Rovinj



Rovinj (Italian: Rovigno) is a city in Istria. The city is officially bilingual (Croatian and Italian).

By plane
Rovinj is served by Pula airport approximately 30 km south. The easiest way to reach Rovinj from the airport is to drive - the journey takes approximately 40 minutes. Cars are not permitted in Rovinj, but Rovinj is pretty small, so parking is available close to most of the outside of Rovinj. Prices are around per hour (the park-o-meters accept only coins).

By bus
There are also buses from Central Pula run by Flixbus.

By boat
Venezia Lines is a high speed ferry company in the North Adriatic, linking Venice to the Istrian coast and in particular Rovinj. Departure (in season) every day at 17:00 and arrival at 20:00.

Get around
Rovinj and the surrounding area are small, and are easily accessible on foot. Bicycle hire is quite inexpensive in Rovinj and there are very good cycle tracks up and down the coast.

See
Rovinj is best explored on foot. Worth seeing are the original entrance into the city, the Balbi Arch; the market at Valdibora; the cathedral of Sv. Euphemia; the artists' street of Grisia, described as "Rovinj's Montmartre"; and the harbour in the centre of town.

There are also taxi boats and excursions to St Katherine's Island, in the harbour.

Do

 * Walk around in Rovinj.
 * Climb the campanile of the cathedral of Sv Euphemia in the middle of Rovinj.
 * Shop for truffles, olive oil, seafood or fruit and vegetables in the open air market, between 07:00 and 16:00.
 * Cycle there are miles of cycle tracks to the south through pine forest that follow the coast line. Cycle Hire is relatively cheap for good quality bikes.
 * Swim right there, below the church you can clamber over the rocks and take a dive in the Adriatic.

Rock climbing
There is a big climbing area just half an hour by foot from the city centre (follow signs to the Park Hotel, then 10 minutes further down the road).

There are several other climbing areas in the region, but you need a car to get there:
 * Limski Canal
 * Dvigrad

Buy
The excellent market on Valdibora sells fresh fish straight from the boat; truffles and truffle oil; olive oil; plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Eat
''Be sure to carry cash, as not all places accept cards, and in those which do, the feature is usually "temporarily out of order". Many establishments close over the winter.''

Go next
Rovinj is well-placed for visiting the Limski Kanal (Lim Canal), where the film The Long Ships was shot. Excursions can also be made to the Brijuni Islands National Park, and to many of the other cities in Istria, such as Pula, Novigrad, Porec, Pazin, and Opatija. A slightly longer journey could take you to Rijeka; Izola or Piran in Slovenia; or Trieste in Italy, all of which fall within the ancient boundaries of Istria. There is a daily high-speed ferry during the warmer months to Venice from the harbour in Rovinj. The ferry takes about 2 hours and takes you to almost the centre of Venice.