Lena's blog : 10 THINGS TO DO IN PIRAN!

A few weeks ago, from May 14th to May 16th, I went to Piran, Slovenia. Never heard of Piran before? Well, that's a shame! Even though it's already been a few years ago, I still remember how one of my old geography teachers told me about this town for the first time. We were talking about all the European countries, and when we were talking about Slovenia, he said that we definitely should go to Piran one day because it's so beautiful there and omg was he right! Since that exact moment I've been planning to go there.

But what could you possibly be doing in Piran?

Before I start answering this question, there's a bit of basic information that you'll need.

Piran isn't really made for cars, and if you wanna go there you have to pay quite a lot. However, there is a huge parking garage about 300m before the main city entrance. So you can park your car there (17€ per day) and then take the free city bus which brings you to Tartini Square (it's the main square).

I - GO UP THE BELLTOWER

The Bell Tower, which is about 46.5m high, was completed in the year 1608 and is a smaller copy of 'San Marco Campanile' in Venice. Along with other newer bells, there's also one bell from the 15th century. You can climb that tower during the summer months and admire the breathtakingly beautiful view you have from up there. Not only do you have a great view over Piran, but also of the entire Slovenian and Croatian nearby Istria's area, as well as the Italian coast from Trieste to Duino and from Tarvisio to Grado.

cost: 1€/person

II - GO TO THE CITY WALL

The city wall was part of the city from the 7th century. Back then most of the city was located inside the wall, but during the 'Golden Age' of the city, the wall was partly demolished and rebuilt at a different location allowing the city to continue growing.

From up there you have a terrific view of Piran, which you can see in the pictures below. Apart from the view you get from up there, it also is quite fun 'climbing' around there.

cost: free

III - EXPLORE ALL THE NARROW ALLEYS

But beware, when walking around, you may forget that you're actually in Slovenia and not Italy from time to time. Piran isn't called the 'Venice of Slovenia' for no reason. And once you get there you also immediately understand why. It doesn't have any canals or gondolas or amazingly famous bridges, but it sure is influenced by Venice and Italy in general which you can see in the architecture of the buildings. However, just walking around is so relaxing, cause there weren't a lot people wandering around most of the time.

IV - THE SEA

Depending on when you're going, you can do a lot of different things: like go swimming, go sailing, take a boat trip to Venice for example, just sit by the sea and listen to the sound of the waves,...

Unfortunately we didn't bring a bikini, and the water probably would have been too cold still to go swimming, but we spent quite a lot time sitting by the seaside, watching all the boats, listening to the sound of the waves, and laying in the sun.

V - TARTINI SQUARE

This is the main square, where most of the magic happens ;) At the first day we had lunch in one of the restaurants, and other than that there are some small shops, a bank, Hotel Tartini and caffe's. We also had breakfast there one morning and I nearly got hit by one of the huge sun umbrellas they had, so beware! :b

So get yourself an ice cream, sit on one of the benches and just absorb everything that's going on around you. I feel like that that's just the place where people get together, young and old, foreigners and locals. There's always something going on here.

VI - TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS

Piran is such a picturesque town, so take the advantage of that and take loads and loads of photos. Even though we stayed there just from Saturday to Monday, I took more than 500 photos. Therefore it's also really hard to pick the ones for this post, because (nearly) all of them are so pretty and I want to share them with you. There are also loads of cool places to take photos, but see for yourself:

VII - THE AQUARIUM

We paid the Aquarium a visit, because why not, and I kind of have to disappoint you, it's not as cool as it sounds. It's quite small and I guess that this is more attractive to kids, but nevertheless it was a 'nice' experience.

cost: 5€/person for adults

opening hours: depends on when you're going

from 9am - 5,7 or 8 pm

FISH FEEDING - each wednesday and sunday, at 14.00 o' clock. - price: 5€ per person

VIII - THE MUSEUM OF UNDERWATER ACTIVITIES PIRAN

Honestly, I can't tell you much about this one, because we didn't go in there. All I know is that the museum collets, studies and presents the maritime past of the coastal region and all the economic branches connected with the sea. If this sounds interesting to you, then you should definitely pay a visit!

working hours: Tuesday - Sunday : 9.00 - 12.00 & 17.00 - 21.00

IX - EAT!

There are lots of restaurants in Piran so eat as often as you can, so you can test all of them ;) No but seriously, whether it'd be for breakfast, lunch or dinner go eat in a restaurant and enjoy the atmosphere and the view. There are also a 'few' restaurants near the sea - eating delicious food is even better when you can watch the sea whilst doing so!

X - EXPLORE THE NEIGHBOURING TOWNS

You could rent a bike or scooter and explore the neighbouring towns of Piran, which are Fiesa, Portorož, Lucija, Izola & Koper. If you don't want to take a bike or scooter there are other possibilities as well - the beach at Fiesa is about a 20 minutes walk away. Portorož is about 3km away and Lucija about 5km. Both of these towns can be reached by foot or you could also take a bus from the main station in Piran (1.50€/ticket) The price for a bus ticket to Izola or Koper is 3.10€

Unforutantely we weren't in Slovenia long enough to go to all these other towns as well, but we also went to Portorož.