Guides · 2 days · 5 stops · from Maribor
Two days in the east: the castle and the old town of Maribor, the hill castle of Ptuj above the oldest town in Slovenia, the lake below it, then the Pekel cave with its underground waterfall and the Counts' palace in Celje.
The whole guide becomes a trip, day by day, with road times from your town. Swap stops, change the start, download the GPX.
Maribor Castle is a castle in the centre of Maribor, Slovenia's second-largest city, in the Podravska region of the northeast. It stands at the edge of the old town and houses the regional museum, making it an easy stop on a walk through the city streets.
Ptuj Castle stands on a hill above the old town of Ptuj, one of the oldest towns in Slovenia, in the Podravska region. It houses a regional museum, and the castle terraces look out over the red rooftops and the Drava River. The walk up from the town centre is short, along a cobbled lane.
Lake Ptuj is a hydroelectric reservoir on the Drava River just upstream of Ptuj, in the Podravska region of northeastern Slovenia. Its open water and flat shores make it a calm place for a walk or bike ride along the embankments, with views back toward the old town. It is easy to combine with a visit to Ptuj itself.
Pekel, known in English as Hell Cave, is a karst cave in the Savinjska region of eastern Slovenia, in the hills near Žalec. It is one of the few show caves in this part of the country and makes a short underground stop on a day out in the Lower Savinja Valley.
The Ducal Court, known in Slovenian as Spodnji Celjski grad (Lower Celje Castle), is a palace in the town of Celje in the Savinjska region. It was the lowland residence of the Counts of Celje, complementing their hilltop Old Castle above the town. It lies in the old town centre, so it is easy to combine with a walk through Celje's historic streets.
Maribor and Ptuj castles are museums with regular hours; Ptuj closes on Mondays in winter. Ptuj lake is a flat walk or cycle loop. Pekel cave runs guided tours from spring to autumn — the inside stays at 10 °C. Celje is an hour from Ptuj by the motorway.
