Ptuj

Slovenia's oldest town, with a red-roofed old town on the Drava River and a hilltop castle, most famous for its Roman Mithraeum, ancient wine cellars, and the Kurentovanje carnival.

Ptuj lies in the Styria region of northeastern Slovenia, on the north bank of the Drava River, about 30 km from Maribor, the second-largest city. It is the oldest recorded town in Slovenia, originally the Roman city of Poetovio. The old town is compact, with red-tiled roofs stretching from the riverbank up to Castle Hill, and it can be explored entirely on foot. On Castle Hill, the Castle Museum holds musical instruments, weapons, and Kurent masks. At the foot of the hill, Slovenska Square has the Town Tower, the Roman tombstone of Orpheus, and St. George's Church. By the river are the Dominican Monastery and the Minorite Monastery, and beneath the old town lies the Ptuj Wine Cellar, which has nearly 800 years of history. Across the river, Ptuj Spa is one of the country's best-known thermal resorts, and to the east is Lake Ptuj. On the outskirts, you can visit the Marian pilgrimage church on Ptujska Gora and Borl Castle, or head to the wine country of the Haloze Hills. The climate is temperate continental. May–September is the most comfortable, and September–October is grape harvest season. Every February, the Kurentovanje carnival, the country's largest folk festival, is inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Transport: from Ljubljana, take a train for about 2–2.5 hours, or from Maribor, about 30 minutes; from Graz, it is about 1 hour by car. Plan to stay 1–2 days, which can be combined with a visit to Maribor.

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