Things To Do in Beautiful Pula, Croatia
Ever wondered what things there are to do in Pula, Croatia? Where is Pula anyways? And what makes it so special?
Pula is this great city that tends to be forgotten when doing a road trip in Croatia. But not by us!
Read here for our personal top of things to do in beautiful Pula!
General introduction
Pula is located in the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula.
The what now?
Yes, we weren't that familiar with that part of Europe either.. And it is a shame (FOR SHAME!!) as it is brilliant!
The region of Istria is a rather large peninsula on Europe's west coast. It's shared by three different countries: Slovenia, Croatia and Italy (see map below 
), the largest part belonging to Croatia.
We had already visited a gorgeous little Istrian town during the Slovenian part of our Europe road trip: Piran, a tiny coastal city that had been under Venetian rule for 500 years (read about our Slovenian highlights here).
And we soon discovered that all of the coastal towns on that peninsula shared more or less the same history: they were occupied by Venetian tribes, then the Romans, then the Byzantines and the Frankish Empire.
All to have Venice rule them again before the Austrians, Italians and/or Yugoslavia got their hands on them.
Oh, and Napoleon also had a say in all of these cities..
That pretty much sums it up, with tiny variations per city - haha.
So yes, Pula kind of went through the same.
Pula in a nutshell
Where to stay in Pula
We didn't stay in Pula's city center due to budgetary and strategic reasons: we had already spent too much of our 1-year-budget in Western Austria.
This Euro road trip is actually replacing what was supposed to be a world trip with destinations like Africa, South America and Asia. Europe is WAY more expensive to travel!!
That's why I'm referring to the following article on where to stay as it gives a bit of info for every budgetary category. But WAIT! Don't go check it out just yet!
As I said, we were watching the budget but were also trying to find a location that would be our 'base-camp' for a few days.
Little town of Medulin: good alternative
So we stayed in the little town of Medulin: not much to see here except for a few very beautiful beaches where we had some really good time!
Budget tip: stay in Medulin instead of Pula
➜ cheaper, 10 to 15 min by bus, less crowded beaches
We booked the Villa Orange, a charming apartment with a beautiful little balcony which cost about 50 € (60 US$) per night (for two).
We needed a bigger place as we work on our blog while travelling. And we also wanted to have space to be able to do some Sweat-work-outs - when you're struggling with a few health issues, it's very important to keep being active, even during travels!
Very quiet location of the Villa Orange
The plate on the right was a gift from our host
Oh, and having a fridge to store my Ulcerative Colitis treatment is very important!
Medulin was a very budget-friendly option to visit Pula as it's only a short 15 min drive. And there are several busses every day which cost about 3 € one-way (3,50 US$).
Looking for beaches?
Plus: the beaches in Medulin are very cute and not crowded at all - except for the most popular sand beach, Bijeca. Would not do that one in high season.
You'd better get to the 'Bura-Bura' beach, a bit outside of Medulin in Liznjan (at 2,7 km from the Villa Orange).
And if you don't mind driving on an unpaved road, get a bit further to what is called on Google the 'Windsurf Spot Liznjan': it's even better as there are even lesser people here, only the locals. And there are trees if you like to have sun AND a bit of shadow.
You can also just park your car at Bura-Bura where they have changing rooms and showers and walk the 20 minutes to the other beach.
Pro tip: park the car at Bura-Bura beach but walk about 20 min on an unpaved road to get to 'Windsurf Spot Liznjan': only locals, no tourists, plenty of space and trees for shadow.
Pula city center
But if you absolutely want to stay in the city itself, which is obviously better when you plan on exploring it in depth, here are a few options located around the top things to do in Pula:
Our personal top things to do in Pula
All the main highlights of Pula are pretty much at walking distance from each other.
The best thing to do when travelling by car is to park in the big parking lot of the amphitheatre and visit the sights from here.
You'll also get a handy guide here with all the top things to do or visit in Pula on a map!
Pro tip: park in the 'Pula Arena' parking lot
➜ around 10 € (11,60 US$) for the whole day + you get a handy map with all the highlights of Pula at a glance
# 1 - The Pula Arena
This Roman amphitheatre built in the 1st century ranks amongst the six-largest preserved Roman arenas in the world.
It is the only one with the three Roman architectural orders and four side towers still in place. Although I must say (being an archaeologist and all that) that you can see that there has been quite a bit of non-authentic reconstruction..
I thought that this might be the reason the UNESCO took it off their list of World Heritage Sites - but apparently it's the country that withdrew their application (twice).
Why? Couldn't find an answer to that..
Entrance fee is about 9,30 € (10,85 US$) including the museum of archaeological finds of the area in the basement. Audio-guide not included, though.
Fun fact: during the Italian fascist regime, they wanted to dismantle the whole thing and move it to Italy - it was too expensive, though!
Being all cutsies next to the Pula Arena
# 2 - The Temple of Augustus
A Roman temple that was built somewhere between 27 BC and 14 AD, the year that Roman emperor Augustus died.
