Istria, a pearl everybody wants
It's said of Istria, the peninsula that hangs from Croatia's northernmost tip, that in every home there is a drawer containing seven flags.
The story goes that each time a different army invaded, residents would simply hang out the appropriate flag. Not surprising in a region that has changed hands more times than a used Mercedes; from the Germans to the Venetians to the Austrians to the French, to the Austrians again, on to the Italians then finally into Tito's Yugoslavia. It wrenched itself free of the lot of them, and was reborn as part of the newly formed Croatia in 1991.
Istria was desirable because of its ports - Porec, Pula and Rovinj - but inland it was usually dismissed as a rump of land with not much to offer. The Brits have re-embraced parts of Croatia - the Dalmatian coast and Dubrovnik, and the islands of Brae and Hvar - but Istria isn't seeing the same surge in visitor numbers.
The Germans charged back in, and coastal resorts such as Porec and Rovinj are dominated by German tourism, but more savvy visitors, mostly British, are discovering that inland Istria combines a landscape of lush green hills and honey-coloured hilltop towns reminiscent of Umbria, and with the kind of tranquillity you'd only find in Tuscany on a rainy day in February.
Anyway, Istria offers space to
everyone and locals are friendly. As Istria is easily accessed by
budget flight British tourism to the area will grow and Istria property
prices will raise more too.
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