Things to do
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Celje Cathedral
Stone tracery in the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows is the draw inside St Daniel's, the Gothic parish church that became a cathedral. Carved window frames and a delicate vaulted ceiling make the chapel one of the richest pieces of Gothic stonework in the region. It stands on Slomškov trg at the centre, and a visit takes half an hour.
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Ducal Court
Underground in this Renaissance court, the remains of a Roman street from Celeia sit beneath a glass floor, part of a regional museum exhibition on the town from antiquity to the Counts of Celje. The upper floors cover the counts themselves and the medieval town. Allow an hour; it stands on the old square, a short walk from the station.
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Old Castle
From its crag above the Savinja, the largest castle complex in Slovenia looks down on the town and the river gorge. Walls, courtyards and Frederick's Tower can be explored freely, and the tower top has the widest view. The walk up from town takes about 45 minutes on a forest path; a road also climbs to a car park below the gate.
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Roman Necropolis, Šempeter
Eleven kilometres west of Celje, in the village of Šempeter v Savinjski dolini, a walled park holds reconstructed Roman family tombs in white marble, carved with portraits and mythological scenes. The monuments were found in the fields in the 1950s. The site is open in the warmer months, usually spring to autumn, and a guided walk takes under an hour.
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Žovnek Castle
Ruined walls on a wooded rise above a small reservoir near Braslovče mark the family seat where the lords who later became the Counts of Celje began. Restoration has consolidated the walls and a tower, and summer events bring the courtyard back into use. It lies about half an hour's drive west of Celje; the lake path below makes a pleasant loop.