More Sights in Piran

We started the day by touring the town walls before hordes of tourists descended on Piran. The walls encircled the oldest part of the own in the 7th century. As the town grew, more walls were built. The final walls were completed between 1470-1534 encircling all of Piran. View image

There were eight towers with battlements of which seven gates are still preserved. Piran is a member of the “Friendly Circle of Walled Towns” which is dedicated to preserving what few walled towns are left in the world.

From the top of the walls, you can see the entire town of Piran laid out before you.

We also visited the Church S. Giorgio (St. George, the patron saint of Piran)…

and the Campanile (bell tower) built in 1452 on the model of the Venetian bell tower;

There are other things to do. How about a day-trip by boat to Venice on weekends from Piran? It costs about 60 Euros/per person. The boat takes about 2 hours each way, and docks directly in Venice.

Or a walk to Portoroz/Portorose, about three miles, down the coast from Piran. Portoroz is a much bigger resort area but without the old charm of Piran. We walked by water parks, trampolines, a miniature golf course, and casinos. Buses run to and from the two towns every 15 minutes and cost about $1.50. There is also a vast bus network from here back to Ljubljana, Zagreb, Croatia and other towns throughout the Peninsula. Or rent a car from Hertz, Avis, Budget or National! (There are many other car rental agencies too.) Slovenia has an excellent road system.

We ended our day eating at Ivos and had a wonderful waitress who actually told us that ONE salad and ONE portion of French fries would be enough for two people – she was honest and right. (I referred to the large portions in Slovenia previously.) Piran is chock-a-block with lovely restaurants, inns and pizzerias all along the outer part of the promenade facing the sea. Squid, and other kinds of seafood, is the speciality as expected on a seacoast. The prices were not outrageous, but everything is ala carte. The squid was SO good!

Tomorrow, we’ll take the public bus and visit Izola…