Equrna Gallery (Galerija Equrna), Gregorčičeva 3, 01/436 69 57, Mon to Fri 10am to 7pm, Sat 10am to 1pm

A big blue banner on Gregorčičeva Street points the way to the small courtyard cabin where this pleasant private gallery resides. Founded by local artists back in 1984, Equrna showcases fresh, mainly Slovenian visual art, with new exhibitions every 4 weeks or so. Though the gallery focuses on contemporary painting in particular, its 300 square meters of space gives the curators plenty of room to maneuver.

Named after one of Slovenia's (and Ljubljana's) most famous early modern painters (as seen on 100 SIT), the Jakopič Gallery focuses on contemporary art and design. This vast underground exhibition space, which even incorporates some Roman ruins found during its excavation, has recently featured political posters, monastery furnishings and photographic nudes.

Municipal Gallery (Mestna galerija), Mestni trg 5, 01/241 17 70, Tues to Sat 10am to 7pm, Sun 10am to 1pm

A city-run gallery housed in one of the newer buildings in Ljubljana's Old Town. It features contemporary painting, sculpture, graphics, conceptual art and other types of work by mostly Slovenian artists, with several floors of exhibition space at its disposal, including a picture-window ground-floor gallery.

Municipal Museum of Ljubljana (Mestni muzej Ljubljana), Gosposka 15, 01/426 35 74, Tues to Sat 9am to 7pm, Sun 2pm to 6pm

The Municipal Museum is one of the most eclectic and worthwhile museums anywhere in town, but is now temporarily closed for renovation. Housed in an old Austro-Hungarian palace, it has been transformed in recent years from a dimly-lit museum with apparently no defined purpose into a wonderful multimedia experience for people of all ages, giving a clear and concise history of Ljubljana, from the early Roman settlements to modern times.

Museum of Modern Art (Moderna galerija), Cankarjeva 15, 01/251 41 06, Tues to Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun 10am to 1pm

Boasting Slovenia's biggest collection of modern and contemporary art, the museum has a vast permanent display showcasing major artists and movements from Late Impressionism to the "retro avant-gardism" of the 1980s. Housed in a custom-made building by Edo Ravnikar, Slovenia's leading socialist-era architect, it also features temporary shows highlighting new developments.

Museum of Modern History (Muzej novejše zgodovine), Celovška 23, 01/232 39 68, Tues to Sun 10am to 6pm

Housed in a nicely restored 18th century palace at the edge of Tivoli Park, the Museum of Modern History is one of Ljubljana's newest and most entertaining cultural institutions. Using lots of audio-visual effects and other resources, it gives visitors an idea of what it was like to live in Slovenia at various moments of the 20th century, from the beginning of WWI to the 1992 war of independence.

National Gallery (Narodna galerija), Cankarjeva 20, 01/241 54 34, Tues to Sun 10am to 6pm

Home to the largest visual arts collection in the land, the National Gallery is now two art museums in one. Its unrivalled display of Slovenian painting and sculpture from the Baroque era to late 19th century Impressionism, featuring the likes of Metzinger, Petkovšek, Jakopič and Kobilca, has long been on view. The gallery's newly-completed northern wing houses an impressive collection of old European masters, and may one day shelter the city's most famous fountain.

National Museum (Narodni muzej), Muzejska 1, 01/241 44 04, Tues to Sun 10am to 6 pm, Thurs till 8pm

A grand old building called the Rudolfinum is home to Ljubljana's oldest museum, founded in 1821. Featuring large permanent displays on archeology, ethnography and Slovenian history that include valuable findings from all over the land, the National Museum also puts on important temporary exhibitions. Highly educational, if a bit stuffy; but there's a nice, unkempt park out front in case you need a breather.

Natural History Museum (Prirodoslovni muzej), Muzejska 1, 01/241 09 40, Tues to Sun 10am to 6 pm, Thurs till 8pm

Located upstairs in the same palatial building that's home to the National Museum, visiting the Natural History Museum does almost give you the impression of wandering around in someone's attic. Though it has formidable resources at its disposal – the Zois mineral collection, Hohenwart's collection of mollusk shells and the Schmidt insect collection, plus lots of endemic animals and birds in skeletal and stuffed form – the displays are haphazard and poorly maintained.

Plečnik's House & Architectural Collection, Karunova 4, 01/283 50 67, Tues & Thurs 10am to 2pm

The master architect’s home - you can go right into his study and examine the models, drawings and tools he used. There is also a beautiful garden, now functioning as a gallery. Definitely worth a visit, but be sure to call first.

Slovenian Ethnographic Museum (Slovenski etnografski muzej), Metelkova 2, 01/432 54 03, Tues to Sun 10am to 6pm

The country's oldest institute of ethnology and Ljubljana's newest museum alike, SEM is housed in the old Yugoslav army barracks on Metelkova Street. In fact, the museum hasn't really settled in here yet, so for now there's just a small but very well-documented sample of its extensive collection (over 30,000 items, mostly from Slovenia) on display. There are also temporary exhibitions, which tend to feature the arts and crafts of other cultures.

Small Gallery (Mala galerija) Slovenska 35, 01/251 41 06, Tues to Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun 10am to 1pm

An offshoot of the Museum of Modern Art, the Small Gallery gives up-and-coming Slovenian and foreign artists the attention that larger institutions are unable or unwilling to provide. The gallery is not only small but also a little hard to find, since it's well hidden behind a wall of opaque glass like many another on Ljubljana's main drag.

ŠKUC Gallery (Galerija ŠKUC), Stari trg 21, 01/251 65 40, Tues to Sun noon to 8pm

For almost 30 years now, ŠKUC (short for Students' Culture and Arts Center, though the gallery is not a university affiliate) has been in the vanguard of independent cultural initiatives in Ljubljana. An avant-garde gallery provocatively situated in the city's most historical area, it features visual art and multimedia exhibitions by both prominent and up-and-coming national and international artists. There's also a helpful information center.

Technical Museum of Slovenia (Tehniški Muzej Slovenije), Bistra Castle near Vrhnika, Borovnica (22 km SW of Ljubljana), 01/750 44 22, Tues to Fri 8am to 4pm, Sat 8am to 5pm, Sun + holidays 10am to 6pm, Mondays closed

Housed in a former Carthusian monastery, the Technical Museum in Bistra near Vrhnika hosts an interesting collection encompassing transportation, agriculture, textiles, electricity, forestry, wood processing, and hunting and fishing. You can also visit a joiner’s workshop, a Venetian sawmill, a veneering workshop, a water-driven flour mill and a horse-driven capstan, or take a walk in the museum's landscaped park and enjoy the pleasant natural surroundings.

Tivoli Gallery, (Grad Tivoli), Pod turnom 3, 01/241 38 00. Open 11:00-18:00, Closed Mondays & Tuesdays

Also referred to as the International Center for Graphic Arts, Tivoli Gallery is part of the big white mansion in the heart of Tivoli Park. Inside you'll find specialized art shows and exhibitions by individual artists. The Gallery also serves as one of the major venues for the International Graphic Art's Biennial (June through Sep).