Photos

The guidebook tells us that Izola is a scruffy fishing port, a poor relation among the historical towns on the Slovenian coast.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that it was not true. Izola was much more beautiful and unspoilt than the other overcrowded tourist towns along the coast. The wise governors of the town have built a modern marina in the safe harbour and encouraged artists and entertainers to open small shops by offering them rent free space in the once blighted buildings.

It worked! Now Izola has cafes along the port and windy streets offering interesting hand-crafted goods.

We were lucky to stop here and find a room overlooking the port. Here is the morning view from our balcony as the sun reaches across the Adriatic and touches the masts of the boats in the harbour.

As the name suggests, Izola was once an island. Under Venetian control, the town flourished in the 15th century until devastated by plague. After Napoleon took control in the early 19th Century, when the area was known as the Illyrian Provinces, the town walls were pulled down and used to fill the channel separating the island from the mainland.

Now you can enjoy fresh seafood from the fishing boats at dock and good Malvazia and Refošk wine from the region.