Istria is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic, with area of 3,160 km'. That is the unique area where the Middle Europe is coming down to the warm Adriatic Sea. This is the very place where the sea came deepest into the heart of Europe, washing Istria from two sides. Because of the influence of the Mediterranean, winters have no snow and summers are long, sunny and warm. Istria is numbered among the sunniest oases in Europe. The western coast ascends slowly from the sea level and turns into wavy highland with hills that stretch all the way to the mountain range cicarija. The eastern coast is steep and directly above is the highest mountain of Istria - Ucka (1,396 m). The coast is very indented with a few larger and deeper bays. Near the eastern coast is the Brijuni archipelago, while the larger islands of the Kvarner bay were formed along the eastern coast. There are few significantly different landscape units in Istria. In the White Istria, water and arable land are scarce. South-west of the White Istria is the Grey Istria, the area cut with river valleys, with more water and vegetation. There are also Mirna and Rasa - the largest Istrian rivers. The third, the largest, the most economically developed and the most fertile part is the Red Istria. It has rich woods and lots of arable land, vineyards and olive-groves. The settlements are usually on top of the hills.
In Istria we find preserved monuments from the Roman times onward, and in different historical sources it has been mentioned even in prehistoric times. The Croats settle there in the 7th century and it became the cradle of the Glagolitic Croatian literature: the Istrian razvod is the oldest diplomatic document in Europe and the Misal from Roc, from 1483, is the oldest printed book on Balkans.
Istria is also the most developed tourist region of Croatia: more than 2 millions of tourists come there each year. In Istria, people live for tourism and of tourism. The most important tourist centers are situated along the western coast, all the way to Rijeka, the Croatian largest port that is situated on the very point of the Kvarner bay. There are eleven modern marinas along the Istrian coast. In inland, there are medicinal Istrian Bath, numerous hunting-grounds, small picturesque towns among which is Hum, the smallest town in the world. There is also the famous Motovun Forest, and the capitol of the Istrian County - Pazin.
What else should be mentioned? Beauty of the landscape; stone, nest-like towns on the top of the hills; Kastel in Pazin - the most preserved medieval fortress in Istria; famous wall paintings in Beram by Vincent of Kastav; the Glagolitic gates of Hum, the smallest town in the world; beauty and the richness of national costumes; unique Istrian music; bokarin - the Istrian ox that is one of the symbols of Istria; famous healthy and diverse Istrian cuisine; aromatic red and white wines of the top quality...
You mustn't only see Istria, you must experience it. It is simply - unique.
USEFUL INFORMATION
HOW TO GET TO ISTRIA?
By plane - international airport in Pula (6 km from the city)
By train - daily train connection between Zagreb and Pula (via Ljubljana, Divace, Pazin, Kanfanar and Vodnjan)
By sea - some places on the Istrian coast have ship and ferryboat connections with other parts of the Adriatic coast (from Trieste, via Porec and Rovinj to Pula and further; from Pula, via Losinj, to Zadar, etc.). The permanent sea border crossings are in Umag, Porec, Rovinj, Pula and Rasa_ Brisca, and in Novigrad there is season border crossing.
By car - there are three main traffic directions between Istria and inland. The north-western, from the valley of the river Po, is not only the connection with the northern Italy, but also with the Western Europe (across the Alps, through tunnels or transalpine roads, to the modern highway Torino-Milano-Trieste. The northern direction begins in the Baltic parts of the continent and goes south over few passes: Moravian Passage (310 m), Semmering (985 m), Postojna Passage (609 m). That direction includes the most of the Middle Europe by taking all side connections on the main roads through Vienna basin and Ljubljana basin. The north-eastern direction starts in the Pannonian lowlands and its surroundings, and goes across the Dinarides over the Delnice Passage. That is the most important direction for Croatia because it connects Istria with the middle Croatia and traffic knot around Zagreb. The road traffic is made easier by building of the Ucka tunnel in 1981, and when the highway between Zagreb and Rijeka will be finished, it will be even more effective.
All Istrian towns are well connected by daily bus lines with each other and with Rijeka, Zagreb and further.
The road border passes are: Plovanija-Secovlje; Kastel-Dragonja: Buzet-Socerga, Pasjak-Starod, Rupa-Jelsane.
WHAT TO EAT?
