Croatia’s 3,600-mile-long coast gets all the press, but don’t overlook Slovenia’s own 29 miles of Adriatic coastline. The Slovenian coast has only a handful of towns: big, industrial Koper; lived-in and crumbling Izola; and the swanky but soulless resort of Portorož. But the Back Door gem of the Slovenian Adriatic is Piran. Most Adriatic towns are all tourists and concrete, but Piran has kept itself charming and in remarkably good repair while holding the tourist sprawl at bay. Its glassy square feels tugged at the top by a stout Venetian-style bell tower—as if without this anchor, the whole thing might just slide off into the tidy, picturesque harbor. Even though the town can be crowded with a United Nations of vacationers (especially Italians) in peak season, as you get to know it, Piran becomes one of the most pleasant and user-friendly seaside towns this side of Dubrovnik.
You can see everything in Piran (including a pop into the Maritime Museum and a hike up the bell tower) in just a couple of hours. Then feel free to just bask in the town’s ambience. Enjoy a gelato or a kava (coffee) on the sleek, marbled Tartini Square, surrounded by Neoclassical buildings and watched over by the bell tower. Go for a swim at one of its rocky beaches. Wander Piran’s piers and catch its glow at sunset.
Piran also works as a base for visiting the caves, horses, and castles of the nearby Karst region (see previous chapter). Notice, too, that it’s conveniently on the way between Ljubljana/the Karst and Croatia’s Istria (see “Route Tips for Drivers”, see here).
Piran (pee-RAHN) is small; everything is within a few minutes’ walk. Crowded onto the tip of its peninsula, the town can’t grow. Its population—7,500 a century ago—has dropped to about 4,200 today, as many young people find more opportunity in bigger cities.
Piran clusters around its boat-speckled harbor and main showpiece square, Tartini Square (Tartinijev trg). Up the hill behind Tartini Square is the landmark bell tower of the Cathedral of St. George. A few blocks toward the end of the peninsula from Tartini Square is the heart of the Old Town, May 1 Square (Trg 1 Maja).
From Tartini Square and the nearby marina, a concrete promenade—lined with rocks to break the storm waves and with expensive tourist restaurants to break your budget—stretches along the town’s waterfront, inviting you to stroll.
The TI—with brochures about Piran, the adjacent resort of Portorož, and the entire region—is inside the grand Venetian-style Town Hall on Tartini Square (daily June-Aug 9:00-21:00, Sept-May 9:00-12:00 & 12:30-17:00, until 16:00 in winter, at #2, tel. 05/673-4440, www.portoroz.si).
By Car: Driving and parking in Piran is a headache; park your car as quickly as possible and forget about it. Fortunately, the city makes this relatively easy by offering a free shuttle bus connecting the parking options with downtown (4/hour).
If you’re overnighting in town and don’t want to haul your bags from the garage, take a ticket at the parking barrier, drive into the Old Town, drop off your bags, and pick up a voucher from your hotel; if you leave within 15 minutes, the voucher gets you out free. Then park at the big garage described next. If you’re day-tripping to Piran, simply park at the garage when you arrive.
As you drive into town, you’ll pass the big parking garage on the hill. Most visitors wind up parking here (€1.70/hour, €17/day, typically discounted with a voucher from your hotel). From the garage, ride the elevator down to floor 1, exit, and walk about 50 yards to the waterfront parking lot for locals (called Fornače), where you’ll see a bus stop for the free shuttle bus into town; an electronic board notes how many minutes until the next bus comes. The shuttle zips you right to Tartini Square. (If you’ve packed light, you can also walk to Tartini Square in about 15 minutes—just follow the water.)
If you’re feeling lucky, you could continue driving down the hill past the garage, where you’ll stop at a gate marking the entrance to the Old Town. It’s possible to park within this area, but options are minimal and extremely expensive (€5/hour in summer, €3/hour in winter; be sure you’re in a legitimate space).
By Bus: Piran has two bus stops. Shuttle buses from the parking garage and nearby towns (such as Portorož) stop right at Tartini Square; intercity buses (such as those to Ljubljana) use the low-profile main bus station along the water, near the entrance to town.
Internet Access: Look for the “free pi” hotspot at Tartini Square, near the bus station, and at other public areas. If you need a terminal, drop by Val Youth Hostel (described on here; they likely won’t charge you, but hope you’ll buy a drink).
Laundry: Piran has no launderette. If you’re desperate, try asking very nicely to use the washer at Val Youth Hostel (unless it’s being used by guests).
