Nova Gorica · at the railway station, on the border with Italy
6 days to the opening
Staymad.
A café, bike hub and culture venue in the EPIC café at Nova Gorica station. Where culture gets active. Coffee before the ride, a glass after it.
- Opens
- Wednesday 4 November 2026, 18:00during the GO! 2025 light projections on Europe Square
- Hours
- 07:00–22:00, dailyfrom 4 November
- Where
- EPIC, Kolodvorska pot 10, Nova Goricaon the square shared with Gorizia · map
The opening week, 4–7 November.
From the official opening during the GO! 2025 light projections to St. Martin's wine festival. Come for one evening or all four.
- Wednesday4 Nov
Official opening
The EPIC café reopens as Mad Station. During the GO! 2025 outdoor art and light projections on Europe Square. The first coffee, the first Last Train.
18:00
- Thursday5 Nov
Cycling and culture
An open workshop on cycling and culture in a border town. Guest to be announced.
Time to be announced
- Friday6 Nov
One year of the EPIC café
The EPIC café first opened on 28 August 2025, in the Capital of Culture year. We celebrate the anniversary late, and properly.
Time to be announced
- Saturday7 Nov
St. Martin's
New wine, old habit. The St. Martin's wine festival, the same weekend Cantine Aperte opens the cellars across the border.
Time to be announced
Two towns, one playground.
- Square
- Trg Evrope / Piazza Transalpina. Slovenia on one side, Italy on the other, no gate between.
- Station
- Since 1906, a station between Vienna and the sea. The Bohinj railway's trains from Jesenice end here.
- Giro
- A 2025 stage finished in front of the door.
- In Slovenian
- Nora postaja.
Nova Gorica and Gorizia are one town split by a border. Together they were European Capital of Culture in 2025, the same year the Giro d'Italia finished a stage here. Two countries, two languages and country roads for anyone who rides, runs or hikes.
Everyone knows cyclists love coffee.
Now the cycling region between the Alps and the Adriatic has a coffee stop built for them. Mad Station sits at the Nova Gorica railway station, on the square shared with Gorizia, on the Bohinj railway line that has climbed into the Julian Alps for 120 years.
It's the place to fuel up before a ride, refuel after one, and meet people who are just as mad about the outdoors as you are. A warm living room at the station, not a sports bar: the cycling shows in the details. The route map on the wall, the Giro finish photo, the Fuel Stop shelf, the papers of four languages on wooden holders, and the big covered terrace for the evenings.
What you'll find here.
From 4 November, unless marked
Café
Coronini house coffee, breakfast, energy snacks, and local wine in the evening.
Cycling hub
Trans Dinarica, the Alpina Mediterranean route and the Soča/Isonzo route start, end or pass at the door. A route map on the wall, the Fuel Stop shelf, and the home base of the TCS mountain-bike team.
Reading corner
Slow news at a fast station. Papers in Slovenian, Italian, German and English on wooden holders, a few cycling and culture magazines, a swap shelf.
Culture
Talks and evenings on the town's Central European past, in the café and on the covered terrace. The Run & Ride party once a month from April.
Run & Ride
A ride, a run and a party on the first Friday of every month, April to November 2027. The dates.
Bike rentalSpring 2027
A small fleet to hire: e-gravel, e-bikes, a road bike, one for kids. GPS with the routes preloaded, delivery to Gorizia, Trieste Airport and the Brda hotels.
Seven rides from the door.
Vineyards one way, the Alps the other, the Adriatic in view from the first climb. Seven of our favourites, drawn along the roads; the big routes, Trans Dinarica, Alpina Mediterranean and Soča/Isonzo, pass the door too. Pick one on the map or in the list, or ask at the bar.
Ride
- distance
- —
- climbing, from terrain data
- —
- highest point, from terrain data
- —
- riding time at 20 km/h
- —
Via
Lines drawn along the roads, not GPS tracks. Distances and climbing are approximate. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors; elevation from Mapzen Terrain Tiles.
Run & Ride · 2027
Run. Ride. Stay mad.
One Friday a month, April to November 2027. Riders leave first, runners after, everybody comes back for the Last Train party. The ride and the run are free, the party has a ticket.
The ride is 25 to 30 km, no-drop, in two groups. The run is 6 to 8 km across Europe Square into Gorizia and back. A short walk leaves fifteen minutes after the runners.
The 2027 dates and times are the plan, not announced yet. Tickets go on sale a week before each one.
- Fri 2 AprSeason opener: spring routes, new kitRide 18:00 · Run 18:45
- Fri 7 MayGiro month: pink editionRide 18:00 · Run 18:45
- Fri 4 JunBorder night: two countries in one runRide 18:30 · Run 19:15
- Fri 2 JulSummer DJ nightRide 19:00 · Run 19:45
- Fri 6 AugNight ride and run, with lightsRide 19:30 · Run 20:15
- Fri 3 SepHarvest: Brda and Collio wine nightRide 18:30 · Run 19:15
- Fri 1 OctMitteleuropa night: Vienna–Trieste, a talkRide 18:00 · Run 18:45
- Fri 5 NovSeason finale and our first birthdayRide 17:30 · Run 18:00
Mad Station at EPIC.
07:00–22:00
Open daily from 4 November
- Address
- Kolodvorska pot 10, 5000 Nova Gorica, Slovenia
- By train
- Nova Gorica station, where the Bohinj line's trains from Jesenice end. EPIC is the building with the big canopy facing the tracks, next to the station.
- By bike
- Every route passes the door: Trans Dinarica, Alpina Mediterranean, Soča/Isonzo and the A Mare in Bici routes from Gorizia.
- From Italy
- Cross Piazza Transalpina, the Italian half of Europe Square, on foot. No border, no bridge, no fuss.
- @mad.station.si
- Write
- info@madmountain.si
The border runs through the middle of the square. Gorizia's old centre is a 15-minute walk south-west; Solkan and the Sabotin road are north.
Get the opening news.
The opening news and the Run & Ride 2027 dates. A few emails a year, no more.