Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
During the glory days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a twisty railway called La Par-
enzana (Pore
č
anka in Croatian) connected Trieste to Pore
č
by way of many of northwest
Istria's hill towns. While the train itself is long gone, part of its route has been converted
to a “rails-to-trails” path (you'll see signs for this around the area, and a small museum in
Livade), and the many bridges and tunnels engineered to make the train line possible have
become nostalgic icons of an earlier time. While Croatia hasn't yet developed a serious
bicycle-tourism culture, La Parenzana is an impressive first effort. Ask locally for the free
EU-funded map of La Parenzana's route, which spans three countries (Italy, Slovenia, and
Croatia).