Bike Rental: The TI rents basic bikes for low prices (€5 for up to 2 days); this works fine for a quick spin along the coast. For a more serious adventure on two wheels, rent a trekking bike from Luma Šport, across the street from the intercity bus station (€8/half-day, €12/day, daily June-Aug 9:00-12:00 & 17:00-21:00, shoulder season 9:00-18:00 in good weather, less off-season, Dantejeva 3, mobile 041-781-414, Magda). The TI hands out a free map illustrating ambitious rides in the region.
Tartini Square was once part of a protected harbor. In 1894, the harbor smelled so bad that they decided to fill it in. Today, rather than fishing boats, it’s filled with skateboarding kids. While traffic used to clog this square, it was recently pedestrianized. The “square”—a shiny marble oval surrounded by a tidy geographical grid pattern—is one of Slovenia’s most appealing public spaces. Be sure to nurse a coffee while you’re here—survey the many café vantage points and take your pick.
The dynamic statue in the middle honors Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), a composer and violinist once known throughout Europe. Behind Tartini, the Neo-Renaissance Town Hall (housing the TI) dates from the 1870s.
The fine little red palace in the corner (at #4, where Tartini’s left hand is gesturing) is the “Venetian House” (c. 1450), the oldest preserved house on the square. Classic Venetian Gothic, it was built by a wealthy Venetian merchant and comes with a legend: The merchant fell in love with a simple local girl when visiting on business, became her sugar daddy, and eventually built her this flat. When the townsfolk began to gossip about the relationship, he answered them with the relief you see today (with the Venetian lion, between the two top windows): Lassa pur dir (“Let them talk”).
Today the Venetian House’s ground floor hosts a branch of the enticing Piranske Soline shop, selling a classy range of culinary and health aids produced using the salt that’s gathered just around the bay from here. While those salt pans are worth a visit (Sečovlje Salina Nature Park, described later), this shop offers a chance to get a feel for that age-old local industry with minimal effort (open long hours daily, ulica IX Korpusa 2, tel. 05/673-3110, www.soline.si).
Piran is proud of its many churches, which number more than 20. While none is of any real historic or artistic importance, the Cathedral of St. George—dominating the town from the hilltop just above Tartini Square—is worth a look. This cathedral dates from the 14th century and was decorated in the Baroque style by Venetian artists in the 17th century. It dominates the Old Town with its bell tower (campanile), a miniature version of the more famous one on St. Mark’s Square in Venice. Why such a big church for such a little town? So that would-be invaders, surveying Piran from the sea, would spot a huge church and assume it marked a big city...not worth the risk or hassle to plunder.
Cost and Hours: Church and museum-€1, July-Aug Mon and Wed-Fri 10:00-16:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Tue; May-June and Sept-Oct Wed-Mon 10:00-16:30, closed Tue; closed Nov-April; bell tower-€1 to go up and “€0 to go down,” July-Aug daily 10:00-20:00, less off-season—generally until 19:00 or 18:00 in shoulder season.
Church and Museum: While you can peek into the church through a grate at the far end, you’ll need to enter through the door on the side (facing town) and buy a ticket for the church museum. The modest museum contains treasury items (including an elaborately decorated silver-and-gold statue of the church’s namesake, St. George, slaying a dragon) and a little crypt displaying some early foundations of the church building along with archaeological finds. Head up the stairs into the church interior, which is serenely decorated in proper Venetian Renaissance and Baroque style. You’ll see several dynamic interpretations of George and his dragon-slaying (including a giant statue left of the nave, and a painting on the ceiling). But the church’s prized possession hides in the presbytery: Stand directly in front of the altar, close up, and look right. This Piran Crucifixion, dating from the 14th century, is powerful and emotive. Nailed to a Y-shaped cross, Christ is at once expressionistic (with gnarled toes, awkwardly disjointed shoulders, and an elongated frame that exaggerates his agony) and gruesomely medieval. When the crucifix was restored recently, historians found countless layers of additions and modifications (including 10 layers of paint), suggesting how its appearance has flexed with the tenor of the times. Now protected in its glass box from the fickle seaside air, the crucifix is explained in detail by a free brochure available in the museum.
Bell Tower: The tower (with bells dating from the 15th century) welcomes tourists willing to climb 146 rickety steps for the best view in town and a chance for some bell fun. Stand inside the biggest bell. Chant, find the resonant frequency, and ring the clapper ever so softly. Snap a portrait of you, your partner, and the rusty clapper. Brace yourself for fortissimo clangs on the quarter-hour.
