Nova Gorica is a young city by European standards, built after 1947 when the old town of Gorizia was assigned to Italy and Yugoslavia needed a new settlement on its side of the border. The result is a planned modernist city of broad avenues and socialist-era architecture, pressed right up against the Italian border — you can literally step from one country to the other across Europe Square (Trg Evrope), which the two cities now share.
The city itself is not conventionally beautiful, but its setting in the Vipava Valley is lovely, with vineyards climbing the hillsides and the Julian Alps visible to the north. The main draw for visitors is the surrounding wine country — the Goriska Brda hills just to the west produce some of Slovenia's finest whites, particularly rebula and pinot grigio, and the wineries are easy to visit by car or bicycle. The Solkan Bridge, a short walk upstream, is the world's longest stone-arched railway bridge and worth seeing. The restored WWI battlefields on Mount Sabotin above town are an excellent half-day walk, and Kromberk Castle houses the regional museum.
Nova Gorica and Gorizia were jointly named European Capital of Culture in 2025, which brought new cultural infrastructure and cross-border programmes to what had long been a quiet border town.