If you love a pint after a long day of sightseeing then this city break is a must-visit for autumn. Its self-serve beer fountain means you can try beers from across the region for just a few Euros
The town is just 90 minutes from Ljubljana by train(Image: Getty Images/RooM RF)
After a long day of exploring a new destination, the highlight of a city break for many of us is sitting in the town square, enjoying a nice cold pint of local, reasonably-priced beer.
And if you visit a small, but charming Slovenian town, you can not only order a pint, but pour your own from a ‘beer fountain’ that offers a variety of local brews to sample.
Žalec in the Lower Savinja Valley is a town that’s beer-obsessed. Even its coat of arms features a beer hop. The region is known as the Valley of Green Gold, named for the color of hops as they ripen in the sun, and it has 150 years of beer-making experience.
Next to Žalec’s marketplace lies the Green Gold Fountain, a unique attraction composed of a variety of shiny silver beer taps. Visitors buy a small glass for €12, just over £10, which pays for the souvenir glass plus six 100ml tastings of various local beers. The cups come with a chip, which is scanned by the fountain, so you can serve yourself.
The fountain opened in March and is set to run through October, so visitors can make the most of the crisp autumn weather while they sample local beers. The 150-year anniversary means there will be a larger variety of ales this year, with 34 craft beers from 25 Slovenian breweries expected to be on tap.
Alex Dyer, a managing director at Ski Famille, highlighted the unusual spot. He said: “The fountain is memorable enough to be one part of the day without making beer the whole purpose of a family visit. I think parents will enjoy the stop more when younger travellers have something of their own to look forward to nearby, because that keeps the day balanced rather than leaving anyone waiting around.”
The town’s visitors can also follow an official tourist route called the Path from Hops to Beer, which is just over 3-miles long, taking in a Roman necropolis and caves along the way. Once you’re back in town, the Eco-Museum of Hop-Growing and Brewing Industry is an interactive way to learn about the town’s proud heritage.
Visitors from the UK can fly from London, Manchester, or Edinburgh to Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, which takes just two hours and 20 minutes, making it perfect for a short weekend break. EasyJet has flights in October to Ljubljana from £45.99 one-way.
Žalec is less than an hour from the capital by car, taking you down some seriously steep mountain roads and through the untouched Slovenian countryside. But a more relaxed alternative is the 90-minute train ride, which runs along the River Sava in parts, taking you past charming traditional villages as you head to beer country.
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