Kranjska Gora

A few kilometres west of the town a side valley ends at Planica, and what stands there is genuinely difficult to take in from the ground. Ski flying is not ski jumping — it is a separate discipline on a far larger structure, and this is the hill where the world's longest flights have repeatedly been made. Standing at the bottom and looking up at the in-run, then walking to the top and looking down, gives a much better sense of the distances involved than any broadcast ever has, and the slope is steep enough that the landing area falls away out of sight. The site operates year-round as a visitor attraction rather than only during competitions: there is a Nordic centre with a museum on the history of the sport, a chairlift and stairs to the top of the structure, a zipline that runs down the length of the jump, and a wind tunnel used for training that the public can fly in. In summer the same valley is a quiet dead-end walk with the hill above it and a mountain hut beyond. Even for people with no interest in the sport, it is one of the more memorable half-days in this part of Slovenia, precisely because the scale is so hard to anticipate.

From the edge of town the road turns south and begins to climb the Vršič Pass in a long series of numbered hairpin bends, twenty-four on the way up and more on the way down, reaching the highest road in Slovenia before dropping into the Soča valley. It is a spectacular drive and an even better cycle for those who can, and it is worth doing slowly with stops: there are viewpoints, a small Russian chapel built by the road's wartime construction workers and preserved as a monument, and mountain huts near the summit serving food to walkers and drivers alike. Several serious hiking routes into the heart of the Julian Alps begin from the pass, which effectively converts a two-hour drive into a trailhead at altitude. The essential planning fact is that the road closes in winter and often well into spring, and when it is shut the far side becomes a long way round rather than a morning — the transport guide covers what that does to an itinerary. On the other side, the Bovec guide picks up the valley the pass delivers you into, which is a completely different landscape reached in under two hours.

Ten minutes from the town centre on foot or by bike, a shallow pool of extraordinarily clear turquoise water sits in a marshy basin, fed from below by springs that bubble visibly through the fine white sediment on the bottom. This is Zelenci, protected as a nature reserve, one of the sources of the Sava and reached by a flat gravel path and a short boardwalk with a viewing platform — ten minutes of effort for something genuinely beautiful, and best in morning light. Closer in, Jasna is a pair of small artificial lakes at the mouth of the valley with a gravel beach, mountain reflections and a statue of a golden-horned mountain goat from local legend; it is where the town swims and picnics, and it is thoroughly pleasant rather than wild. The other summer institution is the cycle route: a paved path along the bed of a dismantled railway that runs down the valley and continues across the Italian border towards Tarvisio, almost entirely flat or gently downhill, with bike hire in town and shuttles back. For families this is the best thing in the municipality — a genuine long-distance cycle route that a child can manage, through alpine scenery and into another country over lunch.

The ski area rises straight out of the town, which is its real advantage: short transfers, a genuinely walkable resort, and slopes that suit beginners and intermediates better than experts. It hosts a men's World Cup slalom each season, which is worth either seeking out or avoiding depending on temperament, and cross-country skiing in the valley is extensive and well maintained. Snow reliability at this altitude is variable in the way it now is throughout the Alps, and the higher areas further west hold their season longer. Beyond skiing, the winter town is pleasant in a low-key way — short days, quiet streets outside the peak weeks and mountain huts open for lunch. The last thing worth knowing is where you actually are: a couple of hours' walk or a short drive brings you to the point where Slovenia, Italy and Austria meet, marked and reachable, and the three-country corner is a genuinely enjoyable objective for a half-day. Crossing in either direction is a matter of driving on, since all three are in the same border-free area, and a lunch in one country and a coffee in another is an ordinary afternoon here rather than an expedition.