Local shopping ideas

Eating quality fruit and vegetables is extremely important to health and wellbeing. The conserved and varied terrain of the surroundings of Radovljica offers healthy, seasonal produce throughout the year, particularly during summer and autumn, which has thrived in the natural conditions in the natural surroundings and is thus reflected in its quality. Despite the fact that similar produce is in abundance in shops throughout the year, identifying its quality is of key importance.

During your stay in Radovljica, take advantage and enjoy the full flavour of the range of local produce and products that are carefully produced and grown by our farmers, fruit and herb growers. Below we have put together some facts that attest to the advantages of locally produced food.

5 REASONS TO CHOOSE LOCAL PRODUCE:

• the short journey from field/orchard to plate ensures that produce ripens in the natural enviroment
• natural products from farms that use no flavour enhancers ensure the fullness of flavour
• buying from local producers helps to preserve the cultural landscape and tradition of farming
• shopping in small sales outlets helps support the local economy and individuals
• the reduced impact on the environment due to shorter supply routes and less packaging, preserves the balance in nature

WHERE TO BUY LOCAL PRODUCTS?

WEEKLY MARKETS

Farmers from the narrow and wider surroundings offer the produce and products for sale every Friday between 2pm and 5pm and every Saturday between 9am and 12pm in Lesce at the Farmers Markets in front of the KGZ Sava Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative (Rožna dolina 50, Lesce). In addition, food producers as well as artisans and antique dealers meet every first Saturday in the month at the Radol'ca Market, which takes place from 9am to 12noon in front of St. Peter's church in Linhart Square. In the event of bad weather the event takes place in Radovljica Manor. 

The products available to buy include dairy products, dried meat products, various types of flour, baked goods, liqueurs and juices, jams, herbs, fresh and dried fruit, fresh vegetables, honey and other products made from honey, as well as other organic produce.

LOCAL FARM SHOPS

Small, local farm shops stock a wide range of local produce and other products. The 18sedem3 farm shop is located at the entrance to the old town centre, and the Domaca trgovina farmshop is located on Cankarjeva ulica street. The Dobra Misel farm shop is situated in close proximity to the railway station in Lesce and has a wide range of organic and other specialist food. The Sava Agricultural Cooperative in Lesce stocks a range of fresh produce and other products, while dairy products can be purchased direct from the Dolenc Farm in Vrbnje.

FARMS

If you are staying in a village in the Radol'ca area, ask your accommodation provider, who is bound to give you the best information, where the nearest farm is where you can buy fresh milk, eggs, and in some places also fruit and vegetables. Of course, we can't guarantee that there will always be someone present to sell you their produce, but it's worth stopping to ask anyway. The Dolenc Farm in Vrbnje and the Pr Jernejc fruit growers in Hraše have their own small shops.

LOCAL SUPPLIERS

RADOVLJICA ARTISANS

In addition to local producers, artisans hold a special place in Radovljica. The town and its surroundings has long been a place of creative people and we can proudly confirm that it remains the case to this day. You can meet local creators, artists and artisans, who put their heart and soul and youthful enthusiasm into creating unique products, as well as local food producers, each month at the Radol'ca Market, where they showcase their unique jewellery, textile, ceramic, wooden and decorative products. Some of them also sell their goods in their own handicraft stores, which are located in the old town centre or in close proximity.

Click the links below to take a look at what's available:
Manufaktura (ceramics and ceramic products)
Krona  (fleece bags and other fashion accessories) 
Biseri (clay products)
Leseno (wooden products)
Manus (leather products)

Tourist Information Centre (wide range of local products and souvenirs

In a previous blog, we have already written about Radovljica's artisans and their unique products, which make ideal gifts for your nearest and dearest, which you can read here.

In the same way that buying local produce helps contribute to the local environment, as mentioned above, buying products from local artisans contributes a lot more than it may at first seem; in addition to creativity, also the existence and preservation of manual skills. This way of buying encourages ethical shops, as artisans are paid what they are worth for their expertise and time, while in exchange we get unique, quality and handmade products. We should aim to purchase with an awareness of the positive consequences of buying locally, which is incomparable in terms of buying similar products made in mass production systems from the other side of the world.

This guide was created as part of the ‘EKO Tastes of Slovenia’ project, run in cooperation with LAS, which is co-financed with the help of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe Invests in Rural Areas. The Radovljica Public Institute of Tourism and Culture is responsible for the content. The governing body appointed to implement the Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Slovenia for the period 2014-2020 is the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food. Source of funding: European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).