Radovljica

Radovljica is the best-preserved medieval town in the Gorenjska region — and the only town in Slovenia that still has its defensive moat. The historic core on a rocky promontory above the Sava is essentially one glorious square: Linhart Square, named after Anton Tomaž Linhart, the father of Slovenian drama who was born here, lined with burgher houses bearing frescoes and Gothic portals, among them the famous 16th-century Šivec House.

Radovljica is also the capital of Slovenian beekeeping. The Baroque Thurn Manor houses the Museum of Apiculture with a globally unique collection of painted beehive panels — small wooden picture-stories on which peasant painters spent two centuries depicting devils sharpening women’s tongues and hunters being buried by animals. The Carniolan grey bee, native to these parts, is today one of the world’s most prized breeds.

The town’s sweetest tradition is lect gingerbread: a honey-dough heart decorated with a tiny mirror and verses served for centuries as the Gorenjska love letter. A young man gave it to his sweetheart, and the mirror was to show her whom to think of. At the Lectar workshop, hearts are still made to a 250-year-old recipe — and visitors can paint their own.