View Terrace: Even if you don’t ascend the tower, head to the grassy terrace behind the cathedral for sweeping views of the bays that flank Piran. First, looking over the rooftops of Piran, you’ll see a long peninsula jutting out. This is the northern edge of Croatia’s Istria.
Then, looking in the opposite direction, you’ll see a huge port city in the distance: Trieste, Italy. Until 1920, this metropolis (the main port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) had close ties to Slovenia—much of its population spoke Slovene. After it was annexed by Italy, many Slovenes moved closer to their compatriots in Yugoslavia, but a large Slovene-speaking minority still lives in the area (mostly in the rural areas surrounding the city).
Ponder how tiny Slovenia’s coastline is—wedged between Italy and Croatia (two nations with some of the longest coastlines in all of Europe). For years, Croatia maintained that, in accordance with the letter of international maritime law, a country with such a short coastline should not be allowed to operate a port—and yet, Slovenia does (its busy port town, Koper, is tucked just behind the peninsula in front of Trieste). Croatia said “the law’s the law!”—but Slovenes, along with many international observers, perceived it as bullying. After years of wrangling, in 2009, when Croatia needed Slovenia’s support to join the EU, the Slovenes said, “Not so fast...” and vetoed Croatia’s EU bid for 10 months. Eventually US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton intervened, and cooler heads prevailed—Croatia is in the EU, and Slovenia’s port is still busy.
Looking back to the base of Piran’s peninsula, you’ll get a good view of the crenellated castle that protected this strategic location.
This humble museum faces the harbor and the square, filling three floors of an elegant old building with faintly endearing exhibits. The first floor contains a darkened room of “underwater finds,” including a collection of amphorae from antiquity (see here) that are visible through a glass floor. The second floor is a series of dusty rooms on the history of seafaring, with a wide assortment of model ships, and a town model that illustrates how today’s Tartini Square was once an enclosed and fortified harbor. And the top floor hosts a modern exhibit honoring illustrious Slovenian seamen, with historical documents and uniforms. The exhibits are described only in Slovene and Italian, but you can borrow English descriptions for each floor (or buy an illustrated English booklet for €0.50). While the sight ranks slightly above average compared to the many other maritime museums along the Adriatic, I’d still save it for a rainy day.
Cost and Hours: €3.50; July-Aug Tue-Sun 9:00-12:00 & 17:00-21:00, closed Mon; Sept-June Tue-Sun 9:00-17:00, closed Mon; Cankarjevo nabrežje 3, tel. 05/671-0040, www.pomorskimuzej.si.
Small and a bit overpriced, Piran’s modern aquarium is well-presented, convenient (right off Tartini Square), and another decent rainy-day activity. You’ll stroll through a few rooms with tanks clearly labeled in English and filled with Adriatic sea life.
Cost and Hours: €7, mid-June-Aug daily 9:00-22:00, shorter hours and closed Mon off-season, Kidričevo nabrežje 4, tel. 05/673-2572, http://aquariumpiran.com.
This square, deep in a warren of cobbled lanes in the middle of the Old Town’s peninsula, marks the center of medieval Piran, where its main streets converged. Once the administrative center of town, today it’s the domain of local kids and ringed by a few humble eateries. The stone rainwater cistern dominating the square’s center was built in 1775 after a severe drought. Rainwater was captured here with the help of drains from roofs and channeled by hardworking statues into the system. The water was filtered through sand and stored in the well, clean and ready for townspeople to draw—or, later, pump—for drinking.
Wandering along the harborfront, with its chunky breakwater, is a delight: almost no pesky mopeds or cars, and virtually no American or Japanese tourists—just Slovenes and Italians. Children sell shells on cardboard boxes. Husky sunbathers lie like large limpets on the rocks. Walk around the lighthouse at the tip of the town and around the corner, checking out the cafés and fish restaurants along the way.
Piran has clear, warm, enticing water. And, while the town is too small and skinny to have a “beach” in the conventional sense, tourists find plenty of ways to go for a swim. Here are a few ideas, listed in geographical order from Tartini Square:
The big concrete pad in front of Hotel Piran, with a half-dozen ladders descending directly into the deep, may be the easiest choice. Coin-op showers, two nearby cafés (one in the hotel itself, and the adjacent Teater Café), and rentable beach chairs (€10 buys you two chairs and an umbrella) make this spot especially handy. It’s a public beach, so you can spread out a towel on the concrete and lounge for free.
