Izola/Isola, Slovenia

A lovely Slovenian seaside resort

Izola (Italian Isola, pronounced as , older Isola d'Istria) is a lovely coastal small town in nortern Istria, a peninsula in the northern Mediterranean. The first settlement dates back to the 6th century, the name Insula was first mentioned in the 10th century. Insula is Latin for "island", the same goes for the Italian word isola. Izola was named "Island", because the old part was built on an island. Izola is today connected with the main land, because of the land reclamation. Izola has today around 15000 inhabitants, most of them Slovenians. There is also a very small Italian minority and the whole municipality is bilingual (source).

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Compared to Koper, Izola is much smaller and quieter. Although a fishing town and known for the fish processing and canning factory Delamaris, it's also home to a big shipyard (Ladjedelnica Izola) and a toy factory (Mehano). Along with industy and fishing, Izola is famous for its marina and for tourism. A smaller beach, which is near the old center is called "Na Svetilniku", but there are some other beaches south from Izola's center, one is called "Bele Skale" (White rocks). Don't expect sandy beaches, most are a bit rocky here, basically most parts of the Slovenian coast is rocky. The biggest beach in Izola is near Simonov zaliv.

Check some of my photos of Izola's historic part:

Streets in Izola can be very narrow to protect the locals from the scorching sun.

People hanging clothes outside their windows is typical for the Mediterranean.

After we went uphill, we descended again. Izola's center is built on a former island.

Besenghi degli Ughi palace.

In the middle of the center is the main church built at the highest altitude.

The Church of St. Maurus (Cerkev Sv. Mavra) is the biggest church in Izola. The first church was built here in 1356, this one dates from 1547 (source).

The Church of St. Maurus.

The marked road is reserved for cars.

Some streets are too narrow for cars. People usually ride scooters here.

Trg republike (Republic square).

Mlekomat, a vending machine with fresh unprocessed milk with a reflection of me.

My girl wanted to try it and she loved it. The cold milk was so refreshing.

Republic square again.

Marina near Sončno nabrežje.

The Church of St. Mary of Haliaetum.

Manziiolijev trg (Manzioli square).

Then we headed back to the parking space on the other side of Izola.

Taking some more pics before leaving the lovely Izola.

And almost back at the parking space. Next stop: Salt works, Portorož and Piran.

Izola is really a very lovely and picturesque small town. If I could choose, where to live in Slovenia, when I retire, I'd most likely choose Izola, which is not so full with tourists like Piran and not so fast paced like Koper. And people are very friendly here. It's normal, that they greet you on the streets, happened to my girlfriend twice.

My rating of Izola:

Great place for photos ✰✰✰✰✰

Well preserved and clean ✰✰✰✰✰

Toilets, parking, souvenirs ✰✰✰✰✰

Friendly to tourists ✰✰✰✰✰

The beach in Izola :Before [Slovenia Tour 2010] Next: Road to Portorož>>

Useful links: [Izola.si, Izola.eu, Izola Wiki][My Slovenia page]

[All photos by MKL, 2010]

The beach in Izola

And how we went from Koper to Izola

Izola (Italian Isola) is a lovely seaside resort close to Koper. It's our second biggest coastal town by population, but the size is very small. It has a lovely small historic part and the name comes from Italian for "Island". The center used to be on an island in the past (same like Koper). More about the town in my next post. Let me show you how we discovered the beach in Izola, which locals call "Na Svetilniku" (Near the lighthouse):

Koper and Izola are very close, about 5-10min away by car, only a hill is between them.

We found a free parking space upon entering Izola (on the right from the main road).

The biggest hospital in the area on top of the hill between Koper and Izola.

This is the way to central Izola.

Narrow roads like this are common here.

Instead going straight to the center, we turned right, because we saw the sea.

It was so hot that day, we wanted to join them.

The water reminded me of Kenting, Taiwan's famous seaside resort, but the water near Izola is not as blue and not as clean, but still much cleaner than it's usually said here. Our small (47km) long coast doesn't have a good reputation, while everybody's praising Croatia's beaches. I can say that during our short visit of the Slovenian coast, the water was clean and clear.

This is Izola's small beach near the historic center.

You wont find sand here, it's a bit rocky.

My girlfriend was so excited to see the beach and thought it's awesome. She wanted to bath as well, but prior to her trip, she said she won't swim here, because she doesn't want to get tanned. You know, East Asian girls generally don't like to get tanned (that's why she carried an umbrella during most of our Slovenia trip).

My girl soaking her feet in the Mediterranean waters.

I bought this white umbrella for her to protect her from sun and rain, but guess what? We lost it, when I sent her back to the airport in Vienna when we switched trains. I was so reckless. And it's such a pity, it was a great umbrella and so hard to find a white one. Well, now we only have memories of "her" and a lot of photos. Looks like the fate of this umbrella was to protect my girl during her Eurotrip :)

Panoramic view of the beach in Izola.

Boys jumping in the water.

You can take a Taiwanese out of Taiwan, but you can't take Taiwan out of a Taiwanese!

你可以把一個台灣人帶出台灣，但你不能把台灣帶出台灣人的心裡！

The other side of the beach with public showers and a park.

The sky was so blue that day.

Can this photo be used on a greeting card?

How about this one? :-P

My rating of the beach of Izola:

Great place for photos ✰✰✰✰✰

Well preserved and clean ✰✰✰✰✰

Toilets, parking, souvenirs ✰✰✰✰✰

Friendly to tourists ✰✰✰✰✰

Titov trg, Koper :Before [Slovenia Tour 2010] Next: Izola's center>>

[My Slovenia page][All photos by MKL, 2010, except where otherwise noted]