old Gorica, Gorica & new Gorica!
Let's keep things as monkey simple as poss here.. There is a town on both sides of a border that doesn't exist any more between Italy and Slovenia, (cos both countries are in the Schengen agreement)..
The Italians refer to the pretty bit which used to be in Slovenia AND is now on the new Italian side as Gorica, (or Goricia) but the Slovenians call it Old Gorica..
And the other bit on the new Slovenian side of the "border that doesn't exist anymore", but still snakes and zig zags between the two countries in the middle of the "two towns", is referred to by everyone else in the world as New Gorica, (Nova Gorica), but the Slovenians generally call it Gorica!
We are glad to have cleared all this up for you, so now we can tell you all about the incredible history and sensational geographical location you might be totally missing out on, if you don't make time to explore this way!
And for 2025 these twin towns have been named European Capitals of Culture, which might have drawn your attention to little Old Slovenia in the first place, which is no bad thing for sure!
The current raison d'etre for these two very contrasting towns on either side of a paper border is that after WW2, Italy, shall we say, permanently "borrowed" Old Gorica from Slovenia..
And Slovenia was now trapped inside the new socialist state of Yugoslavia.. so they pretty much had to build a new town on the Tito side of the line..
There is no river, no mountain or logical line to draw a border along here directly between the two towns, just a very wiggly, wonky line hatched up by a bunch of old, white men, probably with big bushy moustaches too..
Probubbly the most striking thing to note and observe when visiting these two unidentical twins is that the pretty town of Gorica looks as if nothing at all has been done to alter it's beauty..
Whilst in the East, a quite frankly, ugly, new, sprawling socialist metropolis was created where, nowadays.. bright colours have been painted over the dull communist concrete blocks..
Modern casinos, (including the largest gambling house in Europe), were also sprinkled around this new carbunkle to entice lucky feeling Italians over that paper border.
Nevertheless, Nova Gorica is still sprinkled with a bit of the same special magic dust that any other unique corner of Green Slovenia has and no other country in Europe can claim..
In this particular corner of Slovenia, the hot Mediterranean climate, Terracotta tiles and palm trees will betray your senses and force you to pinch yourself as a reminder that you ARE actually in Slovenia, not Italy.. Fantastic!
And you get that same wierd feeling of pleasant confusion tinged with the satisfaction of being in the most geographically diverse country in Europe in every other corner of Slovenia.. and there are a lot of corners here!
Whatever you want to call them both, Goricia, Gorizia, Nova Goriza, New Gorica, but let us stick with Gorica for now.. it is a little place in the world where the nonsense of war & politics and the confusing, very temporary borders shifted by the sands of time are exposed to the base paint, but where you will see two very different peoples of Europe sipping capuccinos and living side by side, with visitors never being exactly sure which language they will get spoken to in and sometimes which country they are in!!
Perhaps the most intriguing and magical experience you will get here in this mini Berlin where East met West, (that looks nothing like Berlin, by the way) is that everywhere you go here in either town as a visitor you can never be completely sure which country you are in, particularly if you try to drive the maze of American grid style blocks now punctuated with the British style roundabouts, where locals still don't really seem to get the rules!
For these reasons it is a perfect poster boy for Europe.. So if it pays for a few more trees & flowers in the side streets and some more cultural events in the squares & piazzas then that must be a good thing too!
So Why should I Visit Gorica, Nova Gorica or both?
Well, of course you should visit both, but there are a lot of other fantastic secret places to visit in Green Slovenia too..
Gorica's geographical position, just 35 mins from the Lodge, tucked away neatly at the foot of the Soca River and top of the Vipava Valley in a beautiful far western corner of Slovenia is yet another paradox.. It is in fact, the primary reason why you WILL probabubbly NOT visit here and this is not entirely your fault..
You will almost certainly have allocated way too little time to visit the most beautiful country in Europe and you will also very probably navigate the well trodden standard tourist trail from Bled to Ljubblyljana to the Postojna cave to the Piran.. all stunning and unmissabubble, but nevertheless the reason you will miss out on Gorica.. and if you miss Gorica, you will miss the unmissable Soca river too!!
