Rovinj Riviera

Rovinj's waterfront with its rennaissance clock and baroque archway Balbijev luk is one of Istria's favourite walks and it is especially romantic at dusk. If you wander a little further from the old town centre to Valdibora, you will be rewarded with a beautiful view back towards the old town. With a boat, you can reach Red island, which is infact formed from two islets joined by a causeway, and together makes a whole island which has become the favourite destination for day excursions and swimming. South of the town is the Zlatni Rt park, overgrown with its pine and cypress trees and small avenues for comfortable walks.

Almost the whole of the old part of the town of Rovinj is located on a rocky islet, which has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, and which in 1763 was joined to the mainland. If you start on the waterfront slowly climbing the stone streets, you will reach a plateau at the very top of the old town centre. Here is the magnificent church of Saint Euphemia (or Fuma) whose bell tower, with the one in Vodjnan, is the highest in Istria. In it you will find  the late antique sarcophagus that contains the body of Saint Euphemia, the town's patron saint. Each year on the 16th September, a big celebration is held in honour of Saint Euphemia, and this is when the town really becomes ablaze. Three main streets connect Rovinj's acropolis with the harbour, and in one of them, Grizia street, a summer festival of visual arts is held each year. A large number of art galleries are located on that street, which gives the town a special charm. If the traditions and customs of this region interest you, then have a look at the Rovinj Heritage Museum, and for theatre lovers there is the Gandusio theatre. On the coast is the Institute for Marine Biology, which was founded at the end of the 19th century and where you can see an interesting aquarium.

On the road in between Rovinj and Poreč is the 11 kilometre long estuary known as the Lim channel, which cuts deeply into the coast between Rovinj and Vrsar. Here prized species of fish and shellfish are farmed, a tradition that goes back to ancient times. The easiest way to reach the Lim channel is by boat and it is included in some of the day excursion trips that begin in Rovinj's harbour.