Goriška Brda region, known for its wines and olive trees, is situated between Soča Valley and Italian border. If you are coming from Slovenian side, crossing the famous Solkan bridge, you will notice that the landscape gets very different from the Soča region once you cross the bridge.
How to get there?
The easiest way to get to Goriška Brda is to cross Solkan bridge North of Nova Gorica. This train stone bridge with an arch span of 85 metres is connecting Nova Gorica with Bohinj valley, and even Venice with Vienna.
If you are more adventurous, you can also take mountain roads from Kobarid passing by 1st WW open air museums and you will end up in Goriška Brda.
Where to sleep?
Besides Nova Gorica, where there is a big selection of all sorts of accommodation facilities, you will find in Goriška Brda only small castles, private accommodation and tourist farms that offer accommodation and meals. Local producers offer wine and olive oil tastings as well as meals prepared by home grown and home made products.
Why visit Goriška Brda?
For its gastronomy, beautiful views and enjoyable walks among the cherry trees and vineyards. You will love wine tastings as well as olive oil tastings at the typical farm houses and their cellers. If you come in spring, do not miss amazing blossoming cherry trees and their cherry festival. And in autumn there is a famous St Martin feast (also in other wine regions of Slovenia) to celebrate the young wine.
Šmartno, medieval village in the middle of Goriška Brda
A former medieval military fortress is today a largly renovated village and one of the most beautiful cultural monuments in Slovenia. If you visit this part of Slovenia, do not miss Šmartno!
Probably built on Roman foundations, the village used to be fortified as an important settlement on the Venetian – Austrian border. The name of Šmartno comes from the St. Martin church, the biggest church in Goriška Brda with a bell tower that used to be once a fortification tower. The military character of the village started to change in 19th century, but the big renovations of the village started in 1970s.
You will absolutely love walking down the narrow streets admiring old and newly renovated buildings, small galeries, local shops, restaurants and the main St. Martin baroque church. A few hundred metres away you can climb 144 steps up to 23 m high Gonjače tower to enjoy the view of the Goriška Brda region. If the weather is nice you can even see the Trieste gulf looking South and the Julian Alps looking up North.
More information
For more information, visit Goriška Brda and Šmartno Tourist Information sites.