Being a European Capital of Culture will inevitabubbly get this stunning corner of Slovenia more attention and like we have said before in this article, that must be a good thing!
We love both Goricas in their own way.. We get our car serviced there and use the bigger stores from time to time, also stopping off in some of the really nice restaurants we know there in & around..
But we are also passing through or by Gorica so often getting to other Secret Places that we will explain why it is also such an important logistical pin..
We are foreigners here, just like you and so we thought you might be interested to know a little more about these two towns stuck together with sticky tape and the other amazing secret places around here that you could combine into one fantastic daytrip..
We will start with what you can mix into your day out and then focus on a few special features of Gorica and Old Gorica too..
Gorica's position is nothing short of sensational.. it is highly unlikely you will actually stay here, you do not need to, but you should certainly drive through and maybe stop off, once you know a little more.
We positioned our Lodge between the mountains and the sea on the edge of the Mediterranean to reach all those well publicised places easily, but we also recognised how critical it was to be only a short 30 min zip up the Vipava valley directly to Gorica, so our guests could also easily reach the Soca river the Gorica Wine Hills, North Italy and the Alps.
Gorica is the gateway to all these delights and sits in a critical position on top of the uberstunning Vipava wine valley and exactly at the point where the most beautiful river in Europe, the Soca, completes her Slovenian journey and becomes the Izonso, flowing off into the Adriatic sea.
Like we said, this is a corner of Slovenia you will miss at your peril, but if you follow the crowd and "do" Green Slovenia the traditional way with your eyes firmly fixed to your phone in your hand, then this is exactly what will happen to you too!
Cross the river from Gorica with a view of the longest stone arch bridge in the world and you will also go back in time to another of Slovenia's 7 wine regions, called Goriska Brda, or the Gorica Hills, with stunning hill top villages and probably the best cherries and wine in Slovenia and this is saying something indeed!
DO NOT make the mistake to think Slovenia's 7 wine regions are all the same.. they are NOT, in fact they are all completely different, some Mediterranean, some central European, some get snow some do not, but each one produces at least one completely unique world wine!
The Gorica Wine hills (the tiny BRDA wine region) is no exception and specialises in Rebula and Sauvaignesse (Tokaj) wine.
It is like arriving at a secret island when you cross the Soca river from Gorica and you might be reminded of a particular favourite French wine region, with fantastic restaurants, secret walks and road signs suddenly appearing by the side of the road for Slovenia.. which means you have unknowingly, but perfectly legally driven into Italy along this border more complicated than a plate of spaghetti!
You could easily do a loop from Gorica into the Gorica BRDA wine hills to explore and then pop back over another Soca bridge near Kanal to head up the Soca river or back towards the Vipava valley and the Lodge. (Kanal is exactly an hour from the Lodge)!
Or you could just go directly from Gorica up the lower Soca valley to join the Upper Soca valley in a fantastic day trip and get to the sunny side of the Alps that are so tricky to go visit from Bled or Ljubljana.
It is not far up the river to the beautiful towns of Tolmin, Kobarid and Bovec.. it gets more & more Alpiney and you can reach the best waterfalls and gorges in Green Slovenia as part of a spectacular easy & relaxed daytrip from the Lodge..
You simply CANNOT miss at least a glimpse of the Soca river during your Green Slovenian adventures, but so many visitors actually do.. unforgiveabubble!
And not far outside Nova Gorizia at the top end of the 40km long Vipava valley is another completely different castle to go visit in the nearby village of Kromberk.
Kromberk Castello is not the kind of castle you might expect to find in Slovenia, but is typical of the immense stock and variety of different castles here from all ages and in all shapes & sizes.. this one oozes Italian rennaisance.. it sits inside a beautiful little garden park with clipped bushes all nestled under green hills lined with vineyards.
Inside the castello there is a rare and chilling exhibition of how the Italian occupation of Slovenia between the two world wars may have actually felt for the local Slovenian population.
There is also a very, very nice restaurant in the Castle itself serving some of the best & imaginative fish options available in Slovenia.. don't miss it.
Whilst Gorica is not geographically in the Vipava valley, it is pretty much the main town serving the Upper Vipava Valley and you could spend the whole day up here too, exploring secret waterfalls,Vipava vineyards, another stunning castle, Rihemberk, with the highest castle tower in Slovenia and other fantastic little local restaurants..
