St. Euphemia & the old town
Climb the church tower for the rooftops and the islands spread below, then lose yourself in the lanes that wind down to the harbour.
Rovinj
An Istrian fishing village in pastels
Best time
May – September
Gentle pace
3–4 slow days
Ideal for
Couples · Food lovers · Slow-coast families
Rovinj is the jewel of Istria — a tumble of pastel houses sliding down a hillside into the sea, a church spire at its crest and fishing boats bobbing at the quay. Once an island, it was joined to the mainland by a bridge, and it still feels like a place afloat: salt air, gulls, and the sound of water at the end of every lane.
With children, swim from the rocks of the Golden Cape forest park, eat seafood on the harbour at sunset, and wander the old town’s steep lanes in the morning when the light is soft and the bakers are open. Pair it with a day trip to the hilltop villages of inland Istria for truffles and olive oil.
Worth lingering over
The Golden Cape park
A pine-scented peninsula of hidden rocky coves and cycling trails right at the town’s edge — the easy swimming day.
A boat to the Rovinj islands
A short hop to St. Katarina or St. Andrija for a secluded cove and a beach-bar lunch.
Hidden gem
The Golden Cape forest paths
Everyone swims at the town beaches, but the pine-covered Golden Cape peninsula hides a string of rocky coves reached only on foot along forest paths. Follow the trails past Lone Bay, find a clearing among the pines, and you will have a private swimming spot with water as clear as the islands — and shade for a long, slow lunch beneath the trees.