If you continue past Hotel Piran along the embankment promenade (lined with restaurants), you’ll see plenty of swimmers and sunbathers trying to get comfortable on the big breakwater; try to find a flat rock to spread out on. (A few sunbathers scramble for space along the walkway, but this can get crowded.) Along here, several ladders provide easy access to the sea. While there’s no shower on the promenade, it’s a quick walk to the others noted here.
If you continue to the end of the promenade and hook around the lighthouse at the tip of town, you’ll soon come to an even bigger concrete pad. A bit less inviting than the one in front of Hotel Piran, it’s quite large, making this a good choice if the first two options are crowded. Cafés and free showers are nearby. Just past the end of the concrete is a small pebbly/rocky beach, but it’s less clean and less inviting.
Other options are a bit farther afield. Right near the traffic gate and parking lot at the entrance to town, you’ll find a small pebbly beach (with free showers); beyond that is a long stretch—basically the entire length of the Fornače parking lot—of concrete pad with ladders providing easy access into the sea. While not exactly serene, it’s uncrowded. To get to this area quickly, just hop on the free shuttle bus from Tartini Square (4/hour).
If you walk about 10 minutes past the Fornače parking lot and garage, you’ll reach a public beach in front of the Bernardin hotel complex.
With a car, you can drive to the town center of Portorož, which has a pleasant boardwalk and a sandy beach that’s arguably more appealing than anything in Piran itself.
Piran’s accommodations options are limited, but I’ve listed the best I could find in each price range below.
$$$ Hotel Tartini faces Piran’s gorgeous main square 50 yards from its tidy harbor. Its 46 simple rooms—jaunty, colorful, and a bit faded—feel like an Italian resort hotel. Though it’s not elegant, the hotel works hard to please its guests. Don’t miss the upstairs terrace, with great views over Tartini Square (Sb-€88/€82/€76, Db-€128/€110/€102; €10 more for seaside room with balcony; air-con, elevator, free Wi-Fi, discount for town parking garage, Tartinijev trg 15, tel. 05/671-1000, www.hotel-tartini-piran.com, info@hotel-tartini-piran.com, well-run by Andreja).
$$$ Hotel Piran, the waterfront grande dame of Piran, owns the best sea views in town. It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013 with an extensive renovation, which left its 89 rooms feeling fresh and upscale, if a bit soulless. The non-view rooms face a gloomy street; all of the seaview rooms come with a little balcony—worth paying the €30 extra for (seaview Sb-€105/€85/€75, non-view Db-€125/€105/€85, seaview Db-€155/€135/€115, air-con, elevator, free Wi-Fi, pay-for-use rooftop terrace, discount for town parking garage, Stijenkova 1, tel. 05/666-7100, www.hotel-piran.si, booking@hotel-piran.si).
$$ PachaMama Pleasant Stay is a vibrant guesthouse run with a youth-hostel mentality by well-traveled Mitija (who named the place for “Mother Earth” in an Incan language). The 10 rooms, just a block off Tartini Square, are modern, woody, sleek, small, straightforward, and well-priced. They share a multilevel terrace out back, in the shadow of the town bell tower (Db-€60, likely €10 more in July-Aug, no breakfast, air-con, free Wi-Fi, lots of stairs, Trubarjeva 8, tel. 05/918-3495, mobile 041-776-576, www.pachamama.si, info@pachamama.si).
$$ Bogdan and Jana Bevk rent six good apartments in two different buildings with roof terraces; both are buried in a quiet part of the Old Town. As they live elsewhere, call when you arrive so Bogdan can meet you and take you to the apartment (Db-€60/€50/€40, €10 more for newer apartments with sauna, 50 percent more for 1-2-night stays—though this is sometimes waived in slow times, no breakfast, air-con, free Wi-Fi, lots of stairs, discount for town parking lot, Marxova 13 and Prežihova 4, mobile 051-623-682, tel. 05/902-2111, www.bevk.si, info@bevk.si). They also have a much bigger, two-room apartment closer to Tartini Square (€120/€100/€80).
$$ Miracolo di Mare B&B, at the bus-station end of the Old Town, has 12 straightforward but comfortable rooms—each one a bit different—in a historic building. In good weather, breakfast is served out in the inviting garden, under a 75-year-old kiwi tree (Db-€70/€60, reception open 8:00-12:00 & 15:00-20:00, air-con in some rooms, free Wi-Fi in lobby, free loaner bikes, Tomšičeva 23, tel. 05/921-7660, mobile 051-445-511, Borut).
