Ptuj Castle

Ptuj Castle sits on the hill over the Drava and the old town, and the regional museum inside it is better than its visitor numbers suggest — period interiors, a notable collection of Turkish and feudal-era objects, historical musical instruments, and the carnival masks of Kurentovanje. The kurent, a shaggy figure with a long tongue and cowbells, is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list, and the February carnival is the largest in Slovenia. The walk up from the old town is short and steep.