The best small towns in the Istria county of Croatia

A large large portion of my 2019 Europe trip was spent in Croatia, and I was so lucky that part of it was with my friend Erin, who did a river cruise and was able to meet up with me in Vienna. We had already visited together Ljubljana and Bled, Slovenia, and had then traveled to Rovinj, on the coast of Croatia. After spending the evening in Rovinj we decided to make use of the rental car and drive to some of the small towns in the area where we were staying- Istria- which is the westernmost county of Croatia.

Bale

Our first stop was Bale, south of Rovinj but only a 20 minute drive away. It’s a small town of just 1,000 people. The town was completely captivating with its stone buildings and cobbled streets, all that surround a 15th century castle.

We briefly stopped into the Holy Spirit Church, a tiny church built in the 15th century with beautiful frescoes on the wall.

we were able to find free parking just outside the city center, and the town was so small we were able to explore the whole thing in just an hour. It was sooooo hot outside and the heat felt like it was just coming up from the sidewalk, but it was just so charming walking around the winding streets.

One of the best things about these little towns, and I’ve noticed it all over Croatia, is there are hordes of these stone buildings, some a little dilapidated (though I feel obsessed with the ones that look a little worn out, they have so much character and imagine the stories they could tell if buildings could talk), yet you discover so many adorable courtyards with beautiful flowers and vegetation.

We came across a very cute little cafe with a darling courtyard with some shady trees and fun art so we decided to have lunch there- and I’m so glad we did; not only did they make their own syrups for the drinks (mine sage and Erin’s mint and lemon) but the cheese plate and vegetarian plate were amazing, and I also got some company from this adorable dog!

After lunch we walked around a bit more, and that is when we learned that Casanova stayed in Bale, and here he fell in love (as he so often did) with the owner of the palace in Bale. I met my own little Casanova outside the cafe, look how adorable he was.

Motovun

After Bale we drove for about an hour to Motovun, which is set on top of a hill, and I mean wayyyy up there. Before we arrived at the town we were able to pull off the side of the ride and take pics from afar, look how beautiful!

You can either park at the bottom of the town and walk up to the main town for free, or pay 20 kuna to drive up to the top, which Erin insisted we do. I did some sweet parallel parking on the edge of the hilltop but then worried the whole time we were in the town that I had forgotten to put on the parking brake and that my car had rolled down the hill (it didn’t).

Motovun is another medieval town with cobblestone streets and stone buildings- and those views! As we walked up the streets to get into the center of town we were admiring the Mirna River valley that was below us. It was so lovely that we decided to stop and have a drink while looking out over the valley.

After our refreshments (that lemon radler hits the spot in the heat!) we just wandered the street, looked at the town wall that encircles the town and you can pay to walk on (we didn’t), but we did walk on them for as far as we could before heading back to the town center.

in the center of town, at the highest point, one can find the bell-tower, dating from the 13th century, and the Parish Church of St. Stephen next to it is from the 17th century. In the same square there is also the Municipal Palace

While walking around the town we did find a house of race car driver Mario Andretti. So it was practically a star-studded day (the “sometimes-homes” of Casanova and Andretti, does it get better than that?!?) and after seeing that house we continued exploring the winding roads, but walking in the direction of “down”.

Grožnjan

After Motovun we decided to we had enough time to visit one more town, so we drove 40 minutes to Grožnjan, another gorgeous small town located on the top of a hill that you spot from the distance.

Of the three towns we visited that day, this ended up being my favorite, and Erin’s too. I loved that this town had even more trees and flowers everywhere, as well as beautiful, colorful shutters. Erin loved that this town was known for music and artists, and it was full of studios of people selling their art.

Apparently in the summer artists and musicians descend on this town, yet while we were there it didn’t feel busy. The artists started coming to this town in 1965, taking over the buildings that were abandoned by the Italians. I loved the feel of this town, but I am part hippy, so I’d love to come back and stay for a few evenings.

There you have it, the three most adorable towns in Istria. It was so nice to escape the hustle-bustle of the big cities for the day and aimlessly roam the streets of these towns that utterly charmed me. I hope you get to see them one day too!