Slovenia isn’t that well known as a tourist hotspot. Yet. All that might change once people discover the amazing diversity this little country has to offer, from the stunning alpine lake of Bled, the caves of Skocjan , its charming capital town of Ljubljana and pretty towns like Piran that dot its beautiful coastline.
The peninsula of Piran overlooking the vibrant waters of the Adriatic
Piran is a charming little town, precariously perched on a tiny strip of land jutting out into the Adriatic. Piran, or Pirano (in Italian, which rhymes with Burano), has the look and feel of an Italian town and for good reason. It was part of the Venetian empire from the 13th to 18th century and was part of Italy till as recently as 1947. Wandering around the streets of Piran gave me a sense of deja vu as if I was walking in Venice.
Shuttered windows and pastel shades: reminiscent of Italian architecture
The church of St. George and the Venetian house (this red building is the oldest on Tartini square and is an excellent example of gothic Venetian architecture).. sadly both were closed by the time we got to Piran 🙁
I drove to Piran from the picturesque alpine town of Bled, cruising on the excellent roads of Slovenia and arrived at Portorož which is a leisurely 30 min walk along the coast away from Piran. It has more accommodation options available, and I didn’t find anything in Piran for my stay. It was late afternoon by the time I had finished checking in. I strolled along the beautiful coastal path and ambled on towards Piran and true to myself I treated myself to a Gelato along the way while I admired the blue waters of the Adriatic.
The promenade of Piran
Piran juts out of the coast and you can see the colorful roofs of the houses from quite some distance away. There is a lovely promenade walk around the town that is dotted with restaurants serving predominately italian fare and fresh seafood. When you approach Piran from Portorož, you first hit a small harbor behind which is the famous, oval shaped Tartini square. The square usually hosts some or the other festival or farmers market in summer and is lined with some beautifully preserved buildings that are an excellent example of Venetian architecture.
The small marina in Piran, a little to the right is the entrance to Tartini square
Tartini square
There are numerous small alleyways that lead into the heart of the town from the square, stroll along any one of them to step back in time. The small size of Piran is very evident here as within 10 minutes of walking you are out on the other side of the peninsula and can circle back along the promenade. Most of the better restaurants are located between the harbor and the tip of Piran. After walking around for a while and trying to capture the pasted shaded houses in the dying evening light, I finally worked up an appetite and started checking out the menus of the different restaurants on the menu.
The lovely pastel colored houses on Tartini square
Intricate designs on Tartini house
We finally settled on Restaurant Pavel and had a sumptuous Italian dinner complete with wine. Unfortunately, this is the only meal on my 10 day roadtrip that I forgot to take pictures of, so no visual treat here. Needless to say the food was fresh and getting seafood is highly recommended. You can really see the Italian past of Piran in the food, the pasta is as good as any you will have in Italy!
The promenade with restaurants doling out sumptuous Italian fare
The walkway along the coast of Piran
After being stuffed to the brim with yummy Italian food, I was in no mood to walk back, so I hailed a cab and in less than 5 mins was back in my hotel in Portorož. Sadly, I didn’t allocate too much time to Piran in my itinerary otherwise I would have loved to have climbed the city walls and see one of the most famous shots of Piran. Early next morning, I had an amazing Continental breakfast buffet at my hotel and then set off for the stunning waterfalls of Plitvice.
Yummy breakfast at our hotel, I forgot to take pictures of the baked goods..they were lip-smackingly delicious!
Logistics
Piran is a leisurely 2 hour drive from Bled or an hour and a half from the capital Ljubljana. Roads in Slovenia are excellent and well marked, and you won’t have any trouble driving at all. I stayed at the excellent Hotel Marko in Portorož, which is situated in a lovely yellow and orange villa facing the sea. The best part about it is the amazing all you can eat breakfast (included in the room rent). I think it was a revelation for me in SE Europe that the standard of breakfasts was so amazing, it puts the free breakfasts most hotels advertise in the USA to shame.
This reminded me of King’s Road from Game of Thrones (The original King’s Road is called the Dark Hedges and is located in Northern Ireland)
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