The Journal
A Venetian loggia above the Mirna valley, chapels painted with old frescoes and a village so photogenic that film crews keep coming back. Oprtalj and Draguć are inland Istria at its calmest.
Motovun, Grožnjan, Hum and a dozen smaller towns crown the hills of inland Istria. How they differ, how to group them into day trips and how to see them at their best.
A hill town that calls itself the City of Truffles, a tiny walled village that guards the memory of the Glagolitic script, and a road of stone monuments between them. A guide to the green north of inland Istria.
Town walls on the water, a cathedral with a Romanesque crypt, a fishing harbour and the mouth of the Mirna. Novigrad is the calm alternative on Istria's west coast.
A stone village above a narrow green bay, a Glagolitic inscription in a church wall, and a coastal road with the Kvarner islands on the horizon. The east coast is Istria at its wildest.
A shallow, sheltered bay, some of the few sandy beaches in Istria and a scatter of small islands offshore. Medulin is the family-friendly corner of southern Istria, with Pula and Kamenjak close by.
Colourful houses, fishing boats and sardines on the grill. A small harbour town north of Pula that is far more than the departure point for Brijuni.
Walls, towers and the shell of a great church, swallowed by oak woods above a quiet valley. Dvigrad is one of the most atmospheric ruins in Croatia, and one of the easiest to visit.
A hilltop town above a harbour full of islets, and a small village named after its springs. Vrsar and Funtana are the quieter side of the Poreč riviera, with Lim Bay just to the south.
Two quiet hilltop towns in the middle of the peninsula, once on opposite sides of a border. One is famous for a horseback ring race, the other for its late-summer fair.
A ring of old walls, a Romanesque church with three apses, a loggia and the lion of St Mark over the gate. One of the best-preserved small fortified towns in Istria, and almost nobody hurries.
A small old town on the water, the oldest working lighthouse on the Adriatic and flat white rocks that catch the sunset. Umag and Savudrija are the first stop in Croatia for many travellers, and worth more than a passing glance.
On Istria's east coast, a colourful hilltop town with a coal-mining past looks down on a bay of pebble beaches. Two very different places, one short road apart.
Beneath the vineyards of Istria lies a hidden world of stalactites, underground lakes and pale cave salamanders. A guide to Baredine, Mramornica, Feštini, Pazin and more.
Below the hilltop towns lies a damp, green valley of oak, ash and poplar, where white truffles grow and the river Mirna winds towards the sea. A guide to walking, cycling and tasting it.
A village with a Venetian bell tower, a fishing settlement on the sea, a long wooded peninsula and a quiet bay where the Mirna meets the Adriatic. What to see and how to enjoy it.
An archipelago off Fažana where Roman villas, Austro-Hungarian hotels, Tito's summer residence and a safari park share the same pine-shaded islands.
A walled town of a few streets, a copper gate, a mayor chosen by notches on a stick, and a road of stone monuments to an ancient alphabet. Hum in a day.
A former bishops' seat with a soaring bell tower, and a walled village with a Gothic palace. Two hill towns near Pazin that most visitors drive straight past.
A hilltop town, an oak forest that hides truffles, and an old railway line turned into a path. Inland Istria at walking pace.
In the green heart of Istria, a medieval castle stands on the edge of a deep karst gorge. Jules Verne sent his hero over the edge. You can take the path instead.
Most visitors see the amphitheatre, take a photograph and leave. They miss a layered, lively city with three thousand years of stories.
Half-empty after the war, Grožnjan was given to painters and musicians. Today its stone lanes are full of studios, and in summer the whole town plays.
A hilltop town wrapped around a Venetian castle, and a Renaissance square with a fortress on one side. Two small places that reward a slow afternoon.
Sixth-century gold mosaics, a Roman street plan still in use and Venetian Gothic facades, all on one small peninsula. A guide to the old town of Poreč.
Between Pula and Rovinj, a quiet stone town surrounded by olive groves, with the tallest bell tower in Istria and a church full of surprises.
A former island crowned by a Venetian bell tower, a working fishing harbour and a pine forest by the sea. How to see Rovinj well, at any time of year.
In collaboration with Lampisa
Tables, beds, sofas, kitchens and storage, drawn for your house and built in Istria on a plywood structure, never particleboard. Better than the retail park, without the showroom price.