You should definitely try the specialty of the Istrian cuisine. Those are mostly vegetables and sea food prepared in traditional way with lots of imagination, You should begin with an appetizer, komovica brandy that has specific aroma given by mistletoe leaves. That is followed by an hors-d'oeuvre, prsut (specific kind of ham) and cheese made of the sheep milk, and after that, obligatory manestra (thick soup with many ingredients). The main course can be pasta with meat: fuzi, posutice, lasagnas, spaghetti, ravioli or njoki, in zgvaceta sauce covered with cheese. The sauce is made of home raised chicken, veal or beef, but it could also be venison. Or fish, that is served boiled, fried, roasted or stewed. The other sea food is also excellent: the mussel salad, cuttle-fish, scampi, lobster tails, scampi in »buzara« way, risotto with sea food, and special delicacy - the oysters that grow in Limski kanal. Lots of dishes are made »ispod peke« (under the special pot, or cripnja, as they say in Istria). Komovica brandy with ruda or fennel is used as digestive and as desert you can have traditional, homemade krostule, fritule or cukerancici. We shouldn't forget the famous and expensive truffles, that are abundant in Istrian woods and used with great skill in Istrian traditional cuisine (fritaja with truffles, fuzi with truffles, etc.).
WHAT TO DRINK?
Apart from brandies with aromatic plants, you should try biska - special brandy from Roc and Hum.
The wines are typical for this area. White wines are malvazija, sweet malvazija, pinot, chardonnay and muskat otonel. Red wines are borgonja, merlot, cabernet and teran. One of the Istrian specialties is »the Istrian soup« that you should definitely try. We won't reveal the secret recipe, lets just say that the main ingredient is heavy red wine with lots of additions. You should certainly try it, but be careful not to overdo it.
EXCURSIONS
In summer, there are organizedexcursions from all Istrian summer resorts to Venice and Rimini (by hydrofoil boat, catamaran or ship); to Trieste (by hydrofoil boat, ship or bus); to the Brijuni archipelago (by ship) and to some islands in the Kvarner bay (also by ship). There are also organized half-day cruises along the Istrian coast, to Limski kanal, or maybe the round cruises with an entertainment program aboard.
All information are given by tourist services and agencies in the place where you stay.
EVENTS
During summer, in every city and town, there are numerous cultural and sport events. Some of those are famous even out of Croatia (ATP tournament in Umag or ACI CUP Match Race in Rovinj). In smaller places the festivals are usually connected with the day of the patron saint of the village.
We will mention only the more important ones:
Umag: ATP/IBM tennis tournament Croatia Open (August)
Porec: Porec festival - a festival of the pop music (July), Zlatna sopela - international folklore festival (August), concerts of the classical music in the Euphrasius' Basilica (June to September), Nas kanat je lip - meeting of the quires (July), the fishermen festival, different sport events, etc.
Vrsar: Montraker - summer school for students of sculpture (August and September), Vrsar festival (July and August), Koversada Cup - the underwater fishing cup (October) Rovinj: the Summer in Rovinj (June to September), the colony of painters (July), Rovinj festival (August), the Blue Pearl of Rovinj - international festival of young pop singers (July), ACI CUP MATCH RACE (September), Pesaro-RovinjPesaro regatta (May), Rovinj Cup regatta (August), the tennis tournaments (during summer)
Pula: the International Film Festival (July), Pula Opera Festival (August), the Croatian Chess Cup for seniors in male and female competition (May), the Croatian Chess Clubs League (August), Trka na prstenac in Barban (August)
Buje: the Grape Festival (September)
Buzet: Raspjevana Buzestina - the music festival (May), Susret mladih harmonika - the accordion players meeting (May).
Pazin: Grand Prix of Pazin - cycling race (June), the Istrian Marathon (August), the international race through Istria for juniors (September)
Labin: Labinski kanti - the music festival (July), Labin festival (July and August), the International Sculpture Symposium (August and September)
Rabac: the Adriatic Riviera - tennis tournament for women (October), cycling race through Istria (September), the Kvarner Riviera - the football tournament (June)
Opatija: the promenade concerts, performances of folklore groups, quire concerts (May to October), the Summer Stage of Opatija - operas and other music performances, the Music Session of Opatija (November), the Opatija Riviera - international auto-rally race (April), international regatta for juniors (May), the Opatija Cup -international auto-slalom (May), the international tennis tournament for veterans (August and September), the Croatia Cup international regatta for classes 471, Finn, FD and Europe.
SPORT
Istria offers the great possibilities for all kind of sports. There is an eighteen-hole golf course on the Brijuni islands. There is also an abundance of tennis courts, and in Umag there is also the tennis stadium with capacity of 3,500 spectators. You can play football, indoor soccer, basketball, volley-ball, handball, squash and table tennis. You can also practice shooting, bowling, horse-riding, swiming (in outdoor and indoor pools) or exercise in trim-cabinets. Of water sports, you can choose rowing (in boats and canoes), motor boat riding, water scooters, water skiing, wind surfing, fishing and underwater fishing, and delta-plane flying or paragliding above the sea. In summer there are schools for diving, tennis, wind surfing, etc. Hunting is also very developed sport in Istria. All information on hunting and hunting season on different game are given by the tourist agencies, hunting societies and tourist offices in towns and villages.
Information: tourist office of the county, tourist offices of the districts, tourist offices of the towns and villages, tourist societies.