Updated on February 11, 2018
Pedestrianisation and the one-way system can make driving in downtown Ljubljana a confusing affair, but parking is, or can be, relatively easy and inexpensive, for a capital city in Europe. Here’s a quick guide to where to leave your vehicle for a while.
Like in most other cities, there are certain streets where you can just park by the side. You’ll have to pay on every working day from 07:00 until 18:00 and on Saturdays till 15:00, while on Sundays and holidays parking is free, although do check the signs by the metres to be sure, as rules do chance over time (with one recent innovation being that parking in Tivoli must now be paid for until 22:00). Just remember to have change to put in the metre and to display the receipt you receive, as traffic wardens do patrol the streets and often hand out fines.
If you’re in an area where parking isn’t allowed, then you could have your vehicle towed. If that happens, there are two 24-hr numbers you can call +386 1 257 48 61 and +386 51 358 832, and you can also check on the website for which vehicles have been towed and from where. The same page also contains the price list, as well as a link to where used cars can be bought. The so-called auto mobile fairgrounds at Cesta dveh cesarjev (black on the map below) are where you’ll find your missing vehicle, and you can get there with the No. 1 city bus. We’ve never heard of it, but if you get your car clamped then you can call +386 1 23 00 160, 06:00 to 22:00, or visit Mačkova 1 (green on the map). Overnight on Saturday, Sunday and holidays there’s a duty counter at Krekov trg (blue).
There are quite a few car parks, parking lots and parking garages in town, with the full list, a map and current occupancy rates available on the government site, so only the main options are shown in the map above, and note that the tariffs vary with location, time and duration of your stay.
The five car parks clustered in the centre are downtown, the ones with the shortest walks to all the main attractions, are at Kongresni trg, Sanatorij Emona Parking Facility, Petkovškovo nabrežje, Kozolec and NUK, the first of which is the most central, and marked purple on the map. The three places by the ring road are all park and ride facilities, with two bus tickets for the LPP city buses included in the price of parking. These are known as P+R Dolgi most, P+R Sports Centre Stožice, and P+R Chengdujska.
Any parking questions can in theory be answered at any time of night or day on +386 1 257 47 80 or +386 31 772 926, and the official website is here.
Related: Tipping in Slovenia, Crossing the Croatian-Slovenian border - live webcams and avoiding Bregana