$ Val Youth Hostel is a friendly slumbermill a short block off the waterfront. The rooms are small, basic, and a bit dated, but perfectly sleepable and affordably priced (52 beds in 20 two-, three-, or four-bed rooms; €25/€22 per person, lower price is for Sept-May, €5 more for 1-night stays in peak season, includes breakfast and sheets, prices are the same regardless of room size, free self-service laundry, kitchen, free guest computer and Wi-Fi, 20 yards in from waterfront near tip of peninsula at Gregorčičeva 38A, tel. 05/673-2555, www.hostel-val.com, yhostel.val@siol.net). Some services are available to non-guests: You can eat breakfast here (€5), use their guest computer or Wi-Fi (free, but buy a drink), and—if they’re not busy and if you ask nicely—use their laundry facilities (likely for a small fee).
Pricey tourist bars and restaurants face the sea (figure about €20 per main course), while the laid-back, funky, and colorful local joints seem to seek an escape from both the tourists and the sun in the back lanes. Get off the beaten track to find one of my recommended restaurants, and you’ll enjoy a seafood-and-pasta feast for half what you’d pay in Venice (just across the sea).
Restaurant Neptun, with fresh seafood and pastas served in a fishnet-strewn dining room, is my favorite eatery in town. I find it far classier than the tacky tourist fish joints. The Grilj family works hard to please six tables of diners (plus two more outside in the nondescript alley in good weather). Everything’s made to order with fish straight out of the Adriatic—nothing’s frozen. I can’t resist their gnocchi with scampi as a starter. Consider splurging on a whole fish, grilled to perfection (€7-10 pastas, €8-20 meat and fish dishes, daily 12:00-16:00 & 18:00-22:00, Župančičeva 7, tel. 05/673-4111). Don’t confuse this with Neptun Café, at the waterfront bus station.
Pri Mari Restaurant is about a 10-minute walk from Tartini Square, near the entrance to town. Gregarious Mara and Tomaž will welcome you into their cheery dining room like an old friend, then treat you to tasty Venetian-style cooking (€8-12 pastas, €9-17 meat and fish dishes, Tue-Sat 12:00-16:00 & 18:00-22:00, Sun 12:00-17:00—or until 22:00 in July-Aug, closed Mon, Dantejeva 17, tel. 05/673-4735).
Pizzeria Petica, tucked down a back lane, is atmospheric and tasty. Dine in the cozy interior, or sit outside (€5-8 pizzas, daily 11:00-23:00, Župančičeva 6, tel. 080-3588).
Sarajevo ‘84, part of a small Slovenian chain, oozes Yugo-nostalgia for the year that the Bosnian capital hosted the Olympics. This is the spot for a break from fish and pasta—the menu features gigantic portions of inexpensive, stick-to-your-ribs Bosnian grilled meats (for help navigating the menu, read the “Balkan Flavors” sidebar on here). Sit in the Bosnian-themed interior, or out on the terrace, overlooking a busy street and the sailboat harbor (filling—and splittable—€5-7 meals, Mon-Sat 9:00-24:00, Sun 9:00-22:00, Tomšičeva 43, tel. 05/923-5044).
Restaurant Delfin is an unpretentious, crank-’em-out fish restaurant with a good reputation and tables out on the Old Town’s atmospheric May 1 Square (€6-7 pastas, €8-12 meat dishes, €7-18 fish dishes, daily 11:00-24:00, Kosovelova 4, tel. 05/673-2448, Pašalič family).
Quick Bites and Picnics: For food on the go, duck behind the Town Hall (which houses the TI). You’ll find an outdoor market (Mon-Sat 7:00-13:00); a bakery selling pizza slices, sandwiches, and burek to go (Naša Pekarna, daily 7:00-18:00); a Mercator supermarket (Mon-Fri 7:00-20:00, Sat 7:00-13:00, Sun 8:00-12:00); and a pay WC.
Drinks: Teater Café is the place for drinks with Adriatic views and a characteristic old interior. Catching the sunset here is a fine way to kick off your Piran evening (pricey €6-8 cocktails, open long hours daily, Stjenkova 1). If you prefer to sit out on Tartini Square, you can take your pick of cafés. Hotel Tartini has a hidden terrace, called Altana, high above the scene, with dynamite views over the square and church bell tower; while officially open only in peak season (July-Aug daily 18:00-22:00), at other times you can buy a drink down on the square, then take it up to the terrace to enjoy (elevator to floor 2, then go outside and head up the stairs).
Piran has a small, unstaffed bus station, right along the water near the entrance to town.
