Piran belonged to the Republic of Venice from 1283 to 1797, and the Venetian influence is still everywhere, from Gothic windows to a stone loggia. The town is the birthplace of the violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini, and today it is bilingual, with Slovene and Italian spoken side by side.
Life centres on Tartini Square, the town’s inner harbour until it was filled in during the 1890s, with Tartini’s bronze statue of 1896 and the 15th-century Gothic Venetian House among its landmarks. Climb up to St George’s Church, whose bell tower is modelled on St Mark’s Campanile in Venice, and on to the town walls, built mainly in the 15th and 16th centuries, for views over the rooftops and the sea. Cars are largely kept out of the old town, so most visitors park at the Fornače garage on its edge and walk in.
End the day at the tip of the peninsula, watching the sun sink into the Adriatic.
