Truffle hunts! Cute small towns, cobbled streets, country views, Roman ruins and more.
The Istrian Peninsula is a beautiful, rural area in northern Croatia. In the summertime, it's packed with Europeans sitting on the beaches, enjoying the local cuisine and visiting all the little towns. In the fall (early November 2023 was when we were there), there are many fewer tourists - no one is on the beach, the weather is still pretty nice (in the 50's and 60's with a little rain) and there is basically no traffic anywhere. Renting a car is probably the best way to get around (see Basics of Croatia for more info). We flew from Zagreb to Pula; it's a 40-minute flight and the tickets were only 40 euros each; we picked up the rental car at the Pula Airport. You can also easily drive from Zagreb (or Ljubljana or Venice) to the Istrian peninsula in about 3-4 hours.
Istrian cuisine is a combination of Italian, Croatian and Austrian food - lots of fresh fish and seafood, homemade pasta and pizza, various meat stews; local items produced in Istria include olive oil, wine, cheese, various dried meats and truffles (both black and white). Where to stay if you are planning to tour around Istria
We picked Rovinj, and all the locals we talked to said "good choice." It is a large enough town that there are plenty of restaurants, hotels and boats. The town is very walkable--not too hilly nor too big. Other towns we visited are described below, and could certainly function as a nice base, but we'd choose Rovinj again after seeing pretty much all of the small and large towns in Istria. 1) Rovinj
The downtown has shops, restaurants, and boats a plenty. There are cute cobbled streets, lots of shoreline to stroll, and many playgrounds. There are public beaches as well as private beaches tended by the large hotels, including the Hotel Lone where we stayed. This was a great spot to stay, not only the hotel (with free parking) but also for quick access to all the other towns we list below.
2) Pula
Pula is the biggest town on the peninsula, with 50,000 residents, and located near the southern tip. Artifacts found in and around Pula indicate the area has been populated since at least 6000 BC. The Istrian peninsula was conquered by the Romans in 177 BC. When the city was rebuilt at the request of daughter of the first Roman emperor Caesar Augustus (aka Gaius Octavius or Octavian), Julia, the city was renamed Colonia Pietas Iulia Pola Pollentia Herculanea. Starting about 27 BC, various large construction projects were carried out and some of them can still be seen today...
Here are things we saw during a half-day walk around the oldest part of Pula. Most of these places were no more than 5 minutes away from each other, so it makes for a pleasant walk around the town, including some pedestrian streets.
A) Pula Arena - This is the second-largest Roman colosseum still in existence. Only the colosseum in Rome is bigger. This amphitheater is almost entirely intact and you can explore all around the complex - stand in the arena and pretend you are a glorious
gladiator, sit in the bleacher seats, and wander through the foundations of cells where animals and gladiators waited before combat. Make sure to follow the signs for the "Exhibition" - it might look like you are going to the exit but instead the path goes down underneath the arena, where you can see what the subterranean level was like as well as see information and equipment about olive oil and wine in the Roman empire (and Istria). 10 euros/person.
B) Arch of Sergii--This arch is one of the 10 gates originally built into the city walls of Pula by the Romans. Now it's a stand-alone arch. Much of the detailed carving of grapes and birds is still visible. If you look up while standing directly underneath the arch, you can see a very well-preserved bird and snake. Free
C) Twin Gate - Another one of the original 10 gates. Free
D) Mosaic - The punishment of Dirce - this mosaic was discovered after the bombing of Pula in World War II. Much of the mosaic was intact and it has been restored; parts of the mosaic look new! It's a bit hard to find this as it's outdoors and not directly accessible from the pedestrian streets (Google Maps suggests that's the case). To reach the mosaic you need to go through a parking lot and loop back on a short dirt path. There are a few signs that say "Mozaik" and that helps to find it. Google Maps has the correct location just not the correct route. The last photo above shows the entrance. You'll see there's a broken table on the right and the black thing in front of the gate is a sign destined for the garbage. In other words, we really thought we were walking into a dump behind an apartment building--and we were, but also there is the mosaic.
E) Pula Citadel - This citadel was built by the Venetians in the early 1600s when they ruled Pula. The citadel served as a defense outpost through World War I - there's an exhibit at the citadel about life at the citadel in the late 19th century (when the Istrian peninsula was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire) and World War I. There are fantastic views of the city (and the Pula Arena) from the top of the citadel, as well as a small tower you can climb at the top of the citadel. 6 euros/person. Discount for ages 65+ If you don't want to walk uphill through the town, you can take an elevator from the Zerostrasse caves.
F) Agrippina's House - The foundations of this Roman house are found through a narrow tunnel along one of the pedestrian streets. When you come out of the tunnels you are in the yard of several apartment buildings and the ruins are in the middle! It is called Agrippina's house because a bust of the Empress Agrippina (wife of Claudius and sister of Caligula) was discovered early in the excavation of the ruins.