The best way to connect Piran with Ljubljana is by bus (5/day Mon-Fri, 2/day Sat, 4/day Sun, 2.5 hours, www.ap-ljubljana.si). By train, the trip takes four hours (bus between Piran and Koper, then train between Koper and Ljubljana).
By Bus: Piran has decent connections to Croatian Istria, but the specific schedule tends to fluctuate from year to year; it’s smart to confirm your plans at www.ap-ljubljana.si, or ask the Piran TI. If Rovinj is your goal, you’ll likely have two options daily in summer: an express bus in the late morning (runs July-Sept), and a slower bus in the afternoon (runs late June-Aug, 3 hours to Rovinj; both buses also stop in Poreč en route). Year-round, there are also buses going from Piran to Poreč and Pula (2/day Mon-Fri, 1/day Sat-Sun); from those towns, you can transfer to reach Rovinj. There are additional bus connections between Piran and Umag (at the northern end of Istria; 3/day Mon-Fri, 2/day Sat-Sun). From Umag, buses run to other destinations in Istria (including Rovinj and Pula). Additional connections into Istria depart from Portorož, the large resort town next to Piran.
By Boat: Trieste Lines runs boats from Trieste (Italy) to Piran, Poreč, and Rovinj—potentially handy for connecting Piran to those Istrian destinations (about 5/week; as schedule is in flux, check details at www.triestelines.it).
A boat called the Prince of Venice—designed for day-trippers, but also convenient for one-way transport—sails from the nearby town of Izola to Venice two or three times each week in peak season (roughly May-Sept, with a few departures in April and Oct, 3-hour trip each way; €60-70 round-trip depending on season, 30 percent less for one-way; departs from Izola at 8:00 and arrives in Venice at 11:00, shuttle bus picks up at Piran’s Tartini Square one hour before departure; boat returns from Venice on the same day at 17:00, arriving Izola at 20:00; book through Kompas Travel Agency, www.kompas-online.net).
Commodore Cruises also runs a ship called Dora from Piran to Venice, but the schedule is more sporadic (check your latest option at www.commodore-cruises.hr).
Piran is a natural stopover between Ljubljana and Croatia’s Istria. You can do the Karst sights on the way down (lined up conveniently along the A-1 expressway), sleep in Piran, then continue to Istria; or simply make a beeline to Piran and see the town before moving on to sleep in Istria.
From Ljubljana to Piran: Piran is about 1.5 hours from Ljubljana. From Ljubljana, take the A-1 expressway south to Koper; when the expressway ends at the outskirts of Koper, follow Portorož/Portorose signs—enjoying grand views over the bay to Trieste on your right, and passing the charming old town of Izola—then Piran/Pirano signs. For arrival and parking instructions, see “Arrival in Piran,” earlier.
From Piran to Croatia’s Istria: Leaving Piran, go through Portorož, then Lucija, then follow signs to Pula. Just after you enter Seča, signs on the right point to the salt pans of Sečovlje Salina Nature Park (described next). The border is just a few minutes straight ahead. (If you want to see the salt museum, remember that it’s between the Slovenian and Croatian border posts—just after leaving Slovenia, keep an eye on the right for the very easy-to-miss gravel road.) Once in Croatia, follow Pula signs to get on the ipsilon highway that zips you down through the middle of Istria.
While Piran is easily the most worthwhile destination on Slovenia’s coast, the historic and well-presented salt pans at Sečovlje Salina Nature Park—a short drive or boat ride to the south—are interesting and convenient, especially if you’re heading to Croatia. The big city of Koper is skippable, but unavoidable, if you’re visiting this region by cruise ship. Fortunately, if you do come to Koper on a ship, it’s easy to get to Piran, and possible to reach other attractions in Slovenia.
A few miles south of Piran, a literal stone’s throw from the Croatian border, the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park (Krajinski Park Sečoveljske Soline) features enormous salt pans, which have been used since the Middle Ages for harvesting this precious mineral—back in the days before refrigeration, when salt’s preservative powers made it more valuable than gold. As you drive by on the way to Croatia, you’ll wonder what this massive complex is...so why not stop for a visit?
The “nature park” has two parts: Lera, to the north, harvests salt using 700-year-old techniques, and has a fine visitors center and a saltwater spa; Fontanigge, to the south (closer to Croatia), has a good museum to explain traditional salt-harvesting methods to tourists. I never thought salt could be so interesting. The only catch is that, in order to preserve the unique landscape around the salt pans, visitors aren’t allowed to drive all the way to the attractions; you’ll have to walk (15 minutes to Lera, 30 minutes or more to Fontanigge) or hitch a ride on a golf cart (Lera only).
