Rovinj

It crowns the peninsula and its bell tower rises 60 metres. The figure of the saint on top turns with the wind and serves as a vane.

A steep stone climb runs from the harbour up to the church and stays very narrow. On the second Sunday of August the whole lane becomes an open air art show.

Raised where the old town gate stood, it carries a Venetian lion and a Turkish head above the opening. Passing under it is how the old quarter is entered.

A planted wood on the southern cape brings cedar and pine down to the water. A separate cycle track loops through it and swimmers go in straight off the rocks.

The whole museum deals with one kind of flat wooden boat the local fishermen used. On summer evenings such a boat is put on the water and rowed for visitors.

The sea cuts 10 kilometres inland here between two walls of cliff. The water is less salty than open sea, so oyster and mussel beds line it.

Two islands 15 minutes out by boat from the harbour are tied together by a causeway. A path circles them and the water can be entered at any point.

Fishing boats and tour boats share one quay, and nets are mended there in the morning. Water clear to the bottom shows shoals passing under the edge.

Several climbing routes have been bolted into the limestone here. The face turns toward open water, which spreads out behind anyone on it.

On a hill 20 minutes inland stands a medieval town its people abandoned. The streets still run between the fallen walls and can be walked through.

A pine-covered island just off the old harbour, with water taxis shuttling back and forth all day. From the path around its shore you get the old town silhouette that frames most photos of Rovinj. Many people swim off the island's rocks.

The town museum occupies the Califfi palace, a Baroque house on the old town square. It shows old Italian and Croatian paintings alongside the town's maritime history. In summer it may close in the afternoon and reopen at night.

Rovinj's farmers' market, by Valdibora square where the old peninsula joins the mainland to the north. Truffles, olive oil, homemade spirits and figs sit beside the vegetables and fruit. A fish counter is attached, so a morning visit catches the day's landing.

A medieval hill village about 15km south-east of Rovinj, Valle in Italian. Stone lanes curve in rings around the Soardo-Bembo castle at its centre. Few visitors come, the lanes stay quiet, and at sunset locals gather in the cafe on the square.

A small inland Istrian village whose Morosini-Grimani castle takes up one side of a Renaissance square. Castle, church and well enclose the square, a planned layout that has survived intact. In summer the castle yard hosts medieval fairs and shows.

A wetland reserve down the shore from Rovinj, where sea and fresh water mix in a marsh that draws water birds. Hides for birdwatching stand among the reeds. Follow the coastal bike path south past Zlatni Rt to reach it.