Things to do in Piran
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Pri Mari
This very stylish restaurant south of the bus station makes an ambitious (and successful) attempt at combining Mediterranean and Slovenian food.
reviewed
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Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum
Located in the Gabrielli Palace on the waterfront, the Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum is named in honour of a Slovenian naval commander whose ship was blown up off the Croatian coast in WWI. The mid-19th-century palace, with its lovely moulded ceilings, parquet floors and marble staircase, is worth a visit in itself.
The museum's excellent exhibits focus on sea, sailing and salt-making - three things that have been crucial to Piran's development over the centuries. The salt pans at Sečovlje, southeast of Portorož, get most of the attention on the ground floor. There are some old photographs showing salt workers going about their duties in coolie-like straw hats, as well a…
reviewed
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Venetian House
One of Piran's most eye-catching structures is the red 15th-century Gothic Venetian House, with its tracery windows and balcony in the northeast of the square. There is a story attached to the stone relief between the two windows of a lion with a banner in its mouth and the Latin inscription Lassa pur dir above it.
A wealthy merchant from Venice fell in love with a beautiful local girl, but she soon became the butt of local gossips. To shut them up (and keep his lover happy), the merchant built her this little palace complete with a reminder for his loose-lipped neighbours: "Let them talk".
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Cathedral of St George
The Renaissance and baroque Cathedral of St George stands on a ridge north of Tartinijev trg above the sea. To the east runs a 200m stretch of the 15th-century town walls complete with loopholes. They once ran from the sea all the way to the harbour, and seven crenellated towers are still intact.
The church was founded in 1344 and was rebuilt in baroque style in 1637. It is currently undergoing a massive rebuilding, and visitors are allowed only into the choir to view the magnificent marble altar and star-vaulted ceiling.
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Former Town Pharmacy
Trg 1 Maja is surrounded by interesting baroque buildings, including the Former Town Pharmacy on the north side (now the Fontana restaurant). In the centre of the square is a large baroque cistern (vodnjak) that was built in the late 18th century to store fresh water; rainwater from the surrounding roofs flowed into it through the fish borne by the stone putti cherubs in two corners.
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Bell Tower
The cathedral's freestanding Bell Tower, built in 1608, was clearly modelled on the campanile of San Marco in Venice and can be climbed daily for excellent views of the town and harbour. Next to it, the octagonal 17th-century baptistery (krstilnica) contains altars, paintings and a Roman sarcophagus from the 2nd century later used as a baptismal font.
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Fiesa Beach
Piran has several 'beaches' - rocky areas along Prešernovo nabrežje - where you might get your feet wet. They are a little better on the north side near Punta, but as long as you've come this far keep walking eastward on the paved path for just under 1km to Fiesa Beach, which is a very small but clean beach.
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Minorite Monastery
On your way up to Tartinijev trg are the Minorite Monastery with a wonderful cloister and the Church of St Francis Assisi built originally in the early 14th century but enlarged and renovated over the centuries. Inside are ceiling frescoes, a giant clam shell for donations and the Tartini family's burial plot.
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Parish Museum of St George
Church plate, paintings and an unusual statue of St George slaying the dragon, with a woman curiously holding the monster by a lead, can be seen in the Parish Museum of St George attached to the Cathedral of St George. The Parish Museum contains church plate, paintings and a lapidary in the crypt.
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Trg 1 Maja
Trg 1 Maja may sound like a socialist parade ground, but it was the centre of Piran until the Middle Ages, when it was called Stari trg (Old Square). The surrounding streets are a maze of pastel-coloured overhanging houses, vaulted passages and arcaded courtyards.
reviewed
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Sub-net
Sub-net organises shore and boat-guided dives, gives PADI open-water courses and rents equipment. Don't expect Red Sea style corals in these parts, though; the most unusual underwater sight hereabouts is the wreck of a WWII seaplane in Portorož Bay.
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Tri Vdove
One of Piran's attractions is its plethora of fish restaurants, especially along Prešernovo nabrežje, though don't expect any bargains. Most of them - including Tri Vdove cater to the tourist trade and are over-priced.
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Pavel 2
One of Piran's attractions is its plethora of fish restaurants, especially along Prešernovo nabrežje, though don't expect any bargains. Most of them - including Pavel 2 cater to the tourist trade and are over-priced.
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Pavel
One of Piran's attractions is its plethora of fish restaurants, especially along Prešernovo nabrežje, though don't expect any bargains. Most of them - including Pavel cater to the tourist trade and are over-priced.
reviewed
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Statue of Giuseppe Tartini
The nattily dressed gentleman in Tartinijev trg, an oval-shaped, marble-paved square that was the inner harbour until it was filled in 1864, is the Statue of Giuseppe Tartini (1692 - 1770), a local composer and violinist.
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Church of St Clement
Just behind Punta lighthouse, the round, serrated tower of the Church of St Clement, originally built in the 13th century but altered 500 years later, evokes the ancient beacon from which Piran got its name.
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Marconi
The large, sleek Marconi, which can carry up to 400 passengers, cruises down the Istrian coast of Croatia as far as the Brioni Islands and the national park there on Friday, with a stop at Rovinj.
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Riva
Our new favourite (and very classy) seafood restaurant on Prešernovo nabrežje has the best sea views and décor. There's a pizzeria next door for ichthyphobes.
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Dolphin Gate
Behind the market north of Tartinijev trg, medieval homes have been built into an ancient defensive wall along Obzidna ulica, which passes under 15th-century Dolphin Gate.
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Galerija Tartini Café
This café in a classical building next to the Venetian House is a wonderful place for a cup of something hot and a slice of something sweet.
reviewed
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Aquarium
About 100m south of the square along the harbour, might be small, but there's a tremendous variety of sea life packed into its two-dozen tanks
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Stara Gostilna
This delightful bistro in the Old Town serves both meat and fish dishes and has some of the best and most welcoming service in town.
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Židovski trg
Židovski trg, the centre of Jewish life in Piran in the Middle Ages, is about 100m to the northwest of Dolphin Gate.
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Church of St Peter
To the east of Tartinijev trg is the Church of St Peter (1818), which contains the restored 14th-century Piran Crucifix.
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Santeé Caffe
This hyper-friendly place has sandwiches and salads and walls painted in colours as vivid as its excellent ice creams.
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