Cost and Hours: €5 covers entry to both Fontanigge and Lera salt fields, the visitors center, and the museum; salt fields and visitors center open daily 8:00-21:00 in summer, until 20:00 in shoulder season, until 17:00 off-season; museum open daily April-Oct 9:00-18:00, closed Nov-March; tel. 05/672-2341, www.kpss.si.
Getting There: The nature park is between Piran and the Croatian border. For drivers heading south toward Croatia (see “Route Tips for Drivers,” earlier), you’ll pass the entrance to the Lera salt field on your right, just after entering the town of Seča (watch for brown Sečoveljske soline signs). To visit Lera, go down a steep cobbled stretch, then cross a bridge over a channel to reach the ticket booth (from here, it’s a 15-minute walk—described later). For Fontanigge—farther along the main road—it’s more complicated: You’ll actually have to cross the Slovenian border, then a few feet later, just before you reach the Croatian border post, you’ll see a gravel road on the right, leading to the salt field. It’s a five-minute drive to the gate, where you’ll park and walk about 30 minutes to the museum.
Fit cyclists can bike from Piran to the salt fields in about an hour (for bike-rental information, see “Helpful Hints,” earlier).
If you don’t have your own wheels, the only possibility is to take the very sporadic Solinarka boat from Piran (goes right to the museum, typically runs in summer only, frequency depends on demand—ask for schedule at the Piran TI).
Visiting the Park: Remember, there are two parts to the nature park, which are a drive, bike ride, or long hike away from each other. If you’re choosing just one, make it Lera, which is easier to reach (since it’s a shorter walk and has a golf-cart option). Fortanigge—which requires a long hike—is for die-hards.
Lera: The Lera section has a multimedia visitors center, small café, and salt-products shop, and gives you a good look at the salt pans themselves.
Buy your ticket at the small wooden kiosk near the parking lot. From here, it’s about a half-mile (15-minute) walk to the attractions, passing a shop selling products made with the salt harvested here. If you’d rather skip the walk, you can pay €1 per person to ride a golf cart (scheduled to depart at the top of each hour, but they can typically request one for you at other times—ask).
It’s actually enjoyable to walk at least one way through the neat patchwork of vast, wood-framed salt pans, connected by a series of canals with little doors. Keep an eye out for workers harvesting salt just as it was done from medieval times up until the Austrians arrived in 1904. Museum docents do it the way their ancestors did: First, they fill up the shallow pans with seawater, then they seal them off and allow the water to naturally evaporate, leaving behind those precious deposits. Once most of the water is gone, they use large rake-like tools to sweep the salt into big piles. You’ll most likely see salt gatherers at work during the peak of summer (July-Aug), when the hot sun speeds evaporation. (Be aware that the walk can be blazing hot, with nearly no shade—perfect conditions for harvesting salt.)
The multimedia center shows a mesmerizing 30-minute film (with English subtitles) of modern-day locals harvesting salt the same way their ancestors did. “In 700 years,” they note, “only the clothing has changed.” Traditional tools decorate the walls. In the adjoining hall, you can see a model of the entire area of the salt pans; learn more about the history and ecology of salt-gathering; and watch short video clips about local birds (which thrive in this salty ecosystem). Everything is nicely presented and well-described in English.
Next to the multimedia center is a small café (selling €3-4 light meals, €6-8 main courses, and drinks—not surprisingly, all those piles of salt just seem to make people thirsty). Climbing the spiral staircase on the adjacent building, you’ll reach a rooftop viewpoint offering panoramic views over the entire area. Also nearby are WCs.
To get the most out of your visit, consider booking an affordable guided tour (€30, 1.5-hour guided walk through the salt fields, reserve 2 days ahead at www.kpss.si/en/visiting/guided-tours).
In a different part of Lera (about a mile from the ticket booth) is the Thalasso Lepa Vida Spa, where you can soak in salty water and order a range of other treatments, such as salt-pan mud wraps and other salty exfoliations (€18/up to 2 hours, includes €5 museum ticket and free golf-cart ride from ticket booth, other treatments cost extra, April-Oct daily 9:00-20:00, weather-dependent and closed Nov-March, tel. 05/672-1360, www.thalasso-lepavida.si).