Maybe you will use Gorica as a base to go biking or E biking for the day along the Soca river cycle path that leaves Nova Gorizia up to the picturesque village of Kanal or drive up directly into the hills surroung Gorica, hugging the river to find little churches, viewpoints and sadly, lots of evidence of the worst mountain battle of all time, the WW1 Izonso front, fought in those mountains above Gorica.
OK you got me, there is a Lot of Choice, but why would I hang out in Gorica 1 & 2, A & B, Nova & Old?
The first big thing you will spot when entering Slovenian Gorica is the beautiful old castle flying the Italian flag high up on top of the hill.. in Italy!
Nova Gorica in Slovenia..
Now French people especially, please pay special attention now cos you might need to sit down before reading this.. but incredibly, Nova Gorizia is the resting place of the very last French King Charles X, mais oui! We are met with a mixture of gallic shrugs and curious indifference when we tell our many lovely French visitors about this uncomfortable fact, but fact it is!
So on the Slovenian side of the town, you should also look up to the skies and gravitate up to a quiet little white monastery on top of a hill, which is unbelievably, the final resting place of the last French king, booted out by his subjects in 1830 and doing the royal version of "sofa surfing" around Europe until he ended up here in little old Slovenia!
This majestic Franciscan monastery was renamed "Little St Denis" in 1836 when the last Bourbon king died and is a fitting resting place for a monarch, unwanted or not.
Indeed the rest of his family were also laid to rest here in later years in a beautiful white marble Crypt that you can visit today. It contains the very last Bourbon claimant to the French throne, Henry V, entombed in1883.
(In a little joke restricted to British biscuit eaters, there are more Bourbons here than in a packet of biscuits)!
Make sure you check the timetable to visit as the monastery is still looked after by shy Monks with strict, but generous visiting times. Kostanjevica church or Little St Denis has really fantastic views, this time across to Old Gorica. This monastery will surprise you..
In fact it has the best views in the twin town.. From one side of the car park you can look out over Nova Gorizia to the Slovenian Julian Alps, then in just 10 seconds, dash over to the other side of the car park, (depending on how quick you can run), you will see the other town of Italian Gorica and the green flatland regions of Veneto & Friuli regions with Prosecco!
Old Gorica in Italy..
If you want to get the feel of Old Goricia and sip a real Italian cappucino in Italy, then just walk or drive over the border and we recommend visiting the castle..
There is a very handy little free car park in via Giorgio Bombi at the start of a pedestrian tunnel that cuts under the hill the castle sits on top of and pops out in the main piazza.. Bellisimo!
If you can find that car park, so go under a long pedestrian tunnel leading from the main Italian square and then walk up through a botanical garden kind of stairway packed with palm trees and beautiful flowers.
If not there is plenty of street parking in the centre of Old Gorica or a small car park at the castle itself, so drive up the hill directly to the castle, but very nice to walk up there if you can.
The castle is really worth a visit, not only for the commanding views across the hills & mountains of 2 countries & the old town, but inside there are lots of little nooks & crannies and a fabulous completely wooden room at the top. If you like medieval musical instruments then this is the place to come as there is a banqueting hall stuffed full of lutes and all manner of instruments.
Old Gorica is not huge and has cute, tight little streets with cafes dotted on corners, so a few hours spent here could easily be the unexpected Italian part of your Slovenian adventures!
We encourage you to wander around and find your way to the central piazza, which is the heartbeat of the little town and typically stacked with pretty buildings and lots of opportunites to enjoy a coffee and a gelato!
It appears the EU really wants you to discover the twin towns of Gorica and Nova Gorizia and so do we, but we also really wanted to get over in this article just how close all this is to the Lodge and how you could easily gravitate around here as part of a most unexpected daytrip combining your choice of so many other unexpected secret Slovenian places!
Maybe you will straddle the wiggly border dividing the two towns to find those Checkpoint Charlie moments or take your opportunity to pop into Italy for 5 minutes or longer.. you won't need your passport, but you will need a phone and a map!
French Connection en Slovenie
