Nova Gorica is well placed for excursions across western Slovenia and into northern Italy. The Vipava Valley unfolds south-east; the Soca Valley begins just north; and Italian Friuli is across the border.
The Soca Valley's emerald rapids around Bovec and the alpine meadows of the Julian Alps are an hour by car. Closer in, the Vipava Valley villages and the wine route through Goriska Brda make easy half-days. The dramatic Postojna and Skocjan cave systems are about an hour south on the motorway, and Trieste — with its grand seafront cafes and Hapsburg-era architecture — is forty minutes by car or a couple of buses by public transport.