roofed buildings. It was really enchanting and we were glad we were walking just to explore the area a bit more. Eventually, we made a left turn and started up a pretty steep street towards the castle. There were plenty of signs so we knew we were headed the right away. The road was definitely steep but doable with a stroller and a piggy back ride part way up for Jasper. About 3/4 of the way to the top the road suddenly branched three ways, all with signs showing they were routes to the castle. We had no idea which route would be easiest with the stroller, so took the middle route per maps. Unfortunately, it ended in a pretty long flight of stairs we had to carry the stroller up, but we made it! On the way down, we took the longer route down a road called Cesta Slovenskih Kmečkih Uporov that didn’t involve any stairs.

Good to know: If you have a stroller your easiest options for reaching the castle will be to either take the funicular, located in the historic downtown to the left of the castle, or take Cesta Slovenskih Kmečkih Uporov road so you don’t run into any stairs. The cheapest option with the funicular would be to buy a one way family ticket up and then walk back down.

*The walking route Google maps took us on from where we were staying at Hotel Heritage to the castle*

*Pricing for the funicular to the castle*

*Lovely stroll through the pedestrian area of Ljubljana’s historic downtown area to reach the street to the castle*

*We thought the historic downtown area of Ljubljana was so beautiful and would have loved an extra day to explore it more!*

*Piggy back ride halfway to the castle as the street really was pretty steep*

*Rest break at the ¾ mark where the road split three ways and we were trying to figure out which route to take*

*Unfortunate flight of stairs on the middle option. Well done Justin carrying the stroller with Freya in it still napping!*

To Get a Ticket or Not?

We had read that you can access the inner courtyard and the majority of the first level of the castle without having to buy a ticket. Having gone through the effort of hauling the kids up to the castle on foot, however, we decided to buy tickets to ensure we could explore everything and make it worth our time. As such, we purchased two adult tickets at 15 euros per ticket. Both kids were free. This is what the tickets gave us entry to:

The Viewing Tower (clock/bell tower)
The Virtual Castle exhibit
Museum of Puppetry
Slovenian History Exhibition

Good to know: Children less than 7 years of age can enter all areas of the castle free of charge. If you want to buy tickets and have children 7 years of age and older, purchase a family ticket which is cheaper and allows entry for up to two adults with at least one child.

Museum of Puppetry

After entering the castle, we decided to start our explorations at the Museum of Puppetry since we’d read it was a great place to take kids on numerous blogs/articles about visiting Ljubljana with children. We took an elevator up to the second floor where the museum was located and got our tickets scanned at the entrance. We quickly realized though that there were quite a few stairs throughout the museum so it wouldn’t be easy to do with the stroller. Since Freya was napping in the stroller, Justin sat on a bench at the museum entrance while Jasper and I walked around. It only took us 10 minutes to go through the whole Museum as it’s actually very small. Other people’s descriptions made it seem large with lots of hands on activities where you could spend an entire rainy afternoon with your kids, but I have to disagree. While the history of the puppets is interesting and showcases some fantastic craftsmanship, it’s not necessarily a great place for small kiddos as a lot of the puppets are really rather scary/creepy! Jasper enjoyed the couple of stations where you could pull something to ring a bell and there was one display where you can climb up above the puppet theater and pull strings to make them move, but overall I don’t think it was worth paying for a ticket to and not really that great of a place to take kids.

Good to know: The Museum of Puppetry has some great displays of craftsmanship and interesting history, but it’s really small and a lot of the puppets are rather scary from the perspective of a small child. As such, we didn’t feel that it was worth buying a ticket to visit the Museum of Puppetry with children.

*Justin waiting with the stroller at the Museum of Puppetry because of all the stairs*

*Upper level walkway at the Museum of Puppetry*

*One of the interactive displays at the Museum of Puppetry*

*But then there were so many super creepy puppets like this one that are really not child friendly for little kids*

Courtyard + Chapel of St. George + Bell Tower

After the Museum of Puppetry we headed to the courtyard where Jasper immediately found a metal miniature model of the castle. He was absolutely fascinated by it and had the best time imagining his toy car lived there. While he was distracted playing around the castle model and Freya was burning off energy running around the courtyard, I headed to the “Viewing Tower” - the bell/clock tower that you can climb to the top of with a ticket to take if the views. The Chapel of St. George, dedicated in 1489, is right beside the bell tower, so I stopped there first. It was small but definitely worth checking out with beautiful paintings on the ceiling and a lovely chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. After the chapel I followed signs to the tower where I had to scan my ticket to open some gates and started my climb. I reached a room first with the bells, great views out the windows, and some ancient books in display cases linked to the history of the castle. Then started the climb up a really cool spiral staircase to the top of the tower. It was a decent climb but it’s not a super tall tower so a toddler could definitely do it or be carried. The views from the top over the city were lovely, but you get similar views from other freely accessible parts of the castle since it’s perched on a hill. The real benefit of the view from the top of the tower was looking down on the castle courtyard, which was pretty cool. It was also fun climbing the spiral staircase and made for some really interesting pictures.

Good to know: I thought the bell tower was the most worthwhile thing we got access to with our tickets. You can’t take a stroller up but it’s not super tall so a toddler could definitely climb to the top.

