We just spent 17 days in Slovenia and LOVED it !!! We're also history. buffs and foodies and cannot enthuse enough!! Virtually everyone we met spoke beautiful English (it is taught from the 3rd grade!) and were very friendly and helpful and the descriptions/audio-guides in the museums and other sites were also in English.
We took Go-Opti (a shuttle) from Marco Polo, spent 3 days in Ljubljana and then rented a car at the railroad station and drove all over, staying near Ptuj, Bled, Kobarid and Predjama). I would likely recommend that you lodge in several different places, as we did, , for different experiences (e.g., stay at a farm, a B&B), but - if you prefer only one place - Ljubljana is most central although it is far more expensive for lodging than anywhere else we stayed and you would need to be willing to spend a lot of time driving. And, although the main roads are fabulous, the more scenic and/or mountain roads take forever....
These is SO much to see and do - check the following -
Ljubljana - walking tour, public swimming pool ( It was HOT and the pool was fantastic), Tivoli Park, the Castle (with a time machine tour), Museum of Contemporary History
The East - Celje (one of the best museums we've seen - and we lived in Italy! - on Roman history). The museum has glass floors so you can peer into the ruins, tombs, walk on the roads - and learn a great deal about the areas conquered by Rome.. within an hour or so of Ljub.
note - although we spent several days in the East, visiting Ptuj, Maribor, etc, I would skip this area if time is limited - much more to see in the Karst/western areas - especially for children
'Bled - walk around the lake (or there is a nice public swimming area), hike or take the boat ride at Lake Behind, take a pletna boat to Bled castle
Drive from Bled, over the Vintgar Gorge, stopping at the Russian chapel, various WWI cemeteries, Kluze fortress, Ft Hermann
Kobarid - walk the 'Train of Peace' (a hiking train over a small mountain, where you can see where the Italians defended Kobarid in WWI), to the waterfall, go white water rafting (from Bovec or Kobarid) visit the Museum
Predjama - the Castle, Lipica stud farm (where the Lipizzaner horses are raised and trained), Pivka Park of Military History (one pf the best military hist. museums in Europe!), the Partisan Hospital in Cerkno (which cared for wounded partisans/allies in WWII - hidden in a forest), Indrija to tour mercury mine/Anthony's Shaft and the Municipal Museum (interesting info in mining) and Izola (a lovely beach town right on the Adriatic).
Enjoy!!!
