Hi guys,

Today, I am going to show Nova Gorica (->map).

This city itself has about 15000 inhabitants and was created from scratch in 1947 after WWII.
The municipality of Nova Gorica has more than 33,000 inhabitants.

First of all, I have to explain a little bit of history so that you can understand.
The story begins in the neighbouring city of Gorizia (in Italy).
From the beginning of the 16th century to the end of WWII,
the former medieval County of Gorizia (or Görz in Austrian) was incorporated into the inner Austrian territories of the Habsbourg Monarchy.
Between 1918 and 1945, the city had been attached to the Italian territory when Austro-Hungaria ceased to exist.
After the fall of Mussolini in 1943, the city had been briefly occupied by the Germans untill 1945.
In 1947, the city was incorporated into to the new Republic of Italy.
After the border changed, Slovenes from the other side of the border (in former Yougoslavia) decided to create
a new city called “Nova Gorica” (meaning “New Gorizia” in Slovene).
Even now, in 2018, many slovenes living in this region do not say “Gorizia” but “Stara Gorica” (meaning “Old Gorizia”).
The bond between Gorizia and Nova Gorica is very strong.
A lot of Italians come in Nova Gorica and a lot of Slovenians go to Gorizia.
Many Slovenes have family members in Italy (cousins, grand parents, etc …).
There are still many Italians who speak fluent slovene, in and around the city of Gorizia.
They are the descendants of Slovenes who used to live there before WWI.
Back then, territories with Slovene speakers was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

I must confess that I was not a big fan of Nova Gorica.
I like to go there to run errands because there’s a huge shopping mall there.
In rural areas where we live (near Italy), the shopping mall of Nova Gorica is one of the biggest 50 km around.
An acquaintance of mine who lives in Ljubljana often told me how much he loved going to Nova Gorica.
I started to wonder if the city really was as boring as I thought.
I did my homework and I went to visit the city 4 times last month.
Instead of going there just to run errands, I took advantage of it to spend 1 or 2 more hours in the city to walk around.
And guess what …there are actualy a few nice places to visit and nice things to do in and around Nova Gorica.

The city is well known in Slovenia for its Casinos.
The biggest Casino of the city is Casino Perla.
It is also one of the biggest in Europe.
People go there to play, eat in one of the chic restaurant of the casinos and dance at the casino’s night club.
I like to “Caffè Dolce Vita”, on the ground floor of Casino Perla.
It is good to go there to have a thé/coffee with a slice of good cake.

200 meters away from Casino Perla, you’ll see the city hall of Nova Gorica.
It was one of the very first building in the city (1948-1953).
Next to the city hall, you’ll see the Slovenian National theatre  and the France Bevk Public Library.

The library is very big and has a very modern architecture.
I recommend you to go inside and have a look.
There’s often art expositions or events taking place there.
Last time I went there (in April), they played an excellent independent movie in a large room of the Library.
It talked about Bio-Agriculture and how to use seeds than are not genetically modified such as Monsanto‘s seeds.

If you have kids, there is a very nice kids’ playground just next to the public library.

Behind the city Hall of N.G, there’s a pretty good restaurant called Vrtnica.
It is a self-service restaurant where local people and workers like to go for lunch.
I like to go eat there because it not expensive and you can eat quite well for about 10 €.
The value for money is excellent.

In front of the city hall and the theatre, you’ll see a large green space.
On the grass, there are a few large stones with beautiful handcrafted designs.
There are a lot of sculptures  exposed outside, all around the city.
The art scene and the musical scene is very alive in Nova Gorica.
A lot of art expositions, concerts etc …

100 meters away from the city hall, you’ll see the tallest building of the city.
It is the Eda center. It is a administrative,commercial and business center.
There are even a couple of hundreds of students of the University of N.G attending class in this building.
The building was named after a famous Slovene flight pioneer called Edvar Rusjan (1886-1911).
His nickname was Eda and he named all the planes he flew and tested after his nickname (Eda I,…,Eda V,…, Eda VII).
In front of the building, there is a 10,5 meters monument in memory of Edvar Rusjan.
It represents Icarus from the greek mythology (with 2 white wings behind its back).