*Lots of fun playing around the miniature castle model in the courtyard*

*“Viewing Tower” aka the bell/clock tower. St. George’s Chapel is just to the left of the tower on the ground floor.*

*St. George’s Chapel in Ljubljana Castle*

*Views out the windows of the city and one of the castle’s cafes*

*Looking down the amazing spiral staircase in the bell tower*

*Beautiful arched windows with views as you climb up the tower*

*View from the top of the bell tower of the castle cafe and the historic downtown*

*Views from the top of the bell tower into the castle courtyard*

Basement Level & Slovenian History Exhibition

After the bell tower, I took Jasper to follow a sign that said “Dragon’s Den” that led us to a really cool arched door with a circular window above it with a plaque that indicated it was the dragon’s den, but unfortunately it was roped off. However, we saw a passageway to the right that led us down to the basement level of the castle where we got to use the bathroom, see the escape well, and explore the cistern. It was really cool and definitely Jasper’s favorite part of the castle. The cistern was actually a room with a sloping floor and was almost pitch black with a square of brilliant light on the floor from a strategically placed hole in the ceiling. It was super interesting and Jasper loved walking around in the dark. There was also a circular room nearby with a flight of narrow stairs up to a window where you could look into another room. It really was a toddler’s dream to explore all these random rooms, stairs, levels, and passageways. They’ve done a really good job throughout the castle of mixing ancient architecture with modern touches like glass panels and interesting lighting and this was especially evident in the basement, which made it extra fun for me to explore as well.

*Stairs up to a random little viewing window into another room*

After thoroughly exploring the basement, I took Freya into the Slovenian History Exhibition, which spans across several floors. Justin stayed outside with the stroller because once again, there were quite a few stairs. I didn’t take any pictures of the displays inside because I was unclear whether cameras were prohibited or just taking pictures with flash. The displays covered ancient up to modern times and it looked well done, but I was too busy chasing Freya to really take much in. The best part (with a small child at least) was when we headed to the second floor and found that we could access a walkway along the outer wall of the castle with really neat keyhole windows. I don’t think accessing that single walkway would make it worth to buy a ticket if you have little kids in tow unless you are a serious history buff.

*Walkway along the outer castle wall only accessible from the Slovenian History Exhibition*

*Cool keyhole windows along the outer wall*

Food & Beverages

Ljubljana Castle has two restaurants with fine dining (one of which has been awarded a Michelin Star) and a cafe with snacks, desserts, and beverages so you have plenty of choices if you need some sustenance or a coffee pick me up. You can read read full descriptions of the restaurants and cafe here. We didn’t end up getting anything to eat or drink, but I did pick up a menu for the cafe on one of the tables along the castle courtyard and the prices were pretty reasonable. Justin sat down at one of the tables to rest and a waiter rushed out to take his order, so apparently that’s how you can order something if you’re interested.

*Coffee menu at the cafe at Ljubljana Castle*

*Jasper and I peaked through a door into one of the restaurants while we were exploring the basement and couldn’t help taking a picture. Amazing ambiance and the ceiling design was so cool!*

Family Friendly Features

Overall, we found Ljubljana Castle to be quite family friendly even though a lot of areas were not stroller accessible. The castle’s website states the following: “Ljubljana Castle is a medieval fortress and therefore has varied terrain, so not all of the spaces can be accessed by strollers. Strollers can be stored in a dedicated space by the entrance to the Museum of Puppetry. There you will also find lockers where you can safely lock small items that you do not want to carry around with you while visiting the castle.” We didn’t leave our stroller in the locker area, but we did see it and there was plenty of space and a great option for families who might also be carrying a diaper bag etc that they don’t want to haul around, especially since the lockers are free. Something else child friendly that I liked was the fact that they had diaper changing tables in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms.

*Free lockers and stroller storage area*

*Diaper changing areas in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms*

How Much Time Do You Need?

We ended up spending close to 3 hours exploring the castle, partly because we let the kids play in the courtyard for a good chunk of time. That said, there were also some areas of the castle that we didn’t even explore including the Virtual Castle exhibit and the castle vineyard. As such, I think you could expect to spend somewhere between 2-3 hours exploring the castle with little kids.

Good to know: 2-3 hours is enough time to explore most areas of the castle

Was it Worth it To Buy Tickets?

There’s so many parts of the castle that are accessible without buying a ticket and the tickets are expensive enough that I don’t think I’d recommend buying tickets or would at least recommend exploring everything you can first and then deciding whether you want to go buy a ticket. We just didn’t think the Museum of Puppetry and Slovenian History Exhibit were worth visiting with small children. The bell tower was admittedly pretty cool, but you get similar views from the freely accessible viewing area on top of the castle wall to the right of the entrance. We didn’t go to the virtual castle exhibit so maybe that’s fun with kids and would make a ticket worth it, but just have to make a recommendation based on what we did see and do.

Good to know: We didn’t think buying tickets was really worth it with little kids because so much of the castle is accessible without tickets and two of the four ticket only areas were not super child friendly (in our opinion).

*Leaving the castle after our fun afternoon of exploring*

Have you been to Ljubljana Castle with kids? What are your top tips? We and our readers would especially like to know if you went to the Virtual Castle exhibit and whether you thought it was worth buying a ticket to access that. Leave us a comment!

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