bridge
Solkan Bridge
The world's longest stone railway arch, an 85 m span of hewn limestone blocks: vaults the emerald Soča river just north of Nova Gorica, best admired from the riverside road below.
3 km · about 5 min drive
EuropeSloveniaUrban Municipality of Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica
Urban Municipality of Nova Gorica, Slovenia · Europe
About Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica is worth a stop: 10 minutes from Vrtojba, 28km from Tolmin Gorge.
Nova Gorica is in Urban Municipality of Nova Gorica, Slovenia, with about 13,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Vrtojba, about 5 km away.
Nova Gorica (pronounced [ˈnɔ̀ːʋa ɡɔˈɾìːtsa] ) is a town in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Nova Gorica.
Nova Gorica is a planned town, built according to the principles of modernist architecture after 1947, when the Paris Peace Treaty established a new border betweenRead more
Yugoslavia and Italy, leaving nearby Gorizia outside the borders of Yugoslavia and thus cutting off the Soča Valley, the Vipava Valley, the Gorizia Hills and the northwestern Karst Plateau from their traditional regional urban centre. It is the European Capital of Culture in 2025. Since 1948, Nova Gorica has replaced Gorizia as the principal urban center of the Gorizia region (Slovene: Goriška), as the northern part of the Slovenian Littoral has been traditionally called. Since May 2011, Nova Gorica has been joined with Gorizia and Šempeter-Vrtojba in a common trans-border metropolitan zone, administered by a joint administration board.
For 2025 Nova Gorica has won the European Capital of Culture title inviting the neighbouring Gorizia to the bid. The cultural project of two cities on the border attracted worldwide attention and was named by the BBC as Europe's first borderless Capital of Culture where two cities from two countries collaborate under one title European Capital of Culture Nova Gorica - Gorizia GO! 2025.
Where to Stay in Nova Gorica
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Nova Gorica?
Within an hour or so of Nova Gorica: Solkan Bridge (3 km), Tolmin Gorge (28 km), Miramare Castle (29 km), Soča Valley (33 km).
Are there any good drives near Nova Gorica?
The nearest famous roads are Predil Pass, Mangart Saddle Road and Vršič Pass.
Where is Nova Gorica?
Nova Gorica is in Urban Municipality of Nova Gorica, Slovenia, about 5 km from Vrtojba.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 13,031
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- Slovenia
- Region
- Urban Municipality of Nova Gorica
- Timezone
- Europe/Ljubljana
- Coordinates
- 45.9560, 13.6484
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in Slovenia
Motorway vignette required.
Full driving guide for SloveniaTags
Worth the detour from Nova Gorica
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
natural wonder
Tolmin Gorge
The lowest and most southerly entry point to Triglav National Park, featuring a dramatic thermal spring emerging from a cave in the gorge wall.
28 km · about 30 min drive
castle
Miramare Castle
White Habsburg castle built 1856-1860 for Archduke Maximilian on a promontory over the Gulf of Trieste, kept with original interiors and a 22-hectare park. The approach along the Strada Costiera is one of Italy's finest short coastal drives.
29 km · about 35 min drive
scenic viewpoint
Soča Valley
Valley of the turquoise Soca river below the Julian Alps, followed by a scenic road from Bovec through Kobarid to Tolmin.
33 km · about 40 min drive
restaurant
Hiša Franko
Ana Roš's three-Michelin-star farmhouse restaurant in Staro Selo outside Kobarid, cooking hyper-local Soča Valley ingredients: mountain cheese, river trout, foraged herbs. A pilgrimage-level food detour booked months ahead.
33 km · about 40 min drive
waterfall
Kozjak Waterfall
A 15 m waterfall near Kobarid that pours into an underground-feeling amphitheatre chamber, its emerald plunge pool lit by a single opening in the rock. An easy 30-minute walk from the parking by the Soča.
34 km · about 40 min drive
landmark
Lipica Stud Farm
The 16th-century birthplace of the elegant white Lipizzaner horses on the windswept Karst plateau.
37 km · about 40 min drive
waterfall
Savica Waterfall
Majestic 78-metre waterfall plunging from a cave mouth into a turquoise pool at the head of Lake Bohinj in the Julian Alps.
39 km · about 45 min drive
Driving roads near Nova Gorica
- Right hereSolkan BridgeThe world's longest stone railway arch, an 85 m span of hewn limestone blocks: vaults the emerald Soča river just north of Nova Gorica, best admired from the riverside road below.
- 33 kmSoča ValleyValley of the turquoise Soca river below the Julian Alps, followed by a scenic road from Bovec through Kobarid to Tolmin.
- 52 kmPredil PassA 1,156 m pass on the Slovenian-Italian border above Bovec, guarded by the ruined Predil fortress; its sweeping curves pair perfectly with the nearby Mangart and Vršič roads on a Julian Alps loop.
- 54 kmMangart Saddle RoadSlovenia's highest-reaching road at 2055m, a narrow single-track shelf road with no guardrails climbing to a dramatic saddle beneath the Mangart peak.
- 54 kmVršič PassSlovenia's highest pass at 1611m with 50 numbered cobblestone hairpins, built by Russian POWs in WWI and now a popular Julian Alps motorcycle route.
- 54 kmMangart SaddleThe end of Slovenia's highest road at 2,072 m, a narrow single-track climb with tunnels cut through rock spurs and a huge Julian Alps view.
Driving in Slovenia
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.55/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
- Vignette
- Required, around €16 for a short-stay sticker
When to drive here
April to October
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