Maribor

This small city in Slovenia is full of wonderful attractions. The city is Slovenia's second largest with over 150,000 people and is the capital of the Lower Styria region. Maribor will be the European Capital of Culture in 2012 and will host in 2013 the XXVI Winter Universiade. The European Youth Forum has also said the city will be the European Youth Capital for 2012. Maribor is located in a strategic area since it is only an hour's drive to Ljubljana the country's capital, two hours from Budapest and two hours from Zagreb, the Croatian capital. The region is well known for its wine and has one of Europe's largest wine cellars. Maribor also hosts the oldest skiing competition in Europe for women. Maribor hosts the Lent-Festival one of the largest festivals held for Lent that lasts for two weeks. Another great attraction is visiting the home of the world's oldest grapevine that dates back over 440 years.