Piran/Pirano, our Mediterranean pearl

Let me introduce you one of Slovenia's most picturesque towns

Panoramic photo of Piran (Source: Portoroz.si).

Piran (Italian Pirano ) is one of Slovenia's most famous towns and it's also said to be the most beautiful. It's also the smallest among the famous old Venetian troika, the bigger ones are Izola and Koper, which I have introduced before. What's so special about Piran? Well, the first thing is obvious: The town was built on a small peninsula. And that historic part is completely intact. You won't find modern buildings in that part of Piran, which is great. When you walk around this town in 2010, you will feel as if you're in the year 1492. Piran is like an open museum.

Click here for a bigger map

The interesting thing about Piran is, that its origins are unknown. But every historian agrees, Piran is very very old. The peninsula was already inhabited by Romans in 2nd century BC. The name is said to (most likely) come from Greek "pyrranos", which means "red", because of the red stones commonly found in the town's area (source). The Latin name of Piran was Pyrrhanum (source). From 1283 until 1797 Piran came under the Venetian rule and became a very rich town in this part of Istria through trade. A very important part of life for the people of Piran were the Sečovlje salt works. Many would live in one of the houses there (called fontaniggia) during summer and gather salt and live in the old part of Piran during winter. Piran is also famous for being the birthplace of Giuseppe Tartini, an Italian composer from the 18th century. Piran's main square is named after him.

✰ Our Piran

After the trouble with the hostel, we decided to go back to the old part to do some sightseeing. Luckily there was a bus station near the house we stayed and the buses around 7pm were quite frequent, so we quickly got one and in 15min we were back at the Tartini square.

This famous square used to be a mandrač (a small harbour), but because it was dirty and stinky and threatening the health of the citizens, it was filled up with sand from 1894 on and it became the biggest square in Piran soon after.

Another angle of Tartini square.

This square was really lively when we visited. You had kids and teens (mostly from Ljubljana) riding roller blades here, people sitting and taking a break on the benches, tourists either taking photos or sitting in one of the cafés and observing the happening, locals chatting, old men playing chess. This is really the heart of Piran.

We decided to go up to the St. George's church (Cerkev Sv. Jurija).

We soon enjoyed the marvelous view over the roofs of Piran's houses.

Cerkev Sv. Jurija (St. George's church) from 12th and 14th century (source).

The church again.

The main part of the church is separated from the tower.

Part of the old wall and fortification of Piran on the left, St. George's church on the right.

The entrance of St. George's church.

The view from near the church is beautiful on every side.

Another view on the Adriatic sea.

Piran, a Mediterranean pearl.

My dear girl over Piran. Delightful.

Tartini square as seen from near the St. George's church.

When we went down, we saw a boy playing Chinese yo-yo and my girl was surprised. His skills were not bad.

St. Clement's church (Cerkev Sv. Klementa) stood here in 13th century already.

The current form is from the 18th and 19th century (source).

The church is located at the very tip of the Piran peninsula.


It started to get dark, so we decided to return back to Tartini square and then take a bus and go home. We walked slowly and took some more photos.

Hare Krishna singers on the street. I felt like I was in India for a little while.

The St. Clement's church at the end is one of Piran's landmarks.

Many good restaurants along the southern promenade Prešernovo nabrežje.

A small square on the way back.

The town hall of Piran at night.

The Tartini square at night. Our best shot.

✰ Another blunder

Soon after we finished with sightseeing, we decided to go back. It was already close to 9 pm, so we decided to take the free shuttle bus back to the station near our house. Once on the bus, we wait and wait, but nothing happened. The driver starts to call something and from that conversation I found out that the engine didn't start. It was obvious, that we won't go anywhere with that bus, so we went out and tried to find another. The other one was not a free one, but I had to go inside and ask the driver, if he goes the direction where we wanted to go. But frankly, I wasn't able to tell him where exactly I am staying, because I wasn't really sure where our room was. So there we were, tired and angry. No bus back, the only choice we had was either cab or walking. I wanted to walk, I was strong enough, but my girlfriend urged me to call the girl, who works for the hostel, to ask her friend (the guy who picked us up with the silver BMW), to pick us up again. That made me moody, because I thought she won't help us and I felt awkward to call her. While we walked slowly, wehad an argument over this. I said I'd rather take a cab, but my girlfriend refused, she didn't want to pay. In the end she called that girl and told her our situation, but she only could offer us calling a cab. I knew this will happen, but well, my girlfriend, she likes to try everything before giving up. In the end we decided to walk back. We were mad tired, it took us about 30min uphill and after several discussions we finally reached home. We slept soon after.

In conclusion: All that didn't spoil our impression of Piran. It's a beautiful place. We just weren't lucky with the hostel and unfortunately it was our fault. Next time we'll be smarter, that's for sure. Piran is one of the most beautiful towns in this part of the world and it's definitely worth a visit.. or two.. or three... Come and visit it, too.

My rating of Piran:

Great place for photos ✰✰✰✰✰

Well preserved and clean ✰✰✰✰✰

Toilets, parking, souvenirs ✰✰✰✰✰

Friendly to tourists ✰✰✰✰✰

Finally arrived in Piran! :Before [Slovenia Tour 2010] Next: From Koper to Trieste>>

Useful links: [Piran.si, Piran Burger.si, Piran Wiki][My Slovenia page]

[All photos by MKL, 2010, except the first]

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).

View Larger Map

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]