Adriatic SPARKLER

Croatia's Istria has all the best of the Med rolled up into one

- Ellen Himelfarb

the seaside city of Pula is the perfect place to begin exploring Croatia's beautiful northern Istria peninsula - a sun-baked stretch of coast that has served as a valuable crossroads to Europeans for millennia and still blends the continent's many influences. The vestiges of bygone times are everywhere - and are cherished.

Remarkably, Pula is home to one of Croatia's oldest citizens, a woman born near the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Her descendants have spanned Mussolini's Italy, German occupation during World War Two, been both Yugoslavian and Croatian, and seen the nation join the eurozone in January. Six generations of one family, born in Pula, an ancient and yet modern city.

I discover this leaving the restored Roman arena, the only surviving Roman amphitheatre to have four side towers entirely preserved. I stroll down a storied street with galleries, gelato stands, an oak-lined park and Austrian villa. I duck into Zerostrasse, an underground shelter built by the Austrians in the run-up to World War One. It's been redeveloped as a city museum, and I feel vaguely spooked until I hail a lift to the exit and find myself atop a 17th-century Venetian fortress. I can see the amphitheatre, the cathedral tower and a succession of saffron-coloured villas. Croatians call this port the end of the world. And it feels like it. The winding coastline means nearly everywhere I go provides a panorama of pleasure boats and swimmers. South of town in Verudela, my hotel infinity pool overlooks a pretty marina and pebbly pine-shaded beach.

Sip and unwind