Istria
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Istria - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Istria - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Designed to accommodate 23,000 spectators, Pula's arena is the sixth-largest building of its type in the world (after the Colosseum in Rome and similar arenas in Verona, Catania, Capua, and Arles). Construction was completed in the 1st century AD under the reign of Emperor Vespasian, and the Romans staged gladiator games here until such bloodthirsty sports were forbidden during the 5th century. It has remained more or less intact, except for the original tiers of stone seats and numerous columns that were hauled away for other buildings. Today it is used for summer concerts (by musicians including Sting, James Brown, and Jose Carreras), opera performances, and the annual film festival in mid-July. The underground halls house a museum with large wooden oil presses and amphorae.
Inside this 18th-century Baroque church, the remains of Rovinj's patron saint are said to lie within a 6th-century sarcophagus. Born near Constantinople, Euphemia was martyred in her youth, on September 16 in AD 304, under the reign of Emperor Diocletian. The marble sarcophagus containing her remains mysteriously vanished in AD 800 when it was at risk of destruction by iconoclasts—and, legend has it, it somehow floated out to sea and washed up in faraway Rovinj. (Note the wall engraving just to the right of the entrance of St. Euphemia holding Rovinj in her arms.) On September 16 of each year many people gather to pray by her tomb. There is no better place to enjoy 360-degree sunset views of Rovinj than from the church bell tower. In summer, concerts and art shows take place in the piazza in front of the church.
The magnificent Eufrazijeva Basilica is among the most perfectly preserved early Christian churches in Europe, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the most important monuments of Byzantine art on the Adriatic. It was built by Bishop Euphrasius in the middle of the 6th century and consists of a delightful atrium, a church decorated with stunning mosaics, and an octagonal baptistery. Added in the 17th-century were a bell tower you can climb (for a modest fee) and a 17th-century Bishop's Palace, whose foundations date to the 6th century; the basement contains an exhibit of stone monuments and mosaics previously on the basilica floor. The church interior is dominated by biblical mosaics above, behind, and around the main apse. In the apsidal semidome, the Virgin holding the Christ child is seated in a celestial sphere on a golden throne, flanked by angels in flowing white robes. On the right side there are three martyrs, the patrons of Poreč; the mosaic on the left shows Bishop Euphrasius holding a model of the church, slightly askew. High above the main apse, just below the beamed ceiling, Christ holds an open book in his hands while apostles approach on both sides. Other luminous, shimmeringly intense mosaics portray further ecclesiastical themes.
The Forum, the original central square, administrative hub, and marketplace of ancient and medieval Pula, is still the city's most important public meeting place after 2,000 years. Today, the forum is a spacious square ringed with bustling cafés, shops, and restaurants. There were once three temples here, only one of which remains: the Temple of Augustus. Perfectly preserved, the Augustov Hram was built between 2 BC and AD 14. Next to it stands the Gradska Palača (Town Hall), which was erected during the 13th century using part of another Roman temple as the back wall. The arcades on three sides of the forum square were added later during the Renaissance.
At the Kozlović family's stylish, modern winery, which blends perfectly with the scenic countryside, you can enjoy an extensive wine tasting indoors or on their outdoor terrace overlooking the vineyard. If you've called ahead you can enjoy a full tasting of wine and olive oil as you enjoy local cheeses and proscuitto. Next door is the Stari Podrum, one of the best taverns in Istria.
Perched in all its compact medieval redolence atop a hill a short drive or walk from the sea, Labin is Croatia's former coal mining capital and the birthplace of Matthias Flacius Illyricus, a Reformation-era collaborator of Martin Luther. Its narrow, historic streets are well deserving of a good walk—followed, if time allows, by a dip in the sea at Rabac, the coastal beach town just 3 km (2 miles) below, filled with hotels, resorts, apartments, and villas to rent, and a vibrant promenade lined with cafés, restaurants, and family activities. From Labin's endearing little main square, Titov trg, with its 16th-century loggia and bastion, it's an easy stroll to Šetalište San Marco, a semicircular promenade with a spectacular view of the sea. Walk to the end and take a sharp left up the cobblestone road. Once you reach the top of the hill, you can climb another 98½ feet up for an even better view from the town's onetime fortress, the Fortica. Making your way down the other side of the hill back toward the main square, you will pass the Crkva Rođenja Blažene Djevice Marije (Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary). With a facade featuring a 14th-century rose window and a 17th-century Venetian lion of the sort you will encounter elsewhere in Istria, the church is a mix of architectural styles dating back to a late-16th-century renovation, though its foundations may date to the 11th century. Dotted throughout Old Town Labin are working art studios, souvenir shops, museums, and galleries. In July and August, the Labin Art Republika hosts art openings, live musical concerts and outdoor films.
With its beautiful aqua blue bay and splendid, natural surroundings down rocky cliffs that call to mind the Amalfi Coast, the seaside resort town of Rabac has transformed from a quiet, 17th-century fishermen’s village into one of the most popular tourist destinations in Istria. Perfectly situated just 3 kms below Old Town Labin and equidistant from Opatija and Pula, Rabac offers an endless number of white pebble beaches and untouched nature ideal for hiking, biking, kayaking, windsurfing, fishing, diving, and exploring. Many hotels, resorts, boutique hotels, villas, apartments, and campgrounds host international tourists looking for family-friendly holiday experiences. Yet, despite its growing popularity, Rabac still manages to transmit the same casual coastal charm and welcoming spirit of that 17th-century village it once was. An added bonus is having the medieval hilltop town of Labin just 10 minutes up the road, where its numerous chic restaurants, live music programs, art galleries, and historical sites further enrich your holiday.
This pretty, waterfront medieval hilltop town just 10 km (6 miles) south of Poreč is situated near the fjord's northern juncture with the sea (and yet another place you can catch a tour of the fjord). Famous since Roman times for its high-quality stone, which helped build Venice, Vrsar is home to the 12th-century Romanesque church Sv. Marija Od Mora (St. Mary of the Sea), which has three naves. In his memoirs, the Venetian adventurer Casanova fondly recalled the local red wine, Teran. Just a couple of miles south, by the way, is Croatia's oldest and largest naturist resort, FKK Park Koversada.
{{ item.review }}
Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:
There are no results for {{ strDestName }} Sights in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions: