There are numerous guidebooks for practically every country on the planet, and Slovenia is no exception

The new Lonely Planet Slovenia provides just what we have come to expect from the Lonely Planet franchise: an excellent, thorough, up-to-date and hip tourist guide to Slovenia. It includes just about everything that the average and not-so-average tourist needs about the country: from historical information about Slovenia's emergence as an independent country and its entry into the European Union, to hotel prices and locations, to the gay and lesbian scene in Ljubljana. Not only the capital, but also the rest of country is introduced to the newcomer in a clear, lively and complete fashion. The guide includes such useful items as a glossary of important expressions, advice on how to get to and from destinations, and a quick rundown of Slovenia’s cuisine. If your budget will only permit you one guidebook, the most recent Lonely Planet Slovenia should be the one!

If Lonely Planet is the sleek sports car of Slovenian guidebooks, then Slovenia: The Tourist Guide is the Rolls Royce. It is solid sized (though not too hefty to lug around), pricey and timeless. It includes 1,200 color pictures, 24 chapters on various regions, 34 floor plans to churches and castles and descriptions of some 700 settlements. What you won't get is an up-to-date listing of restaurants and hotels (such as Celica, the trendy youth hostel at Metelkova City). The book, written by a roster of well-regarded Slovene culturati and academics and translated into English, will provide the more inquiring tourist or resident with an excellent survey of cultural, natural and historical Slovenia. If you're planning to stay in Slovenia for a longer period – perhaps even to take up residence here – this book, along with a variety of other excellent and lovely coffee table books (i.e., Treasures of Slovenia, Slovenian Vineyard, etc.) that are not described here – might be a good investment.

The Slovenia – Sunflower Landscapes guide may be specifically tailored to the mature British tourist that one often spots wandering the byways of Bled and other Gorenjska settlements. All the same, it may also be perfectly tailored for the lovely and as yet relatively uncluttered landscape of Slovenia. It provides information not about typical tourist attractions, but rather about bucolic walks, idyllic picnic spots and scenic car tours. While Sunflower is not hot off the press, these locations don't change – thank heaven! – nearly as fast as downtown Ljubljana, so if you're interested in the abundant pastoral possibilities offered by Slovenia, this may be the guide for you.

This slender and attractive book is suitable for the connoisseur of architecture as well as for ordinary tourists who yearn for a slightly different approach to their destination. For what better way to get to know a city than through its most important buildings? The book includes an interesting history of architecture, hundreds of stunning color photographs, and individualized descriptions of landmark buildings from a period covering nearly a thousand years. The book will guide you off the beaten tourist track to a number of significant structures not described in standard guidebooks: private homes designed by Slovenia’s most renowned modern architects; churches, theatres, government offices and schools; industrial and apartment buildings erected in socialist times; the new and sometimes controversial structures that mark the city’s entry into the postmodern period of architecture; and, of course, the more widely acclaimed Baroque and Secessionist buildings in the city center.

This uniquely designed book is not a guidebook that you can carry around in your rucksack. The book is quite literally constructed as a perfect circle, with each of its five sections (Cultural Heritage, Literary Arts, Visual Arts, Music & Dance, Theatre & Film) occupying one slice of this pie-like book. Each of the five sections has roughly fifty entries that present information about the institutions, festivals, personalities, awards and important achievements in each of the respective fields. Quite apart from the clever design, the Slovenian Circle of Culture provides information not readily available in other formats. It would be suitable for the specialist (in dance or literature or film) who comes to Slovenia and would like a quick overview of the country’s activities in his or her specific field, as well as for the more curious visitor interested in the behind-the-scenes story of what makes Slovenia’s cultural life tick.