Fontanigge: This part of the park—within a few feet of the Croatian border, which is just over the little river—is home to the Salt-Making Museum. From the parking lot, it’s a long two-mile hike along a bumpy gravel road to the museum. Well-explained by posted English information and a knowledgeable docent, the exhibit demonstrates tools and methods, illustrating the lifestyles of the people who eked out a hard living on these salty marshes (for example, since they all shared a communal oven, each family had their own stamp for marking their loaves of bread).
The big city a half-hour to the north of Piran, Koper, is a gloomy industrial burg (pop. 25,000) that is emerging as a popular cruise port. I wouldn’t bother coming here unless you’re arriving by cruise ship—in which case, you can follow my instructions below.
Ships put in right in front of the Old Town. You’ll exit the terminal building into a tidy collection of tourist stalls and a small TI kiosk (TI tel. 05/664-6403, www.koper.si). Across the street, you’ll see fragments of Koper’s stout town wall. The bus stop directly in front of the port gate serves a hop-on, hop-off tourist train that does a loop around the Old Town perimeter (€2/ride, four stops, but basically pointless). Free Wi-Fi is available in the port area.
While Koper itself is worth a quick stroll, most cruisers will want to move on to more enticing destinations farther afield. The easiest (and probably best) choice is Piran, well-connected by bus; also consider riding a bus to Trieste, or hiring a guide for a busy day driving all over Slovenia (Ljubljana, Lake Bled, the famous caves, and more). Each option is described below.
Koper: While this big city lacks charm, its main square is worth a quick peek, and it has a fine harborfront promenade. To explore, turn right as you exit the port, then turn left at the speed bump just past the big, blocky wall. Climbing up the stairs and turning left, you can walk to the view terrace overlooking the cruise port. From here, do a 180 and follow brown Center/Centro signs directly away from the port. After a long block, you’ll pop out in Koper’s main square, Titov trg. On this square, you’ll find a climbable, 204-step bell tower; a TI (inside the crenellated castle, Praetorian Palace/Pretorska Palača; daily 9:00-20:00, less off-season, www.koper.si); a loggia with café tables; and a Mecator supermarket with an ATM by the front door. After exploring here, head to the most scenic stretch of Koper’s waterfront: Facing the palace with the TI, turn right down Kuričeva ulica. You’ll head through the atmospheric Old Town (and pass another ATM on your right) until you reach a little square with a loggia. Just beyond this is the waterfront; if you follow it to the left, you’ll find a broad and nicely manicured promenade.
To Piran: Slovenia’s most charming coastal town is easily reached by bus (departs every 20-30 minutes Mon-Fri, hourly Sat-Sun, 45 minutes, €3.10 one-way). The bus to Piran leaves from a stop that’s about a 10-minute walk from your ship. Exiting the port area, turn left and walk alongside a long, multicolored building on your left. At the end of this building, watch for the covered bus stop across the street, on your right. This is where you can catch the bus to Piran. If, instead, you prefer to explore Koper’s downtown core a bit, you can follow the instructions above, looping through the main square and following Kuričeva ulica down to the waterfront. When you reach the water, turn left and head along Pristaniska ulica, with the cement-colored market on your right-hand side. When you reach the roundabout, turn right and head for the bus stop on the right side of the street (next to the parking lot), where you can catch the Piran-bound bus.
To Trieste or Ljubljana: While the bus to Piran leaves from Koper’s town center, other connections depart from Koper’s adjacent train and bus stations, which sit beyond the far end of the Old Town. To avoid the long walk, you can hop on any public bus, all of which head for this station. From the main bus station, you can ride the bus into the nearby Italian port city of Trieste (6/day, none on Sun, 45-60 minutes)—the historic port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with a fine Old Town and a romantic harbor. To go farther afield, you can head north to Ljubljana. Reaching the capital takes about 2.5 hours by bus or by train, but connections are sparse (about 4/day on either, though the only times convenient for cruisers are the 10:03 train or the 10:50 bus—both Mon-Fri only).
To Elsewhere in Slovenia: As the drive to Ljubljana takes an hour less (about 1.5 hours each way), hiring your own guide/driver is an efficient splurge to efficiently link together several worthwhile Slovenian stopovers. A popular round-trip from Koper is to visit both Ljubljana and Lake Bled before returning to your ship; if you skip Bled, you’ll have time to tour one of the great caves (Škocjan or Postojna) or other sights (such as the Lipica Stud Farm) between the coast and Ljubljana. Bled-based guides Tina Hiti and Sašo Golub can take you on an all-day excursion to see Ljubljana and Bled for €300 (price for up to 3 people; for details, see here).
