Rovinj
A town that was an island until the channel was filled in 1763
- When to go
- October 18° · 10 rainy days
- Per day
- €€€€price 4 of 5
- How many days
- 2days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 31 km Pula · 75 km Rijeka
- Right now
Rovinj was an island off the coast for centuries, so it was built upward instead of outward — houses pressed against one another right down to the water, with no beach and no quay beneath them. The channel separating it from the mainland was filled in 1763, but the shape of the town has not changed since.
The bell tower of St Euphemia was modelled on the one in St Mark's Square in Venice and is visible from the sea before the town is — the shortest description of Istrian history there is. Climbing the wooden staircase costs a ticket and isn't for anyone who dislikes heights, but the view over the archipelago is why people come.
The rest is the Zlatni Rt woods, a park south of town with shoreline paths and swimming off the rocks, and cycling towards Poreč, where the Parenzana trail begins — a former narrow-gauge railway turned cycle path towards Trieste. Istria, unlike Dalmatia, is done inland: Bale is a fifteen-minute drive, while Motovun and Grožnjan are an hour further and change what you think this part of Croatia is.
Guides for Rovinj
Shorter, practical pages for one concrete question each — how many days, how much money, where to sleep, where to escape the city.
Rovinj in 2 days
→The old town is dense and cobbled, so it fits into one day on foot; Zlatni Rt and the archipelago want a bike and a…
Day trips from Rovinj
→Limski Bay runs by panoramic boat and only operates in the warmer half of the year; Poreč and Bale go by coach…
Where to stay in Rovinj
→The old town keeps the bell tower, Grisia and the waterfront a few steps away; the area south towards Zlatni Rt keeps…
What to eat in Rovinj
→Rovinj shares its kitchen with the rest of Istria — truffles, maneštra, prosciutto and buzara-style scampi — and the…
The best time to visit Rovinj
→Rovinj sits on the northern Adriatic, where the sea only softens summer so much — May, June and September carry the…
What to see in Rovinj
The church of St Euphemia
A Venetian-modelled bell tower with a wooden staircase to the top. You see it from the sea before you see the town.
free (bell tower €4)
Grisia
The narrow street climbing to the church, lined with workshops and paintings. Once a year it becomes an open-air gallery.
free
Zlatni Rt
The pine park south of town, with shore paths and swimming off the rocks. Best covered by bike.
free
The archipelago
Islets and reefs off the town; boats to St Catherine and Red Island run several times an hour.
€12 one-way (€24, 2× return)
The batana
The traditional flat-bottomed boat that gave Rovinj an ecomuseum and evening singing on the quay. On UNESCO's Register of Good Safeguarding Practices since 2016.
€5 · closed weekends in winter (Jan, Feb, Dec)
The Parenzana
The former Trieste–Poreč narrow-gauge railway, turned cycle path; from Rovinj you reach it by riding to Poreč. Flat, through vineyards and tunnels.
free
Two things you probably did not know
Rovinj is officially bilingual: Croatian and Italian are equal, signs are in both, and the Italian community has its own schools. The Istro-Venetian dialect is still heard in the street.
By tradition the sarcophagus of Saint Euphemia floated across the sea to Rovinj in the year 800, after disappearing from Constantinople. The story says two calves dragged the stone tomb up the hill after every other attempt failed.
Ready for Rovinj?
Within reach from here
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Italy
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