Istria: Places to Explore

Few travelers take time to explore Istria's often-overlooked eastern coast. Although the region's mostly mountainous terrain offers a relative dearth of large towns abounding in historical sights and easy-to-access... Read more

Close to Motovun and a reasonable drive from Porec, Novigrad, or Umag, Groznjan is also among Istria's preeminent hill towns, with a Renaissance loggia adjoining the town gate. Much visited by busloads... Read more

It is an understatement to say that a day exploring the undulating green countryside and medieval hill towns of inland Istria makes a pleasant contrast to life on the coast. Motovun, for one, is a ravishing... Read more

Imagine a mini Rovinj of sorts, not quite so well preserved, it's true, and without the hill. This is Novigrad—a pretty little peninsula town that was the seat of a bishopric for more than 1,300 years... Read more

A chic, bustling little city founded as a Roman castrum (fort) in the 2nd century BC and swarming with tourists more than 2,000 years later, Porec may not be quite as lovely as Rovinj—nor does it... Read more

Today an industrial port town and Istria's chief administrative center (pop. 86,000), as well as a major tourist destination, Pula became a Roman colony in the 1st century BC. This came about a century... Read more

It is hard to imagine how Rovinj could be more beautiful than it is. In a fantastic setting, with centuries-old red-roofed houses clustered around the hill of a former island, Istria's cultural mecca is... Read more

Yet another onetime island, the peninsula town of Umag draws the fewest tourists of any of the major towns along Istria's western coast, even if it has more than its share of the usual beach resorts nearby... Read more

Vodnjan may look a bit run-down at first glance, but there are three good reasons to come here: its saintly mummies; its quiet, narrow, centuries-old streets populated by a higher percentage of Italian... Read more