Category Archives: Slovenian railways

The 12th Radovljica Chocolate Festival + Easter in Slovenia

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Festivals in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Radovljica Chocolate Festival, Slovenia blog, Slovenian chocolate, Slovenian railways, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

It’s amazing how time flies. It only seems like it was a few years ago that the first Radovljica Chocolate Festival took place, yet next weekend – 12th and 13th April 2025 – it’ll be the 12th festival already.

Although, of course, the main theme of the festival is chocolate, the packed entertainment programme means there’s something for all the family, even those (strange people :-)) who don’t like chocolate!

I went to the festival press conference last week to find out all about what’s new at this year’s festival, including:

  • A total of 22 chocolatiers, of which two are from Austria, one from Hungary and one from Croatia and the remainder from Slovenia.
  • Visitors are encouraged to travel to the festival by public transport, and an agreement has been reached with Slovenian Railways that over the 2-day festival, international trains will also stop at Radovljica.
  • This year, for the first time, the Slovenian Beekeeping Association has become a partner, through the ‘It’s from Europe‘ programme and will set up a special ‘theme park’ in Linhart Square in front of St. Peter’s church.

  • This year, for the first time, the Slovenian Beekeeping Association has become a partner of the Radovjlica Chocolate Festival, through the ‘It’s from Europe‘ programme. The partnership has resulted in a new culinary souvenir named ‘Eat the chocolate and plant the wrapper‘. The chocolate bar is filled with certified Slovenian honey, while the wrapper is made from biodegradable paper that contains the seeds of honey plants; after eating the chocolate, the wrapper can be planted. The chocolate bar will be available to purchase at the Tourism Radol’ca stand at the festival. Other honey products will be available at the Slovenian Beekeeping Association stand.

Other highlights, of which there are far too many to list them all, include a chocolate roulette…

…workshops with the Dunking Devils…

…and a chocolate-themed fashion show; this year’s theme is dark chocolate.

Every year, prior to the festival, a competition takes place to find the Best Chocolate Praline.

This year’s winning chocolates are:

First place: Berry blaze (Molinet chocolatier)

Second place: Pistachio and lemon (Lucifer chocolatier)

Third place: Gold tequila and orange (Dobnik chocolatier)

Visitors to the festival also have the chance to taste the three winning chocolates and vote for their favourite.

This year, in addition to the festival goings-on in Radovljica Park, Linhart Square and Radovljica Manor, interesting medieval-themed events will take place in the square in front of St. Peter’s Church.

Click here to open the festival website and see the full programme for both days.

The Radovljica Tourist Information Centre is housed in the building you can see below and is the place to go during the festival if you require any additional information.

Take a look at (some of) the highlights of last year’s festival below.

The weekend following the Chocolate Festival is Easter, which is particularly late this year. If you are thinking about, or planning to, visit Slovenia for Easter, then you can read my previous blog about Easter Traditions in Slovenia.

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!

© Adele in Slovenia

Let The Train Take The Strain!

Posted in Adele in Slovenia, Begunje, hiking in Slovenia, ifeelsLOVEnia, Karavanke mountains, Maribor, Radol'ca, Radovljica, Slovenia blog, Slovenian mountain huts, Slovenian railways, Tourism Radol'ca, Visit Radol'ca by

With the world becoming, or trying to become, ever ‘greener’, many of us are trying to do our bit here and there, including taking public transport, where possible.

The great news is that Radovljica is really well connected, so it’s an ideal place to base yourself for getting around Slovenia and even further afield.

In addition to Radovljica’s new railway station, Slovenian Railways also introduced some new trains late last year. The first journey took place on the new electrified KISS trains, produced by the Swiss producer Stadler, on the Ljubljana-Litija line. The trains are renowned for their improved comfort, spaciousness and functionality, as well as panoramic windows for a literal ‘seat with a view’.

Na slovenskih železnicah prvi novi dvonadstropni električni vlak - Zelena Slovenija

Within minutes of stepping off the train at Radovljica’s railway station you can reach Linhart Square – the heart of the historic old town centre.

It takes less than an hour to reach Radovljica from Ljubljana (or vice versa), or in the other direction, you can go to Jesenice and from there to Villach in Austria and onwards. In the opposite direction, i.e. from Ljubljana, you can travel to Maribor or Celje – Slovenia’s second and third largest cities respectively – or to Zagreb in Croatia and further.

Below I’ve put together a few suggestions of what to see and do by train (and bus) in the local area.

Take the train from Radovljica to Globoko, where you can visit the Barbana Stud Farm to see the famous white Lipizzaner horses.

Lipizzaner Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free Images - iStock

From Globoko you can either return by train or walk back through the Forest Nature Trail.

Take the train from Radovljica to Otoče, then walk the Otoče to Brezje Pilgrimage Trail.

On reaching Brezje, you can see Slovenia’s national pilgrimage sanctuary – the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians – as well as the Nativity Museum, then return to Radovljica by bus.

Take the bus from Radovljica to Bled, so much easier than searching (and paying!) for somewhere to park. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you about Bled’s ‘star attraction’!

Take the bus from Radovljica to Begunje na Gorenjskem, where you can visit the Elan Alpine Skiing Museum, the Avsenik Museum, and the village is also an excellent destination for hiking in the Karavanke mountains, for example to St. Peter’s church above the village, on the Lamberg Trail past Kamen Castle to the Draga Valley, from where you can continue up to the Roblekov dom mountain hut or even higher up to Mt. Begunscica.

Photo: Miran Kambic

Of course, there are numerous other options, which, for travel in the Radol’ca area, the lovely folk at the Radovljica Tourist Information Centre can help you with, or for travel further afield take a look at the Slovenian Railways website to get some more ideas of what to see and do.

So, why not sit back and let the train take the strain?!

© Adele in Slovenia