Istria

Motovun (Montona in Italian) is a captivating little walled town perched on a 277m hill in the Mirna River valley. The setting is astonishingly gorgeous and a large part of its appeal is in the lost-in-time views over the verdant valley, with the town rising above it like something from a fairy tale. The damp, dark Motovun Forest at its base also has a mythical quality, especially as it contains hidden treasure in the form of Istria's famous truffles.

It was the Venetians who decided to fortify the town in the 14th century, building two sets of thick walls. Within the walls, an atmospheric cluster of Romanesque and Gothic buildings houses a smattering of artist studios, restaurants and tourist-oriented shops. Newer houses and shops have sprung up on the slopes leading to the old town.

Motovun's main claim to fame is its popular film festival, which takes place every summer.

Rovinj (Rovigno in Italian) is coastal Istria’s star attraction. While it can get overrun with tourists in summer and there aren't a lot of actual sights, it remains an intensely charming place. The old town is contained within an egg-shaped peninsula, webbed with steep cobbled streets and small squares, and punctuated by a tall church tower rising from the highest point. Originally an island, it was only connected to the mainland in 1763 when the narrow channel separating it was filled.

The main residential part of Rovinj spreads back from the old town and up the low hills that surround it, while resort-style hotels hug the coast to the north and south. When the crowds get too much, the 14 islands of the Rovinj archipelago make for a pleasant afternoon away.

The Brijuni archipelago (Brioni in Italian) consists of two main pine-covered islands and 12 islets off the coast of Istria, just northwest of Pula across the 3km-wide Fažana Channel. Covered by meadows, parks, and oak and laurel forests (including rare plants such as wild cucumber and marine poppy), the islands were pronounced a national park in 1983.

The largest island, Veli Brijun, can be visited on boats booked through the National Park Office in Fažana; prices include a guided tour and entry to various sights. Mali Brijun can only be visited during the summertime Ulysses Theatre season, when performances are staged in an abandoned fort (the boats are included in the ticket price).

Note that most boat tours, departing from Pula, dock at the islet of Sveti Jerolim for a picnic lunch but then only cruise around the main islands, as they're not permitted to land.

A wealth of Roman architecture lifts otherwise-workaday Pula (ancient Polensium; Pola in Italian) from the humdrum. The star of the show is the remarkably well-preserved Roman amphitheatre, smack in the heart of the city, which dominates the streetscape and doubles as a venue for summer concerts and festivals.

Historical attractions aside, Pula is a busy commercial city on the sea that has managed to retain a friendly small-town appeal. Just a short bus ride away, a series of beaches awaits at the resorts that occupy the Verudela Peninsula to the south. Although marred with residential and holiday developments, the coast is dotted with fragrant pine groves, seaside cafes and a clutch of good restaurants.

Pula is also a good base for exploring the protected Cape Kamenjak nature park, to the south, and the Brijuni Islands National Park, to the north.

The ancient Roman town of Poreč (Parenzo in Italian) and the surrounding region are entirely devoted to summer tourism. Poreč is the centrepiece of a vast system of tourist resorts that stretches north and south along the west coast of Istria, attracting holidaymakers in their tens of thousands from June to September.

Mass tourism means this is definitely not the place for a quiet getaway (unless you come out of season). However, there’s a World Heritage–listed basilica, a medley of Gothic, Romanesque and baroque buildings, and a well-developed tourist infrastructure, and the verdant Istrian interior is within easy reach. It's also become the party hub of Istria in the last couple of years, drawing in young partygoers from all corners of Europe.

The self-proclaimed 'world's smallest town' is a mere speck on the map, consisting of basically one street that loops around within its historic walls. Yet, in terms of atmosphere, it's huge. Legend has it that the giants who built Istria had only a few stones left over and they used them to build Hum.

It doesn't take many people for Hum to feel overrun; to experience it at its cosy best, visit in the off season or stay overnight.

Perched on a hilltop near the coast, Labin is the heritage highlight of eastern Istria, as well as its administrative centre. The showcase here is the labyrinthine old town, a beguiling maze of steep streets, cobbled alleys and pastel houses festooned with stone ornamentation.

Below is Podlabin, a charmless new town that sprouted as a result of the coal-mining industry. Labin was the mining capital of Istria until the 1970s, its hill mined so extensively that the town began to collapse. Mining stopped in 1999, the necessary repairs were undertaken and the town surfaced with a new sense of itself as a tourist destination.

Labin's coastal resort is Rabac, a former fishing village 5km to the southeast hugging a shallow cove hemmed with beautiful pebble beaches. An ever-expanding array of ritzy resort-style hotels is a reflection of its increasing popularity.