It kind of reminded us of the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, in the South of France, where I went a few times as a kid - fascinating city as well!
It's located on a square or market place the people of Pula call 'Forum'.
Converted into a church somewhere in the early Middle Ages, it was first totally enclosed by houses, then almost entirely destructed during WWII before it got reconstructed right after the war.
You can visit the inside but it has not much of a temple now, it's mainly a lapidarium exposing Roman stone artifacts.
Me sitting on the stairs to give you an idea of the size of that thing
# 3 - Saint Mary Formosa
Or 'Santa Maria del Canneto'.
This is a little Byzantine basilica dating back to the 6th century.
Although only the little South chapel remains, I wanted to list this as top thing to do in Pula as I know from experience (archaeologist talking, again) that these kind of churches are pretty rare.
They were usually transformed later, enlarged and adapted to the newer times so that only the foundation walls remain original.
This one has almost entirely been destroyed in the 13th century already. But they kept that little chapel - yay!
Fun fact: apparently this side-chapel was built as a tomb for a bishop. There are records of a sarcophagus found in the 17th century
Plus: it's the only building from the Byzantine era that remains in Pula, so it's kind of a highlight in my opinion.
They did a good job showing where the rest of the large triple-naved basilica used to be by marking the pillars on the ground.
Unfortunately you can't get inside - I was so disappointed!
Even if you're not a fan of churches, get to this little corner for the cute streets alone.
This is all there is - but it's quite cute, right?
# 4 - The Triumphal Arch of the Sergii
This arch was built somwhere in the 1st century to honor the members of the Sergii family. They were pretty powerful back when Pula was a Roman colony.
And that's about all there is to know about this arch, except that it was originally built on the facade of a gate, the Porta Aurea. Not standing alone like this.
But this, on the other hand, makes for a romantic image that inspired many artists among which Michelangeo (you know, that famous Italian guy..).
While you're here: look left and right to see the remnants of the Roman city wall!
And if you get hungry, we can recommend the Corso Bar right next to it! Delicous food and very friendly service.
Cute street with the Arch of the Sergii
Cold-cut platter at the Corso Bar
# 5 - The Twin Gate or 'Porta Gemina'
Heading to the West from the Arch of the Sergii, you'll get to a kind of double arch: the Twin Gate or 'Porta Gemina'.
So it's not a triumphal arch like the former (even if it looks a bit similar), bot one of the formerly ten entrance gates to the city.
The city walls had actually been pulled down somewhere in the 19th century and only a few gates like this one from the 2nd century remained.
It's located near the Archaeological Museum where excavations were going on and...
I don't want to criticize here but Sebi had to pull me away.. they were actually 'digging' out some pretty impressive ceramic vestiges WITHOUT DOCUMENTING THE PROCESS!! No one was taking proper pictures or measuring the geolocation of that thing!! Something that needs to be done at every single step! Arghhhh!!
Looks like Croatian archaeologists have much less precise methods than we do in Luxembourg..
And want to know something funny? I was so shocked that I actually forgot to take a picture of the Twin Gates right next to it...
But anyways. Drifting off here. Sorry about that.
Moving on!
The excavation area. Sorry for not having taken a picture of the Twin Gate..
# 6 - The Verudela Fortress
South of the Twin Gate, you can climb up the hill to the Verudela Fortress.
Sebi's ancestors built that! Haha!
No, but seriously: the fortress was indeed built under the Austro-Hungarian rule in the 19th century (they had their noses in everything, those Austrians..want to know more about their country? Read all about the first part of our road trip here :-)).
You can walk around freely on top of and around it but you'll have to pay to get inside.
Today it's used as an exhibition or concert venue but it also hosts Pula's Aquarium. We didn't do it but it sounds pretty interesting to see fish swimming around in the corridors of a fortress.
From up here you'll get a nice view over the city with the amphitheatre.
And you can look down on the Roman theatre which, sadly, is in a very bad shape..
Verudela Fortress
The small Roman theatre slowly crumbling away..
View on the Pula Arena from up the Verudela Fortress
# 7 - The church of St Francis and the Monastery
The church was built in the 13th century in a Romanesque/Gothic style and has a double pulpit (that raised stand from where the preachers used to preach). One part is actually outside of the wall, in the street.
The Monastery dates from the 14th century and that cloister is just so beautiful! You'll have to pay a little something like 1,30 € (1,50 US$) to get in and you can enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and admire the Roman sculptures displayed on the walls.
There is also a nice Roman mosaic they preserved under the floor of one praying room. If you like these kind of things, definitely go check it out!
Chillin' in the beautiful cloister of St Francis Monastery
The inside of the church
And these were our personal top things to do in Pula!
Next up will be a guide on travelling the Istrian peninsula as there is so much more to see than only Pula!
Feel free to comment, pin and share this post for your next road trip through Croatia 🙂
As ever,
xx
Cyn
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