Who designed the market's riverside colonnade?

Jože Plečnik, the architect behind much of central Ljubljana's look, built the covered colonnade along the river between 1940 and 1944 specifically to shelter the market stalls – it's now known locally as Plečnik's Market.

What is kranjska klobasa?

Carniolan sausage, Slovenia's signature sausage, traditionally eaten with sauerkraut or simply with mustard and bread – a near-mandatory stop on any Slovenian food tour.

A rolled dumpling dish, served sweet or savoury depending on the filling, sold from stalls under Plečnik's arcades and considered one of Slovenia's defining comfort foods.

Is there a weekly food market in Ljubljana?

Yes – Pogačarjev trg square hosts an open-air food market most Fridays from mid-March to the end of October, where chefs from restaurants across Slovenia cook dishes in the open air.

Is a guided food tour worth it over eating around the city independently?

A guide's real value is context – which stall to trust, what a dish is actually called, and how it fits into Slovenian food culture – rather than just picking somewhere at random and hoping it's representative.

Ljubljana food tour – market & tastings

Q: What is Ljubljana's Central Market?

An open-air and covered market stretching along the Ljubljanica River between the Triple Bridge and the Dragon Bridge, split across Vodnikov trg and Pogačarjev trg squares, selling cured meats, fresh bread, local cheeses, and dried fruit and nuts.

Ljubljana's food scene centres on its Central Market, a stretch of open-air stalls and a Plečnik-designed riverside colonnade where a guided tour turns unfamiliar Slovenian dishes into something you can actually name and order again later.

A market built by the city's own architect

The Central Market runs along the Ljubljanica River between the Triple Bridge and the Dragon Bridge, split across Vodnikov trg and Pogačarjev trg squares, selling cured meats, fresh bread, local cheeses, dried fruit and nuts alongside a fish market on the lower level. Its most distinctive feature is the covered colonnade built by Jože Plečnik – the architect responsible for much of the rest of the city's Art Nouveau-adjacent look – between 1940 and 1944, purpose-built to shelter the stalls and now known locally as Plečnik's Market. From mid-March to the end of October, Pogačarjev trg also hosts an open-air food market most Fridays, where chefs from restaurants across Slovenia cook in the open air rather than in their own kitchens.

What actually gets tasted

A tour built around the market usually works through Slovenia's core dishes rather than a random sampling: kranjska klobasa, the country's signature Carniolan sausage, traditionally served with sauerkraut or just mustard and bread; štruklji, a rolled dumpling served sweet or savoury and sold from stalls under Plečnik's own arcades; and a run of cured meats, cheeses and pastries picked up stall by stall rather than at a single sit-down meal.

Booking

A guided walking tour with tastings covers the market and Old Town with a local guide explaining each stop, and is a well-reviewed, frequently sold-out option worth booking a day or two ahead. Pair it with the Ljubljana walking tour if you want the city's history alongside its food, or Ljubljana Castle for the view over the market from above.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

A walk through the Central Market and Old Town with tastings along the way – typically cured meats, cheeses, bread and a few sit-down stops, guided by someone who explains where each dish fits into Slovenian tradition rather than just handing over samples.

Image: Benreis via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)