G) Temple of Augustus - This temple was also built by the first Roman emperor Augustus (Octavian) and gives a sense of what the Parthenon must have been like when it was more intact.
3) Bale
The town of Bale is a beautiful typical small town in Istria. With a population of about 1,000 people, it's large enough to support a few restaurants and cafes. We wandered the narrow pedestrian streets, looking at churches, a bell tower, palaces and private residences. There is also a palace but it was closed for All Saints Day when we visited.
In center photo above is of the cemetery. We visited on All Saints Day so visitors were cleaning the graves and leaving flowers and candles.
3) Fasana
This is a small seaside town located just north of Pula, much less touristy but with a lovely wharf with lots of cafes and restaurants right along the ocean. In addition, this is the jumping-off point for boats to Brijuni National Park, an island just off the coast. You can take a boat trip around the island or get dropped off on the island. We did not take this boat but could see buildings (one or two hotels) and cafes from the Fasana wharf. If you are going to rent an apartment and not a hotel room, Fasana might be a good second choice to Rovinj from what we saw, though Rovinj is still our first choice.
4) Truffle Hunting and Buzet Town
See our post "Truffle Hunting in Istria" for lots of information about truffle hunting. If you go truffle hunting or eating, you will probably go to Buzet or nearby.
We returned to Buzet a few days after our truffle hunt with Prodan Tartufi to visit a local products market that our host at Prodan told us about; locals called it the Truffle Festival. While the one of the larger producers (Zigante Tartufo) hosts a big truffle fest targeting tourists from Sept-October, called Truffle Days, the smaller market we attended happens every year on the first weekend in November and it's run by the Buzet Tourist Board.
The oldest part of Buzet is a hilltop town built by the Venetians, when they ruled this area in the 16th and 17th century. Wandering the old town is an enjoyable way to spend an hour or two. If driving, park at the parking lot called "Kostenfreier öffentlicher Parkplatz" just below the Great Gate (Vela Vrata). The old town is maybe 4 short square blocks of narrow pedestrian streets, old churches, and a few shops and restaurants. Several restaurants and bars have tables outside near the Great Gate and offer spectacular views of the valley.
5) Hum
Said to be the smallest town in the world, Hum has approximately 60 residents with a mayor and council. Not surprisingly, the town is quite small - about two short blocks. Except for the church, bell tower and a few residences, there are several souvenir shops selling truffle-related items and local alcohols. We agreed that the town of Hum has done a great job of marketing themselves - if you happen to be nearby, it's a nice 15 minute visit; but it's not worth a detour and there are other equally cute, small towns that have more to see and do.
6) Lim Fjord
Located north of Rovinj, this 13 km inlet flows through a karst valley. There are several scenic points on both sides of the fjord, including (words to input for Google Maps) 'Vidikovac', 'Viewpoint Limski Kanal' and 'Lim Fjord Panorama Point'. At several of these scenic points, you can also find souvenir sheds selling various truffle products and alcohol, most of which you can get cheaper almost anywhere else in Istria. The very tip of the fjord is nice to explore as the water is shallow and clear and there is a small marina located there (type 'Tonys Oyster Shack' or 'Lim/Leme Fjord' into Google Maps).
One suggested area for a hike is near St. Michael's Monastery, a ruined monastery on the northern side of the fjord (on Google Maps, it's just called Monastery); it was originally constructed in the 6th century, though only buildings from the 11th century on exist there. When we were there (early November 2023), the main gate was locked, so you can mostly look at the outside. Near the monastery is a sign board listing several hiking trails which lead down to the fjord. The hikes are 1-5 km, a little bit steep down, but with beautiful forest and fjord views.
7) Towns in Eastern Istria
We visited two towns on the eastern side of Istria - Labin and Rabac. Labin is a hill town that overlooks the town of Rabac, which is on a steep slope on an ocean bay with a marina and very small public beach. In both towns, we saw film crews filming scenes in the atmospheric locations - in Labin, the crew was filming a car chase scene (over and over...) and in Rabac, they were filming along the marina. Croatia is well-known as a film location both because of amazing buildings and locales (for example, King's Landing in Game of Thrones is actually Dubrovnik, Croatia) and the relatively low cost of everything in Croatia, though that is quickly changing now that Croatia is part of the euro zone.
There are a few palaces in Labin that you can see (but not go in) except the local history museum, as well as a bell tower and church. There are amazing views from several large terraces - one terrace in particular is in front of Rumore Pizza (Šetalište San Marco 77, 52220, Labin). We had pizza here, while watching the car chase filming. It was raining, but if you visit on a warmer day you can eat pizza at a table overlooking the ravine as in the second picture below.
Rabac is more of a summer resort town with lots of bars, restaurants, and ice cream parlors, as well as many boat charter signs (which are presumably surrounded by tourists in the summer...). It's a nice way to spend an hour or two walking along the marina/wharf or climbing stairs to get higher up in town and take in the magnificent views. Personally, we don't think this can compete with Rovinj for a summer escape because it's a very vertical town with less beach space.
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