Lipica

Lipica (Italian: Lipizza) is a village in the Coast and Karst region of Slovenia. It is famous for the pure white Lipizzaner horses that have been bred in the area for 400 years.

Lipizzaners in training at the stud farm

The closest major towns or cities to Lipica are: Sežana (3 km), Trieste (Italy) (10 km) and Koper (10 km).

From within Slovenia head by car towards Sežana and Trieste (Italy) on the A3 highway. Take the Sežana exit and head south or take Divača exit from the A1 highway and head west. There are several signs that point the way.

From Trieste, Italy take any road towards Opicina or Bazovica. From Opicina follow signs for Sesana (Sežana) or Slovenia and then head south. From Bazovica follow signs for Slovenia. After crossing the border take the second left for Lipica. The journey from Trieste to Lipica by car is around 30 minutes.

There are several trains daily from Ljubljana (2-hour journey) and two per day from Opicina, Italy (10-minute journey) which stop at Divača. From Divača, Lipica is a gentle 20-minute walk.

Alternatively it is possible to take a municipal bus from Trieste (route 39) to Bazovica (about a 30-minute journey) and walk from there across the border to Lipica but the walk may take up to an hour and part of the walk may involve walking alongside a fairly busy road.

• Lipica Stud Farm, ☏ +386 5 7391 580, fax: +386 5 7391 730, info@lipica.org. Tu-Su. The farm was established in 1580, and is famous for breeding the Lipizzaner horses that were eventually used by the Habsburgs and the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Tours of the extensive grounds are available almost hourly from 09:00 - 18:00 from April to October and the Classical Riding School does a show April to October: Tu F Su at 15:00. €9 for a tour with guide only, €16 for the tour and show. 

• There is a casino on the grounds of the farm.
• The farm has developed several hiking trails that explains the history of the farm and shows off various features of the Karst landscape.

There is a gift shop near the main parking lot that has souvenirs for all things Lipizzaner as well as prints and crafts. More shops you can find in nearby Sežana.

• There is a restaurant as part of the hotel complex.
• If you're looking to get away from the farm, there are a number of small restaurants in the nearby city of Sežana and the village of Lokev.

• Hotel Maestoso at the main entrance to the farm has a number of single and double rooms. Rooms come with a TV and minibar and some have a balcony.

There are many hotels in the nearby city of Sežana if you don't find a free room in Lipica.

The following places are within easy reach of Lipica:

• Sežana is five minutes drive to the north.
• Divača and the Škocjan Caves are ten minutes drive to the east.
• Trieste is a short drive across the Italian border.
• Slovenia's coastal towns of Koper, Izola, Piran and Portorož are an hour away on the A1 highway.