Pula, Croatia

Sitting pretty at the southern tip of Croatia’s wedge-shaped Istrian Peninsula, Pula is a seldom-visited center of culture dating back millennia. Its sheltered port is only accessible to small ships and yachts at anchor. In this hidden gem of vibrant culture, delve into an incredible past, perhaps most dramatically at the 2,000-year-old Roman Amphitheater. With seating for 22,000, it once hosted gladiatorial combat; today, it is one of Europe’s largest and best-preserved amphitheaters that hosts operas and concerts. A stroll through Pula’s streets leads past other monuments incorporated into a pedestrian-friendly cityscape. The triumphal Arch of the Sergii straddles a shopping district and the first-century Temple of Augustus rests unassumingly on Forum Square. More recent cultural influences are expressed in Vienna-inspired cafés where you can pause to sample powdered savijača and rich coffee. Northwest of Pula, separated from the mainland by the narrow Fažana Channel, discover the untouched nature of Brijuni National Park, located on two separate islands.