The old town of Labin, the seaside gem of Rabac, the local food of Trget and the holiday resort of Duga Uvala are just some of the highlights of the area.
The old town of Labin
Labin rises on a hill above the sea, and its old town is a maze of stone streets, squares and palaces. It houses galleries and artists’ workshops, and from the town’s viewpoints the view reaches towards the sea and the island of Cres. Labin is also a mining town: coal was mined in the area for over a century, and in 1921 the miners took power in the short-lived Labin Republic. The Labin Town Museum tells of that past. The reformer Matthias Flacius (Matija Vlačić Ilirik) also came from the town.
Rabac and the sea
Rabac is a former fishing village on a bay, now a resort with beaches and a promenade along the coast. The beaches in Rabac are mostly pebble and rock. Above eastern Istria rises Mount Učka, with the Učka Nature Park, where you can hike trails with views over the Kvarner.
Where the villa is
Lovely Istria has one villa in this area, in Viškovići, with four bedrooms and room for eight people. The sea is 1.6 km away and the nearest beach 3 km. The nearest village centre, Sveti Lovreč Labinski, is 1.1 km away, a restaurant 2.4 km, and a shop 2.2 km. These distances are measured on the map, as the crow flies, so the actual drive is usually longer.
Food and drink
Eastern Istria keeps to Istrian cooking: pasta with truffles and, in spring, wild asparagus, cured ham, cheeses, olive oil and fish from the bay. The konobas around Labin often serve home cooking with a glass of Malvazija or Teran.