The Eda Center and the city hall are in heart of the city.
From there, if you go 400 meters around, you’ll see what is the most interesting.

The road called Erjavceva ulica just next to the Eda Center building goes in the direction of Gorizia.
If you walk or drive 1 km and you will arrive in Gorizia.

There is a football stadium in the city and a big swimming pool.
200 meters around the swimming pool (on Cankarjeva ulica/street), you’ll find many trendy restaurants/bars, cafés and fast foods.
This part of the city is very popular with students.

600 meters away from the city hall, you’ll find a shopping mall called QLandia.

I like to go there at least once every 2 weeks because I can find everything there (food, super market, clothes, cafés, pharmacy etc …).
Next to the shopping mall’s parking lot, you’ll find a Mac Donald.
That is the only Mac Donald in this region of Slovenia.
If you want to know how cheap or expensive life is in this part of Slovenia,
you can buy a Burger there and compare it with the price of the same burger in your country.
I can already tell you that a Big Mac menu cost 4,60 € (2,30 € just for the burger).
The same big Mac menu cost 8 € in Paris (4,80 € just for the Big Mac).
It speaks for itself !

If you are on holiday in this region and go run errands at QLandia,
look at the registration plates of the vehicules in the parking lot of the shopping mall.
You’ll notice that a lot of cars have italian licence plates.
Most of those cars belong to Italians living in Gorizia.
They do not just come in Slovenia because it is beautiful, they also come here because IT IS CHEAP.
If you are visiting the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia one day and you are not far from the Slovenian border (Gorizia, Sistiana, Duino) …
well, do not think twice if you need to run errands at the super market or fill up your car.
It is so much cheaper in Slovenia.

There are also nice places to visit in the suburbs of Nova Gorica.
There’s a beautiful castle in Kromberk (just 3 km away from N.G).
It cost just 4 € to go inside and there’s a beautiful garden around the castle.
There are also many of vinyards around and hills around the castle.
I went there in May 2018 and it was gorgeous

Still in the suburbs of Nova Gorica, you’ll find a little city called “Solkan“.
This little city has about 3,400 inhabitants and is located only 2 kilometers away from Nova Gorica.

I recommend you to go there to walk on the first bridge over the river and look at the Soča river from above
and the old arch Railway Bridge.

Not far from that bridge, there is Solkan Fun Park and the Kayak Club of Solkan.
If you have time, I recommend you to go have some funky good time at the Solkan Fun park.
I am pretty sure you’ll find a lot of activities at the Adrelaline Park to keep (and your family) entertained.

Not far from the Solkan bridge, there’s a stip road that leads to Sveta Gora.
If you spent a few day in the Goriška region, I highly recommend you to go there for 1 or 2 hours.
It is 681 meters above sea level.
You’ll have a great view over the valley of vipava, the Soča river, Nova Gorica, Gorizia and Šempeter.

Nature lovers … I did not forget you.
If you like walking, running or riding a bike in nature …
well, I highly recommend you to do just that in the Panovec Forest (in the suburbs of N.G).
It covers 380 Hectares … more than enough to have fun while breathing fresh air.

 

My tips for Nova Gorica:

1/ Visit the city center of Nova Gorica.
2/ Go have a drink in one of the bars in the city center.
3/ Go eat at the restaurant Vrtnica.
4/ Go have a tea/coffee and a cake at Caffè Dolce Vita.
5/ Have a good look at all the sculptures exposed outside in the city.
6/ Go run errands at the shopping mall QLandia.
7/ Go visit Gorizia, Sempeter, Sveta Gora and the Castle of Kromberk.
8/ Go walk on the Solkan Bridge and look at the Soča river and the Railway Bridge.
9/ Go have fun at Solkan Fun Park.
10/ Go have a drink at the Čolnarna Bar in Solkan.
11/ Go walk/jog/ride a bike in the Panovec Forest.
12/ Go visit to the Monastery of Kostanjevica.